Showing posts with label Burlington. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Burlington. Show all posts

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Surveys shown that Burlington High School is unsafe; proof that security cameras aren't helping

According to the 2011 and 2012 Burlington Index Report, the Burlington High School's safe school index is at a low.  You can find the reports here.  http://www.burlington.k12.ia.us/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=42&Itemid=58

2011



2012



Despite having cameras all around the school and the doors of classrooms and entrances are locked down since 2006, the safety index is still at a low rate.  

Its questionable whether there is any enforceable actions done to reduce the violence.  Its also questionable about whether these statistics are accurate or not.  For example, the 2012 version of the states that student's physical and emotional safety are high.  

Another thing to consider is that there is a statement within the documents that says that these are surveys.  In 2012, only 71% of students filled out a survey while in 2011 data shows no statistic of how many had participated.  The problem with surveys is that not all the students are always accurate and truthful.  Some rush the survey while some others lie in some of the answers.  

What makes this interesting of a statistic is the fact that despite the surveys being inaccurate in the most part, the safety index of the school is still low.  

I'm curious about the documents from before 2010.  Unfortunately, the BCSD's website has no statistics showing the safety from previous years.    

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.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Memorial Auditorium's large white fountain has been occupied by random people for years!

Every summer, I would walk downtown to check out the riverfront view.  Every summer, the fountains nearby the Memorial Auditorium are turned on as part of a display.

And every summer, there have been people playing in and around the entire area.

















The photo above was taken earlier today as it was a common thing that was being done to that fountain.  Children, hell even adults play in it.  Even though there is a clear visible sign with capitalized letters, including using the colors red and black; people still jump in and play around.


What is the fountain's real purpose?


According to a June 1998 Minutes document from the City of Burlington, a fountain was being discussed in being placed somewhere in Burlington.  It would be considered to help promote tourism, but was also considered an attraction.  Council Member Wright considered it more of an addition to the Memorial Auditorium rather than an attraction.


However, according to the Grow Burlington website, the fountains that are located in front of the building is a favorite cooling off spot during the summer.


So the fountain's main purpose is to either draw tourism or be an addition to the auditorium.  The separate fountains located on the ground in front of the building have a general purpose of keeping individuals cooled off during the summer. 


However, even though the smaller ones that are lying flat on the ground and are used more for cooling tourists off during the summer, it doesn't mean that people can jump in or around the large white fountain nearby.


Why do people do this?

Having a few water parks in town, it would be understandable to go to places like Fun City and play in a larger pool full of slides, toys, etc.  However, there is a cost to attending such places and they're usually not cheap.  


Where is a public area full of water that is running every summer and doesn't cost any money to entertain one's self?  The white fountain down by the river is the only place.  Some individuals may be doing this because they want to play in the water where is clean, plentiful, and free.


That doesn't rule out other individuals who do it because it’s really hot outside.  Today was one of those days where the temperature reached near the 90's.  



Is there anyone enforcing the rules that were placed originally by the sign?

The most likely answer to this question is: NO.  If it was enforced by any law enforcement, people who regularly or occasionally jump in and play would never come back.  There wouldn't be anyone in it if it was enforced effectively.  
   
It would probably not be enforced for two reasons:  many officers in this town can't enforce anything effectively due to the cities lack of funding and the poor training the officers receive; and there isn't a barrier preventing people from jumping in it.



What would happen if someone were to get electrocuted or hurt from playing in the fountain?

If someone were to get hurt or killed as a result for playing in the water fountain, it would be easily viewed by anyone who is at the river.  


Law Enforcement would most likely be involved with fixing the issue of the offenders, perhaps even the city.  


If a lawsuit were to open up as a result from playing inside the fountain, the chances of winning the case would be zero to none.  The big reason is the fact that the person(s) involved in swimming, jumping, etc. either ignored or couldn't read the sign that was put into the ground.  Another reason would be that it was originally designed to be an attraction, or by what Council Member Wright considered it an "addition", not some mini play park that is left unsupervised 24/7.


I've seen many children jumping and waving their arms around the edge, even the inner part of the fountain.  Clearly it is a safety hazard for anyone being in the fountain before someone slips and breaks their neck or gets electrocuted.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Thugs break into old Apollo High School building

I stumbled onto a collection of videos recorded created by the user .  These particular videos were meant for checking out the school as it was listed to be a 'haunted place'.  What did though wasn't legal.  Here are links to each of the videos.





















