Quincy Herald Whig

Stories set for the Tuesday, June 12, 2012, edition of The Herald-Whig

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Published: 6/12/2012 | Updated: 6/12/2013

FRONT PAGE

CURRICULUM COMMITTEE: The Quincy School District is fine-tuning plans to launch a new district-run alternative school for students in grades 7-12. The program -- to be called the Adams County Regional Safe School -- will be located in the lower level of the Board of Education headquarters at 1416 Maine. It will replace the Ombudsman program, which provided services at that location for the past two years.

QPD TRAINING: Quincy Police officers entered Baldwin Intermediate School Monday with their guns drawn after receiving reports of multiple shooters on the premise. Officers and shooters exchanged multiple gunshots in the hallways of the school and multiple victims yelled for help, before the gunmen barricaded themselves in the building with hostages. This incident was a training exercise, and the bullets were small paint pellets.

HEALTHBEAT-HOSPITAL NOISE: Anyone who's had a hospital stay knows the beeping monitors, the pagers and phones, the hallway chatter, even the squeaky laundry carts all make for a not-so-restful place to heal. Now a small study suggests heart rates jump and sleep is disrupted many times during the night, a sign that hopsitals need to tackle this problem, researchers said.

THE SCOOP

HART COLUMN: Debbie Catlett is the grandmother of a Dirtbag. And a Dirtbag, herself. She received support of the team at a recent tournament in the most hairy of ways.

PEOPLE-ROBIN ROBERTS: ABC's Roberts has blood, bone marrow disorder, will start chemo, get bone marrow transplant.

WORLD/NATION

FED-CONSUMER FINANCES: Fed report says U.S. median family net worth fell nearly 40 percent from 2007 to 2010.

CAMPAIGN RDP: Democrats are hoping that late campaign appearances by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will help push her hand-picked successor to victory in a special congressional election in Arizona. Republicans are trying to make the southern Arizona House race a referendum on President Barack Obama and his handling of the economy. The Arizona race is just one of the election battles taking place across the nation Tuesday. Voters in Virginia, Maine, Nevada, North Dakota and South Carolina are taking part in primary elections.

VATICAN-SISTERS CRACKDOWN-ANALYSIS: A conflict that has entangled the Vatican, American bishops and the largest umbrella group for U.S. nuns may seem to have erupted suddenly, but it actually has its roots in decades-old disputes over Roman Catholic teaching. On Tuesday, the nuns will meet with Vatican officials to plead their case.

WESTERN WILDFIRES: Massive wildfires in drought-parched Colorado and New Mexico have tested the resources of state and federal crews and underscored the need to replenish an aging U.S. aerial firefighting fleet needed to combat a year-round fire season.

NKOREA-HUMANITARIAN AID: Millions of North Korean children are not getting the food, medicine or health care they need to develop physically or mentally, leaving an entire generation stunted and malnourished, the United Nations said.

PENN STATE-ABUSE: The first witness to take the stand against former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky says he regrets having kept the alleged sexual abuse a secret, and feels guilty that prosecutors say other boys were victimized after him. So-called Victim 4 told jurors that the 68-year-old Sandusky molested him in the locker room showers and in hotels while trying to ensure his silence with gifts and trips.

BRIEFLY: High court declines to take new look at the rights of foreign prisoners held for the past decade at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba; Commerce Secretary John Bryson to take leave of absence after suffering seizure, traffic accidents; Watch your language! Mass. town approves $20 fine for public cursing; loud profanity targeted; Settling a notorious 1980 case that split the nation and led to a mistaken murder conviction, an Australian coroner rules that a dingo took a baby from a campsite in the Outback, just as her mother said from the beginning.

LOCAL

COUNTY FINANCE: The Adams County Finance Committee approved the purchase of a new email server and software and agreed to increase the budget line item for the Regional Office of Education's truancy officers.

