Luxurious portable potties; bobcat hunting; dog bite causes crash
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Odd and interesting news from Midwest.
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CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago man who talked about gun violence on the CNN documentary series "Chicagoland" has been shot and killed.
Chicago Police say the body of 22-year-old Lee McCullum III was found on the street with a gunshot wound early Thursday on the city's far South Side. Police say they believe he was shot as part of a gang dispute.
McCullum was featured in episodes of the series about Chicago gun violence that dealt with Fenger High School — the school he attended in one of the city's most violent neighborhoods.
In the series, McCullum talked about his efforts to escape the gun violence that plagued the neighborhood. He won praise from the principal and others for staying in school and doing all he could to escape gangs.
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana could soon add bobcats to the list of animals that are allowed to be hunted in some parts of the state.
The state Department of Natural Resources is considering removing bobcats from Indiana's list of protected species to allow for hunting and trapping in southwestern Indiana because of a recent surge in population. The growth would be managed appropriately by enforcing limits for individuals and a statewide quota, officials said.
Currently, the species' numbers only decrease when bobcats die in accidental kills, such as car accidents, or of old age, said Sgt. Paul Axton with DNR's District 7 in southwest Indiana.
"The bobcat population is on the increase, and they're on the top of the food chain," Axton said.
In Indiana, bobcats became an endangered species in 1969, and then a protected species in 2005.
Because the proposal is in the informational stage, many details still need to be worked out, said Scott Johnson, wildlife science program manager. The department will collect feedback on the idea until May 15 and will consider the comments over the summer before making a decision, The Indianapolis Star (http://indy.st/1TSGDUS ) reported.
Erin Huang, Indiana director for Humane Society of the United States, said setting a sustainable quota for hunting season would be challenging because it's difficult to track the exact number of bobcats.
"This is a species that has been protected since 1969 since they were nearly (destroyed) from the state due to overhunting," Huang said. "They're elusive, shy creatures. I don't know if there's really any reason for it."
Jimmy Durako, who frequently hunts in southern Indiana and owns a hunting lights store in Lafayette, said a large bobcat population means less food for the species, which could cause them to venture into someone's yard and eat a pet or livestock.
Law enforcement officials in southern Indiana said they often hear about bobcat sightings, but they haven't experienced any issues beyond car crashes.
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Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com
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NEW MIAMI, Ohio (AP) — Lawyers for residents who won a nearly $2 million lawsuit against a southwest Ohio village over its speed cameras want to garnish proceeds from a new camera program to make sure the residents get paid.
The Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News reports (http://bit.ly/1rKkqiP ) the attorneys filed a motion in Butler County accusing New Miami of trying to defraud creditors by contracting with an out-of-state company to collect fines.
The village's traffic cameras were installed in 2012 but ruled unconstitutional after a little over a year. The village has asked the state Supreme Court to review the case.
The village had collected about $1.8 million on nearly 45,000 citations through 15 months of operation.
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Information from: The JournalNews of Hamilton, http://www.journal-news.com/cgi-bin/liveique.acgi$sch=jnfront?jnfront
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SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — Scottsbluff police have been investigating reports that several children were injured when a school bus driver slammed on its brakes.
The incident occurred May 4 as around 20 students were being taken to Westmoor Elementary for an after-school program. Capt. Brian Wasson says there have been several reports the driver hit the brakes because he couldn't get all the students to sit. Wasson said Friday that those reports haven't been confirmed but also says investigators have obtained a digital and audio recording from inside the bus.
Wasson says several parents sought medical treatment for their children, but he doesn't know of any student who required hospitalization.
A spokeswoman for the district's bus service, First Student, says the driver is no longer employed. Wasson says no citations have been issued.
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BERKELEY, Mo. (AP) — A St. Louis-area police officer and his ride-along passenger are hospitalized and a home badly damaged after a police chase ended in an accident that caused the home and two cars to catch fire.
The bizarre chain of circumstances happened around 2:45 a.m. Friday in Berkeley. The suspect who was being chased got away and is being sought.
Authorities say a Kinloch officer tried to pull over the vehicle, prompting a chase. The suspect crashed into the police squad car and then a car and a house in Berkeley, causing the house and both cars to catch fire. The family inside the home was unhurt.
