lframerica.com Blog

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20080414-1525-vista-tb.html

SAN DIEGO – A Vista High School student was diagnosed with tuberculosis, prompting county health officials Monday to notify classmates, faculty and staff who may have been exposed.School officials have notified about 120 students, teachers and staff that were potentially exposed to the disease between March 1-28, according to the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency.

“Tuberculosis is in our community,” said Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county’s public health officer. “Fortunately, it is curable. We want the public to be informed about TB, in hopes of keeping the disease from spreading.”

Symptoms of active TB include persistent cough, fever, night sweats and unexplained weight loss, according to the HHSA. Most people who are exposed to tuberculosis do not develop the disease.

There were 280 cases of tuberculosis reported in San Diego County in 2007, according to the HHSA. So far, there have been 46 cases of the disease reported locally this year.

A Patriot was sentenced for ripping up a Mexican flag that was flying alone on U.S. soil.

http://www.krqe.com/Global/story.asp?S=8103472 

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - An Albuquerque jury today convicted a University of New Mexico student who hauled down and ripped apart a Mexican flag flying over the campus last year.

Peter Lynch, 30, had claimed he acted out of patriotism, not racism, but jurors agreed with the prosecution that he committed criminal damage to property, a misdemeanor.

The jury heard testimony on Monday and closing arguments this morning.  The verdict was returned shortly after noon.

El Centro de la Raza, a student group that claimed ownership of owned the flag, called it an act of racism.  Shortly after the incident Lynch told KRQE News 13 he wanted to replace the flag for them.

However Lynch, who did not testify during the trial, has said it was inappropriate for a foreign flag to be flying alone on U. S. soil.  The Mexican flag had been raised with administration permission for a campus event, and it later came out the U. S. flag was missing because of a communication breakdown involving UNM ROTC cadets.

Lynch said he alerted UNM officials that the Mexican flag was alone, but no one did anything.

Today in court his attorney said he was protecting an American symbol.

“I respectfully submit to you if the constitution on the First Amendment permits burning an American flag belonging to another, Peter Lynch’s actions protecting the symbol of the United States is protected activity,” defense attorney John D’Amato said in his closing argument.

But prosecutors said Lynch took it too far.

“There is no reasonable doubt in this case,” assistant district attorney Greer Rose told jurors.  “We have two different admissions by the defendant that he ripped this flag in half and testimony he didn’t have permission to do that.”

Lynch is not happy with the decision plans to appeal.

“We were fairly disappointed with the verdict, and we’ll see where it goes from here,” D’Amato said as he left the courtoom.

Immediately after the verdict Metro Court Judge Clyde DeMersseman sentence Lynch to a six-month deferred sentence plus anger management, 48 hours of community service and supervised probation.  He also must replace the flag for El Centro de la Raza.

News 13 contacted Centro de la Raza for their opinion on the verdict and sentencing, but a representative did not want to comment.

Also today KRQE.com Web Question asked for opinions on Lynch destroying the Mexican flag.  By late afternoon the responses were:

• 86 percent saying it Lynch was right
• 14 percent saying he was wrong

http://www.enewscourier.com/statenews/local_story_093111653.html

WAYCROSS, Ga. (AP) — A group of children ages 8 to 10 apparently were mad at their teacher because she had scolded one of them for standing on a chair, authorities say.

That led the third-graders, as many as nine boys and girls, to plot an attack on the teacher at Center Elementary School in south Georgia.

Police Chief Tony Tanner said the students apparently planned to knock the teacher unconscious with a glass paperweight, bind her with handcuffs and duct tape and then stab her with a broken steak knife.

The scheme involved a division of roles, Tanner said. One child’s job was to cover windows so no one could see outside, and another was supposed to clean up after the attack.

“We’re not sure at this point in the investigation how many of the students actually knew the intent was to hurt the teacher,” Tanner said.

School officials had alerted police Friday after a pupil tipped off a teacher that a girl had taken a weapon to school.

