January 6, 2022
the sun journal
3
NEWS
at a GLANCE news & events in brief Betty White Dies at 99
Icon Betty White died Dec. 31, 2021, to punctuate a year of loss. White, best known for her work on The Golden Girls in the 80s and The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 70s, captured the hearts of the younger generation in The Proposal and Hot in Cleveland. She died just two weeks before her 100th birthday.
MCPS to continue face mask requirements
As we are all acutely aware, the MCPS School Board announced the continuation of the face mask requirements for all students and staff due to the rise in COVID cases in Missoula County as measured by the incident rate on the MCCHD website. As of Dec. 31, when the decision was announced, the country incident rate was 44 which is classified as high community transmission.
Omicron research looks promising for future According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Omicron symptoms include fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, a new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting and diarrhea. However, research suggests people who contract the Omicron variant of the coronavirus are about half as likely to need hospital care as those infected with the Delta variant, and one-third as likely to need emergency care, according to a report issued last week by British health officials. Although we are still in the beginning stages of this new variant, it appears that although it is highly transmissable even if fully vaccinated, symptoms seem to be more in line with the common cold and less deadly. Some
researchers are optistically hopeful a true herd immunity may eventually take effect as the variant appears to be resistant to current vaccines. All research, however, is still preliminary and needs to be vetted and peer reviewed.
Local metal artist Jesse Blumenthal visited the welding classes recently to demonstrate how to make art out of metal. In his presentation, he helped the students create a leaf from laser cut steel. Teacher Scot Traeder said, “Jesse was a commercial blacksmith in Colorado for 10 years. His is first and foremost an artist, and encourages anyone who makes art to call themselves an artist.” Blumenthal is part of the non-profit group Industrial Arts Montana and offers free metal working lessons.
AA Superintendents file complaint against State super Arntzen State Superintendent Elsie Arntzen is currently under a lot of scrutiny by several AA superintendents, as they have written a scathing letter of no confidence regarding the ability of the Office of Public Instruction leader to fulfill her duties with the best interest of the state in mind. The letter was submitted in December to Arntzen, the head of OPI, by all eight of Montana’s AA public school districts. Missoula County Public Schools’ Superintendent Rob Watson’s signature was included in the letter.
Colorado Fires destroy close to 600 homes At least two people are still missing, presumed dead, and almost 1,000 homes and other structures have been destroyed after a fastmoving wildfire swept through suburban areas northwest of Denver, Colorado officials said Sunday. The blazes, which sparked Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021 destroyed some 991 structures and damaged 127 others in the towns of Louisville and Superior, as well as unincorporated Boulder County. The fires burned more than 6,000 acres, whipped by winds gusts of over 105 mph that propelled them through abnormally dry conditions in the area.
NFL legend John Madden dead at 85 The Hall of Fame coachturned-broadcaster John Madden died unexpect-
PHOTO BY DARCY COHEN
edly Tuesday, Dec. 28, the NFL said. The NFL did not detail a cause of death. He was 85. Madden’s exuberant calls combined with simple explanations provided a weekly soundtrack to NFL games for three decades. Madden served as the coach of the Oakland Raiders for a decade, making it to seven AFC title games and winning the SuperBowl in 1976. During his tenure, he compiled a 103-32-7 regular-season record, and his .759 winning percentage is the best among NFL coaches with more than 100 games.
Local author’s work heads to Sundance
The short story “Winter Light” by local author James Lee Burke, who currently resides in Lolo, will be featured at the Sundance Film Festival next month. The film, “God’s Country,” will star Thandiwe Newton and follows a college professor who enters into a conflict with two hunters who trespass on his property. According to the festival website, the expanded story “explores issues of sexism and racism a Black academic faces in the Mountain West.”
