Teacher's Aide Accused of Raping Two Boys

(Claiborne County, Kentucky) A 25-year-old teacher's aide at the Claiborne County Alternative School, Christy Michelle McCartt, has been accused of engaging in sex with two male students, 16 and 17 years old.

The Claiborne County Sheriff's Office has charged 25-year-old Christy Michelle McCartt with two counts of statutory rape by an authority figure and two counts of contributing to the unruliness of a minor.

McCartt worked at an alternative school in Claiborne County. She is alleged to have taken two boys from the school to Middlesboro, Kentucky. Investigators say she had sex with one of those two boys on that trip.

She is charged with two counts of contributing to the unruliness of a minor for each of the boys, and one count of statutory rape by an authority figure.

Later, investigators say McCartt had sex with a third boy in a car at the end of a dirt road in a secluded part of Claiborne County. That brought about the second count of statutory rape by an authority figure.

The original complaint was filed on November 6th and, subsequently, McCartt resigned from the school. She was booked and released on $25,000 bond.

McCartt has a court appearance scheduled for December 27th.

Turnpike Officials Drop Lawsuit Against Dead People

(New Brunswick, New Jersey) This is what happens when your government is a mindless bureaucracy.

Four people died and four were injured when a truck loaded with bricks rear-ended a car last year, triggering a chain reaction crash in Teaneck.

Turnpike officials were seeking $10,000 for damage to the roadway, but they had the lawsuit dismissed, saying they don't target people involved in fatal accidents.

I wonder why the turnpike officials would sue the people who were victims in the accident. They didn't cause the fatal mishap. Why should they be liable?

Tip: slwlion

Oh, Doctor! Counsel Me Harder!

(Shelby, North Carolina) A local psychiatrist, Dr. Kerry L. Balentine, was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a patient after the patient's wife died. As a result, Balentine signed a consent order which indefinitely suspends her medical license.

Balentine began grief counseling the patient, the consent order said. She had previously treated him for about a year.

According to documents from the North Carolina Medical Board, Balentine began the relationship after accepting an invitation for coffee.

The order said Balentine stopped seeing the patient in her office in October 2006, "implying that he was discharged from her care but not clearly terminating their physician-patient relationship."

It also stated that Balentine provided prescriptions for medications, including controlled substances to the patient, after the relationship began and did not chart them.

Granted, I'm no medical professional but it sure seems that sex and drugs would be very successful at mitigating grief -- or pretty much whatever ails you.

It's not exactly clear what an "indefinite suspension" entails, other than a note in her record. If she stays out of trouble, her license should be reinstated.

Huckabee's Questionable Baggage

As former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee tries to convince the electorate that he is the most qualified candidate to lead the United States, news emerges that he may have abused his authority as governor by thwarting an investigation of his son. It's unknown where "thwarting investigation of a possible crime" fits under the category of leadership skills.

As a youth in 1998, former Gov. Huckabee's son, David, 27, was accused of hanging a stray dog and subsequently fired as a Boy Scout camp counselor. An animal rights group complained to a local prosecutor who then asked the Arkansas State Police to conduct an investigation to determine if animal cruelty laws were violated. However, nothing happened.

The director of the state police, John Bailey, said he was pressured by Huckabee's chief of staff and personal lawyer to deny the prosecutor's request.

Bailey, a career officer who had been appointed chief by Huckabee's Democratic predecessor, said he viewed the lawyer's intervention as improper and terminated the conversation.

Seven months later, he was called into Huckabee's office and fired. "I've lost confidence in your ability to do your job," Bailey says Huckabee told him. One reason Huckabee cited was "I couldn't get you to help me with my son when I had that problem," according to Bailey.

"Without question, [Huckabee] was making a conscious attempt to keep the state police from investigating his son," says I. C. Smith, the former FBI chief in Little Rock, who worked closely with Bailey and called him a "courageous" and "very solid" professional.

So, the Arkansas State Police director reportedly had the audacity to think that everyone is treated equally under the law and Gov. Huckabee made it clear that some people are more equal, like the governor's son.

On the other hand, Huckabee maintains that Bailey is a bitter liar. He said, he said, take your pick.

Frankly, I lean towards Bailey's account. In fact, the whole episode is consistent with what America has seen as "Arkansas bubba politics" and I'd suggest that Mike Huckabee is not all that dissimilar at the core from a predecessor bubba politico, Bill Clinton. Both, by the way, are from Hope, Arkansas.

