Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Burlington Community School District website censors contact senators list; creates an incomplete list

I was randomly browsing the BCSD's website and I noticed that on their website that there are only three senators listed as contacts.

Link to the webpage.  http://www.burlington.k12.ia.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=297&Itemid=252





There is no excuse as to why the others were left out.  If they were listed based on how close they are in town, that wouldn't be a case either.  Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley are no where on the website, as well as the others in the other districts.

I know that one of the senators Dennis Cohoon had use to work at the Burlington High School.

Personal politics perhaps?

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Shooting happening at 1600 block of South 12th Street.

Another shooting was reported earlier this morning.





































Suspect is a black male wearing blue jeans with a black hoodie.  He is 6 feet tall.  News will be updated soon.

UPDATE: 3:30 PM

Suspect was shot and has tried fleeing into a house.

UPDATE #2: 10/29/2012 : 10:00 AM

The shooter was caught yesterday.

http://www.kwqc.com/story/19938165/burlington-police-make-arrest-after-shooting

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Stupid Saturday: 10/27/2012

Thought I missed the day to post for Saturday?  Well, here is today's entry.


The story:

http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Girlfriend-beating-10-26-12

My take on it:

That woman who attacked all those people must be pretty damn strong and well coordinated when it came to attacking and being intoxicated at the same time.

I'm confused why the hell there were two underage children out at this area at around 3:30 in the morning.  Not only it was passed their curfew, they weren't allowed to be at Sam's Speakeasy.  Sam's Speakeasy is basically a combination of a bar and a strip club.   Minors are prohibited from entering.  For some reason, the 14-year-old daughter and the boy were in the area and that Murphy tried pushing the daughter into the closet, which had to be in the strip club.

Either the children were there because their mother was there or they were doing some sexual-related acts.  I think its most likely the first choice.

Why in the hell did she pursue to attack the officer?  Was she trying to make herself look intelligent?



The story:
http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Attack-102312

My take on it:

Talk about one hell of a dysfunctional family.  I'm curious as to what had started the conflict in the first place. 

Why the hell did a man attack his own sister by punching him in the face, especially in the middle of the night?
Why did it escalate of having Sawaan hitting Robert repeatedly with the bat, then attacking his vehicle?

Overall, they are all in the wrong, maybe including Leanna as well.  Leanna could have done something that wasn't listed in the story.  Then again, it had to be something serious enough so that she would have been charged for it.  Since it wasn't listed in the paper about her being charged, it may be more likely that she didn't do anything wrong and that she was attacked by her violent brother.


Monday, October 22, 2012

The Hawk Eye didn't submit article about shooting in today's newspaper

I checked into today's newspaper to see if the shooting was published in the newspaper.  There wasn't anything published.

The website still hasn't updated to the incident.  This is a snapshot taken at 5:57 PM today.






















The Eastern Iowa Fireground complained about the lack of updates presented on their website.  They weren't sure whether it was presented into the newspaper or not.  The answer is that it was never published.












Recent shooter had checkered past

37-year-old Jermaine Carr of Burlington was captured by police after attempting to shoot two people and having a standstill in his home.  This is the man who was captured.













Carr had a criminal past.  He was charged as a sex offender in Cook County for two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault.

It was unclear whether he had other charges made against him in the past.

He is currently held in Des Moines County Jail and will be put on trial later this morning.

The Hawk Eye and KBUR failed to warn locals about shooting

During the shooting, The Hawk Eye website never reported it at all!  This was taken at 12:00 AM this morning.


























The Eastern Iowa Firegrounds facebook page complained about The Hawk Eye about them not updating this information on their website when it was happening!








Not only The Hawk Eye failed to deliver the information, KBUR was floating the same boat as well!





















Because of this, there was a lack of information being provided quickly enough to alert the public that live in the area about the dangerous gunman.  The only way people would find out about it is if they were informed by the Eastern Iowa Fireground Facebook page, a police scanner, or the word of mouth.

Two people are currently hospitalized.  More could have been in danger due to lack of information that could be provided to them on time.  Both the radio and newspaper industries has the best way of alerting the public through their website and on radio.  It's sad to think that these two areas aren't responsible enough in alerting the public in time.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Apollo school vandalist makes stupid comment; hilarity ensures

I was going through the account that uploaded the videos of the three teenagers that broke into the Apollo school when I came across a comment from the user.












There were so many problems with the comment made by the uploader of these videos.  

It was still governmental property because the building isn't owned by anyone and that is now technically owned by the city.  