The Kinloch officer, 49-year-old Robert Brooks, suffered serious injuries. His passenger, 31-year-old Matthew Johnson, suffered moderate injuries. Johnson was participating in a civilian ride-along program.
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RUSSELL, Kan. (AP) — Authorities are blaming a dog bite for causing a tractor-trailer to overturn along Interstate 70 in Kansas.
The Kansas Highway Patrol says the driver and a passenger were taken to a hospital after Thursday morning's crash in Russell County. The extent of their injuries weren't immediately known.
The patrol says in the crash report that the driver lost control of his rig after the dog bit his right hand. The driver overcorrected when the tractor-trailer went off the side of the road, causing the rig to roll. The report says the tractor-trailer came to rest in the grass on the north side of the westbound lanes.
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LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — A sword that long adorned a statue of the French general that the city of Lafayette is named after has been stolen.
Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Lt. Terry Ruley says the sword was reported stolen Wednesday from the marble statue of the Marquis de Lafayette that sits atop a fountain outside the county courthouse.
Ruley says the 3-foot-long stainless steel sword was last seen about a week ago attached to the sculpture, which was erected in 1887.
He tells the (Lafayette) Journal & Courier (http://on.jconline.com/221OrHc ) he hopes the sword is returned, and if that happens it will be bolted more securely to the statue.
The Marquis de Lafayette served with George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Several U.S. cities are named after the French general.
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Information from: Journal and Courier, http://www.jconline.com
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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — U.S. presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders began his campaign rally in the South Dakota city of Sioux Falls with a geography blunder.
The Democratic senator from Vermont referred to Sioux Falls as Sioux City, which is in Iowa.
That prompted groans and boos from the crowd. Sanders quickly realized his mistake and corrected himself.
President Barack Obama made the same mistake when he campaigned in Sioux Falls in 2008.
Sanders is competing with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic endorsement. Whoever gets it likely will run against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Sanders held campaign rallies in Pine Ridge, Rapid City and Sioux Falls on Thursday.
- By DEBRA PRESSEY The (Champaign) News-Gazette
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URBANA, Ill. (AP) — A petite vanity, a sink with hot and cold running water, a mirror for primping and, oh my, a flushing toilet.
This is not your parents' port-a-potty.
Not even close.
"People say 'portable toilets, yuck,'" said Michelle Van Wynen, with Urbana-based Gulliford Services/Illinois Portable Toilets.
Apparently not when they see this one. Van Wynen said Gulliford's luxury restroom unit — a 12-footer that comes with four private, self-contained bathrooms — is in so much demand as a rental for weddings, the company is looking at springing for a second.
"It's really very nice," Van Wynen said. "I take it to wedding shows. I put flowers in it."
Each of the four restrooms comes with all the comforts of home — minus the magazines — with its own flushing toilet, a small wooden vanity with a cultured marble countertop, a sink with faucets, mirrors, wainscoting on the walls, and a little basket to hold the paper towels. Or, Van Wynen said, some clients prefer to add rolled cloth towels for an added luxury effect.
And nobody has to be too hot or too cold, or worry about it being too quiet in one of these bathrooms, either. The luxury unit is air-conditioned or heated, appropriate for the season, and it's equipped to play music.
"I'm telling you, it's fancy," Van Wynen said.
Some wedding customers fancy it up even more, with a little table outside topped with flowers, she said.
"We had somebody who did a flower garland all the way around it," she added.
The first luxury unit renter, Kane Beaumont, needed it for his daughter's outdoor country wedding at their home north of Mahomet in June 2014. There were 350 guests invited and they needed the extra facilities.
It was like a nice hotel bathroom, he recalled.
"It was very plush, very elegant," Beaumont said.
The bulk of Gulliford's Illinois Portable Toilets business is the less-frills type of single unit supplied for the construction industry, according to Van Wynen. There are other types available too, among them larger ones that are handicapped accessible and "deluxe" models that come with sinks and toilets with a foot-pedal flush.
The company bought the luxury unit, which has two restrooms on each side and a mechanical closet in between, in 2014 to serve outdoor weddings and meet a higher-end demand, according to shop manager Austen Schultz.