Unabomber moved to prison medical facility The man known as the “Unabomber” has been
transferred to a federal prison medical facility in North Carolina after spending the past two decades in a federal Supermax prison in Colorado for a series of bombings targeting scientists. Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, 79, was moved to the U.S. Bureau of Prison’s FMC Butner medical center in eastern North Carolina on Dec. 14, according to bureau spokesperson Donald Murphy. Kaczynski is serving life without the possibility of parole following his 1996 arrest at the primitive cabin where he was living in western Montana. He pleaded guilty to setting 16 explosions that killed three people and injured 23 others in various parts of the country between 1978 and 1995.
Montana minimum wage increases On Jan. 1, 2022, Montana’s minimum wage saw its biggest increase in years: rising 45 cents, from $8.75 to $9.20 an hour. That’s the most it’s grown in a single step since 2007. In 2006, Montana voters approved Initiative 151, which increased the minimum wage by $1 and instituted an annual adjustment to account for inflation. Since then, the largest single increase has been 35 cents.
Recreational marijuana legalized in Montana
The new year in Montana brings the legalization of recreational marijuana. Marijuana businesses are allowed to be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and a 20 percent state sales tax is included in the purchase. Adults can now buy up to one ounce of marijuana and are allowed to have two mature plants and two seedlings in their homes. According to HB 701, the THC of marijuana flowers (the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis that produces the sensation of being high) may not exceed 35 percent, and an edible or capsule must have no more than 100 milligrams of THC per capsule and no more than 800 milligrams of THC per package.
BSHS clubs updates Key Club had a successful food drive to finish out the holiday season. Big Sky students brought in over 3,000 for the Food Bank. They also volunteered for the Poverello Center, Adventure Cycling Association and the Missoula Public Library. In January, they plan to start fundraising for Camp Mak-A-Dream. NHS also completed a fundraiser for Camp Mak-A-Dream. In ad-
dition, NHS students have volunteered to start cleaning the tables in the Commons after lunch. In January, the club plans to work with the Soft Landing program, continue the after lunch clean-ups, and reinstate the Woot Woot wagon. HSA Ambassadors created new academy groups. This initiative promotes camaraderie between grades. They are planning a blood drive in January. Academic World Quest kicks off soon. If interested in joining, talk to advisers Meleina Helmer or Nicole Sarrazin-Strong.
Boosters request help Big Sky Booster Club is seeking parents to join. The parent club is on a mission to help all students, but they are seeking more support from the Big Sky community. The group is seeking donations, members, or sponsors. Interested parents should visit their website at bigskyboosterclub.org.
Finals week Jan 17-Jan 20
Finals week will be Jan. 17-Jan 20. Most of the week will be on regular schedule except there will be no advisory on Thursday, Jan. 20, and Friday, Jan. 21 will be intervention only. Make sure to check Infinite Campus and keep updated on your grades.
News Feature: American Serial Killers, Part 1 of our True Crime Series
5 of history’s most notorious serial killers: monsters & madness
Patrick Wayne Kearney
by Madison Glessner and Hollin Keintz
of the Sun Journal
During the height of the pandemic, when most of us were holed up in our homes, binging Netflix, waiting for another episode of our favorite podcasts to drop, true crime took the spotlight. Books, TV shows, movies, documentaries, podcasts, even Saturday Night Live are tackling the guilty pleasure of the true crime genre. According to Forbes Magazine, in the last year alone, “Why Did You Kill Me,” “White Boy,” “This is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist,” “Murder Among the Mormons” and “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel” all “cracked the top 10 most-popular shows” on Netflix. Forbes also noted that the biographical documentary “The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness” was briefly the No. 1 show on Netflix. Whether it’s popular podcasts like serial or multi-part documentaries on Netflix such as “The Keepers” and “Making a Murderer,” it seems like audiences just can’t get enough. The question is, is this a healthy obsession, or a psychologically unhealthy obsession with the potential to re-traumatize survivors of violent crimes, or potentially desensitize viewers of the real meanings behind these behaviors? Chicago psychotherapist Kathleen Check was quoted in F. Diane Barth’s, psychotherapist, article for NBC News, “Why do we love true crime — and is it healthy for us?” stating that “true crime media pro-
