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L awrence J ournal -W orld - USA TODAY THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2016
STATE-BY-STATE News from across the USA ALABAMA McCalla: Three boys
who got lost in the woods after dark were safe after being rescued by sheriff’s deputies who tracked them using a dog and night-vision goggles, AL.com reported.
ALASKA Anchorage: The
Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center warned of high avalanche danger in Turnagain Pass. ARIZONA Phoenix: State
officials warned that water in lakes and rivers remains deadly cold despite recent warm air temperatures. ARKANSAS Jonesboro:
A foundation that supports Arkansas State University athletics received more than $25,000 from alcohol sales on the Jonesboro campus in 2015. University spokesman Jeff Hankins told the Jonesboro Sun that net revenue from alcohol sales was more than $63,000 after taxes. CALIFORNIA San Francisco: A long-sunken freighter is leaking hundreds of thousands of gallons of bunker oil that has left birds coated, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The SS Jacob Luckenbach sank more than 60 years ago after colliding with another ship 17 miles southwest of the Golden Gate Bridge. COLORADO Denver: A federal
appeals court has upheld a Colorado law requiring out-of-state Internet retailers to tell customers how much they owe in state sales taxes on their purchases, The Denver Post reported. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the law doesn’t discriminate against interstate commerce, as online retailers claimed. CONNECTICUT Hartford: Fairfield University officials are planning a forum to discuss racial issues on campus in the wake of a “ghetto”-themed off-campus party. DELAWARE Dover: Thomas Webster IV, found not guilty of felony assault after kicking a black man in the head during a 2013 arrest and breaking his jaw, has resigned from Dover Police Department and will leave in June, The News Journal reported. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: The
National Park Service said the Washington Monument reopened after being closed for several days for repairs to an elevator control box.
FLORIDA Palm Bay: Police Chief
Mark Renkens got to meet former Tonight Show host Jay Leno during a closed session at the Larsen Motorsports center, Florida Today reported.
GEORGIA Lawrenceville: Offi-
cials plan to use pyrotechnics to scare away 250 vultures living near Briscoe Field, a small airport in metro Atlanta, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. HAWAII Haleiwa: High surf
forced the closure of several Oahu beach parks and Kamehameha Highway in both directions from here to Turtle Bay. IDAHO Idaho Falls: Ucon Elementary here is removing two of its drinking fountains after the Department of Environmental Quality found traces of lead in the water, KIDK-TV reported. ILLINOIS Springfield: The state
Department of Human Services will move some of its operations into a four-building complex on
HIGHLIGHT: MISSISSIPPI
Caution issued over Jackson water Anna Wolfe
The Clarion-Ledger
The City of Jackson issued a news release Wednesday cautioning pregnant women and children against potential lead exposure in the city’s drinking water. In the release, the city said that the water has not been deemed unsafe. However, out of an abundance of caution, pregnant women and small children should follow the Mississippi State Department of Health’s recommendations for prevention of lead exposure from drinking water. Following the city’s release, MSDH released a statement urging consumers of the city’s water supply to take the following precautions: uBefore using tap water for drinking or cooking, run your tap on cold for one to two minutes. uHouseholds should never use hot water for drinking or cooking. uAny child 5 years old or younger and any pregnant woman should use filtered water (NSF53-certified filter) or bottled water for drinking and cooking. uBaby formula should be “ready-to-feed” or prepared using only filtered water or bottled water. the southeast side. The State Journal-Register reported that state officials expect as many as 450 employees at Iles Park Place after a $7.2 million upgrade planned for this spring. INDIANA New Palestine:
Brooke Copp, formerly of New Palestine, has admitted neglecting her 18-month-old child, who tested positive for opioids last fall, Hancock Superior Court records show. Copp could serve up to two years in prison under terms of her guilty plea, The Indianapolis Star reported.