The things they were doing in the area was indeed a combination of paranormal investigating and vandalism.  I don't believe that these individuals were solely 'exploring' the entire area.  Instead, they broke in, vandalized the building, and talked about paranormal-related stuff.

I liked how he didn't deny the fact that they got themselves lost.  In the videos, each of them had difficulty finding their way out.

Half of the comment that he made didn't make any sense.  Maybe those stupid stunts he had done could have impacted his intelligence more.  

Stupid Sunday: 10/21/2012

Here's the next installment of Stupid Sunday.

The story:

Although this isn't the entire story, I still wanted to link it.  http://burlingtoniowa.blogspot.com/2012/10/burlington-man-shot-two-people-on-loose.html


My take on it:
What the hell was this guy thinking?  He walks down a street and shoots a person, then travels down another street and shoots another person.  Why did he do that to innocent civilians?

I'm curious on the fact that he was able to find a house to take cover at.  I'm not sure whether he broke into a house or he owned it, he wanted to get inside for cover.  Thankfully, there wasn't anyone inside that was taken as a hostage, judging by the news that I have ingested so far.

What made this guy do it is unclear, but it didn't make sense in thinking that he would outlast the police, the tactical squad, and the detectives that surrounded both areas of town.

Hopefully the victims from the shooting would recover soon.     

Burlington man shot two people; on the loose with long gun

On Facebook, I noticed that the Eastern Iowa Fireground had submitted two posts earlier today.














The incident is occurring nearby the location of Grimes School at 1021 S. 10th St.
















It isn't determined yet of what the man looks like, but he is carrying a long gun.  Long guns tend to be either a rifle or a shotgun.  It isn't clear whether he's carrying a rifle or a shotgun.  The suspect is currently at large and is advised to avoid the area.  He was last seen walking north.

 Its not determined whether the victims were killed or injured.

Some individuals provided details of what was being observed.








Updates will be provided soon.


UPDATE: 3:49 PM






















An update from the Eastern Iowa Fireground Facebook page.


The suspect is located on the 500 block of Elm Street; one block away from Tom's Food Market.  The suspect is sitting on top of a house in the area.














UPDATE #2: 3:55 PM







It was confirmed that it is indeed a stand off.  Detectives and tactical team are responding to the scene.

UPDATE #3 : 4:14 PM

The detectives and tactical team are close to their location.

UPDATE #4 : 4:16 PM

The detectives and tactical team are nearby Central Avenue.

UPDATE #5 : 4:18 PM








Both of the victims from shooting are current at the hospital.  The suspect is at large and is sitting on a house. He was last seen running into the 500 block of Elm St.

UPDATE #6 : 4:27 PM





















Both areas of 500 block of Elm St. and 1000 block of South 10th St. are blocked off.  Perimeters in these areas are blocked off.

Police scanner reports a 25 year-old male victim.  Shot 1 hour ago. He's pale, cool, and his pulse is cold.  Heart rate is 120.  Complaining about severe pain.  3 units of medicine delivered to the patient.  ETA in 13 minutes.

Here's the audio from the police scanner talking about the victim.



UPDATE #7 : 5:27 PM








The standstill is still continuing on.  Information was provided on what would happen to the fugitive once he is captured.

UPDATE #8 : 6:03 PM














It was confirmed that the tactical team is on scene and that both them and the officers have their guns drawn in the general perimeter.

UPDATE #9 : 7:15 PM









Most of the on-shift officers are back on regular patrol while some are at both locations with the tactical team.

UPDATE #10: 7:20 PM 

The dispatcher asked for all Burlington units report in as Code 1.

UPDATE #11: 7:45 PM






Suspect is in custody.

UPDATE # 12: 7:47 PM








Information about the suspect in custody is unknown.  Information won't be available until tomorrow.  Officers are still on both of the locations and probably will continue to be on location all night.

UPDATE # 13: 10:47 PM






The current condition of the two patients are unknown, but it is known that both of them were hit in certain areas of the body.






The police left the South 10th St. area recently.

UPDATE # 14: 4:51 AM








Suspect was identified.  Link to news story on website is provided.  http://www.kwqc.com/story/19877045/one-shot-a 

The 25-year-old man was flown to Iowa City hospital.  As for the woman, she was taken to the hospital and that she was grazed by either shrapnel from the bullet or wood from the door.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Stupid Saturday: 10/20/2012

Its been awhile since I last submitted something for this particular section.  Let's begin.


I would like to first take part on something that hasn't been reported anywhere.  I have observed some interesting details about this particular incident while waiting in the emergency room.  Keep in mind that the entry listed above was about the closest thing that I could find about a report made nearby a restaurant   The time could have been earlier and that he could have been listed as a Mental Subject listing.  Not all the details were given out on location.  Some pieces were missing.

