State/Nation
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Across the Nation Associated Press
Firefighters help Santa after car fire SALT LAKE CITY — A stranded Santa Claus whose car caught fire Christmas morning is sure to put one northern Utah fire department on his nice list next year. Steven Macey, a Santa-for-hire dressed in a red suit and beard, was on his way to deliver presents at a home when his car overheated and caught fire around 6:30 a.m. Friday, according to Lone Peak Fire Battalion Chief Joseph McRae. Macey, 66, was not injured. He has been portraying Santa for decades. After making appearances at Christmas Eve parties until 1 a.m., he headed to an early Christmas morning appointment at a home in Alpine, a city about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City. Macey said his older car began smoking after he climbed a snowy hill. He got out of the car and retrieved his St. Nick coat, belt and bells before moving away and calling 911. A passing driver stopped and let him wait in their vehicle until firefighters arrived. “They were stunned when I came walking down the road — a Santa,� Macey said. “They all wanted pictures.� Fire crews extinguished the blaze, but the car was destroyed. “He’s going to have to go back to using his sleigh,� McRae said.
Twain coin will be boon for museums HANNIBAL, Mo. — Mark Twain once quipped, “The lack of money is the root of all evil.� But starting early next year, some of Twain’s favorite places — his Missouri hometown, the New England community where he spent a big part of his adult life and two universities — all stand to benefit from the U.S. Mint’s gold and silver coins honoring the author and humorist. Up to 100,000 gold coins and 350,000 silver coins bearing Twain’s mug will be available throughout
2016 or until they are sold out, U.S. Mint spokesman Mike White said. Each year, the mint strikes two commemorative coins to benefit nonprofit organizations. As collectables, the coins are worth far more than their $1 face value for silver and $5 for gold. For example, 2015 commemorative silver coins recently were priced at about $52, gold for about $360. Each carries a surcharge — $35 for gold, $10 for silver — to be divided evenly among the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut; University of California, Berkeley, for a program to study and promote the legacy of Twain; Elmira College in Elmira, New York; and the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal, Missouri. It’s a potentially big windfall. “If the entire issue is sold, it could be well in excess of $1 million for each of the sites,â€? said Henry Sweets, executive director of the Hannibal museum, which has an annual budget (including its properties) of about $850,000. Â
Eigrant kids explain their solo travel MISSION, Texas — The seven children had just crossed the river, shoes still caked with mud, when U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped them. The youngest was 6, Jon Smith Figueroa Acosta, he said, and he’d made the 2,000mile journey from Honduras. He did not know to what city or state he was headed, but he had a phone number for his father in the United States. “Estoy solo,� he said, meaning, “I’m alone.� It was unclear how long the group had been traveling together, or who had brought them across the Rio Grande. There were two teenage siblings whose mother had sent for them after their elderly grandmother in Honduras could no longer care for them, and two teenage Nicaraguans. Luis Arias Dubon, 15, said the trip required that he walk through much of Mexico for
Daily Corinthian • 7
Across the State
nearly a month. He left San Pedro Sula, Honduras, when he was threatened by members of the deadly 18th Street gang. “They tried to force me into the gang,â€? he said, adding that he was afraid they’d kill him. The recent spike in the number of unaccompanied minors crossing the border brought U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske to the Rio Grande Valley sector this month. “Historically the numbers would not be at the levels we see right now,â€? Kerlikowske said, while standing in a warehouse where about 20 migrant children rested on large green mattresses, wrapped in reflective plastic blankets. “The concerning part is, are we seeing the new normal?â€? Â
Gun rule changes get mixed reaction TRENTON, N.J. — Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie has received mixed reviews among gun rights advocates in a key primary state for regulatory changes he backed this week in his home state of New Jersey. Two groups said the proposals show his continued progress in promoting gun rights. Another said they didn’t amount to anything. Christie, who has been seeking to counter his image among some voters as weak on gun rights, endorsed the recommendations of a commission he established to examine his state’s strict permitting and purchase regulations. The panel proposed that the attorney general set uniform standards for processing gun applications. It found residents face uneven wait times across the state, sometimes exceeding the statutory limit. Another recommended change would clarify what constitutes “justifiable need� in applications for concealed carry permits. It’s the latest in a line of actions Christie has taken, including pardoning out-of-state residents charged with violating the state’s strict carry laws, that contrast with his earlier positions on firearms.