CITY COUNCIL: Johnny Bang Bang's, 138 N. Front, has received approval from the Quincy City Council to build a two-story wood and masonry deck on the west side of the building, which is located on city right-of-way.

LITERACY KITS: The United Way of Adams County is recruiting people and organizations to build literacy kits for its annual Day of Action on June 21. The deadline to submit completed kits is Thursday.

GREAT RIVER TIGERS: The Quincy and Northeast Missouri alumni chapter for the University of Missouri will kick off Wednesday with an event in Hannibal, Mo.

AG ORIENTATION: John Wood Community College's agriculture department will hold orientation and registration on Thursday, June 21.

REGION

ILLINOIS-GANG PROSECUTION: A bill that lets local authorities go after street gangs as criminal enterprises is about to become law. Gov. Pat Quinn will sign the Illinois Street Gang RICO Act on Monday. The federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act provides stiff penalties for acts performed as part of a criminal organization like the Mafia, and the Illinois law applies the same idea to street gangs and takes effect immediately.

CHICAGO TEACHERS: The head of Chicago Public Schools says he's disappointed that the Chicago Teachers Union took a strike authorization vote before an independent fact-finder presented a recommendation. CEO Jean-Claude Brizard reacted Monday to news that the teachers union received enough votes to authorize a strike. Union spokeswoman Stephanie Gadlin said the vote that began last Wednesday "well surpassed" the 75 percent approval required by state law.

HEAD START-CUTS: Social service agencies will be deciding soon which poor families in Missouri will be losing their state-funded child care because of a budget cut approved by the legislature during the closing days of the last session. Lawmakers cut state funding for Early Head Start programs nearly in half, from $5.67 million to $2.65 million, as part of the state's budget battle. The agencies that distribute the state's Early Head Start funds will be deciding in the next few days which people will get to keep their spots in the free programs beginning July 1.

MISSOURI-FAN DRUG ARREST: A Missouri men's basketball fan who regularly traveled with the team to NCAA tournament games the past four seasons is among more than a dozen people facing federal drug conspiracy charges for cocaine distribution. Levi McLean Franklin Coolley, a 33-year-old car stereo shop owner, was on the team plane on tournament trips to Boise, Idaho, and Phoenix in 2009; Buffalo, N.Y., in 2010; and to Washington, D.C., in 2011.

NATO SUMMIT-TERROR CHARGES: When three suspects appear in a Chicago court to face terrorism-related charges for allegedly plotting to hurl Molotov cocktails at President Barack Obama's campaign headquarters, it will be state prosecutors, not federal attorneys, handling the case.

PEVELY-FLUORIDE: Times are so hard for the St. Louis-area town of Pevely that the community hopes to save money by no longer topping up its public water with fluoride, which occurs naturally in the area's supply. Dentists and the Jefferson County Health Department are protesting the decision

CHICAGO VIOLENCE: There could be many reasons for a recent spike in violence in Chicago, where some neighborhoods seem a world away from the city's lakeside beaches, lush parks and glittering skyscrapers. The numbers are startling: eight dead and at least 35 wounded in a spasm of gunfire over two days last weekend. A splintering of drug gangs into rival factions, high unemployment in poorer neighborhoods and even an unusually warm winter are among the possible causes police cite for a jump in the number of homicides.

BRIEFLY: A suspicious bag near a downtown St. Louis court building causes a brief scare, but it turned out to be nothing more than an apparently homeless man's duffel bag; The life of a former first lady will serve as inspiration for new curriculum in Illinois schools; Residents are cleaning up in parts of southern Missouri after violent weather swept across the region, cutting power in scattered communities and causing minor damage; A federal judge has refused to grant a retrial to a Chicago businessman convicted of offering support to a terrorist group that claimed responsibility for a 2008 siege in India that left more than 160 people dead; Deciding the fate of Illinois politicians accused of misconduct is starting to become a habit for two state legislators; Gov. Jay Nixon has signed legislation clarifying parts of Missouri's laws on fireworks; Eureka College in western Illinois wants to attract more students.