Donald Harvey vided a particular kind of escapism” during the pandemic. Check said, “Tuning in and following the specifics of a crime also creates a (false) sense being able to see inside the mind of a criminal, thus creating a psychological protective barrier. ‘If I know how criminals operate, I can protect myself.’” Barth also claims, because most true crime media “focuses on cases that have been solved, seeing the judicial system in action, or as a force for positive change in some cases, can also be empowering. Barth also cites Kelli S. Boling, an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Boling said, “True crime podcasts are starting the conversation--often on a national level--and pushing society to make measurable changes to support victims of domestic violence.” With this in mind, we thought we would take a closer look at this genre, a genre that has come a long way from our grandmother’s Ann Rule crime novels. In this first piece, reporter Madison Glessner profiles five notorious serial killers, and takes a brief, yet disturbing look at what makes a serial killer a serial killer. Happy reading--if you dare. Did you know that you could be born a serial killer, or a person who has no empathy? It’s all in brain chemistry. The three most common traits in early adults of a serial killer are the killing or torturing of animals, bedwetting after the age of 12, and arson. Not every serial killer was born
Gary Ridgway a serial killer. Sometimes people were sexually abused, extremely neglected, and often had abandonment issues. These types of killers usually target people who resemble the people who hurt them. They will even keep killing until they have enough courage to murder that one person who hurt them. Patrick Wayne Kearney was also known as the “Trash Bag Murderer,” as he would place his victims’ bodies in large trash bags, and leave them on the side of the road. On Jan. 24, 1977, a highway worker tripped over a wrapped object in the tunnel under San Diego Freeway. In the bag was the body of 28-year-old Nicolas Hernandez-Jimenez. Before murdering his victims, Kearney would befriend them. Kearney would pick up his victims in Los Angeles and Hollywood. The people he would target were hitchhikers, runaway teens, and even young children. Another victim of Kearney was 17-year-old John Lamay who was found stuffed inside a trash bag in a 55-gallon drum on March 18, 1977. Lamay’s friends Sett and Roger told investigators Lamay would hang out with “Pat and Dave,” (Patrick Kearney and his partner Dave Hill). In Kearney’s arrest he cleared Hill of any wrongdoing. He stated he committed the crimes when Hill wasn’t home. He confessed to 21 murders which detectives would later confirm. It’s believed Kearney committed to as many as 43 killings. Donald Harvey claimed to kill 87 people while working as an orderly. Logan Evans, an 88-year-old
Jeffery Dahmer patient, was Harvey’s first victim. He smothered Evans with a pillow and a blue sheet of plastic. Harvey listened to Evans' heart rate with a stethoscope until his heart stopped. Then Harvey dressed Evans in a clean hospital gown, and disposed of the plastic. Without any fear of getting caught he notified the nurse on duty. Harvey’s last murder triggered an investigation. On March 7, 1987, Harvey fed John Powell cyanide through his gastric feeding tube. The same day he gave Detachol to Hilda Leitz (82) through her gastric tube and orange juice. On July 9, 1987 he confessed to 10 murders and 2 attempted murders. He admitted to carrying out his killings using cyanide because of its hard to diagnose properties, he also used arsenic and petroleum distillate. In 1988 Donald Harvey was convicted of 28 counts of murder and 7 counts of attempted murder. His total reached out to be 46 murder convictions, 35 men and 11 women with their ages varying from 42-91. In an interview Harvey’s attorney stated that Harvey did not want to consider the insanity plea because he just didn’t want it. In a broadcast interview in 2003 Harvey stated the reason he got away with killing for 17 years was because doctors were overworked, and sometimes don’t see their patients after they’ve died. Gary Ridgway also known as the “Green River Killer'' claimed to kill 80 women, during the 1980-90s. He pleaded guilty in 2003 to 48 murders. In 1980 he was arrested for choking a woman, but no charges
