A woman who gained international fame as an Olympic gymnast more than three decades ago is touching down in central Iowa today (Tuesday) for her final performances in the state in the lead role of “Peter Pan.” Cathy Rigby has been playing the role of the magical young boy for 20 years and says this tour will be her last. Rigby says “I’ve done the role about 26-hundred times and I love it and it’s just the most incredible show that I’ve ever done, but…you know you want to stay at the top of your game and yet it should be the last one.” She says the show is very demanding physically and vocally and she wants to quit while she’s still doing it well. So after 26-hundred performances, how does she keep each show as fresh as the last one — or the first one? She says stepping into the shoes of a child or into a fantasy world like Peter Pan, while “flying” around the stage, there is so much magic and dancing incorporated into the show that it’s always spontaneous and like reliving your childhood every day. The movie “Finding Neverland” is still playing in Des Moines, reflecting on the life of the author who penned the play “Peter Pan” a century ago. Rigby says that film has helped inspire larger audiences to her stage production.Rigby calls James Barrie “an amazing, unique talented man” who captured everyone’s imagination and attention with the magical tale. Rigby is 52-years-old, a mother of four and stands four-foot-11. She plans to finish this tour and return to southern California, where she and her husband run a theatre company. “Peter Pan” opens tonight at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines and runs through Sunday.
Group says Dubuque Diocese is too slow to release abuse information
Organizers of a northeast Iowa group created to support victims of clergy abuse says the Dubuque Catholic Diocese is still too slow to release information on accusations against priests. A spokeswoman for the diocese says however they’re doing what they can to legally release information. Steve Theisen, of Hudson, is the co-organizer of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests or SNAP. He says, “Archibishop Hanus of Dubuque has said he’d have an open dialogue, open disuccsion. And in their policy for the protection of children, it says they’ll also inform the faith communities of any alleged abuses. And so far, we haven’t seen any of that happen.” Theisen says the Dubuque Archdiocese did recently release information on one priest — but that he says that was one week after SNAP handed out leaflets to parishioners about the accused molester. He says, “It’s like they have to be forced to release this information.” He says this is their job to do it isn’t his job to do. Theisen says it’s important to have the names of abusers released, as it’s very tough for victims to come forward. He says when an abuser’s name comes out, it give the victim the courage to know they aren’t the only one that was abused. He says it can give victims courage to come forward if they don’t see the name of their abuser listed. Thiesen says releasing the information on accused abusers is important in moving on with the recovery. He says, “Honesty and truthfulness is the only way, survivors are gonna heal. And it’s the only way the people in the pews are gonna heal and it’s the only way the diocese is gonna heal.” Theisen says the diocese has enough information to support the release of the names of the alleged abusers. Joyce Connors heads the “Office for Protection of Children”, created by the Dubuque Diocese in July 2004 to manage abuse case records and incoming reports of new abuse cases. Connors says if there’s a new abuse case, there’s a system set up that will let the diocese and her office deal with it. In this day and age, if a priest were found guilty of abusing a child, “He would just be gone, boom, right now, no questions asked,” she says. It’s the way it would need to be, under the new policy for keeping children safe. But she says it’s not so clear what happens when an old case comes up. Connors says a lot of cases date from the 1950s, sixties and the seventies. She says they know a lot of people out there haven’t yet come forward with their stories of abuse, so they’re trying to provide an environment that lets such people feel they can come forward and be heard, and to reach out to them, in a pastoral sense. Connors says she takes calls from victims of abuse who are understandably angry and want to tell their story — but she says they can’t make such stories public immediately. She says in a case where she doesn’t have proof but someone’s come forward to make a complaint, until they’ve verified that “fill in that blank with any name” may have happened in fact, she says it’s irresponsible to put out the name of the accused. Yet she says the committee understands that it creates a conflict with its mission of shining light on cases that once were covered up. The accusers know they’re telling the truth, she says, but with no proof if an allegation’s made and evetually not sustained, the church has a problem if it’s publicized the accusations. The flipside, of course, is that using such discretion might make it look like the church is still hiding such abusers.