After doing some research, the names of the three men that broke into the school are Adam, Blake, and Tevin.  Each of them attend the Burlington Community High School.











Adam Schneekloth












Blake Schneider















Tevin Rooney




Now that their names have been discovered, lets now look what the heck they were doing to the building.



What have they accomplished that night?


For some idiotic reason, these men entered the school without permission in the middle of the night.  Their small purpose was to find any 'ghost activity' as they have linked an article about the school being haunted.  What they mostly done was destroying the property by breaking windows, spray painting areas inside the building, and possibly stealing pieces of property left inside the building.












One of them using a brick to break into one of the windows.  They entered through the second floor of the building.



Once the window was broken into, all three of them began entering the opening.












Adam, one of the three men that entered through the window.




Eventually, they came across a photo, lying in a locker.






















Picture taken of a kid named Glen.




One of the men was afraid of getting lost.  They memorized one of the rooms they were in, which was 107.  They each explored hallways that were full of lockers, rooms, and the auditorium.  They found dead birds, as well as junk and graffiti; left by previous intruders.











Written message made by them.  The date could be misleading in order to prevent retraced footsteps by authorities. (5/8/2010)




They proceeded onto the upstairs, leading to a room full of switches.

























Signs nearby the switches.




Down the steps, they entered a area full of graffiti.  One of them proceeds to make their own mark.















































Graffiti.




They proceeded into the cafeteria.  One of them claimed that he heard of a baby crying.  They eventually left, not taking the risk in deciding whether or not it was a pigeon that made the noise.










The three of them entered back into Adam's car.



On a different night, Blake entered the school by himself.

















Blake talking to Adam on his cellphone, telling him the news that he is in the building.




He finds a couple of dead birds, including some that were flying around inside the building.  He goes down a couple flight of stairs, leading deeper into the school.  Throughout the trip, he steps on a lot of glass and junk lying on the floor.

He then explains to Adam, as well as on camera, that he is planning to spray the entire second floor so that he won't get lost again.




















Blake telling Adam about spraying the second floor with graffiti.




The video ends with Blake talking about the place where he heard footsteps earlier and that it occurred at the steps.



Who are these people?


Each of these individuals have a YouTube channel.  Blake originally created it and uploaded the footage recently.

Another YouTube channel leads into something different, in music.  They use to have a website, but its currently 404'd. They promote their musical skills, doing guitar solos and some techno-related things.  They promote it on MySpace, YouTube, and other websites.

Each of them have one thing in common:  They are idiotic and careless.  This video will show part of their idiocy.

















During the trip at the Apollo school, one of them cut themselves with their knife.  A couple of them weren't using proper lighting.  None of them avoided the glass or walked in a balanced matter.  They went around dangerous machinery, climbed up and down warn-out staircases, and even admitted of being lost.  They heard noises, which could have been others whom would also enjoy breaking and entering the building as well.

There were many potential factors that could have each of them killed or seriously injured as a result of poor judgement and stupidity.  What would they do if one of them got hurt so badly that they aren't able to get out of the school.  Would the two of the friends help their friend out or leave him in fear of waiting time and possibly drawing attention from authorities or nearby neighbors?

The strange thing was the fact that not only that the user who uploaded the videos took them down, the person also re-uploaded them and cut out some pieces of film from the original uploads.  Here are the dead links to each of the videos.  The channel still has some pieces of footage, but not all of them.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRLDlhO1hww&fs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8dgCd8-j3E&fs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK1bSIBzkXk&fs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj9-i2OnZ1Q&

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHoFeHkVsAA&fs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5xlTkA_4Ec

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp64qQTu-j8

Friday, March 30, 2012

Criminals from Chicago and other out-of-town areas are moving into Burlington

Surrounding in and out of South Hill, including areas in and around Greenway are subjected with unusual criminal actives for years.  Theft, drug dealing and making, shootings, stabbings, assaults,  disorderly conducts, etc. have been increasing over the years in these particular areas.