The rental fee for the day, with all paper products included, will set the bridal budget back about $1,200, plus the travel fee, according to Van Wynen. For an extra fee, a customer can go even more upscale and hire one of the company's restroom attendants to keep the restrooms stocked and tidy all day, she said.
Want a tour? Gulliford will roll out the luxury unit at its Urbana headquarters for folks who may be interested in renting it, but urges calling ahead to make sure it's on the premises.
While it's making its way around wedding expos and special events, this option remains yet to be discovered by many, Van Wynen said.
More information is at the company's website.
"People need to come and see it," she said.
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Source: The (Champaign) News-Gazette, http://bit.ly/23frhfz
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Information from: The News-Gazette, http://www.news-gazette.com
This is an AP-Illinois Exchange story offered by The (Champaign) News-Gazette.
- By RYAN TRARES Daily Journal
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AMITY, Ind. (AP) — Archaeologists carefully brushed away dirt and small stones, looking for changes in the soil that could help them locate a nearly 185-year-old grave.
Where the dirt changed color, from a darker brown to lighter gray, that could be the final resting place of Nancy Kerlin Barnett. Anytime they located the boundary of the grave, a small orange flag marked the spot.
"We're aware how unique these are, and how precious they are," said Christopher Schmidt, professor of archaeology at the University of Indianapolis and director of the Indiana Prehistory Laboratory. "We want to go to great lengths to ensure these remains are treated respectfully from the moment they're encountered in the field to the moment they're returned to their place of origin."
Working with small tools and their hands, they were busy excavating Johnson County's "Grave in the Road," where Barnett was buried in 1831. A famous local landmark, the grave sits in the middle of County Road 400S near Amity while the roadway splits and wraps around it.
Archaeologists and the county highway department started work Wednesday on a project to protect the gravesite and make the road around it safer for drivers.
"It's something so incredibly unique to Johnson County," said David Pfeiffer, executive director of the Johnson County Museum of History. "She was one of the early pioneers of Johnson County. People recognize the importance of the history here, and that's why we're going to keep the grave here. She'll go right back to where she wanted to be buried."
Most of the work Wednesday morning was preparation and getting to the grave. A highway department excavator pulled back rocks and dirt that had been mounded around the grave to protect it from cars.
Once the ground closer to the grave was exposed, the team of archaeologists worked with their hands and small tools to more carefully approach Barnett's remains.
"The thing I like most about this project is using our science to help with two practical matters: making the road safer, and protecting this grave," Schmidt said. "Then there's that added layer of public archaeology and getting a chance to investigate a person who lived here 200 years ago."
When Barnett died in 1831, she was buried in a small cemetery south of Amity. Her grave remained undisturbed for more than 100 years.
But plans were made by the county to build a road through the area, and all of the graves would have to be moved.
To prevent her remains from being disturbed, Barnett's grandson sat near the stone with a shotgun. He refused to leave and warned county employees to leave it alone, according to genealogy records at the Johnson County Museum of History.
His wishes were respected, and the road was built around it.
Barnett's final resting place will remain in the middle of County Road 400S. But work had to be done to ensure the gravesite was protected, as well as making the area easier to traverse by drivers.
Currently, the site is mounded above the roadway, with a black historical marker designating its importance.
The grave has been disrupted by accidents at that location, as well as by farm equipment scraping the site. According to records from the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, three accidents have occurred near the grave site since 2010.
The delicate work of handling Barnett's remains will go to Schmidt. He and a team of six graduate students, as well as fellow University of Indianapolis professors Chris Moore and Leah Courtland, have mapped out a process of excavating the grave with the utmost care.
Ground-penetrating radar will be used to clarify where the remains, casket or other anomalies may be at the gravesite. From that point, the operation will be done entirely by hand, with archaeologists making sure they retain and record all of the materials that come from the grave.
"What makes this so important is it's in the hearts of so many people," Schmidt said. "Any time you're involved with something people care about, you want to take that very seriously and be very careful with it, and be very diligent to make sure you do everything exactly right."
County officials, as well as local and state historians, worked with Barnett's relatives to make sure the process was respectful and done correctly.
"Honoring the wishes of the family, that's the original reason the 'Grave in the Road' is there," Pfeiffer said. "This is just a temporary move."
Once the remains have been safely excavated, county highway workers will dig deeper into the ground, lowering the gravesite while also installing new curbing or a wall around the site.