Story:

I brought someone into the emergency room to have looked at.  As I waited, I overheard a phone call given to the desk that an officer is on route to the hospital with a patient.  The officer tells the staff over the phone that the man had a head injury and that he was handcuffed.  It was suspected that he could have fallen and hit his head against the curve.

About 10-15 minutes later, the man mentioned that he was cuffed against the inclined rolling bed.  He was accompanied by an officer, two nurses, and an doctor.  There was a suspicion that the man has a head/neck injury and he was bleeding all over.  The man was suspected to be intoxicated.  He pleaded that he didn't want to go back to jail.  The officer made it clear to him that he was under arrest.

The man's name was Mike.  He was about 6' 1'' to 6' 2''.  He had short blondish hair.  He had no shirt on and wore jeans and black tennis shoes.  He had black tattoos across his shoulders on his back.  He lives in the general area.

Mike tried escaping but failed because both his hands were cuffed on either end of the bed.  He occasionally screamed and cursed.

For a while, he refused to talk to a doctor nor cooperating with them in being taken care of.  He sat up mostly from his bed instead of resting.

Although Mike had taken his Tetanus shot just a couple of months ago, they have given it to him anyways. The nurse gave him one and told the man that it would be good for 10 years.  He resisted.  He became aggressive when the nurses were trying to give the man his shots. A nurse or the officer suggested tying him down because his legs weren't secured and he had been resisting.  The nurses weren't able to hold his legs down. One of the nurses mentioned that they had to slam him down on the bed. After the shot was delivered, Mike experienced pain from the shot.

Later on, there were some suggestions about having blood tests done on the man.  When they went in to test him, he refused to relax while it was happening.  They held him down and eventually had some blood drawn. Mike accused one of the nurses of hurting him while the blood was being drawn.

After the blood was taken out for testing, Mike said to the officer "Unlock me, dude."  He then said "Let me go, dude and I'll be cooperative."  The officer refused.  The man replied, "That's wrong, dude."

The officer made a suggestion about a "psyc transfer".  The officer then goes further into detail that he may or may not be wrong for him in needing one.  The ETA of when he was suppose to leave was 2 hours.  There was a mentioning about psychotic medication, but its unclear whether he takes them or needs them.

Mike later talked about wanting brown hair, then darker hair.  Eventually, he began to calm down.  The nurses may have satiated the man in order for him to calm down.  He then became more talkative.  He then says, "Two more left and we are done.  I can feel it, dude."  It wasn't clear whether it was the medicine he was talking about or something else.  The man cursed a lot, mostly the 'f'' word.

Later on, Mike was wheeled away to have a CAT scan done on his head and neck.  He came back within 10-20 minutes later.

Mike asked the officer to take off his gloves.  The officer wore blue plastic medical gloves.  He asked the officer over and over again to uncuff his one hand.  The officer refused.

The officer placed his phone and his ID back into his jacket.  It was then bagged up.

The officer later asked whether Mike wanted a band aid for his head or not.  Mike refused.  The officer then asked whether Terry Johnson was his emergency contact.  Mike refused to have the man contacted.

Mike asked, "Am I a convict?  You treat me like a convict."  The officer didn't respond back.

The officer talked to one of the nurses and wasn't sure whether someone else was involved or not.  According to Mike's story, there was a man involved.  The man was described as being white, stood between 4' 4'' and 5' 4''.  The incident supposedly happened nearby a restaurant, which could have been by Arbys.

The results came back.  His neck and head was fine and free from other injuries.  There was a suspicion that Mike may had a seizure outside the hospital.  They discussed about him being suicidal and something on the lines of cattle medication.  He eventually warmed up with some of the nurses and soon they began to talk and joke with one another.

The officer was called into the hallway to talk to someone on the phone.  After he was finished, he got off the phone.  He told the nurses that there was a lot of blood at the scene.

Mike later said, "You can't do this to me."  He then makes a statement saying, "I'm ready to die.  Not today."

The doctor entered the room and told Mike that he had some stitching done to his head and that he can follow up with his doctor in 7 days to have them removed.  The stitching could have been done shortly before or after the x-ray was completed.  The nurses then cleaned the blood off of Mike's face.

Mike asked the officer, "Am I going to prison?"  The officer replied that he was going to jail.  Mike then asked what his bail would be.  The officer said $300.  After the entire conversation was over and Mike was finished, all of them left the area.

