“Sunshine Girl - Ottawa Sun” plus 2 more |
- Sunshine Girl - Ottawa Sun
- Inskip hungers for outdoor activities - Knoxville News Sentinel
- Montgomery County Court Briefs - Burlington County Times
| Posted: 24 Apr 2010 03:46 PM PDT Share your story with the Sun! Send us your photos, video or a quick note about something you've seen on the streets of Ottawa. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Inskip hungers for outdoor activities - Knoxville News Sentinel Posted: 24 Apr 2010 09:01 PM PDT
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Photo by Amy Smotherman Burgess
Jasmine Prevost, left, walks with her mother, Marla Ingram, center, as they work with UT student Nicole Piaskowski to complete a survey of the area in NorthRidge Crossing during a walking tour in the Inskip community as part of the Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities initiative. -- Borders (for the project): Cedar Lane/Bruhin Road/I-75 triangle, plus NorthRidge Crossing (formerly Christenberry Heights) (1.3 square miles) -- Population: 4,152 -- Median household income: $25,898 -- Housing units: 2,353 (57 percent rental; 9 percent vacant) -- Average rent on rental units: $385/month -- Racial makeup of primary elementary school: 50 percent white; 38 percent black; 9 percent Hispanic; 2 percent Asian; 1 percent American Indian -- Median age: 35 -- Overweight or obese elementary-age schoolchildren: 45 percent -- Households with no vehicle: 8 percent -- Average amount spent annually per household on groceries: $2,752.92 (including $473.61 on fruits/vegetables, $957.11 on snacks/prepared foods) -- Average amount spent annually per household on eating out: $1,993.19 -- Average amount spent annually per household on alcoholic beverages: $366.86. On smoking products: $301.88 -- Number of parks: 1 (with another just outside boundaries) Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2000 Census); Knox County Health Department; Consumer Expenditure Surveys (2005-2006), Bureau of Labor Statistics; Environmental Systems Research Institute; National Center for Education Statistics; U.S. Dept of Education When Marla Ingram moved to Inskip from Oregon, she was puzzled at first. She knew her neighborhood was full of children and families, but where were they? Ingram had grown accustomed, in her old neighborhood, to seeing kids bike down the road on their way to playgrounds and parks, and to seeing families walking together after dinner. Then, she quickly noticed something else: the lack of sidewalks. "You can't go on a bike ride or a walk in the community," Ingram said. "It's just not safe." So Ingram drove her two children - Jasmine, 11, and Myles, 9 - to playgrounds and basketball courts elsewhere. Then, several months ago, she moved to Northeast Knoxville but kept Myles at Inskip Elementary on High School Road and Jasmine at Gresham Middle in Fountain City. She'd love to see something closer by for other neighborhood children who also attend school with her children. Ann Woody, president of the residents' association at NorthRidge Crossing, formerly Christenberry Heights, wants that, too. Woody, who has lived in the development just outside Inskip for more than 25 years, raised six daughters there and is now raising a son, 14. Woody said the on-site Boys & Girls Club provides activities for younger kids. And nearby Inskip Park has a playground, along with a public swimming pool that's crowded each summer. There's even a bridge so children don't have to cross heavily trafficked streets while going from the development to the park. But not all parents can or will give their children money to swim, Woody said, and once children are too old for swings and slides, their options for outdoor entertainment in the neighborhood are limited. "I've tried to get a basketball goal" for the development, Woody said. But she said she was told it was a liability issue. Other suggestions she said have gotten shot down: a skateboard ramp, a bike trail, a ballfield and a walking or nature trail on a large patch of unused land behind NorthRidge. Even just taking a walk is a barrier to children, Woody said. She said she's lobbied the city of Knoxville and the state Department of Transportation, unsuccessfully, for speed-limit signs and other traffic-calming measures. Plus, in an effort to curtail crime in the development, police officers often stop residents walking outside, who must then show identification to prove they live in NorthRidge. Children are supposed to stay in their own yards, Woody said, not walk to and from one another's houses. Woody appreciates the police presence; she lived through the days when Christenberry Heights' main thoroughfare was known as "Deal Street" for the abundance of drug-sellers on every corner, and she's glad those days are gone. But "these kids need something to do," she said. Otherwise, boredom will tempt them to do things they shouldn't. Inskip has good access to healthy food, said Stephanie Welch, director of community development and planning for the Knox County Health Department. The community is a half-mile from a dense section of grocery stores and restaurants, and with plenty of green space in the neighborhood, many residents, including Ingram, maintain small gardens. What worries Welch is the lack of good, safe access to outdoor activities. And she's a little concerned that, after years of being promised more parks, Inskip residents feel defeated. That might be why Welch and program manager Ben Epperson had a difficult time "pulling people out their houses" to get involved with the Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities initiative. Just one person showed up to the first community meeting, they said. As word got out about the initiative, though, the two ended up with plenty of residents to accompany them on walking audits of the area - including Ingram, whose family still spends a lot of time in Inskip each week, even though they no longer live there. Ingram's son would like to be able to walk or ride his bike from Inskip Elementary to the home of friends in the neighborhood, and he would like the school to offer a healthy, late-afternoon snack for energy after his 11 a.m. lunch has worn off. Ingram's daughter would like the 8 ounces of water she's heard she's supposed to drink daily to be readily available at school, and to be able to play basketball somewhere within walking distance of her home. Ingram currently drives the girl to Inskip's recreation center, which offers open gym three days a week but is hard to reach on foot from much of the neighborhood. That's not a deterrent for all teens. NorthRidge Crossing resident Kelly Ramsey said her 16-year-old son often makes that walk and an even longer one to Edgewood Park, off Broadway in North Knoxville, to play basketball. To get to Edgewood, more than three miles away, he walks all the way around Sharp's Ridge, up Central Street and through a network of neighborhood streets. Few places on the route have sidewalks. "It's very dangerous, and I don't like him doing it," Ramsey said. "But he's determined to play basketball … and there's nothing for him here."
