SCIENCE PROJECT AT MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS BOMB SCARE
Printer-friendly versionJanuary 15, 2010 3:10 p.m. (San Diego) — Millennial Middle School was put on lockdown following a bomb scare, San Diego Police Department confirms. The Metro Arson Strike Team (MAST) was dispatched and students were evacuated. "Minutes ago, MAST determined that the device was not a bomb, though it was a suspicious device," SDPD officer Jim Johnson informed East County Magazine. San Diego Fire & Rescue spokesman Maurice Luque confirmed that the device was an electronic science project consisting of a plastic bottle with wires and electronic components. Millennial Middle School is located at 1110 Carolina Lane in the Chollas View neighborhood of San Diego. Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that there was a bomb threat. No threat was made; a school official called authorities to report the suspicious device. Printer-friendly version
LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS: A MIRACLE IN MEMPHIS
Printer-friendly version By Miriam Raftery “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” — Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Editor’s Note: This essay was written several years ago following my trip to Memphis on the anniversary of King’s death, but its message remains as timely now as it was then. MEMPHIS – The shadow of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. looms large in Memphis, where Martin Luther King was assassinated thirty years ago. But his message transcends time and place, as I was poignantly reminded last year during a visit to the place where King drew his final breath. “You are the press. You are the key to world peace,” Rev. Jesse Jackson told a crowd of journalists and citizen bloggers at the National Media Reform Conference in Memphis which I attended last January. Jackson and other speakers urged good people everywhere to “be the media” and tell the stories of real people whose voices are too often ignored by the mainstream press. Jackson was with King when a bullet forever silenced the famed civil rights leader. Now, he recalled King’s impassioned plea for journalists everywhere to “keep hope alive” through honest reporting about war, economic justice and other key issues. Truth would be revealed, we were reminded, as long as “in the pitch of dark, someone lit one light.” Those words echoed in my mind on the eve of Dr. King’s assassination, when I visited the Civil Rights Museum. Exhibit after exhibit revealed a long history of struggle for racial equality in America, a history marred by violence and brutality. Today, with racial violence on the rise across America, including right here in East County, messages from the past provided an eerie sense of déjà vu. Stepping outside into the darkness when the museum closed, I saw a glimmer of tears in my roommate’s eyes, reflected beneath a streetlight. “It all seems so hopeless,” she bemoaned. “We have so far to go.” Then from the distance, a voice carried in the night. We saw a man preaching below the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, where King was slain on January 15, 1968. A group of men stood around the preacher in a silent, somber vigil, clutching umbrellas in the falling rain. The speaker turned to a man beside him and lit a candle. More candles appeared, as if by magic. One man passed the flame to another, then another, until a warm circle of light pierced the darkness. “Come, join hands if you wish,” the speaker invited all present. We stepped forward and held hands with strangers in the dark, as the unknown preacher led us in a stirring chorus of We Shall Overcome. One could almost hear the voices of past civil rights marchers and their ancestors rooted in slavery as the final notes echoed in the night. The last strains faded. The group disbanded, each taking a candle and vanishing into the darkness. “Do you know what just happened here?” a fellow museum patron asked me. “Wasn’t it a commemoration to honor Dr. King?” I asked. He shook his head. “That man speaking was Rev. Washington, head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference,” he said, naming the organization founded by Rev. King. “The man beside him was from Nation of Islam.” “The group founded by Malcolm X?” He nodded. “They just brokered a truce between the Bloods and the Cripps.” A shiver rippled down my spine. “Then those other men…?” “Gang members. They all spent time in prison.” The men had pledged to stop violence and work together to fight for jobs for their members here in Memphis, he explained. The spirit of Dr. King was as tangible as the night wind whistling in my ears. In the darkness where King’s life ended, a new light had been kindled. By sharing this story with you, I’ve kept that flame alive. I’ve also witnessed the abiding power of faith to triumph over hate. In these divisive times torn asunder by war and poverty, King’s legacy of nonviolence lives on–providing hope and inspiration to a new generation. Printer-friendly version
2 LA MESA SCHOOLS ON LOCK-DOWN
Printer-friendly version January 15, 2010 (La Mesa) — At 2:11 this afternoon, La Mesa Police officers responded to a call of a student at La Mesa Middle School, 4200 Parks Avenue, who had been shot at with an unknown weapon. The student was not injured. Reportedly, the student was on or near the athletic field when he believed he had been fired at from the rear of a house in the 7500 block of Orien Avenue. Upon arriving, officers quickly secured the surrounding area and both La Mesa Middle School and nearby La Mesa-Dale Elementary School were placed on lock-down by school administrators. Officers subsequently contacted four males (one adult and three juveniles) inside the suspected residence where the shots came from. The investigation revealed that a BB gun (handgun) had been fired in the backyard of the residence. Investigation is still being conducted as to whether the victim student was intentionally being shot at or whether the incident was an accident. Both schools were on lock-down for just over one hour. Printer-friendly version