Victim in R-V fire identified
Investigators have identified the woman who died in an recreation vehicle fire in eastern Iowa Sunday. 55-year-old Mary Alice Gotmer lived in an r-v that was parked at the Jolly Roger Campground in North Liberty. The r-v caught fire late Saturday night and Gotmer’s body was found after they put out the fire. Investigators says smoke inhalation was the cause of death. The origin of the fire remains undetermined.
Former Denver woman pleads guilty to buying guns for illegals
A former Denver, Iowa woman has pleaded guilty to buying guns for illegal aliens. 36-year-old Christine McFadden was charged earlier this month with purchasing firearms in her name, which were then distributed to illegal aliens in the Waterloo area between November of 1999 and November of 2001. McFadden admitted in federal court that she bought several firearms and gave them to her roommate, who she knew was in the U-S illegally. The roommate then distributed some of the weapons to other illegal aliens.
Grassley talks ag subsidies, homeland security
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is introducing an agricultural bill today he says will focus on farm payments to small and medium-sized farmers. Grassley and Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota are cosponsoring the Rural America Preservation Act. Grassley, a republican, says he’s long tried to keep large-scale corporate farmers from monopolizing federal subsidies, which hurts smaller farmers who could use a hand.Grassley says one way to save money is to put a 250-thousand dollar cap on subsidies which would save one-point-three billion dollars. Grassley says ten-percent of the farmers are now getting 72-percent of the federal subsidies, which he says shows a distinct problem. Grassley says his bill would also limit the “subterfuge” surrounding the so-called three entity rule, which allows one farm family to split itself into three so that each person has a separate cap and they get more money. Grassley says he also wants to develop a standard to determine who gets farm subsidies, ensuring it’s farmers with “dirt under their fingernails” and not just a corporate farm owner. On another topic, Grassley says he expects Michael Chertoff to win the Senate’s approval today to become the nation’s new Homeland Security chief. Grassley predicts Chertoff will be confirmed by a wide margin as he’s well qualified to take over the agency. Grassley says President Bush needs a strong leader at Homeland Security as it’s the front line to protect against department, plus, it’s a brand new department and needs “capable leadership.” Grassley says the current color-coded warning system that shows our terror alert level will likely be altered under Chertoff. Grassley says people don’t take those colored warnings seriously and that shows a weakness in our homeland security. Chertoff is a former Justice Department official and is now a federal judge. Current Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge is stepping down.
ISU coach doesn’t talk NCAA Tourney yet
Iowa State coach Wayne Morgan says he won’t mention the NCAA Tournament to his players. The Cyclones have won five straight games and suddenly look like a team that could be headed back to the big dance for the first time since 2001. Morgan says they talk about the next game, and then when that’s done they talk about the next game after that. ISU takes a 13-8 overall record into tonight’s game at home against Kansas State and with a victory would improve to 6-5 in the Big-12. Morgan says they have some young kids who have figured out how to play, and who have figured out if they play hard defense, then they really have a chance to stop people. Morgan says a pair of freshman have had a big impact on their winning streak. He says Tasheed Carr and Rahshon Clark have both stepped up and are playing the way they’re capable.Kansas State won the first matchup back on January 26th but Wildcat coach Jim Wooldridge says this is a much better Cyclone team. He says they have more guys playing well and are playing with confidence. He says he’s always thought the Cyclone’s guard play was some of the best in the league.Wooldridge says the Wildcats will need to limit their turnovers, as he says ISU forces teams into a lot of turnovers and likes to force the tempo.
Audubon woman charged with stealing from Post Office
An Audubon woman is charged with two counts of theft linked to her work. The series of events began over a year ago while she worked at the Audubon Post Office. 41-year-old Peggy Obermeier has been charged in Audubon County with second- and fifth-degree theft, accused of writing company checks on her employer’s bank account to pay her own personal debts to get money for herself totaling more than one-thousand but less than 10-thousand dollars, starting in November 2003. Obermeier’s also accused of taking or interfering with mail belonging to a former employer, starting last November. She was released after posting ten-thousand dollars bond.