The county pledged $10,000, including $1,000 from the county museum, to hire Schmidt to take care of the remains and move them to a temporary location at the University of Indianapolis. At the Indiana Prehistory Laboratory, Schmidt and his team will do a brief analysis of Barnett's remains over the next two or three weeks.
While they will not do any DNA testing, the archaeologists will inspect the remains to gain a glimpse into what life was like for Barnett in the 1830s.
"We will let them tell the story. We let the bones talk," Schmidt said. "We want to go at it with an open mind. We don't know what to expect — is she going to be someone with a lot of signs of disease or hard work, or is it the exact opposite? It's always a surprise when looking at ancient remains."
The section of County Road 400S will be closed from County Road 700E to just beyond Sugar Creek for about a week. A sign at U.S. 31 warns drivers to find a detour. The road is expected to reopen Wednesday, as long as weather doesn't delay the work, according to the county highway department. Motorists are advised to use County Road 650S while the road is under construction.
That didn't stop some people from coming to see what was happening with the project.
Lee Collett had come to see the unique grave, and take pictures for the rest of the family. The Brown County resident had discovered through some genealogical digging that Barnett was a distant, distant cousin.
"We just found out about it two days ago, and I wanted to come see it," he said.
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Source: (Franklin) Daily Journal, http://bit.ly/1UXamyl
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Information from: Daily Journal, http://www.dailyjournal.net
This is an AP-Indiana Exchange story offered by the (Franklin) Daily Journal.
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PLAIN CITY, Ohio (AP) — A century-old Ohio clock tower is poised for repairs for the second time in its history.
The Columbus Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/1TBIJpB ) a crane will move the Seth Thomas clock in the suburban Columbus village of Plain City Saturday morning.
The clock's entire exterior will be stripped and repainted. Other repairs include fixing rotted wood, cable replacement and updating the clock's only electrical components: Lights that illuminate the clock's four faces.
Repairs are estimated at $45,000 and will be funded through private donations and a state grant. They're scheduled to be completed in September.
Remaining money would be used for future maintenance.
Tammy Redmond, who owns the building that houses the clock tower, says loose change balances the all-mechanical clock's weights. It must be regularly wound to keep the time accurate.
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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com
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CLEVELAND (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service says Cleveland ranks second in the country in the number of dog attacks on postal workers.
The Plain Dealer reports (http://bit.ly/1WtBaIe ) the postal service's announcement on Thursday says there 58 dog attacks reported in the city last year, an increase of 57 percent from 2014.
The postal service says there were more than 6,500 employees total attacked by dogs in 2015.
Columbus had the eighth highest number of attacks with 43. Cincinnati placed 18th with 28, Dayton ranked 23rd with 22 attacks and Toledo ranked 30th with 15.
Officials say customers will be asked later this month to indicate whether a dog lives at their home when they schedule a pickup online.
Carriers will have mobile devices that list if an address has a dog.
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Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com
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PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Attorney General Marty Jackley is again warning South Dakota residents about a scam targeting computer users.
Jackley says the state's Consumer Protection Division has been inundated with reports from residents who have received phone calls from someone claiming to be with Microsoft Windows' support center and wanting access to the consumer's computer to make repairs.
The fraudulent call begins with the scammer telling consumers that their computers need an upgrade or have an issue that needs to be fixed immediately. Jackley says the scammer then connects to the computers remotely and obtains financial information and other data from consumers.
Jackley says neither Microsoft nor any of its partners make unsolicited calls to computer users. Jackley says residents who have received calls from the con artists should contact the state's Consumer Protection Division.
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BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (AP) — Authorities say a drug bust in Brooklyn Center has netted 140 pounds of methamphetamine, the largest seizure of the drug in state history.
Forty-year-old Dolores Castillo and 27-year-old Francisco Silvestre-Martinez are both charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
The federal Drug Enforcement Agency and the Anoka Hennepin Drug Task Force seized the meth from a home in Brooklyn Center on Monday.
Castillo and Silvestre-Martinez were arrested at their home in Maplewood. Authorities say the two had two pounds of meth and $130,000 in cash on hand.
Authorities made several undercover purchases from a dealer in March and April and later learned that a home in Brooklyn Center was being used as a storage facility.