Associated Press
Woman eyes job as Oxford firefighter OXFORD — A softball coach from North Carolina is the first female hired by the Oxford Fire Department with hopes of becoming a full-time firefighter. The Oxford Eagle reports 27-year-old Brittany McKinney moved to Oxford about four months ago and in October applied to become a firefighter. She has no previous experience and will spend the next six months working at the fire department helping the firefighters, attending training classes and learning the ins and outs of being a firefighter. In April, she will attend the firefighter academy and, if she passes, she will be the city’s first female firefighter. Fire Chief Cary Sallis said McKinney is one of four women who applied but was the only one who passed the Candidate Physical Ability Test. “She impressed everyone during her interview,â€? Sallis said. “Her ability to complete the CPAT and her determination in doing that put her above some of the other candidates. No one had any reservations in selecting her.â€? She was officially hired Nov. 30. McKinney was a Division I softball coach at North Carolina State and UNC-Greensboro. She played softball for UNCChapel Hill. “It’s always been my passion to be a servant to the community,â€? McKinney said. “I was coaching and playing softball professionally because it was what I always knew. But I also knew this was the career path I wanted to follow.â€? Â
“With my dad passing in February, I want to spend more time with my mom,â€? Long said. Long is leaving a department where he started as the first officer hired by the city. Now 61, Long worked his way up through the ranks and was appointed chief in 1989. “It is rare that you ever see a city start a police department from scratch. Most law enforcement agencies have been around hundreds of years. It was very exciting because it was a chance to do everything right the first time. You didn’t have to inherit the mistakes of everybody else,â€? said Long. Long was one of four officers on the force. That was in 1980 and he said Southaven was “wide openâ€? with lounges dotting U.S. 51. With them, he said, came crime. “We worked so hard because remember for so long, all the lounges and gambling places had never had law enforcement supervision,â€? he said. “I think the city fathers and the citizens had a vision that they wanted for their city and it didn’t include most of those things.â€? Â
Charter group will delay 1 of 2 schools JACKSON — Mississippi’s fourth charter school will delay its opening until fall 2017. Marian Schutte, executive director of the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board, said operator RePublic Schools notified the board of the delay earlier this month. RePublic, based in Nashville, Tennessee, will proceed with plans
to open a school serving grades 5-8 in north Jackson. However, it will delay plans to open a second school serving grades K-8 on the same campus. The second school, to be called Joel E. Smilow Collegiate, would be the organization’s first school serving lower elementary grades. RePublic Founding Director Ravi Gupta said the group wants more time to refine its plans for teaching younger children. “Elementary is a new model for us,� Gupta said. “We haven’t done elementary before, and I’m just not sure we have an airtight plant to start an excellent school.� Gupta said RePublic is examining school models to allow for more creativity and collaboration, different than its strictly structured middle schools. The organization opened Reimagine Prep, one of Mississippi’s first two charter schools, in south Jackson in August. That school has only fifth-graders this year but plans to serve grades 5-8. A second 5-8 school, Midtown Public Charter School, also opened in Jackson in August. The delay comes as state leaders could consider easing some rules governing charter schools. Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and other charter school supporters say they want to allow students to cross district lines to attend charter schools in other public school districts. Because many Mississippi districts are small, the prohibition on crossing district lines is one factor making locations in rural areas unattractive to charter schools.
Southaven’s police chief will retire SOUTHAVEN — For more than three decades Southaven citizens have looked to Police Chief Tom Long for protection. But that’s about to change. On Jan. 22, Long is retiring after 26 years as chief of the third-largest city in Mississippi and 38 years in law enforcement. He says it’s time for him to turn his attention to serving someone closer to home.
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