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Smallwood receives two years probation Danielle DeAnn Smallwood — former Creston Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) treasurer who used approximately $23,000 from the PTO account for personal use between October 2010 and April 2013 — was sentenced Friday. Smallwood received two years probation after being found guilty of second-degree theft by misappropriation. Her probation will be served under the 5th Judicial District Department of Correctional Services. Court documents show Small- Smallwood wood still owes Creston PTO just ■ She is still more than $2,000. Smallwood has required been ordered to make restitution to repay payments to the PTO until the or- Creston PTO about ganization is completely repaid. Smallwood is also required to $2,000. pay several fees and penalties including: $300 probation supervision fee, $750 civil penalty and $125 law enforcement initiative surcharge. Smallwood must completely abstain from the consumption of alcoholic beverages and should refrain from entering establishments where alcoholic beverages are consumed. Smallwood must also abstain from unauthorized use of controlled substances, as well as several other probation requirements.
MCT photo RICHARD W. RODRIGUEZ
Marine Cpl. Jesse Law, who wears a bracelet with the names of four friends who died fighting in Iraq, restores antique Harley-Davidsons in Waxahachie, Texas, near Fort Worth. He went into Iraq with the original 2003 invading force and had two subsequent deployments.
Iraq War veterans upset by al-Qaida gains WASHINGTON (MCT) — Marine Corps Cpl. Tireak Tulloch watched in dismay at the start of the New Year as al-Qaida-backed fighters swarmed into Fallujah, Ramadi and other parts of the Sunni Triangle where he and fellow Iraq veterans fought the war’s most decisive battles. Tulloch, now a network engineer with the Long Island Rail Road in Huntington, N.Y., feels most badly for the Iraqi troops left to defend the embattled territory in Sunni Muslim-dominated Anbar province west of Baghdad. “We were kind of in the big brother role,” Tulloch said. “Now your little brother is out there getting beat up, and big brother is not there to have his back. There’s a good amount of frustration that I have and the Marines I’ve talked with have. That inner Marine in all of us wants to throw our packs on, go back over there and take care of business.” Just over two years after the last U.S. combat platoons left the region, the Iraqi security forces they fought with and helped train are facing an offensive by insurgents linked to al-Qaida in areas that saw some of the worst American casualties of the war. Iraqi forces under the Shiite Muslim-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki are fighting Sunni extremists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, with the renewed violence in Anbar fanned by civil war in neighboring Syria. The al-Qaida rebel gains have left many American vets wondering whether the long U.S. military engagement in Iraq, in which 4,489 Americans died between March 2003 and December 2011, was worth it. Marine Cpl. Jesse Law, who wears a bracelet with the names of four friends who died fighting in Iraq, restores antique HarleyDavidsons in Waxahachie, Texas, near Fort Worth. He went into
“I feel like we pulled
out before the job was done.Whatever our stated goal was over there, which was a bit unclear, we didn’t accomplish what we set out to accomplish.”
Police warn businesses of recent break-ins
— Jesse Law, U.S. Marine Cpl.
MCT photo by RODGER MALLISON
Andrew van Wey is an Iraq war veteran who served as a Marine in Fallujah during 2004. He keeps a small bottle of sand from Husaybah, Iraq, located in the Al Anbar Province, on his mantle, Thursday.
Iraq with the original 2003 invading force and had two subsequent deployments. In his second stint, for seven months in 2004 and 2005, he led foot patrols in the Anbar town of AlQaim, hard on the Syria border over which hundreds of al-Qaida-linked warriors have flooded into Iraq in recent weeks. “I feel like we pulled out before the job was done,” Law said. “Whatever our stated goal was over there, which was a bit unclear, we didn’t accomplish what we set out to accomplish.” Staff Sgt. Damian Musante was among 400 Marines who fought in the Third Battle of Fallujah, where
22 Americans died and 331 were wounded in the second half of 2006. “I fully expected it to fall again. I’m surprised it took this long. It was Indian country as soon as we were leaving,” Musante said, using the military slang for enemy territory. Eight of the 23 members of Musante’s platoon suffered serious wounds. He was point man on a rifle squad that went house to house in search of high-value targets, delivering “hard knocks” that battered down doors and walls. “I think we were creating insurgents faster than we were killing them,” said Musante, who works at a power plant in Los Angeles County. “Being in somebody else’s country illegally and then breaking (stuff) kind of pisses people off.” In October 2004, a sniper shot Marine Staff Sgt. Todd Bowers in the left side of his face as he was helping residents leave Fallujah in advance of the U.S.-led Operation Phantom Fury. For almost seven weeks in November and December, more than 13,000 U.S., Iraqi and British troops clashed with nearly 4,000 insurgents in the Second Battle of Fallujah. That conflict, which saw the heaviest urban combat for Americans since the Vietnam War, left
The Creston Chamber of Commerce and Creston Police Department are warning area businesses to take extra precautions because of recent burglaries to several commercial buildings in Union County. According to Creston Police Chief Paul Ver Meer, the Montgomery Street Pub, Cenex Harvest States (CHS), SheNae’s, and J and J Plumbing BREAK-INS and Heating have reported property damage and stolen have been reported at The money recently. The property damage in- Pub, She-Nae’s, cluded broken windows and Cenex Harvest doors to gain access to the States (CHS), building. The burglaries are occurring in the early morn- and J and J Plumbing and ing hours. If a business or individual Heating suspects a break-in, Ver Meer said to call the police immediately. He added it is best to not touch or move anything. “When an officer gets there, we will document the scene,” Ver Meer said. Ellen Gerharz, executive director at the Creston Chamber of Commerce, said it is best if businesses do not leave valuables or large sums of money inside the business over night. “Make sure you have good locks on your doors,” Ver Meer said. “And if you have an alarm system, make sure it is working properly.”
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Contents
Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Deaths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Heloise Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
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