IOWA Des Moines: Officials with Des Moines Public Works say the city has saved about $1.4 million on snow removal so far this year thanks to updated snow-plowing techniques, KCCI-TV reported. KANSAS Topeka: The Topeka
Capital-Journal reported that some lawmakers have grown weary of STAR bonds, the economic development tool used to finance Heartland Park’s redevelopment. The city serviced debt from the racetrack’s bond of more than $629,000 in the past year and $5.6 million since 2006. KENTUCKY
Frankfort: Kentucky Chief Justice John Minton told a state House budget subcommittee that budget cuts proposed by Gov. Bevin would cripple the court system, The Courier-Journal reported. Minton said the courts would likely have to shut down for about three weeks just to enact the 4.5% cuts Bevin has proposed. LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: Recently retired state penitentiary warden Burl Cain stands to collect regular paychecks for months after leaving the prison at Angola. The Advocate reported that the compensation will continue through August and total about $134,000. MAINE Pownal: WABI-TV
reported that Linda Deming was so desperate for a kidney transplant that she posted signs along the side of the road and advertised from her car. At least 50 people reached out to her and she eventually found two matches. Her surgery is scheduled for next week. MARYLAND Federalsburg:
Federal wildlife authorities are offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction in the deaths of 13 bald eagles, The Baltimore Sun reported.
more than 60 deaths until 2014, when the number of deaths dropped to 51. SOUTH CAROLINA Townville:
About 3:30 a.m. Sunday, a gunshot echoed across Saluda Lake killing Farah Khan, 35 and a mother of four. Her body was found hours later by two fishermen. On Tuesday, Kasey Clayton Waldrop, 22, a man described as Kahn’s “friend,” was charged with killing her, leaving her body at a boat dock and taking her car, The Greenville News reported. SOUTH DAKOTA Delmont: Authorities are investigating an apartment building fire here, The Daily Republic reported. The blaze destroyed the four-unit building and displaced two people.
JOE ELLIS, THE CLARION-LEDGER
The J.H. Fewell Water Treatment Plant treats much of Jackson’s surface water. In July, a 58-residence water sample found actionable levels of lead in 22% of homes. uParents with children 6 years old or younger should contact the pediatrician or primary care provider to ensure lead screening and blood testing have been performed. These recommendations have been made, the release states, after consulting with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency. As part of the public education portion of the additional compliance measures the water system must take, the Mississippi State Department of Health MASSACHUSETTS Chelmsford:
Officials say a malfunctioning hoverboard may have caused a fire at a local home, The Sun reported.
MICHIGAN Sparta: Transgender woman Gidget Groendyk is running for township supervisor in this rural community, The Grand Rapids Press reported. Groendyk, whose former name, Scott Wade Langford, will be noted on the ballot, said she’s running because she wants the township to enact a non-discrimination ordinance with protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents, which the state has not enacted.
will mail the above health recommendations about lead to all customers on the City of Jackson Water System. “(MSDH) will closely monitor the City of Jackson’s progress to reduce the corrosiveness of water. Corrosive water leads to leaching of lead in some older homes where plumbing contains lead pipes or lead solder,” the release states. The city maintains that the lead is a result of plumbing materials, not lead in the water source. Officials are working to link the historic El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro trail to a wider network of trails in the local area. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that the Royal Road of the Interior Lands is set to be part of a new 15-mile trail linking the Santa Fe River trail to the Municipal Recreation Complex and other recreation sites.
TENNESSEE Nashville: In honor of Southwest Airlines’ 30th year of flying to Tennessee, the airline earlier this week unveiled a Boeing 737 aircraft with special paint job mimicking the state flag, The Tennessean reported. Nashville is one of the 10 busiest airports in Southwest’s network, with 90 daily flights to 35 cities. TEXAS Marfa: Efforts continue to bolster the West Texas pronghorn population with 112 animals recently relocated and freed near here. Similar transfers from the Trans-Pecos region happened in 2011, 2013 and 2014. UTAH Provo: American Fork officials met with state water regulators to discuss how to protect the area’s watershed amid a proposed Snowbird ski resort expansion into American Fork Canyon, the Daily Herald reported. VERMONT South Burlington: City officials on Tuesday announced a joint study with the University of Vermont to assess the feasibility of constructing a multipurpose 5,000-seat arena that could house UVM’s basketball and hockey programs in the city’s hoped-for downtown district, Burlington Free Press reported. VIRGINIA Arlington: About 20
Canada geese were released after they were cleaned up following an oil spill on the Potomac River, The Washington Post reported.