Tanner said the teacher told detectives the children weren’t known as troublemakers.

“You can’t dismiss it,” Tanner said. “But because they are kids, they may have thought this was like a cartoon — we do whatever and then she stands up and she’s OK. That’s a hard call.”

The purported target teaches third-grade students with learning disabilities, including attention deficit disorder, delayed development and hyperactivity, friends and parents said.

Two of the students were arrested on juvenile charges Tuesday and a third arrest was expected. District Attorney Rick Currie said other students told investigators they didn’t take the plot seriously or insisted they had decided not to participate.

“Some of the kids said, ‘We thought they were just kidding,”’ Currie said. “Another child was supposed to bring a toy pistol, and he told a detective he didn’t bring it because he thought he would get in trouble.”

Currie said the children are too young to be charged as adults, and probably too young to be sentenced to a youth detention center.

“We did not hear anybody say they intended to kill her, but could they have accidentally killed her? Absolutely,” Tanner said. “We feel like if they weren’t interrupted, there would have been an attempt. Would they have been successful? We don’t know.”

Currie said he decided to seek juvenile charges against two girls, ages 9 and 10, who brought the knife and paperweight and an 8-year-old boy who brought tape. He said they face charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, and both girls are being charged with taking weapons to school.

Nine children have been given discipline up to and including long-term suspension, said Theresa Martin, spokeswoman for the Ware County school system. She would not be more specific but said none of the children had been back to school since the case came to light.

School system policy says any student who brings “anything reasonably considered to be a weapon” is to be expelled for at least the remainder of the school year.

http://www.desertdispatch.com/news/police_2964___article.html/rumors_school.html

April 1, 2008

Parents take about 500 students out of BHS after fight; Police step-up presence at school.

BARSTOW — Rumors of more violence following a Monday fight at Barstow High School prompted hundreds of parents to take their children out of school Tuesday.

BHS Principal Claire Ellis said that about 500 students left school on Tuesday after parents became concerned for their safety. The Barstow Police Department increased the number of officers on and around the Barstow High School campus as well and despite no fights occurring Tuesday, intends to continue patrols throughout the week.

“When people are worried, it’s difficult to assuage people’s fears,” Ellis said after the school day ended on Tuesday. “We all want our school to be safe.”

The school was never locked down, Ellis said, and parents were free to pick up their children if they wanted to throughout the day. Besides fewer students and smaller classes, the day proceeded without incident, she said.

On Monday, several students were involved in a fight on campus that appears to have started at a party over the weekend, Ellis said. Rumors then started that there would be further violence at school, possibly during a lunch period, on Tuesday. Ellis said that because of the rumors, parents were notified of the situation at the school Tuesday morning through the district’s automated phone system. Hundreds of parents mobbed BHS after receiving the calls and stood in lines at the school’s attendance office.

Parked in a long line of cars outside the school, Alfred Duran said he didn’t know what to expect as he waited for his son, a BHS freshman.

“I’m pulling my son out,” he said. “Who knows what could happen? I ain’t going to take any chances.”

BHS senior Amanda Belmont, 17, stood on the steps waiting for her grandparents to pick her up early. She was going to go to her lunch period but saw only three or four students remaining in each class and became scared that something might happen.

“I leaving. I’m afraid. It might be just a rumor going around,” she said, “but everyone’s taking it seriously.”

Although many students were leaving, the school’s first and second period lunches appeared to go smoothly.

“It’s probably just an April Fool’s Day joke,” said Paige Davidson, a 17-year-old senior. She said she felt safe at the school.

Sgt. Andy Espinoza said the reaction of parents prompted the police department to place three officers on the campus and conduct roving patrols around the campus. He said students used cell phones to text and call parents, notifying of the rumors and police presence. To ensure safety, the police will continue to patrol the school grounds in the coming days, Espinoza said.