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| Montgomery County Court Briefs - Burlington County Times Posted: 24 Apr 2010 02:42 PM PDT Drunken bridegroom gets jail A drunken Horsham bridegroom wore handcuffs rather than the proverbial ball and chain after he was arrested on assault and resisting arrest charges in the early morning hours following his wedding the day before in Montgomery Township. Now, he also has to serve jail time. Montgomery County Judge Joseph A. Smyth sentenced Christopher M. Gladu, 26, of the first block of Lumber Jack Circle, to eight consecutive two-day weekends to 23 months in the county prison after Gladu admitted sucker-punching the husband of a bridesmaid and battling with police when they arrested him. After Gladu completes his parole, he also will have to serve a two-year probation sentence, pay a $500 fine plus $400 in restitution to his victim, perform 48 hours of community service, attend and complete an anger management program and comply with any drug and alcohol treatment recommended by the county probation office. The incident for which Gladu was charged took place at the Joseph Ambler Inn where Gladu's wedding had taken place on Sept. 4, 2009. The victim told authorities that he went to the room of the bride and groom at about 1 a.m. on Sept. 5 after learning that his wife, a bridesmaid, was in the room following a domestic incident between the new couple. Gladu fled when he learned that police had been called. While waiting for police to arrive, the victim was looking out a glass-paned door leading to the exterior of the hotel when Gladu appeared on the other side and punched his fist through the glass to strike the victim, according to court records. The victim suffered injuries to his nose and right hand. Gladu again fled. Advised by the victim that Gladu was "highly intoxicated and in a rage," police searched for Gladu, finally finding him hiding in some bushes on the property, according to the criminal complaint. After repeated requests from police, Gladu walked out of the bushes. However, he resisted the police's efforts to handcuff him and place him under arrest. Police finally had to use a Taser to bring him under control in order to arrest him, the complaint said. In the complaint, police said Gladu was "manifestly under the influence of alcohol." Man faces charges in fatal hit-and-run Authorities Tuesday announced the arrest of an Ambler man on charges he was speeding and under the influence of drugs last month when his truck struck and killed a 13-year-old Lower Gwynedd boy crossing the street on his skateboard. Andrew R. Meyers, 25, of the first block of Main Street, Tuesday evening was in Montgomery County prison in lieu of $60,000 after he was arrested and arraigned on charges of homicide by motor vehicle while driving under the influence of drugs and related offenses for the death of Nathan Luehrmann-Cowen. "There is no loss for a family greater than the loss of a child," said District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, adding that she had learned that the victim was a "remarkable young person, energetic, spunky, and intelligent." The accident occurred at about 6:30 p.m. on March 17 at Brights Lane and Cindy Circle. Authorities found the teen lying in the road in front of the truck. Lifesaving measures were conducted by first responders who then transported the youth to Abington Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead two hours later from multiple injuries suffered in the crash. Initially, Ferman said, authorities thought the incident was "just one of those tragic accidents." However, on further investigation, authorities learned that the teen had safely crossed the road when he was struck by the speeding truck that was traveling 63 miles an hour down a residential street that is posted for 25 miles an hour, according to the criminal complaint. Meyers, an admitted heroin addict, also admitted to authorities he was "self-medicating" his addiction with drugs he purchased on the street. In addition, traces of marijuana were found in his system, the complaint said. Meyers faces a mandatory three-year prison sentence if he is convicted on the homicide by motor vehicle-driving under the influence charge. Woman faces more sex charges A Lansdale woman allegedly engaged in sex with a 14-year-old boy while out on bail awaiting sentence on an indecent assault case involving a 4-year-old girl, according to authorities. Authorities Tuesday announced the April 16 arrest of Erica L. Cox, 31, of the 800 block of Walnut Street, on charges of statutory sexual assault, indecent sexual assault, corruption of minors and disorderly conduct for the incident involving the teenage boy. Cox is in the county prison in lieu of $250,000 cash bail for that case. Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said that Cox on Feb. 26 had pleaded guilty to indecent assault and endangering the welfare of a child for the inappropriate sexual touching of the 4-year-old girl in 2002. The girl did not report the incident to Abington police until last May. After the guilty plea to the Abington incident, Cox was allowed to remain free on $50,000 unsecured bail to wait for her sentencing hearing. "It's quite unusual for a sex offender who, just weeks after a conviction and awaiting sentence, is back at it again," said Ferman. - Staff writer Margaret Gibbons Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.  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