British Home Office Blunders

(London) The Home Office has announced that an illegal immigrant from Nigeria has been working as a guard at its London headquarters.

Since the Home Office is responsible for immigration policies, along with crime, policing, terrorism and national security, the revelation that an illegal immigrant passed security screening is a nuclear embarrassment.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is reportedly "beyond incandescent."

A Home Office spokesman confirmed the individual had been granted a licence by the Security Industry Authority (SIA), and was now subject to deportation proceedings.

The illegal worker was identified and arrested the day after Ms Smith told the Commons that more than 11,000 could have been cleared by the SIA to take on sensitive security jobs since 2004.

The authority had been failing to check whether applicants had the right to work in the UK before handing out licences.

So the day after Home Secretary Smith declares that the SIA has licensed thousands of illegals, one is identified. How fortuitous. One has to wonder about the timing of the two announcements.

Nevertheless, the issue of inadequate screening of immigrants is merely an addition to a growing list of complaints regarding the operation of the Home Office.

In one, Ms. Smith has been accused of "breathtaking arrogance and deceit" after a leaked memo disclosed a secret scheme to sabotage police pay demands. Police are understandably angry and have called for Ms. Smith to resign. In response, Ms. Smith laughed and said, "I'm still here."

However, there's also disturbing news that the government, through the Home Office, is involved in a "stealth amnesty" campaign for illegal immigrants. According to one official:

"Since these are people who had not been granted the right to remain in the UK, this combination of low removal rates and lengthy delays, means this is effectively a stealth amnesty. This is a policy by incompetence rather than decision."

The negligible deportation rate can be blamed on Jacqui Smith, for now. However, the problem started long before she took office last June.

Citing the words of an unknown pundit, the British Home Office has discovered that "it's hard to remember to drain the swamp when you're up to your ass in alligators." Even so, it's unfair to be too critical of the British since I'm convinced that illegals passing through security screening is also a significant problem in the U.S.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.

Miss Belgium Booed

(Brussels, Belgium) In a country with a majority Dutch population, the new Miss Belgium embarrassingly cannot speak Dutch.

French, Czech and English-speaking Alizee Poulicek, 20, is unintentionally contributing to a political battle that is organized along linguistic lines.

The Dutch-speaking Flemings in the northern part of Belgium comprise about 60 percent of the population and they regularly demand that all Belgians speak Dutch. The French-speaking south doesn't necessarily agree.

As a result, when Alizee Poulicek was introduced on stage to the audience in Antwerp, she was booed. I'm personally perplexed because Poulicek wasn't selected as Miss Belgium for what comes out of her mouth.

Think about it. When Miss Poulicek voices her plan for saving the Earth, most people tune out anyway.

Teacher Arrested for Dealing Drugs

(West Memphis, Arkansas) A 48-year-old substitute teacher and school bus driver for Desoto County Schools, Melinda Haas, has been arrested for selling drugs.

Haas allegedly "sold and delivered a bottle of liquid Morphine and 50 Xanax pills to an undercover officer of the West Memphis Police Department."

One would imagine that a bottle of liquid morphine and 50 Xanax would be rather difficult to obtain yet they were in the possession of a bus driver-teacher. Curious, I'd say.

Super Bowl Ads Nearly Gone

Don't get shut out. Hurry if you want to display your message during Super Bowl XLII. Nearly all of 63 30-second slots have been sold. By the way, they cost a record $2.7 million each.

Skull-Smashing Mom Gets Prison

(Erie, Pennsylvania) In October 2007, a 28-year-old mother-of-five, Chytoria Graham, was convicted by an Erie County Common Pleas Court jury of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, simple assault and child endangerment for breaking her 4-month-old son's skull.

Graham swung her baby, Jarron, like a baseball bat during a fight she had with her boyfriend in October 2006. The infant suffered brain bleeding and bruising and, fortunately, recovered.

This week, Graham was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison. Attorney James Pitonyak stated that Graham intends to appeal her conviction.

Tip: SuidaeEmpathy

Jessica Bowring

Jessica Bowring sentenced to prison. See update here.

Ohio Civil Rights Chief Quits, Muslim May Step In

(Columbus, Ohio) After less than six months in the job, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) chairman, Barbara Sykes, has abruptly quit. Sykes' resignation was submitted immediately prior to her requested appearance at a rare confirmation hearing before an Ohio Senate committee, where she appeared to face certain rejection.