It's unclear whether the two have attorneys.
CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago man who talked about gun violence on the CNN documentary series "Chicagoland" has been shot and killed.
Chicago Police say the body of 22-year-old Lee McCullum III was found on the street with a gunshot wound early Thursday on the city's far South Side. Police say they believe he was shot as part of a gang dispute.
McCullum was featured in episodes of the series about Chicago gun violence that dealt with Fenger High School — the school he attended in one of the city's most violent neighborhoods.
In the series, McCullum talked about his efforts to escape the gun violence that plagued the neighborhood. He won praise from the principal and others for staying in school and doing all he could to escape gangs.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana could soon add bobcats to the list of animals that are allowed to be hunted in some parts of the state.
The state Department of Natural Resources is considering removing bobcats from Indiana's list of protected species to allow for hunting and trapping in southwestern Indiana because of a recent surge in population. The growth would be managed appropriately by enforcing limits for individuals and a statewide quota, officials said.
Currently, the species' numbers only decrease when bobcats die in accidental kills, such as car accidents, or of old age, said Sgt. Paul Axton with DNR's District 7 in southwest Indiana.
"The bobcat population is on the increase, and they're on the top of the food chain," Axton said.
In Indiana, bobcats became an endangered species in 1969, and then a protected species in 2005.
Because the proposal is in the informational stage, many details still need to be worked out, said Scott Johnson, wildlife science program manager. The department will collect feedback on the idea until May 15 and will consider the comments over the summer before making a decision, The Indianapolis Star (http://indy.st/1TSGDUS ) reported.
Erin Huang, Indiana director for Humane Society of the United States, said setting a sustainable quota for hunting season would be challenging because it's difficult to track the exact number of bobcats.
"This is a species that has been protected since 1969 since they were nearly (destroyed) from the state due to overhunting," Huang said. "They're elusive, shy creatures. I don't know if there's really any reason for it."
Jimmy Durako, who frequently hunts in southern Indiana and owns a hunting lights store in Lafayette, said a large bobcat population means less food for the species, which could cause them to venture into someone's yard and eat a pet or livestock.
Law enforcement officials in southern Indiana said they often hear about bobcat sightings, but they haven't experienced any issues beyond car crashes.
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Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com
NEW MIAMI, Ohio (AP) — Lawyers for residents who won a nearly $2 million lawsuit against a southwest Ohio village over its speed cameras want to garnish proceeds from a new camera program to make sure the residents get paid.
The Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News reports (http://bit.ly/1rKkqiP ) the attorneys filed a motion in Butler County accusing New Miami of trying to defraud creditors by contracting with an out-of-state company to collect fines.
The village's traffic cameras were installed in 2012 but ruled unconstitutional after a little over a year. The village has asked the state Supreme Court to review the case.
The village had collected about $1.8 million on nearly 45,000 citations through 15 months of operation.
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Information from: The JournalNews of Hamilton, http://www.journal-news.com/cgi-bin/liveique.acgi$sch=jnfront?jnfront
SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — Scottsbluff police have been investigating reports that several children were injured when a school bus driver slammed on its brakes.
The incident occurred May 4 as around 20 students were being taken to Westmoor Elementary for an after-school program. Capt. Brian Wasson says there have been several reports the driver hit the brakes because he couldn't get all the students to sit. Wasson said Friday that those reports haven't been confirmed but also says investigators have obtained a digital and audio recording from inside the bus.
Wasson says several parents sought medical treatment for their children, but he doesn't know of any student who required hospitalization.
A spokeswoman for the district's bus service, First Student, says the driver is no longer employed. Wasson says no citations have been issued.
BERKELEY, Mo. (AP) — A St. Louis-area police officer and his ride-along passenger are hospitalized and a home badly damaged after a police chase ended in an accident that caused the home and two cars to catch fire.
The bizarre chain of circumstances happened around 2:45 a.m. Friday in Berkeley. The suspect who was being chased got away and is being sought.
Authorities say a Kinloch officer tried to pull over the vehicle, prompting a chase. The suspect crashed into the police squad car and then a car and a house in Berkeley, causing the house and both cars to catch fire. The family inside the home was unhurt.