Ted Bundy
were made. Ridgway claimed she bit him, so he retaliated by choking her. His first victim was a 16-yearold girl who ran away from her foster home in July 1982. Her body was found a week later after she went missing in the Green River. Ridgway would rape and murder over 40 prostitutes or runaways over the next two years. His victims would be found in or near the Green River, giving him the name of the Green River Killer. In 1983 Ridgway was questioned about a missing prostitute who was last seen with him in his truck. He denied the allegations and passed a polygraph. In 1987 investigators gathered more evidence showing Ridgway was the last person with most of the victims found by the dump place. They obtained a search warrant to his work and home to see if any items could be linked to the victims, but none of the carpet or rope fibers could be matched. Police also obtained DNA from Ridgway but with technology in the late 80s forensic scientists were unable to match his DNA with the semen found on the bodies. In 2001 with improved technology the semen found on the bodies matched the DNA to Ridgway. When Ridgway was arrested for the murders of the women at Green River, he instead he was innocent but later admitted to his crimes. He told investigators he wanted to kill as many sex workers as possible. He thought since prostitutes
CONTINUED ON P8
January 6, 2022
the sun journal
8
backpage
50 of the most bizarre laws ever made in America - Prohibited to open an umbrella on a street-Alabama - Dominoes may not be played on Sunday-Alabama - Illegal to throw confetti or spray silly string-Alabama (Mobile) - Flamingoes are not allowed in barber shops-Alaska (Juneau) - Denying someone a glass of water is prohibited-Arizona - Dogs are not to bark after 6PMArkansas (Little Rock) - Spitting is only permitted on baseball diamonds-California (Burlingame) - Illegal to collect rainwaterColorado - It is illegal for car dealers to show cars on Sundays-Colorado - A pickle is not a pickle unless it bounces-Connecticut - One is not to walk backwards after sunset-Connecticut (Devon) - It is prohibited to fly over water without sufficient suppliesDelaware - The singing in public places while wearing a bathing suit is not allowed-Florida
- Skateboarding without a license is prohibited-Florida - One is not to live on a boat for more than 30 days-Georgia - Illegal to eat fried chicken any way but with your hands-Georgia (Gainesville) - Chickens are not permitted to cross the road-Georgia (Quitman) - No billboards allowed-Hawaii - You cannot place a coin behind your ear-Hawaii - It is prohibited to gift a box of chocolates weighing more than 50 lbs.-Idaho - No bicycles allowed in tennis courts-Idaho - The giving of whiskey to dogs is prohibited-Illinois (Chicago) - No kites allowed to be flown within city limits-Illinois (Chicago) - The value of pi is 4, not 3.1415-Indiana - The reading of palms is prohibited-Iowa (Cedar Rapids) - It is illegal to catch a fish with bare hands-Kansas - No false promises allowed-
Louisiana - Nobody is to step out of a plane mid-flight-Maine - Christmas decorations must not be up past January 14th-Maine - It is not permitted to take a lion to the movies-Maryland (Baltimore) - Beer is not to be given to hospital patients-Massachusetts - All putt-putt courses are to be closed no later than 1am.Michigan (Detroit) - Nobody is to cross state lines with a duck atop their headMinnesota - Anyone disturbing church services is subject to a citizen’s arrest-Mississippi - It is prohibited to frighten a baby-Missouri (Mole) - The raising of pet rats is prohibited-Montana (Billings) - Doughnut holes are not to be sold-Nebraska (Lehigh) - No camels are allowed on highways-Nevada - Tapping feet, nodding head, or moving to music in any way is
prohibited in restaurants-New Hampshire - It is required that a person lend a phone to another in need-New Jersey - No slippers before 10 pm-New York - It is illegal to sing off-key-North Carolina - No bingo games shall last more than 5 hours-North Carolina - The serving of beer and pretzels simultaneously is not allowedNorth Dakota - No one shall participate in a duel-Ohio - Drivers must not pump their own gas-Oregon - Professional sports are not to be played on Sundays-Rhode Island - it is prohibited to catch a fish using a lasso-Tennessee - Drinking of milk is mandatoryUtah - It is prohibited to harass BigfootWashington
Across: 1 - A subject taught by Sarra-
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B
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zin-Strong.
