The
good
National wedding photographers Jonny and Michelle
Hoffner of Paper Antler Photography spent last
weekend in Des Moines as part of their year-long
fundraising effort to combat human trafficking.
“The Fifty Nifty Tour” involves the couple photographing
a wedding in all 50 states within 50 weeks and
with a $50,000 fund raising goal. The Hoffners
have pledged to donate $1,000 from every wedding
photo package they sell to She Dances, a non-profit
organization that provides holistic restoration
for girls who have been trafficked for sexual
exploitation. The Fifty Nifty Tour will mobilize
a nationwide collaboration and campaign through
the raising of funds and awareness to help victims
of trafficking. All of the $50,000 raised during
the tour will go entirely to sustaining the
home maintained by She Dances in Tegucigalpa,
Honduras, for an entire year or will allow She
Dances to open an additional safe home in another
place of need.
Throughout the month of May, in conjunction
with National Home Remodeling Month, the Special
Projects and Community Service Committee of
the Home Builders Association of Greater Des
Moines (HBA) Remodelers Council worked to complete
a life-changing home remodeling project for
Janet Kauzlarich, long-time employee of Gilcrest/Jewett
Lumber Company in Des Moines, who was diagnosed
with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). She
needed handicap accessible alterations in order
to continue to living there. The HBA stepped
in, soliciting volunteers and HBA members to
donate their time and services, installing three
wheelchair accessible doors and a vertical chair
lift, which included framing and trim carpentry,
drywall installation and finishing, electrical
updates, HVAC work, painting and ceramic tile
installation — a remodeling project valued at
close to $30,000.
The bad
Note to self: Don’t attend a child’s school
event wasted. Minnesota resident Billy Jack
Melton, 43, was arrested last week after attending
a school choir concert with his girlfriend when
he got on stage to videotape the performance.
School officials discovered he was intoxicated
and demanded he leave. Once outside, police
say Melton tore off his shirt and challenged
the principal to a fight before getting into
a vehicle and driving away. But as officers
pursued, Melton tried to switch seats with his
girlfriend. When officers asked him to get out
of the vehicle, Melton took a swing at one cop
and slammed another up against a vehicle. Melton
allegedly attacked another officer and tried
to grab his gun but was taken into custody.
Melton was arrested and charged with attempting
to disarm an officer, two counts of fourth-degree
assault on an officer, fourth-degree assault,
driving while intoxicated and refusing to submit
to a breath test.
Over the last several weeks, reports about
attempted child abductions have been coming
from central Iowa communities including Altoona,
Pleasant Hill, Adel, Waukee, Redfield and Perry.
Officials have been investigating claims about
suspicious vehicles around children. A boy in
Adel said two people in a minivan asked him
if he wanted a ride or candy; in Waukee, two
girls said an SUV followed them until they went
inside; in Perry three girls, ages 9 to 11,
were approached by an “older white male with
gray spiked hair and a white mustache (and driving)
a tan or light brown four-door car with peeling
paint that may have some damage to the front
end.” It’s not known whether the incidents are
connected, and, so far, no successful kidnapping
attempts have been reported. Keep an extra eye
on the kids this summer.
The ugly
Mitt Romney’s admitting to strapping his dog
on top of a vehicle is one thing. At least it
wasn’t his child. Catalina Clouser, 19, was
arrested last week in Phoenix, Ariz., after
she got stoned, put her baby on top of her vehicle
and drove off. When she got home, she discovered
her mistake and drove back to the park, where
police were waiting. According to officials,
witnesses called police to report a baby strapped
in a car seat sitting in the road. The 1-month-old
baby was unharmed and was taken to a local hospital.
Clouser was arrested and charged with aggravated
DUI and child abuse.
It must be true love. Florida resident Nikoleta
Karoly, 24, was arrested last week after she
attacked her boyfriend for refusing to get hitched.
According to police, Karoly begged her boyfriend
of two months to marry her before her immigration
Visa expired. When the victim refused the proposal,
Karoly began choking, scratching and slapping
him. Upon arrival, Karoly told officials she
scratched her boyfriend during sex, but the
victim told a different story. Karoly was arrested
and charged with domestic violence. CV |