The Kinloch officer, 49-year-old Robert Brooks, suffered serious injuries. His passenger, 31-year-old Matthew Johnson, suffered moderate injuries. Johnson was participating in a civilian ride-along program.
RUSSELL, Kan. (AP) — Authorities are blaming a dog bite for causing a tractor-trailer to overturn along Interstate 70 in Kansas.
The Kansas Highway Patrol says the driver and a passenger were taken to a hospital after Thursday morning's crash in Russell County. The extent of their injuries weren't immediately known.
The patrol says in the crash report that the driver lost control of his rig after the dog bit his right hand. The driver overcorrected when the tractor-trailer went off the side of the road, causing the rig to roll. The report says the tractor-trailer came to rest in the grass on the north side of the westbound lanes.
LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — A sword that long adorned a statue of the French general that the city of Lafayette is named after has been stolen.
Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Lt. Terry Ruley says the sword was reported stolen Wednesday from the marble statue of the Marquis de Lafayette that sits atop a fountain outside the county courthouse.
Ruley says the 3-foot-long stainless steel sword was last seen about a week ago attached to the sculpture, which was erected in 1887.
He tells the (Lafayette) Journal & Courier (http://on.jconline.com/221OrHc ) he hopes the sword is returned, and if that happens it will be bolted more securely to the statue.
The Marquis de Lafayette served with George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Several U.S. cities are named after the French general.
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Information from: Journal and Courier, http://www.jconline.com
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — U.S. presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders began his campaign rally in the South Dakota city of Sioux Falls with a geography blunder.
The Democratic senator from Vermont referred to Sioux Falls as Sioux City, which is in Iowa.
That prompted groans and boos from the crowd. Sanders quickly realized his mistake and corrected himself.
President Barack Obama made the same mistake when he campaigned in Sioux Falls in 2008.
Sanders is competing with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic endorsement. Whoever gets it likely will run against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Sanders held campaign rallies in Pine Ridge, Rapid City and Sioux Falls on Thursday.
- By DEBRA PRESSEY The (Champaign) News-Gazette
URBANA, Ill. (AP) — A petite vanity, a sink with hot and cold running water, a mirror for primping and, oh my, a flushing toilet.
This is not your parents' port-a-potty.
Not even close.
"People say 'portable toilets, yuck,'" said Michelle Van Wynen, with Urbana-based Gulliford Services/Illinois Portable Toilets.
Apparently not when they see this one. Van Wynen said Gulliford's luxury restroom unit — a 12-footer that comes with four private, self-contained bathrooms — is in so much demand as a rental for weddings, the company is looking at springing for a second.
"It's really very nice," Van Wynen said. "I take it to wedding shows. I put flowers in it."
Each of the four restrooms comes with all the comforts of home — minus the magazines — with its own flushing toilet, a small wooden vanity with a cultured marble countertop, a sink with faucets, mirrors, wainscoting on the walls, and a little basket to hold the paper towels. Or, Van Wynen said, some clients prefer to add rolled cloth towels for an added luxury effect.
And nobody has to be too hot or too cold, or worry about it being too quiet in one of these bathrooms, either. The luxury unit is air-conditioned or heated, appropriate for the season, and it's equipped to play music.
"I'm telling you, it's fancy," Van Wynen said.
Some wedding customers fancy it up even more, with a little table outside topped with flowers, she said.
"We had somebody who did a flower garland all the way around it," she added.
The first luxury unit renter, Kane Beaumont, needed it for his daughter's outdoor country wedding at their home north of Mahomet in June 2014. There were 350 guests invited and they needed the extra facilities.
It was like a nice hotel bathroom, he recalled.
"It was very plush, very elegant," Beaumont said.
The bulk of Gulliford's Illinois Portable Toilets business is the less-frills type of single unit supplied for the construction industry, according to Van Wynen. There are other types available too, among them larger ones that are handicapped accessible and "deluxe" models that come with sinks and toilets with a foot-pedal flush.
The company bought the luxury unit, which has two restrooms on each side and a mechanical closet in between, in 2014 to serve outdoor weddings and meet a higher-end demand, according to shop manager Austen Schultz.
The rental fee for the day, with all paper products included, will set the bridal budget back about $1,200, plus the travel fee, according to Van Wynen. For an extra fee, a customer can go even more upscale and hire one of the company's restroom attendants to keep the restrooms stocked and tidy all day, she said.
