The sixth annual “White Privilege Conference” is going on at Central College in Pella. Organizer Eddie Moore, Jr. is Director of Intercultural Life at the College, and he says the name raises a lot of eyebrows and might even be misconstrued as a gathering of people who favor racism, instead of aiming to abolish it. He says it’s an educational conference and it’s about dealing with “some ugly historical things in our country” and making sure those things aren’t still going on today. Professionals have come from all over to the annual conference, and Moore says there are also a lot of students. One of the biggest things gonig on is the “High School Institute,” and around a hundred kids from schools in several states are learning about white privilege. There’s also entertainment, theatrical tributes to notable people including Fannie Lou Hamer and Rosa Parks. There are comedy and musical performances as well as workshops on things like teacher education. It’s not all lecture-style learning, as Moore says everyone was invited to a dinner last night that was partly a Passover event. “Sometimes the best way to learn is breaking bread with your neighbor,” Moore says. He says the Shabbat dinner was a good way for people to learn about Jewish history and celebrations while they enjoy some fun and music. The conference continues through today (Saturday), and Moore says he thinks it will be an annual event — on the 25th conference he says he’ll assess and see if they should keep on going. Read more by surfing to http://www.whiteprivilegeconference.com.
Ottumwa man charged with stabbing
Police in Ottumwa have charged one person in an attack last week that sent two people to the hospital with serious injuries. 44-year-old Lynn Nathaniel of Ottumwa is being held in the Wappello County jail on 52-thousand dollars bond, on charges of attempted murder and violation of a restraining order. Investigation into a stabbing on April 21 reveals that Nathaniel confronted two people on the city’s south side. 36-year-old Christi Barwick and Guadalupe Martinez of Ottumwa received life-threatening knife wounds. When officers went to Nathaniel’s house, he began stabbing himself in the chest. Barwick and Martinez continue to recover at University Hospitals in Iowa City, while Nathaniel was treated at Ottumwa Regional Health Center.
Fired trooper formerly charged with sex crime
A former state trooper has been formally charged with second-degree sexual abuse. 39-year-old Karl Kluender (rhymes thunder) was formally charged this week in Crawford County district court. The Huxley man was fired from his job with the State Patrol earlier this month, following an investigation into allegations that he sexually abused his 7-year-old niece at his parents’ Denison apartment back in 1993. Kluender’s free on bond though he’s restricted to Story County, where he lives, except for trips to Des Moines to see his attorney and to Crawford County for future court appearances. Kluender’s scheduled to be arraigned in Crawford County District Court on May 16.
New meth law generates questions for Drug Czar
Iowa’s new meth law is generating lots of calls from inside and outside the state to the drug czar’s office. The law takes effect May 21st and will require cold medications containing the meth-making ingredient pseudoephedrine to be kept behind the counter. The director of the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy, Marv Van Haaften, has been busy on the phone.He says, “I’ve probably talked to 20 or 30 states. I was just asked this morning if I would fly to Boston to speak to the Attorney Generals meeting of the eastern part of the United States.” Van Haaften says he doesn’t know for sure if he’ll be flying to Boston, but he will be flying to the Washington for a White House luncheon in May at the request of the National Office of Drug Control Policy. Van Haaften says he’s also gotten a lot of calls from in Iowa.He says most have been from retailers and wholesalers who want to know how they can comply with the law. Van Haaften says his office has set up a one-stop spot for people to check on the new law. He says they’ve put guidelines on their website for consumers, retailers, pharmacists and law officers. He says they felt that would be the best way to deal with all the questions. Polk, Iowa’s largest county has already enacted a local ordinance controlling the sale of the cold remedies. Van Haaften says he found out first hand how the ordinance works when he stopped on the way home to buy some cold medication. He admits it was “inconvenient.” He says, “I had to personally get out my driver’s license. Had to explain what my phone number was and all of that. So, it is slightly more inconvenient, but will it is inconvenient, people support it because it’s going to have an impact on meth labs.” To find out more information on the new law, surf to the Office of Drug Control Policy’s website at: www.state.ia.us/odcp.
