The
good
More than 700 volunteers came together last
weekend for one of the largest community efforts
in town, the 17th Annual Rebuilding Together
Day, organized by Rebuilding Together Greater
Des Moines. Volunteers made home repairs and
improvements to a total of 40 homes in Greater
Des Moines at no cost to low-income homeowners,
families and military veterans. The efforts
were also supported by local companies and organizations
that together raised about $100,000 toward the
project, including: Wells Fargo, Polk County
Housing Trust Fund, NCMIC, Waukee Rotary, Bank
of the West, First American Bank, Bank of America,
Praxair, Booz Allen Hamilton, Hubbell Realty,
Storey Kenworthy, Ryan Companies, R & R
Realty, Firestone and Sears.
More than 100 educators, friends and family
unveiled a new memorial last weekend as a tribute
to Iowa teachers and their outstanding service
to students. It’s the 47th memorial and first
to honor teachers on the Capitol grounds. The
Teacher Memorial rests on the northwest terrace,
at the corner of the Capitol Complex across
from the Historical and Wallace buildings on
Grand Avenue. The granite boulder bears one
word: “TEACHER.” Private donations for the memorial
were collected from members of the Iowa Association
for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and
Dance (IAHPERD).
The bad
Analise Garner, of Illinois, was arrested last
week after she attacked her mother and the family
dog. Yes, the family dog. According to police,
Garner, 19, had returned home early on Sunday
morning after a weekend of drinking and got
into an argument with her mother. Garner continued
arguing, which led to her scratching her mother
and biting her hand. Garner then attacked the
family dog, biting it three times on the back
before it attacked her. She was charged with
animal cruelty, domestic battery and underage
drinking. The dog was not charged for its retaliation.
Now, who’s the bitch?
The five men accused of plotting the Sept.
11, 2001, attacks on the U.S. were officially
charged on Saturday with crimes of murder and
terrorism. Confessed mastermind Khalid Sheikh
Mohammed and four other defendants deferred
their pleas to a later date. The special military
tribunal charged them with “conspiracy, attacking
civilians, murder and violation of the law of
war, destruction, hijacking, terrorism.” If
found guilty, the men face the death penalty
for their roles in the attacks that killed 2,976
people. The trial could still be years away,
unless Mohammed pleads guilty, making himself
a “martyr” for al Qaeda.
The ugly
Don’t cross this lady. Dallas, Texas, resident
Cristal Richardson, 28, was arrested last week
after she cut off a man’s penis and then stabbed
him to death. A motel security guard called
police after he encountered Richardson walking
down the hallway naked and covered in blood.
Officers arrived on the scene and found the
deceased victim inside Richardson’s room. He
had been repeatedly stabbed, his throat was
cut and his penis and scrotum were also cut
off. Richardson was arrested on murder charges.
This goes beyond motherly love — disgustingly
way beyond. Napa, Calif., resident Mistie Atkinson,
32, was arrested last week after she was discovered
having a sexual relationship with her 16-year-old
biological son. According to police, Atkinson,
who had no custody rights to the boy, began
sending him nude photos of her, and the two
exchanged sexually explicit messages and talked
about running away together. Police arrested
Atkinson after they found her in a hotel room
with the boy. Police later found videos on the
boy’s phone that showed Atkinson performing
oral sex and engaging in sexual intercourse
with him. Atkinson was arrested and charged
with incest, oral copulation of a minor, contact
with a minor for a sexual offense and sending
harmful matter to a minor. CV |