Here are only just a few snippets of things going on in these areas.  There are others and more listed in the For The Record reports that I didn't list because it doesn't separate the incident areas with the specific ones needed for this post.  Many of the For The Record reports have more than one person listed located in other towns and streets.

http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Street-vendor-120911
http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Shootings-072711
http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Stabbing-070611
http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Quiet-down-063011
http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Guns-082410
http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Crack-dealer-052910
http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Robbery-stabbing-042710
http://thehawkeye.com/story/Smell-042210
http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Robbery-stabbing-verdict-031210
http://thehawkeye.com/story/Knife-threat-110109
http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Stabbing-102209
http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Knife-attack-091109
http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Robbery-082709
http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Dealer-job-061209
http://www.thehawkeye.com/Story/Stepson-041509

Here is a couple of map incidents recorded and placed by the Burlington Police Department at CrimeReports.com.  This range can only go from September 30, 2011-March 30, 2012.  Its located both in and around Greenway and South Hill regions.  Unfortunately, there isn't a map listed for decades of activity, which could be better in showing how serious the crime is in the areas.  Areas past the main downtown section has more criminal activity happening there than within the main downtown district.

Greenway










South Hill


















Some areas of town are starting to receive new and unusual crimes popping up in safe and quiet neighborhoods. Thefts, break-ins, even people being stalked and chased from motor vehicle drivers. 

Housing and apartments pricing is cheap


One of the biggest impacts that are bring potential criminal individuals into this town is the cheap pricing of housing and apartments.


Here's a recent article about how Burlington's real estate markets are improving and how relaxed the local banks are in dealing with the housing market.

http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Real_Estate_032512

The housing market here is more cheaper and cost effective than it is in large cities, like Chicago.  Some criminals listed from the articles that were arrested has some backgrounds of living in the Chicago suburbs.  In large cities, there are expensive pricing for housing and staying in apartment complexes.  Many individuals have difficult time trying to either find a decent job to pay off the bills or to find loopholes that would help fund temporary needs.  Moving from Chicago to Burlington is only a four hour drive and going for the housing market would be the first step of obtaining a cheaper and easier way to stay in the town.

Areas, like Greenway and South Hill, are dominated mostly by mostly African Americans.  Most of which live either with family members or by themselves.  Some areas have some other racial backgrounds as well, some of which would integrate a multiracial living conditions, like a couple being the opposite of each others race, as well as kids that they own.  Green Way has some multiracial living conditions, which some could get along with the neighborhood, depending on the people's attitude and view on the situation.  Multiracial couples are usually widely accepted by many individuals in positive ways, while others are accepted in a different matter.  Its similar to religious backgrounds for couples and children as well, but for the main purpose of this post is for racial talk.

Greenway is full of criminal activities due to the low pricing of the markets and people having the opportunity to moving into these underestimated areas of crime.

Last year, there was an discussion of using $19 million dollars in renovation costs to make each of the buildings appear new and decent looking.  They were also given in the months ahead housing equipment; like stoves, toasters, sinks, etc.  The area is able to receive large subsidies under the federal Section 8 low-income housing program.

http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/greenway-040811

Months later, it was approved that $14.4 million dollars would be used in paying off the renovation related costs.  The money came from a governmental grant.  The limited partnership consisted of a Chicago-based National Equity Fund Inc., which gives them the right to own 99.9% of the property.  The .01% is split between Newbury Management and Kansas City-based non-profit Phoenix Family Housing Corp., which plans to offer low-income families at Greenway financial support services.


With the renovations and assistance being given to Greenway and now owned mostly by a Chicago-based company and a Kansas City non profit corp., it creates a better and comfortable zone for newcomers to come live in areas like this.

City and state governmental assistance

Another thing that drives people from out of the city to live in the town is the city and state's governmental assistance.


Department of Human Services, Young House, and other assistance-based funding areas are creating relaxed and easy access for new and old-time Burlingtonians to receive funding.  Things like Medicad, food stamps, free or reduced lunches, assisted heating and cooling, assisted utilities, etc. are being offered to jobless and low-income individuals.  There are limited restrictions in receiving such funding as long as they are below the income line that is set.

There is also funding for rent that applies to a single parent and children living with them.  Mostly its applied to single mothers with kid(s) living with them and mostly come from cities like Chicago.  Because of this extra help from the governmental programs, all they would have to pay for is the utilities, which they can get a job with a low income low enough to stay in each of the programs and pay for the utilities and personal goods.

With receiving benefits from both the state and the city, including the companies that own areas like Greenway, living free with limited to none work status is easy pickings.  Some do deserve it better than others whom aren't taking it as an easy way out and never planning to become success anytime in the future.  The problem is that none of us can really weed out the ones who truly deserve from the ones who is truly undeserving. 