The students involved in Monday’s fight were put up for expulsion and not on campus on Tuesday, according to Ellis. Espinoza said the police department has done follow-up checks on the students and is continuing to investigate the matter. Anyone with information can call the police station at 255-2211. To remain anonymous, call WeTip at 1-800-78-CRIME or leave information on the WeTip Web site at www.wetip.com.

http://www.allamericanblogger.com

Remember, your children should be in school, taught by people qualified to provide the education your son or daughter deserves, even when it includes a beatdown from their classmates.

A Delta High School teacher who allegedly gave his students permission to beat a classmate who was late for class has been charged with child abuse.

Brian Havel, 22, was teaching English at the school March 14 when the boy arrived after class started.

“In his class, the disciplinary process was X amount of sit-ups or push-ups in a certain amount of time. He either wouldn’t or couldn’t complete them,” Delta interim Police Chief Roger Christian said of the punished student.

The boy’s classmates volunteered to administer an alternate punishment.

“The class made a suggestion that if he couldn’t finish, we ought to be able to punch him, and (Havel) agreed. So 10 to 15 students got to hit him,” Christian said.

Havel has resigned and is no longer at the school, said Delta principal Delaine Hudson. Havel couldn’t be reached for comment.

This clown is now facing child abuse charges. But at least he was qualified to teach, right?

http://www.hanfordsentinel.com/articles/2008/03/28/news/doc47ed3e24714db236648176.txt

By Shannon Milliken
smilliken@HanfordSentinel.com

“Some kids slip and choose the gang,” Brumit said. “Because they know the program won’t be around after they graduate.”

But Lopez said she’s not about to slip. Trustee Lois Hubanks asked her if she had the willpower to continue to stay away after she graduates, and Lopez said she did.

Though she said that many of her friends and family members are in a gang, she worked hard — raising her GPA from a .76 to 2.0 — to get in the program. She added that a visit from a Corcoran prisoner to talk to GRIP students about making good decisions reiterated to her that gang involvement wasn’t “worth it.”

“This is a really good program,” Lopez said. “It improves you a lot.”

Brumit mentioned after the board meeting that about 10 GRIP students will graduate in June, including one with near a 4.0 GPA. He said some had gone from a 0 GPA and improved, and they are all students that are affiliated with gangs.

“They don’t change the way they dress or the way they look,” Brumit said. “They just change their behavior.”

Students in the program value its ability to give them a sense of self worth, said Trustee Noah Lawson.

And they even recommend their friends for it who they feel are “slipping” into the gangs. But only certain types of students can handle it, because they have to be willing to change, Brumit said.

“They just want to belong,” Brumit said. “Like we all just do want to belong to something.”

The reporter can be reached at 583-2424.

Washington Times
By Larry O’Dell

RICHMOND (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union is disputing the Virginia attorney general’s interpretation of the state law governing in-state tuition for children of illegal immigrants.

The ACLU of Virginia says it will offer legal representation to students it thinks have been improperly denied in-state tuition rates based on the legal status of their parents.

“The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that individuals may not be discriminated against on the basis of who their parents are,” Rebecca Glenberg, state ACLU legal director, said in a letter Tuesday.

She said disparate treatment of children of illegal immigrants and their peers would violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.

The dispute stems from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia’s request for advice on whether students born and reared in Virginia were entitled to in-state tuition, though their parents are illegal immigrants.

Ronald C. Forehand, senior assistant attorney general, wrote March 6 that children ordinarily are classified as in-state only if their parents are legal Virginia residents. However, he said such students can still get in-state tuition by proving they have established legal residence in Virginia despite their parents’ status.

He said the presumption that students share their parents’ domicile is difficult, but not impossible, to overcome.

“The facts you present — a United States citizen who was born in and who has always lived in Virginia — is, however, one in which the student, by offering clear and convincing evidence, might well be able to overcome the presumption,” Mr. Forehand said.

CALIFORNIA - AB 1758 introduced by Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine) would repeal the current law which allows in-state tuition for illegal aliens. In turn, it would also provide members of the California National Guard free tuition at state colleges and universities.