MINNESOTA St. Paul: The
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wants to realign some deer-hunting boundaries to reduce infecting moose with parasites and disease.
MISSISSIPPI Gulfport: A rate
increase proposal is on the table for Mississippi Power customers, WLOX-TV reported. In the filing, Mississippi Power is asking for approval of a 2% increase in retail revenues.
MISSOURI Blue Springs:
Two people were seriously injured and eight others received minor injuries after a tractortrailer sideswiped a tour bus that had pulled to the side of Interstate 70 with a flat tire, The Kansas City Star reported. MONTANA Helena: The
opening of a crime lab here was pushed back because of contract negotiations and construction costs, the Independent Record reported. NEBRASKA Lincoln: The final four candidates to be the University of Nebraska’s new chancellor will be interviewed over the next two weeks, the Lincoln JournalStar reported. NEVADA Las Vegas: Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo is seeking funds to hire 67 patrol officers for the Strip and seven more for Fremont Street. KLAS-TV reported that could cost almost $12 million a year. NEW HAMPSHIRE Manchester:
Chunky’s Cinema Pub will open a location here in early 2017, making it the first Manchester movie theater since 2008, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported.
NEW YORK Kent: Putnam
County Director of Consumer Affairs Jean Noel, 64, on Monday resigned in a plea deal in which she admitted to stealing $4,575 from local contractors who were licensed by her department, The Journal News reported.
NORTH CAROLINA Gastonia:
A man died after a logging truck rolled over onto his pickup near U.S. Route 321.
NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck:
North Dakota’s Game and Fish Department is urging winter anglers to consider removing their fish houses early this year in areas because of deteriorating ice conditions.
OHIO Columbus: Musician Bill Foley, the man most seriously hurt in a Feb. 11 machete attack at Nazareth Restaurant and Deli, has been released from a hospital, The Columbus Dispatch reported. OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Two people accused of trying to smuggle several items, including 27 pounds of tobacco and 4 pounds of marijuana, into a state prison were arrested. OREGON Baker: The Discovery
Channel show Gold Rush is planning to film segments in northeastern Oregon this year. The Baker City Herald reported that the reality-TV series will film segments in Baker County.
PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia:
NEW JERSEY Jackson: Local
The city is cracking down on unlawful clothing donation bins. Licenses and Inspection Commissioner David Perri says the poorly maintained bins attract graffiti, drug activity and dumping.
NEW MEXICO Santa Fe:
RHODE ISLAND Providence: State transportation officials say 45 people died on the state’s roadways last year, a steady decline from previous years. Sixty-seven people died in Rhode Island automobile crashes in 2010. Each subsequent year had
residents on Monday blasted a plan to cut down thousands of trees in favor of a solar farm on Six Flags Great Adventure park, the Asbury Park Press reported. The planning board will vote next month on the proposal.
WASHINGTON Olympia:
Leaders in the state House of Representatives say they don’t plan to impeach state Auditor Troy Kelley, who is fighting federal charges of tax evasion, money laundering and perjury, the Everett Herald reported.
WEST VIRGINIA Marmet: The town recorder became the city’s interim mayor after a threejudge panel removed the former mayor from office. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported that in accordance with the current city ordinance, Tammy Kersey will finish the rest of Bill Pauley’s term in office WISCONSIN Green Bay: USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin journalists in Appleton, Green Bay, Sheboygan and Wausau will join a three-day, eight-city informational tour to highlight the importance of the state’s open-records laws, in the wake of unprecedented attacks from state lawmakers and others. The Open Government show will take place March 15-17, as part of national Sunshine Week, the annual “celebration of access to public information,” Green Bay PressGazette reported. WYOMING Jackson: Ernesto Rodriguez-Becerra, 30, was killed in an avalanche, the Jackson Hole News & Guide reported. Authorities say the man died after he stepped onto a cornice in an out-of-bounds area at Grand Targhee Resort. His body was found by a Grand Targhee avalanche rescue dog. Compiled by Tim Wendel and Jonathan Briggs, with Carolyn Cerbin, Linda Dono, Mike Gottschamer and Nichelle Smith. Design by Tiffany Reusser. Graphics by Alejandro Gonzalez.