At South Hill, they don't receive the small extra resource from the companies whom are funding the Greenway projects.  however, they still have just as much access to the other governmental funding as everyone else is under there low income bar.

Recently, South Hill has a group called The South Hill Neighborhood Association that is looking into making the group a nonprofit 501(c)(3).  The group is designed for creating activities, looking for improvements in neighborhoods, etc.

http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/south-hill-011512

The problem I have with the program is that I never hear about a North Hill Neighborhood Association and whether or not they receive a similar status when it comes to nonprofit status.  In fact, trying to research the North Hill version of it, but nothing pops up.  North Hill is on the complete opposite of South Hill, which I never read or hear about it through the newspaper or The Hawk Eye website.  It could be listed under a different location and name, however there isn't anything I read about the North Hill side having one.  Is it only designed for neighborhoods with low income individuals and criminal-filled neighborhoods?

Police activity is more limited than bigger cities

Although many arrests are made on these individuals who live in crime infested neighborhoods, not all of them are caught and arrested.  Its pretty similar in cities like Chicago, however the ratio of officers and the funding they receive is much lower.  Because of this, officers are less likely to patrol alone in areas like South Hill and Greenway without calling backup.

South Hill, for example, tends to have speeders caught here and there.  When an officer pulls over an individual in particular areas near or in South Hill, they tend to always call backup.  Its not for certain whether its a procedure done in order to prevent an unexpected incident from happening or its based on the officer's view of the neighborhood.  As far as I know, officers could have incidents happen to them or someone they know when they patrolled the areas.  Whatever the case may be, the officer would feel uncomfortable about being an area like South Hill and would less likely patrol it more than the areas in the downtown district.

About close to 2 years ago, there was a discussion about South Hill and what the South Hill Neighborhood Association and the community can do about it.

http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/south-hill-091210

The meeting was created by Gary Thomas in response to a July 28 attack.  The attack that was listed didn't discuss the result and the purpose the gang of thugs jumped the kid.

Some word went out from a few cab drivers stated that a similar amount of individuals in a gang that size had to be the same ones whom had done a similar situation months after the pertained incident.  It occurred nearby Walgreens and Family Video where a kid whom was walking home was jumped by several  African American individuals, whom were believed to be in a gang.  What their real purpose was to steal the kid's iPod and then beat him until he was hospitalized.  It was unclear to whom had seen it and whether it was reported in the police or the newspaper under either a main article or a For The Record article piece or not.  Normally children whom are harmed usually doesn't have their names and incidents publicized in the papers unless the parent or guardian grants access for them to do so.

The January 2012 article discussed about placing either real or fake cameras in the parks.  The problem I had with the piece is that it lists the mentioning of dummy and real cameras, including their prices.  If they considered installing a dummy camera, someone can easily tell a fake from a real one by looking up price information and the brand listed on the camera equipment itself.  This would prove to be useless.

Standard security cameras, with night vision, motion detection, etc. can range as much as $150-$300 a piece.  Having to consider the most expensive seems to be a dead giveaway that its never going to be funded.  It may be better quality control in regards with dealing with finding individuals in the park, but the high price of placing such cameras in an area not as affected from crime as elsewhere isn't worth it.  Now placing something like the cheaper cameras can be worth it once they receive the non-profit status, but the question comes down to of whom will be responsible with collecting and distributing footage to both the neighborhood watch group and law enforcement?

Now and into the future

While its good to have a neighborhood association to find solutions to fix the issues and make some headway of dealing with the criminal issues, its up to the City of Burlington to fix their funding issues they been having for more than 20 years and start giving proper training and funding for police officers to become more prepared and more active than what they currently doing.  The city, perhaps the state, can create more restrictions to individuals whom are suckling the funding's money and refuse to improve their lives and give it to those who truly deserve by looking into their criminal backgrounds, as well as backgrounds from out of the city.  As far as with the housing market goes, there could be restrictions of criminals from receiving certain loans or benefits in receiving a home or rental of an apartment until their probation and other serious criminal charges are over and dealt with.

With the current trend we are heading, criminal activities are going to get worse if the city and the police department isn't doing enough with fixing the problem.  It will take a lot of money and dedication before we can see results of reducing the problem as minimum and frequent as possible.