Want a tour? Gulliford will roll out the luxury unit at its Urbana headquarters for folks who may be interested in renting it, but urges calling ahead to make sure it's on the premises.
While it's making its way around wedding expos and special events, this option remains yet to be discovered by many, Van Wynen said.
More information is at the company's website.
"People need to come and see it," she said.
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Source: The (Champaign) News-Gazette, http://bit.ly/23frhfz
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Information from: The News-Gazette, http://www.news-gazette.com
This is an AP-Illinois Exchange story offered by The (Champaign) News-Gazette.
- By RYAN TRARES Daily Journal
AMITY, Ind. (AP) — Archaeologists carefully brushed away dirt and small stones, looking for changes in the soil that could help them locate a nearly 185-year-old grave.
Where the dirt changed color, from a darker brown to lighter gray, that could be the final resting place of Nancy Kerlin Barnett. Anytime they located the boundary of the grave, a small orange flag marked the spot.
"We're aware how unique these are, and how precious they are," said Christopher Schmidt, professor of archaeology at the University of Indianapolis and director of the Indiana Prehistory Laboratory. "We want to go to great lengths to ensure these remains are treated respectfully from the moment they're encountered in the field to the moment they're returned to their place of origin."
Working with small tools and their hands, they were busy excavating Johnson County's "Grave in the Road," where Barnett was buried in 1831. A famous local landmark, the grave sits in the middle of County Road 400S near Amity while the roadway splits and wraps around it.
Archaeologists and the county highway department started work Wednesday on a project to protect the gravesite and make the road around it safer for drivers.
"It's something so incredibly unique to Johnson County," said David Pfeiffer, executive director of the Johnson County Museum of History. "She was one of the early pioneers of Johnson County. People recognize the importance of the history here, and that's why we're going to keep the grave here. She'll go right back to where she wanted to be buried."
Most of the work Wednesday morning was preparation and getting to the grave. A highway department excavator pulled back rocks and dirt that had been mounded around the grave to protect it from cars.
Once the ground closer to the grave was exposed, the team of archaeologists worked with their hands and small tools to more carefully approach Barnett's remains.
"The thing I like most about this project is using our science to help with two practical matters: making the road safer, and protecting this grave," Schmidt said. "Then there's that added layer of public archaeology and getting a chance to investigate a person who lived here 200 years ago."
When Barnett died in 1831, she was buried in a small cemetery south of Amity. Her grave remained undisturbed for more than 100 years.
But plans were made by the county to build a road through the area, and all of the graves would have to be moved.
To prevent her remains from being disturbed, Barnett's grandson sat near the stone with a shotgun. He refused to leave and warned county employees to leave it alone, according to genealogy records at the Johnson County Museum of History.
His wishes were respected, and the road was built around it.
Barnett's final resting place will remain in the middle of County Road 400S. But work had to be done to ensure the gravesite was protected, as well as making the area easier to traverse by drivers.
Currently, the site is mounded above the roadway, with a black historical marker designating its importance.
The grave has been disrupted by accidents at that location, as well as by farm equipment scraping the site. According to records from the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, three accidents have occurred near the grave site since 2010.
The delicate work of handling Barnett's remains will go to Schmidt. He and a team of six graduate students, as well as fellow University of Indianapolis professors Chris Moore and Leah Courtland, have mapped out a process of excavating the grave with the utmost care.
Ground-penetrating radar will be used to clarify where the remains, casket or other anomalies may be at the gravesite. From that point, the operation will be done entirely by hand, with archaeologists making sure they retain and record all of the materials that come from the grave.
"What makes this so important is it's in the hearts of so many people," Schmidt said. "Any time you're involved with something people care about, you want to take that very seriously and be very careful with it, and be very diligent to make sure you do everything exactly right."
County officials, as well as local and state historians, worked with Barnett's relatives to make sure the process was respectful and done correctly.
"Honoring the wishes of the family, that's the original reason the 'Grave in the Road' is there," Pfeiffer said. "This is just a temporary move."
Once the remains have been safely excavated, county highway workers will dig deeper into the ground, lowering the gravesite while also installing new curbing or a wall around the site.