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5 - A class about reaching for
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the stars.
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6 - The first name of the school’s principal.
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7 - A class full of musical in-
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struments without strings. 9 - The welcoming word of
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room 36.
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10 - A machine used to trans11
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fer work from the computer to hand-held paper
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12 - The HSA’s Medical In-
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terventions class is taught in 14
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this room. 13 - A class leading off to a
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different building working with
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the school. 19
15 - The school’s track coach. 18 - A summer sport with a
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different team for each gender 21
that’s major in England. 20 - A teacher known for both
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his smarts and his muscles. 21 - A sport related to the game monkey in the middle.
Down:
4 - The mascots of a neighboring high school.
1 - A celebration to welcome returning stu-
8 - Can be found on Infinite Campus, and are music, and get involved in community events.
dents to the school. 2 - A reading/placeholder for a year’s worth of school memories. 3 - A celebration involving a ceremony for students that have fulfilled all of their credits.
required to complete highschool. 11 - This staff member teaches Spanish and Driver’s Ed. They like to be called El Guapo.
14 - A gathering for people to eat, listen to 16 - The school’s orchestra teacher. 17 - Teaches IB English 3 in room 27. 19 - A fall sport involving different sizes of
13 - A class/break at the start of the day to clubs for different distances. help students make up work.
Bonus: Name of the Big Sky field.
True Crime Series: Murderers & Monsters CONTINUED FROM P1 might not get reported as missing he would get away with killing more. He pled guilty to the murders in 2003 and was sentenced to 48 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. Jeffery Dahmer was an American serial killer and sex offender between 1978 and 1991. Dahmer murdered 17 males the methods of his choosing being rape, dismemberment, necrophilia, and cannibalism. At 18 he would commit his first murder, the victim being a hitchhiker named Steven Hick. Dahmer invited Hicks over to his father’s house to drink beer. When Hicks wanted to leave Dahmer hit him over the head with a 10-pound dumbbell. Then Dahmer scattered Hicks’ remains throughout the backyard. Dahmer murdered Hicks, he claimed, because he didn’t want him to leave.
Dahmer’s next murder wasn’t for another nine years after Steven Hicks’. Steven Tumoi was Dahmer’s next victim, Dahmer woke up to the beaten dead body of Tumoi. Dahmer claims he never remembered ever committing the crime. Over the next few years Dahmer sporadically killed people. Two victims in 1988, one in 1989, and four in 1990. He would lure men from bars or male prostitutes, which he would drug, rape, and strangle. With the new killings came new fantasy’s, Dahmer became to have intercourse with the dead bodies, take pictures of the dismembered limbs, he would display his victims’ skulls and genitals, and he would eat some of his victims. What stories from serial killers would be complete without Ted Bundy? Ted Bundy was a serial killer, rapist, and necrophiliac. Bundy had a degree in physiology in 1972 and was accepted into law school in Utah. Bundy fell in love with a female who had everything he ever wanted, money, class, and influence. After their break, up
Bundy was devastated and many of his victims resembled his ex: attractive, long dark-haired women. Bundy confessed to killing 36 young women in several states in the 1970s. The exact number of women will never be known, but experts believe the murders tally up to 100 or more. One of the methods Bundy used was to pretend to be injured and ask for help with something, but their kindness would also be their death sentence. In 1975 Carol DaRonch was one of his victims who escaped, soon after Bundy was arrested and sentenced to 1-15year imprisonment. Bundy escaped prison twice in 1977. His first escape was from the courthouse library window, he was missing for 8 days. In December Bundt climbed out of the ceiling in his cell. Police didn’t know he was missing for 15 hours. During this time Bundy attacked four sorority girls, killing two. On Feb. 9, Bundy’s last victim was 12-year-old Kimberly Lynch.