Appointed by Gov. Ted Strickland in August, Sykes lost favor by vigorously shepherding a maternity leave rule which was opposed by Ohio's business leaders who asked that the issue be given more time. Sykes declined.

Gov. Strickland also asked Sykes to slow down action on the proposed maternity leave rule. Sykes rejected the governor's request. As a consequence, Gov. Strickland, through spokesman Keith Dailey, said he wouldn't support Sykes' confirmation for Ohio Civil Rights Commission chairman.

Hopefully, readers will notice the contradiction. In August, Strickland picks Sykes to run the OCRC and, in December, Strickland says he won't support his choice. He was for her before he was against her.

One might suggest that Gov. Strickland needs to reassess his vetting process for political appointees. Loyalty, gratitude and the ability to measure political winds, attributes that Sykes seemingly lacks, might be missing on Strickland's prospective appointee checklist.

Regarding a replacement for Sykes, interesting news and commentary out of Columbus appears to indicate that a front-runner for the OCRC job is Ahmad Al-Akhras, a former Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) officeholder and Islamic leader. Although Al-Akhras has a reputation for persistent Islamic activism, some might say extremism, he nonetheless has elbow-cozy relationships with both Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman and Gov. Strickland.

Coupling the above with insider news that Al-Akhras has resigned from his high-paying position with the Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission and the speculation regarding a future political appointment with the OCRC is understandable. Be cautioned that speculation is still at the fortified rumor stage.

I'll update as more nuggets are panned from the situation.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.

No Lead Paint Payday for Toledo

(Toledo, Ohio) Another public nuisance lawsuit has been denied.

The plans of Toledo officials to recoup some of the cost of lead-paint abatement and cleanup were stymied when a Lucas County Common Pleas Court judge dismissed their lawsuit against manufacturers of the paint.

Judge Ruth Ann Franks this week dismissed a lawsuit filed by the city in September, 2006, against companies that once made, or helped make, lead-based paint.

Eight defendants were named in the lawsuit, including Sherwin-Williams Co., based in Cleveland.

In her opinion, which was released Wednesday, Judge Franks agreed with the companies' contention that the city's claim of public nuisance "is actually a claim under Ohio's Product Liability Act."

Based on that decision, Judge Franks said that the claims are barred by the statutes of limitations.

There's no word on whether the city will appeal.

Homeless Update - Key West

(Key West, Florida) With a subtropical climate and an accommodating attitude toward vagrants, Key West has been a popular and enduring destination for the homeless.

Back in 2004, a review found that the local authorities had developed plans for a safe zone, a homeless tent city to include "Quonset hut or chickee structures, bathrooms, showers and a laundry facility." The authorities sought to keep the homeless from camping on the beaches. It's not known how those plans worked out but it is known that homelessness continues to be a challenge for Key West's city officials.

Additionally, in the years since 2004 it has become clear that the vagrant population of Key West and Monroe County is largely an afterthought during hurricane evacuations. In fairness to emergency planners, however, it's virtually impossible to provide for evacuation of an unknown number of people who don't have an address.

From a recent report, the problem of homelessness in Key West is seen to be compounded by the fact that there exists virtually no affordable housing for anybody but the very well off.

The statewide construction downswing doesn't seem to have really hit Key West. New waterfront condos are still hot sellers at a $2 million clip. Affordable middle-class housing is still badly needed, though.

One novel proposal is to build 25 inexpensive condos right on school property to put the brakes on teacher turnover. Already among Florida's highest-paid teachers, they still exit this tropical paradise at a rate of more than 100 a year.

Consequently, even people with stable, professional jobs cannot afford housing in Key West.

In summary, the vagrancy problem in Key West continues, apparently unabated. And, as a recent visitor observed, the homeless element is one of the very first things noticed upon arriving on the island.

On a lighter note, the homeless have become such an integral part of Key West life that a recent mayoral candidate suggested dressing up vagrants as pirates to emphasize the carnival atmosphere on the island and its historic connection to throat-slashing thieves from centuries ago. Frankly, it's probably offensive, arguably with a nugget of truth, to correlate the homeless with thieves.

Oregon Teacher's Assistant Accused of Teen Sex Abuse

(St. Helens, Oregon) A 39-year-old teacher's assistant at St. Helens High School, Jan Elizabeth Gleaves, was arrested this week for allegedly liquoring up and having sex with schoolboys.

Gleaves faces charges of giving liquor to a minor, third-degree sexual abuse, contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor and endangering the welfare of a minor.