A MIRACLE IN HAITI: HOSPITAL STILL STANDING AMID DEVASTATION; EAST COUNTY DOCTOR LEADS RELEIF EFFORT
Printer-friendly version Open House for Haiti fundraiser planned Jan. 23 on Mt. Helix January 14, 2010 (Mt. Helix) – “It would say it’s an act of God,” Dr. Carolle Jean-Murat told East County Magazine upon learning that a hospital she has helped to support still stands amid the rubble of the 7.0 earthquake that ravaged Haiti. “People built it with their own hands…The hospital is still standing except for the E.R.," she said, "but many of the homes are flattened.” Murat, a native of Haiti who now lives in the Mt. Helix area, has led efforts to help meet the health and educational needs of people in Haiti for the past 24 years as co-founder of Angels for Haiti. Now she is organizing a fundraising drive to bring water, food, and first aid to save survivors of the quake that has killed over 100,000 people. To donate and learn more, visit www.healththroughcommunications.org. “The same area was hit by four hurricanes in two months in 2008,” she said. “The roads were damaged and we were starting to rebuild.” Of 12 basins recently built to collect water and prevent illness, ten were destroyed. “We were barely recuperating from the hurricanes that destroyed the area and now we have an earthquake,” Murat said. The Hospital St. Joseph was built by hand with a team of volunteers from the Codeva organization in Ridore in La Valle de Jacmal. Angels for Haiti sends teams three times a year to the area and recently helped raise money to build a water tower. “Just imagine a hospital with no water,” said Murat, who confirmed that the new water tower is still standing. “But in the surrounding community, many of the homes are flooding up,” she said. The nearest other hospital is in JacMal, at sea level, where damage has been heavy. “We are 3,000 miles above sea level. I don’t know how we survived,” said Murat, who learned that the hospital was still standing after hearing from her fiancé, Gody Boursiquot, who has led efforts to help Haitian children. Boursiquot was in Haiti when the earthquake struck. “We were terribly worried,” Murat said, adding that her fiance was able to place a call to his father in Boston informing him that he’d survived—and so had the hospital. The needs of others, however, are staggering. Bodies are stacked up in the street and in hospitals. There is not enough water and survivors will soon perish if not enough can be brought in quickly, according to news accounts on the major broadcast stations. “A lot of the children are dying,” Murat said. “We have problems all over the country.” A community center built thanks to the efforts of Murat and her organization in Au Tuff has been particularly hard hit, with major damage including a cracked roof. In the surrounding area, it’s even worse. “Ninety percent of the homes are flattened,” she reported. Water for Children Africa, a group founded by Vickie Butcher of El Cajon, is also working with Murat to provide donations of water for the people in Haiti. In addition to donating online at www.heatlhroughcommunications.org, people can attend an Open House for Haiti fundraiser on January 23 from 2 to 8 p.m. at Murat’s Mt. Helix home. For directions and to RSVP, contact her at carolle@drcarolle.com. Printer-friendly version
COMMUNITY MEETING ON POWERLINK TONIGHT: COUNTY TO REVEAL NEW CONCERNS
Printer-friendly version January 14, 2010 (Alpine) – Supervisor Dianne Jacob is hosting a community meeting to inform the public about new details on potentially devastating impacts of the Sunrise Powerlink. County representatives will be on hand to present these new findings at 6 p.m. at the Alpine Community Center, 1830 Alpine Boulevard. While this meeting has been called to specifically address the Alpine community, all concerned members of the San Diego community are encouraged to attend. Supervisor Jacob has previously told East County Magazine that Powerlink’s impact on Alpine will be the most serious impact of any project on any community in her district during the past two decades. The East County Community Action Coalition, and the Protect Our Communities Foundation, will also be at the event to address other questions on the group’s progress in halting construction of the Sunrise Powerlink throughout East County. Printer-friendly version
HAWK WATCH: SATURDAYS IN RAMONA THROUGH FEB. 27
Printer-friendly version January 14, 2010 (Ramona) – The Ramona Grasslands, a protected resource area, is home to 19 species of raptors including golden eagles, hawks and falcons. Each Saturday through February 27 from 9am-noon, the Wildlife Research Institute is hosting “Hawk Watch” at the Ramona Grasslands. Visitors will observe the wild raptors and learn from WRI biologists about the birds’ life histories and the significance of this local ecosystem to the raptors’ survival There will be demonstrations of hawk banding and tracking eagles with transmitters. This free, educational program is open to the public and rewarding for all ages. Bring binoculars and cameras if you have them. Biologists will have spotting scopes for your use. Sturdy shoes and layered clothing are recommended, although there is no hiking. The facility is handicapped accessible. Programs will be cancelled only in the event of heavy rains. The event is at WRI Headquarters, which is located on Highland Valley Road near the intersection of Rangeland and Highland Roads. Directions: From the south & west, Take Highway 67 to Ramona and turn north (left turn) on Highland Valley Road for 2 miles and look for our sign, Wildlife Research Institute, Inc. on the right, 18030 Highland Valley Road. From the north, take Highway 78 to Ramona Main Street (Hwy 67) turn right, proceed 3 miles to Highland Valley Road turn north (right turn) for 2 miles and look for our sign, Wildlife Research Institute, Inc., 18030 Highland Valley Road. For large groups or additional information call 760-789-3992 or visit http://www.wildlife-research.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=6. Printer-friendly version