The county pledged $10,000, including $1,000 from the county museum, to hire Schmidt to take care of the remains and move them to a temporary location at the University of Indianapolis. At the Indiana Prehistory Laboratory, Schmidt and his team will do a brief analysis of Barnett's remains over the next two or three weeks.
While they will not do any DNA testing, the archaeologists will inspect the remains to gain a glimpse into what life was like for Barnett in the 1830s.
"We will let them tell the story. We let the bones talk," Schmidt said. "We want to go at it with an open mind. We don't know what to expect — is she going to be someone with a lot of signs of disease or hard work, or is it the exact opposite? It's always a surprise when looking at ancient remains."
The section of County Road 400S will be closed from County Road 700E to just beyond Sugar Creek for about a week. A sign at U.S. 31 warns drivers to find a detour. The road is expected to reopen Wednesday, as long as weather doesn't delay the work, according to the county highway department. Motorists are advised to use County Road 650S while the road is under construction.
That didn't stop some people from coming to see what was happening with the project.
Lee Collett had come to see the unique grave, and take pictures for the rest of the family. The Brown County resident had discovered through some genealogical digging that Barnett was a distant, distant cousin.
"We just found out about it two days ago, and I wanted to come see it," he said.
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Source: (Franklin) Daily Journal, http://bit.ly/1UXamyl
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Information from: Daily Journal, http://www.dailyjournal.net
This is an AP-Indiana Exchange story offered by the (Franklin) Daily Journal.
PLAIN CITY, Ohio (AP) — A century-old Ohio clock tower is poised for repairs for the second time in its history.
The Columbus Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/1TBIJpB ) a crane will move the Seth Thomas clock in the suburban Columbus village of Plain City Saturday morning.
The clock's entire exterior will be stripped and repainted. Other repairs include fixing rotted wood, cable replacement and updating the clock's only electrical components: Lights that illuminate the clock's four faces.
Repairs are estimated at $45,000 and will be funded through private donations and a state grant. They're scheduled to be completed in September.
Remaining money would be used for future maintenance.
Tammy Redmond, who owns the building that houses the clock tower, says loose change balances the all-mechanical clock's weights. It must be regularly wound to keep the time accurate.
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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com
CLEVELAND (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service says Cleveland ranks second in the country in the number of dog attacks on postal workers.
The Plain Dealer reports (http://bit.ly/1WtBaIe ) the postal service's announcement on Thursday says there 58 dog attacks reported in the city last year, an increase of 57 percent from 2014.
The postal service says there were more than 6,500 employees total attacked by dogs in 2015.
Columbus had the eighth highest number of attacks with 43. Cincinnati placed 18th with 28, Dayton ranked 23rd with 22 attacks and Toledo ranked 30th with 15.
Officials say customers will be asked later this month to indicate whether a dog lives at their home when they schedule a pickup online.
Carriers will have mobile devices that list if an address has a dog.
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Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Attorney General Marty Jackley is again warning South Dakota residents about a scam targeting computer users.
Jackley says the state's Consumer Protection Division has been inundated with reports from residents who have received phone calls from someone claiming to be with Microsoft Windows' support center and wanting access to the consumer's computer to make repairs.
The fraudulent call begins with the scammer telling consumers that their computers need an upgrade or have an issue that needs to be fixed immediately. Jackley says the scammer then connects to the computers remotely and obtains financial information and other data from consumers.
Jackley says neither Microsoft nor any of its partners make unsolicited calls to computer users. Jackley says residents who have received calls from the con artists should contact the state's Consumer Protection Division.
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (AP) — Authorities say a drug bust in Brooklyn Center has netted 140 pounds of methamphetamine, the largest seizure of the drug in state history.
Forty-year-old Dolores Castillo and 27-year-old Francisco Silvestre-Martinez are both charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
The federal Drug Enforcement Agency and the Anoka Hennepin Drug Task Force seized the meth from a home in Brooklyn Center on Monday.
Castillo and Silvestre-Martinez were arrested at their home in Maplewood. Authorities say the two had two pounds of meth and $130,000 in cash on hand.
Authorities made several undercover purchases from a dealer in March and April and later learned that a home in Brooklyn Center was being used as a storage facility.
It's unclear whether the two have attorneys.
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