Page’s socks draw interest at the Statehouse
Seven pairs of socks are the talk of the statehouse today (Friday). Seven young women who are paid to serve as pages in the Iowa House are wearing knee-highs. Eighteen-year-old Megan Hess of Spencer says their page outfits — a navy-blue blazer with a skirt or pants — are kind of out-dated. “I don’t really mind it, but we just figured we look pretty dorky, so we might as well top it off with knee-socks,” Hess says. Hess is wearing white-and-pink-striped socks, which she describes as pretty traditional compared to some of the other fashion statements that’re being made. One young woman is wearing bright pink socks adorned with green and yellow bubbles. Eighteen high-schoolers are paid to be pages. They run errands for the 100 state representatives. The boys in the group are not engaging in the sock-fest. William Tuthill of Bennett, an 18-year-old high school senior, explains. “I just wear white socks with boots,” Tuhill says. Hess admits knee-socks with a skirt is not a fashion statement she would make back home to Spencer high school. “Not at all,” Hess says. “I would get made fun of so bad.” Hess has worn knee-socks for the past three days. Seventeen-year-old Jennifer Danilson of Boone became a knee-sock devotee during her first week as a House page.”I went through four pairs of pantyhose in the first four days of work,” Danilson says. “(Wearing knee-socks) beats tights or panty hose. It’s a lot more comfortable.” So, what pair is she wearing today? “Light blue argyle with navy design on them,” Danilson says. “We wear whatever. We don’t really care if it matches. Hot pink or yellow. It doesn’t matter.” It’s a definite look, according to Tuhill, one of the young men who works as a page. “It just kinda goes with the whole outfit here, I mean, just because it’s so, like, old-fashioned and everything,” says. “It’s like school uniform stuff.” If you’re still not picturing this, think of that Britney Spears video where she wears a school uniform with white knee-socks as she dances to “Baby, Hit Me One More Time.”
Improved weather helps Drake Relays participants
Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson sophomore Tiffanie Sinacek fell short of the Drake Relays record in the high jump but she bettered her personal record by plenty. Sinacek cleared five-nine to win the competition and her previous best was five-five. She missed three attempts at five feet ten-and-a-quarter-inches. That would have set a new Relays record.Iowa City West’s Danica Haight’s fourth attempt in the shot put traveled 42-feet six -and-a-quarter-inches then she waited anxiously as it held up for the win. She says she was scared by a few of the throws, but they weren’t enough to beat her.Her goal was to throw 42-feet.Minnesota anchorman Ryan Ford held off a late charge on the final lap of the race as Minnesota won the four by 16-hundred meter relay for the first time and held off defending champion Notre Dame in the process. He says you can feel it when they’re coming up on you and you run scared. Korene Hinds wanted to lower her world best time in the three thousand meter steeple chase to under two minutes and fifty seconds but instead had to settle for just smashing the Drake Stadium record. Hinds finished in nine minutes, 52-point-oh-four seconds, nearly five seconds below the previous mark. She says she’s happy with it but not satisfied because she hoped for a better time. Hinds says the conditions were perfect for a fast time.
Iowa Guard taking comments on proposals for Camp Dodge pool
The Iowa National Guard is now taking public comments on the future plans for the Camp Dodge Swimming Pool Complex in Johnston. The complex is on the National Register of Historic Places and Guard spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Greg Hapgood says it was the largest filtered pool in the world when it opened. He says it was originally built in 1922 and it was used for training and for the soldiers and communities to have a place to swim. The pool closed in 2001. The cost of maintaining and operating the pool led the National Guard to look at other ways to modify it. Hapgood says they now have proposal to consider. He says one of the plans is renovate the pavilion area and turning it into a meeting center and classrooms while maintaining its historic nature. The plan also calls for renovating the concession stand built in 1936 and make it an informal dining area for events. Hapgood says there are also proposals for the large pool. He says it all depends on the funding, whether the pool would be removed, or parts of it removed and filled in. Hapgood says they’re taking public comment on the proposals for the next 30 days. He says copies of the proposal are available. He says you can see them at Camp Dodge or the Johnston Public library. Hapgood says the comments will be forwarded to the project committee. Hapgood says there’s no set timeline at this point for taking action on the proposal.