Later on, the desk area reported that the man was still listed as being transferred to the psych ward.  One of the women then told the woman that was typing the information out that they had forgotten to have the entry removed and that the woman should have it removed.  The woman on the computer then asked about why it was listed as forensics and whether he should be listed as being cuffed or not.  The others replied that it was forensics because of the incident and that he shouldn't be listed as being cuffed.  The staff talked about the man being very weird.

My take on it:

I found it very strange that the officer was giving orders to hospital staff about submitting Mike into a psychiatric ward.  The officer isn't a trained psychologist that would be able to diagnose Mike properly.  The details about what happened at the scene were vague and incomplete.  The man had admitted out loud about wanting to die, which is a possibility that he was suicidal.  Because of the lack of information that was being collected by Mike's mental status, it was most likely dropped.

Since Mike has shown some resistance, there shouldn't be any acknowledgement in giving him much sympathy.   If he was drunk, had a cut on his head, bleeding everywhere, cuffed to his bed, resisted having his blood drawn and shots taken; he most likely had done something that he shouldn't have.  He could have either be involved in a fight with someone or even with himself.  It wasn't clear whether his story was true or was a lie.  It could have been a lie since he was intoxicated.

The nurses seemed a bit disorganized in cancelling the psych transfer for Mike, given the fact that they cancelled it about 20-40 minutes after he had left the hospital completely.  

Overall the entire situation was weird and bizarre.  


Story:


My take on it:

The children were removed from their house from a DHS.  The question comes down to:  how long did this worker know about the report and how was he/she involved with the children and the parent's case?  Was this reported a long time ago or a short time ago?  Who referenced this worker to have the child speak with this worker?  It was very unclear of how much time had passed before the girl spoke to someone, forwarded to a DHS worker, and action was taken.

Most DHS workers in this town tend to be very picky, irresponsible, and lazy.  When a report is made for a home full of children (like a run-down place), its most likely that it would never be investigated.  If it was investigated, most of the time the children would stay in the area.  Hell, this is the same department that recommended children in being babysat with an abusive babysitter named Betty some years ago.  That however is another story.  

I'm wondering why the hell the prosecutors had dropped some of the charges on the woman.  If she had all of these things pressed onto her, why the hell is she being let go for some of these serious charges?  Its safe to say that Judge Brown doesn't think things through in prosecuting people appropriately instead of half-assing it.

Although the woman is getting 14 years in prison, I believe that she deserves to be charged with the rest of the charges that were dropped.  That way, she would stay in there longer and would be out of society's way.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

The Hawk Eye planning to start website subscription services on November 12

I came across to a column in today's article from The Hawk Eye.


http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Delaney-101312


I find this rather annoying for them to do this.  We have to pay for every access of news on their website through the use of 'subscription services'.  The writer of the article basically compares The Hawk Eye with The Wall Street Journal and how The Hawk Eye should start doing subscription services despite individuals who can hardly afford anything in this town already.  That means no one without a free subscription cannot access the website, except for subscriptions and searching for an article that would be later used to be paid for (with only have one access use of it before you have to pay again to access the link).

Many people in the city cannot afford to pay for a subscription so they rely on the website.  Others use the website because they don't want to pay an extra subscription to their service because we are paying for the paper version and would like to have a electronic copy of an article or set of articles as well.

How much is a subscription?  How long would it last?  Would it grant access to past articles or do we have to pay extra to obtain each article?

I don't believe The Hawk Eye is doing this for the general public's favor.  I believe they are doing it for their own corporate greed.  Removing every access point for people who want to read the news for free is wrong.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Tim Scott blasting city council for lack of public non-agenda discussions, Fleming disagrees with the idea

A newspaper article was published in The Hawk Eye in regards to a comment made by former mayor Tim Scott.  http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/City2-100212

The entire conversation can be listened through this link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bypvHHf-o8

The Hawk Eye never acknowledged about Robert Fleming's comments in regards to Tim Scott's discussion nor as the article discussed anything else about the conversation other than what was listed
.
After Mayor Davidson agreed with Tim Scott and the problem the City Council has with not giving feedback to the public about concerns, Fleming disagrees of it entirely.

Flemings opinion about people's discussions.
http://youtu.be/1bypvHHf-o8?t=5m37s

Fleming disagreeing with Scott's discussion entirely.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bypvHHf-o8&t=6m29s

It makes me wonder why The Hawk Eye didn't add the disagreeing comment Fleming had made.  Maybe for re-election purposes?

Monday, October 8, 2012

Stupid Saturday and Sunday issues

I had some issues accessing The Hawk Eye website so I could find some articles.  Rest assured that I will submit them a bit late once I can get everything to work again.