According to District Attorney Stephen Atchison, formal charges may be filed this coming week, however, more investigation is necessary.

Police allege that Gleaves committed sexual crimes against boys and served them alcohol in her apartment in Rainier. Friday morning, police said they are still gathering evidence and investigating the case.

Atchinson said it is unclear how many boys were involved but those identified thus far all are in their teens.

Atchison said he has heard that the investigation began when a Rainier woman called police Wednesday, disturbed about posts she found on her son's MySpace page, but Atchison hasn't seen the evidence.

Gleaves was booked into custody at the Columbia County Jail with bail set at $36,250 (another source says $3,625).

Gleaves' 12-year-old son was taken into protective custody.


[Update 04/11/08]

This week in Columbia County Court, Jan Gleaves pleaded not guilty to four counts of third-degree sexual abuse, seven counts of contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor, four counts of unlawful delivery of marijuana to a minor, 14 counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor and one count of attempted tampering with a witness.

At 4:30 p.m. Friday, the court will consider a motion to change her conditions of release. She’s now forbidden to have contact with minors, except her son, or go places where minors congregate.

Gleaves, who was released from jail March 31, filed the motion because “she wants to go to Little League baseball games,” said deputy District Attorney John Berg.

Gleaves has a court appearance scheduled for June 18.

South Dakota Woman Guilty of Sex with Boy

(Rapid City, South Dakota) A 47-year-old local woman, Michelle Alexander, pleaded guilty on Thursday to having sexual contact with a 15-year-old boy.

Alexander was originally charged with fourth-degree rape in addition to the sexual contact charge for mixing it up with the boy between January and August 2006.

Per a plea agreement with the prosecution, the rape charge was dropped in exchange for Alexander's guilty plea. Notably, the deal was struck on the morning of the day that Alexander was to be tried.

The maximum penalty for engaging in sexual contact with a 15-year-old is 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine.

Sentencing by Seventh Circuit Judge A.P. "Pete" Fuller is tentatively scheduled for January 7th, contingent upon the completion of a sex-offender evaluation.



[Update 04/12/08]

(Rapid City, South Dakota) Yesterday, Michelle Alexander was sentenced.

Seventh Circuit Judge Pete “A.P” Fuller sentenced 47-year-old Michelle Alexander to a sentence of 180 days in jail, with 90 days suspended. She will receive credit for two days already served.

Alexander was also sentenced to 15 years in the state penitentiary, which will also be suspended as long as Alexander meets the requirements of her probation.

She will be on probation for 10 years.

Alexander must also register as a sex offender.

So, from a potential of 15 years in the big house to 90 days in the county jail, Alexander got a helluva deal.

Student Suspended for Warning of Sex Offenders in School

(Gig Harbor, Washington) Last week, a student at Gig Harbor High School, Raydon Gilmore, was suspended for posting warning fliers about two convicted juvenile sex offenders who attend his school.

Three other students, names are withheld, were also suspended for the same infraction. The sex offender students are listed as a Level 1 and a Level 2, respectively considered to be low-risk and moderate-risk of re-offending.

According to Gig Harbor Principal Greg Schellenberg, Gilmore and three other students were suspended for three days for harassment and misuse of school equipment.

The students, he said, used a school printer to produce "dozens" of fliers with the sex offenders' pictures, home addresses and other personal information.

Schellenberg said the students taped the fliers on vending machines and a pingpong table and dropped them outside bathrooms. The school's security cameras caught some of them in the act.

The principal said the students should have brought their concerns to a teacher or an administrator. They also violated a rule that state officials must approve any materials that students post on campus walls.

Apparently, legislative guidance on notifications regarding sex offenders in school is minimal. The sheriff notifies the principal and the principal notifies the sex offender's teachers. That's it. Neither students nor parents are notified. In fact, all cognizant parties are cautioned to be low key regarding the sex offender's presence among other students.

Principal Schellenberg says that the school administrators "at least periodically, try to point parents where to find information."

If students want to talk about a sex offender who attends school, that's fine, he said. Distributing offenders' information and opening their convictions to a "public forum" at school isn't.

"We want everybody to feel safe and comfortable," Schellenberg said. "It's hard to imagine anyone feeling that way with fliers being posted about them."

Therefore, the school makes "everyone" feel safe and comfortable by not disclosing when a sex offender is present. Simply put, they are kept in the dark. Like it or not, that's the system. Unfortunately.

