C o n t i n u i n g To P r o u d l y S e r v e C a r r o l l C o u n t y S i n c e 1 8 3 1 $1.00
12 Pages
Thursday, January 24, 2019
freepressstandard.com
County pushes through weekend storm By NANCY SCHAAR FPS Correspondent
Old man winter threw everything at Carroll County this past weekend. Rain, ice, rain, snow, ice, and then five foot snowdrifts! And you can’t forget below zero temperatures. But officials of the county praised residents for paying attention to weather warnings, road condition reports, and the county experienced very few incidents that were storm related. Carroll County Engineer Brian Wise said it was a tough couple of days. “There were a lot of diverse events. We had reports of six to eight inches of snow. We had a tough time with snow drifting that was four to eight feet deep and we’re still fighting that. We don’t have numbers yet as to how many tons of salt we needed or how many hours our drivers put in, but today we are starting to see pavement and tomorrow is calling for 40 degree temperatures and rain, so we should see some melting,” said Wise. In the early hours of Sunday morning, County Engineer Supervisor Alan Furbee called the plow trucks back to
the garage for an hour or so. The roads were that bad and three trucks had ended up off the road and in ditches. There were no injuries and the trucks were not difficult to get back on the road, according to Wise. Emergency Management Agency Director Tom Cottis said a warming center was ready to open but there wasn’t a need for it. “We always are prepared to open a warming center or shelter at the Friendship Center at the fairgrounds. But we didn’t need one this weekend,” said Cottis. Cottis said there were very few power outages. Some parts of the county saw four inches of snow while other areas received eight or nine inches. The Malvern area seems to have received the deepest snow. But that’s not counting snowdrifts, which were a big problem on the roadways Sunday, according to Cottis. “Please still continue to check on elderly neighbors to make sure they are ok and if help is needed, please call,” said Cottis. Street Superintendent Marcus Benson said they put salt down on Saturday but then the village mainly got rain. Sunday and Monday were differ-
ent stories. “It was crazy how different areas of the county got different amounts of snow. When we had nothing yet in Carrollton, Malvern already had about four inches of slush and had the plows go through. Even with the extreme cold, we were able to keep working on the streets and very few people were out around town and we were able to keep working,” said Benson. On Monday, Benson said they were able to start loading the piles of snow and getting them out of town to try to clear parking areas. Benson appreciated the help of the water and sewer department with the snow clean up. Carroll County Sheriff Dale Williams was pleased that residents paid attention to the warning and stayed home and didn’t try to venture out. “Between the ice, the snow, and then the drifts, it was a tough job to get the roads cleared. Our highway department did their best to keep up with it all and did a great job. Nothing is more important than keeping your family safe and I am grateful people did
See SNOW, PG. 3
Postage stamps, boxes to cost more after Jan. 27
Submitted Photo
Carrollton Elementary spellers selected for district spelling bee Carrollton Elementary School had its own Spelling Bee Competition on Friday, Jan. 18 at 1:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. Eight of the CES fifth-grade students will have the opportunity to advance to the Carrollton Exempted Village Schools’ District Spelling Bee at Bell Herron Middle School Auditorium Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 6 p.m. The fifth graders who will represent Carrollton Elementary School are (front, from left) Jamee Keyser, Kearsten Ball,
John Church and Montana Cox; and (back) Duval Citro, Emma Brown, Landon Brown and Violet Burkholder. At the district spelling bee, there will a total of 48 contestants from grades fifth through eighth competing to be champion. The winner will compete in the Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 2, at 1:30 pm in the Glenoak High School Theater.
Shopko closing Minerva store amid Chapter 11 restructuring Clearance signs were up Tuesday, Jan. 25, at Minerva’s Shopko Hometown, located on Alliance Road. The corporation announced Jan. 16 it will close several of its Shopko, Shopko Hometown and Shopko Optical Centers after filing voluntary petitions for a court-supervised financial restructuring under Chapter 11 of the United State Bankruptcy Code.