Diamondbackonline

Chanting “let immigrant children earn the right to learn,” nearly 50 students and advocates rallied on McKeldin Mall yesterday in a show of support for two state bills that would allow children of illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition.

The bills, which have raised controversy among lawmakers and system officials alike, would add Maryland to a list of 10 other states that allow undocumented youth who have spent two years in the state school system to pay in-state tuition - more than $7,000 less per semester than out-of-state tuition. Despite the controversy, university officials have remained mum on the bills.

Ann Wylie, university President Dan Mote’s chief of staff, said that the university would not take a stance because “it’s a Board of Regents decision. We have no authority to make judgments of who gets in-state and who gets out-of-state tuition.”

If students feel strongly enough about the issue, they can raise it in the University Senate, she said. If the senate votes on the issue, Mote will take it seriously, she said.

Students of the university and surrounding colleges, along with local middle and high school students, arrived by way of crowded vans provided by Casa De Maryland, a non-profit organization that provides services to illegal immigrants and helped organize the protest.

Wielding signs that read “education not deportation,” “justicia” and “your kids deserve an education,” the protesters shouted personal testimonies and political pleas for what they see as a just law.

“It is unbelievable that in a country that is a voice of democracy, we hear every day in the voice of the president that [immigrants should not be accepted],” said a priest in his opening remarks in Spanish. “Before we are Christian, we have to be human.”

Prince George’s District 2 Councilman Will Campos and University System of Maryland Chancellor Brit Kirwan have both testified in Annapolis in favor of the bills. Opponents of the legislation have introduced their own bill, which would explicitly prohibit the children of illegal immigrants from receiving in-state tuition - a measure Kirwan said is redundant because federal law already prohibits this.

In a February interview, Sen. Andrew Harris, the opposition bill’s sponsor, said he views in-state tuition as a scholarship - a privilege he does not want to award to undocumented youth.

Student Regent Richard Scott and Student Government Association President Andrew Friedson also support the bills.

“According to the bill, they will have resided in the state for a significant period of time and will have paid taxes in the state,” said Friedson. “The reason why people get in-state tuition is because you’ve paid taxes to support the state. The same premise would hold true - it seems to me to make sense.”

But for high school students who just want an affordable education, the politics of the situation seem irrelevant.

“We already know what we want to be; I want to be a graphic designer,” said Edda, a child of an illegal immigrant who is undocumented herself. “I’m here to help people … who want to come to college.”

Edda, whose last name is not disclosed because she is a minor, said she arrived in the U.S. three years ago. The Montgomery County high school freshman spent five years in Guatemala without her parents before they could afford to fly her and her siblings to Maryland.

“My mom was a big example to me because she would study and go to college,” said Edda, who has a B average in school. “It’s an example for me to keep trying and go to college.”

Campos, who was an immigrant himself, echoed Edda’s views with a touch more sophistication.

“Stay the course. Keep fighting,” he told protesters. “This law will eventually pass, if not this year, then the next.”

The University of Virginia has woke up and finally started cracking down on illegal aliens and it begins with denial of in-state tuition to illegals, even to anchor-babies who’s parents are illegally in this country.  This really is simple logic and shocking that all Universities in the United States can’t grasp the concept.  If you are in the country illegally then you can’t be a legal resident of any state within the United States.  As you can’t be a legal resident of any state, you are not entitled to the government services that state provides to it’s citizens.

Many American citizens are paying through their teeth for out of state costs to attend Colleges nationwide, and they are being rapidly removed from the education system by those who are in the country illegally yet going to colleges at half price or less.

Why is Virginia looking at parents citizenship? Because students are considered dependent upon their parents until they are 24 years of age.

While no one is saying they can not attend college in the United States. Many illegals are still finding issues with being asked to pay out of state tuition.  They claim that they can’t afford it, yet they have no issue with American’s forking up the extra cash and struggling to make ends meet if they live out of state to get an education.

LINK