All responsibility resides with the principal to make sure adequate measures are implemented to confidentially monitor the sex offender students and hopefully preclude any future criminal behavior. As a reminder, the sex offender information is available but one has to specifically be looking for it.

All in all, the issue remains contentious as Gilmore and his mother, Meloney Garthe, continue to complain about the suspensions. Gilmore maintains that he was concerned about vulnerable girls in the student body and he would do the same thing again. His mother says that she is proud of her son for doing a public service.

My take? Convicted sex offenders should not be allowed near public high schools, much less inside.

Companion post at Education Watch International.

Woman Accused of Having 10 Husbands

(Palm Beach County, Florida) A 26-year-old woman, Eunice Lopez, has been arrested and charged with nine counts of bigamy for allegedly marrying 10 men in the past five years while divorcing none of them.

According to Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office spokesperson Terry Chavez, "One is always legitimate."

Lopez arrived in South Florida from Cuba in 2002 and promptly began marrying men.

She was arrested in Palm Beach County early Wednesday morning.

She was drinking beers with another woman in an open area just after midnight when a Palm Beach County deputy approached the pair to ticket them, authorities said.

When he saw Lopez's ID, the deputy realized she was wanted and arrested her.

The names of the men Lopez married are as follows:

June 22, 2002 -- Mauricio Carlos Matos
Aug. 11, 2003 -- Jose L. Ramos
March 5, 2005 -- Luis Antonio Cordeiro
Nov. 5, 2005 -- Humberto Navarro Suarez
Nov. 17, 2005 -- Leandro Abelha
Jan. 6, 2006 -- Euclides Yepes
May 11, 2006 -- Martin Errazola Alvarez
June 2, 2006 -- Antonio Serrano
July 24, 2006 -- Diego M. Hernandez-Figueroa
Nov. 21, 2006 -- Fernando Jose Urroz Leguisamo

Lopez was booked into custody with bond set at $18,000.

Interestingly, the authorities don't know if there are other husbands in other locations. Also unknown is the reason she married the men.

Absinthe Can Now Be Sold in the U.S.

(New York) Yes, the evil libation absinthe is no longer illegal in the United States.

From AdAge.com:

Absinthe, the mysterious and long-banned wormwood-based liquor once famed in Europe for its ability to produce hallucinations, is going back on the market in the U.S. It was previously banned for 92 years.

It's reported that current versions of absinthe don't produce hallucinations.

Homelessness Sympathy Project - Alabama

(Bay Minette, Alabama) To raise awareness for the homeless, members of the Baldwin County High School National Honor Society (NHS) will sleep outdoors tonight in cardboard boxes on the school's front lawn. This is the fourth year for the awareness project which presumably gives the students a realistic appreciation for the homeless experience.

"There are people that are homeless, even here in our area," said science teacher Judy Bridges, who co-sponsors the NHS with English teacher Janie Baker.

In addition to the cardboard slumber party, the 14 NHS members will eat soup. According to Bridges, if the weather gets too cold, the students will sleep on the school library floor.

To follow the obvious effort to inculcate the future generation with liberal do-gooderism, it's recommended that the next project be a night on the vomit-covered floor of the county drunk tank to raise awareness for the plight of alcoholics. The NHS members might also spend a night with a group of junkies in a crack house to raise awareness for the plight of drug addicts.

It might also be possible for the students to spend a noisy night in a facility for the criminally insane to raise awareness for the plight of those with mental illness. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the plight of illegal aliens. The students could travel to Mexico and hire a coyote to sneak them into the United States across the Sonoran Desert. Now, that would be a realistic experience to appreciate.

Nigeria Ready for U.S. Military

(Washington, D.C.) Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua met with President Bush yesterday and stated that his country is will partner with the U.S. military Africa Command (AFRICOM) for security on the continent.

The statement is a reversal of his country's position with regard to AFRICOM. Previously, the official position was that Nigeria would not support the presence of U.S. troops on African soil.

But at a press briefing at the Oval Office, with President George W. Bush in attendance, Yar'Adua made known his new position.

"We have discussed on security issues, security within Nigeria, the Niger Delta, the Gulf of Guinea and peace and security on the African continent. We shall partner AFRICOM to assist not only Nigeria but also the African continent to actualise its peace and security initiatives. It is an initiative to have standby forces in each of the regional economic groupings in Africa," said the President.

The President did not give details of the discussion on AFRICOM, such as whether Nigeria will be used as the Command's base, an issue that has emerged contentious in recent times.

A U.S. military base in West Africa is interesting to ponder.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.