Minerva’s store is expected to close in early April. Sadly, this is the second time area residents will see the storefront empty with Shopko taking over the building after Pamida closed. “This decision is a difficult, but necessary one,” said Russ Steinhorst, chief executive officer. “In a challenging retail environment, we have had to make
some very tough choices, but we are confident that by operating a smaller and more focused store footprint, we will be able to build a stronger Shopko that will better serve our customers, vendors, employees and other stakeholders through this process.”
See SHOPKO, PG. 3
FPS Photo / Kimberly Lewis
Clearance signs can be seen in the windows of Shopko Hometown in Minerva. Its parent company announced the store is among 39 closing as part of its Chapter 11 Bankruptcy restructuring. The store is expected to close in April.
more inside
FPS Photo / Kimberly Lewis
A glimpse of the heavy snowfall and mixed precipitation Carroll County received this weekend.
classified pg. 11
obits pg. 4
Residents will pay more to mail a letter or mail a package starting Monday, Jan. 28. The United State Postal Service has announced the price of First-Class Mail Forever stamps will increase from 50 cents to 55 cents. The single-piece additional ounce price will be reduced from 21 cents to 15 cents. According to the postal service, a 2-ounce stamped letter, such as a typical wedding invitation, will cost less to mail, decreasing from 71 cents to 70 cents. The price changes include: Letters (1 ounce) - 50 cents to 55 cents Letters additional ounces – 21 cents to 15 cents Letters (metered 1 ounce) – 47 cents to 50 cents Outbound International Letters (1 ounce) $1.15 to $1.15 Domestic Postcards – 35 cents to 35 cents. The domestic Priority Mail Retail Flat Rate price will also increase. Those price changes are: Small Flat Rate Box - $7.20 - $7.90 Medium Flat Rate Box - $13.65 - $14.35 Large Flat Rate box - $18.90 - $19.95 APO/FPO Large Flat Rate Box - $17.40 $18.45 Regular Flat Rate Envelope - $6.70 - $7.35 Legal Flat Rate Envelope - $7 - $7.65 Padded Flat Rate Envelope - $7.25 - $8. First-Class Package Service will move to zone-based pricing to better align with the cost of service and improve value based on distance, the USPS stated.
Area man sentenced to 15 years to life for rape
By NANCY SCHAAR and DON RUTLEDGE FPS Staff
A former Magnolia man, convicted of two counts of rape involving two children under age 10, could die in prison. That was the explanation given Darrienne Jackson Brodrick Yospur by Visiting Judge Richard D. Reinbold Jr. when he sentenced Yospur to serve a mandatory indefinite term of incarceration of 15 years to incarceration for the rest of his natural life in prison following Yospur’s conviction in Carroll County Common Pleas Court last Thursday, Jan. 17. In pronouncing the sentence, Judge Reinbold asked Yospur if he understood that he will probably die in jail. Yospur responded he understood. Judge Reinbold further explained the institution where Yospur will serve will determine controls or sanctions over his prison sentence. If he is ever released, Yospur will have to register as a Tier 3 sex offender for the remainder of his life. At the Jan. 17 change of plea and sentencing hearing, Yospur withdrew his former not guilty pleas to 15 felony counts contained in an indictment returned against him Sept. 5, 2018. They included 10 counts of rape, each 1st degree felonies; two counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor, each 2nd degree felonies; one count of gross sexual imposition, a 3rd degree felony, and two counts of
opinion pg. 5
DARRIENNE JACKSON BRODRICK YOSPUR
pandering obscenity involving a minor, each 2nd degree felonies. Following plea negotiations, Carroll County Prosecuting Attorney Steven D. Barnett dismissed 13 of the felony counts and Yospur entered guilty pleas to two counts of rape, each 1st degree felonies. When asked by Judge Reinbold if Yospur had anything to say as to why judgment should not be pronounced against him, the 21-year-old responded: “I realize I have an addiction to sex and pornography that comes from my
sports pg. 7
See YOSPUR, PG. 3