BUSINESS

STATE BUDGETS: U.S. states expect to collect higher tax revenues in the coming budget year that combined would top pre-recession levels, according to a survey. The increase could reduce pressure on states to cut budgets and lay off workers.

APPLE-CONFERENCE: Apple shows off new MacBook computers and is expected to unveil new iPhone software and more details on future releases at the company's annual conference.

BEYOND DOT-COM: If Google has its way, you won't need "Google.com" to do your searches. You can simply go to ".Google." New York City wants Internet addresses ending in ".nyc," while several companies and groups are looking to create ".doctor," ".music" and ".bank." Some 2,000 proposals have been submitted as part of the largest expansion of the Internet address system since its creation in the 1980s.

BRIEFCASE: Facebook's growth appears to be slowing, particularly in the U.S., according to a report in the Wall Street Journal; Caterpillar has started advertising for replacement workers to fill in for striking workers at its plant in Joliet; Chrysler adds two model years to a Jeep Liberty recall as nearly 347,000 vehicles are now affected; Conservative talk show host Glenn Beck has signed a five-year, $100 million contract to continue his morning radio show with syndicator Premiere Networks Inc.

POLICE

SMALL TOWN SWINDLE: The city of Dixon has filed a lawsuit against its auditors for missing an alleged embezzlement of the small Illinois town's treasury.

AUBURN SHOOTINGS: Tactical team sent into home where authorities believe suspect in Auburn shootings is hiding.

FATAL PILEUP: A Chicago truck driver accused of causing an interstate pileup that killed a good Samaritan during a North Dakota blizzard was sentenced to 10 days in jail.

MCDONALD'S KILLING-TRIAL: A Jefferson City man has gone on trial, accused of killing his wife in December 2010 as she worked her part-time job at a McDonald's restaurant.

BOY KILLED-SENTENCE: A southwestern Illinois man convicted of fatally beating his live-in girlfriend's 6-year-old son on Christmas Eve 2005 has been sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.

CHILD PORN WEBSITE: Federal authorities in New Jersey say they have charged a Ukrainian man in the most significant distribution ring of child pornography ever investigated in the United States.

OVERDOSE DEATH-CHARGES: A southwest Missouri man is charged with second-degree murder after his niece overdosed on heroin.

SHOOTING SETTLEMENT: The parents of a mentally disabled man who was shot to death at a Kansas City gas station will receive a $3 million settlement from three oil companies.

GRENADE FOUND: An investigation continues in southeast Missouri after a live grenade and bomb-making materials were found inside a home.

BABY DEATH-MISTRIAL: Authorities in southwestern Illinois could announce this week whether a man will face a second trial in the 2008 death of a 5-month-old girl.

YOUR TOWN

RIDING CLINICS: Brandon Blackwell urged his horse Lady to cross the bridge, but she had some doubts. Several tries later, Lady crossed the bridge, hooves clanging against the wooden boards amid murmurs of "good girl" and pats of encouragement. The wooden "bridge," a rectangle of boards in the dirt arena, mimicked one of the obstacles for this summer's 4-H fair competitions. The practice session, held Thursday night at Hobby Horse Arena near Mendon, was designed to get both horse and rider ready to compete by honing skills and having fun.

SPORTS

HOME-GROWN TALENT: Hannibal native Zach Nichols used to watch the Hannibal Cavemen play when he was in high school, thinking he'd never have a chance to play for his hometown team because he wasn't good enough. Nichols has proven his worth and is one of the Cavemen's top players this season.

AROUND THE HORN: Sports Writer Blake Toppmeyer has the first installment of his "Around The Horn" feature, which will probe the minds of Hannibal Cavemen and Quincy Gems players.

L.A. DOES IT: The Los Angeles Kings broke through to win their first Stanley Cup title on Tuesday, handing New Jersey a 6-1 loss in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals.