February 9, 2012

You are here: Home / 2009 / November / Archives for 10th

Two charged with hazing in alcohol poisoning of Drake student

November 10, 2009 By
Skyler Otto

Skylar Otto

Two Drake University students are charged with hazing in connection with the alcohol poisoning of another student. Des Moines Police Sergeant Lori Lavorato says 20-year-old Skylar Otto and 19-year-old Joseph Hatchett are accused in the weekend incident that landed a 19-year-old freshman in the hospital.

“The student felt that there was a requirement to attend this function and he thought that it was a requirement to drink this alcohol,” Lavorato said. “With those statements, (Des Moines Police) and the Polk County Attorney’s office felt there was enough to go ahead with the charge of hazing, which is a serious misdemeanor.”

According to police, the act of hazing involves a person intentionally or recklessly forcing an activity which endangers the physical health or safety of a student for the purpose of initiation or admission i

Joseph Hatchett

Joseph Hatchett

nto an organization connected with a school, college or university. The student who was hospitalized, Nathan Erickson of Durant, was a new member of Phi Delta Theta.

Three members of Phi Delta Theta have been suspended from the fraternity in connection with the incident. Their names have not been released. Lavorato says Erickson was drinking at a residence located near the fraternity house. She says it was a small party involving only a handful of people.

The police report shows Erickson’s blood-alcohol level was nearly .50 – almost six times the legal limit – when he arrived at the hospital on Sunday. “People do die of alcohol poisoning when it gets to that level,” Lavorato said. “He was hospitalized and thankfully someone did call 9-1-1 to get him there. Fortunately for him and his family, he has recovered and is out of the hospital. In normal cases, that’s usually not the case.”

Officials at Drake University and Des Moines Police continue to investigate the matter. Lavorato says more charges could be filed.

“Right now, we’re looking into where the alcohol came from and where the alcohol was purchased,” Lavorato said. Erickson’s mother told police she received a text message from her son stating he had been forced to drink several shots of Everclear.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Education Tagged With: ,

ACLU requests information on Atlantic strip search

November 10, 2009 By

The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa is requesting more information about the alleged strip search of several girls at Atlantic High School. In a letter to Atlantic Interim Superintendent Dan Crozier A.C.L.U. Executive Director Ben Stone ask for the names of two district employees involved in the case.

In addition, Stone wants to know what discipline the employees are facing. Crozier says the letter was referred to the district’s attorney, who promises to respond to Stone. Crozier says he expects to receive a copy of the response. It’s still not clear what form of discipline the two staff members will face.

“The legal counsel is looking at the situation and trying to come up with some resolve,” Crozier said. “So, that’s what we’re waiting on.” Stone says the public is “entitled to know” the outcome of the incident. The alleged strip search involving several teenaged girls took place August 21st in a gym locker room.

The matter involved a student who was missing $100. A report from the district confirmed the incident took place, but didn’t conclude whether school policy or state law was followed, or whether any faculty member should be disciplined. The Atlantic School Board is scheduled to discuss the matter tonight in a closed session.

Contributed by Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Education

Stanzi done for rest of regular season as Iowa seeks Big 10 title

November 10, 2009 By
Ricky Stanzi

Ricky Stanzi

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz expects quarterback Ricky Stanzi to miss the final two games of the regular season after undergoing surgery on his injured ankle on Monday. Ferentz says there is a good chance the junior signal caller will be ready to play in the Hawkeyes’ bowl game.

Ferentz says the positive will be the break before a bowl game and it will be beneficial for Stanzi to get healthy. At his weekly news conference in Iowa City Ferentz did not completely rule out a Stanzi return for the final regular season game against Minnesota but says it is highly unlikely.

Ferentz says these type of injuries typically take three or four weeks, but everybody is different. Ferentz says Stanzi will make the trip this week when the Hawkeyes visit Ohio State. The winner earns a trip to the Rose Bowl. Ferentz says Stanzi’s role now is to be a tutor to the other two quarterbacks and he says that will help Stanzi keep involved.

Redshirt Freshmen James Vandenberg and John Wienke are the top two on the depth chart. Vandenberg was nine of 27 in relief in the Hawkeyes 17-10 loss to Northwestern. Ferentz says both have done a good job in practice and throw the ball well, and the only thing they lack now is experience.

Ferentz says Vandenberg has a bright future as he is walking into a tough order with Ohio State’s defense. He says Vandenberg will get good support and he will not measure his ability over the next 60 minutes. Ferentz says he has total confidence in his play.

Ferentz says the players don’t need to be reminded about what is on the line this weekend. “We all know what’s at stake and..it’s gonna be important that we win the next week too,” Ferentz says. He says all the games will be important with tiebreakers and everything else.

The defense has been the key this season and that unit will need a big day against the Buckeyes. Ferentz says for them to win common sense will say they need to play good defense, as he says the Buckeyes will play good defense and even with everyone healthy, it will be tough to score points.

Iowa has played its best football on the road this season and that trend needs to continue. Ferentz says it’s not their first road trip and they have handled things on the road. He says that’s a positive, but he doesn’t know if it will be enough this week.

Iowa has been an underdog in several road games this season and Ohio State is favored in this game by more than 17 points. Ferentz says being the underdog seems to be their lot in life. “So we’re on the road, we’re underdogs and we’ve got them right where we want them, it’s perfect,” Ferentz says.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

Cornell looks for at-large playoff spot

November 10, 2009 By

Coe football coach Steve Staker believes his team has a good shot at landing an at-large spot in the division three national playoffs if they can close the regular season with a victory against arch-rival Cornell. Iowa Conference champ Central has already locked up the automatic berth but at 8-1 the Kohawks could get in as well.

Staker says they have to win out and then he likes their chances if they finish 9-1. He says it doesn’t look like anyone with two losses will get in. Staker says if they can continue to play well, their chances look better and better.

Coe’s only loss was back in late September at Central and he says every game since then has been a playoff game for them as they seek to make the post season. The Coe-Cornell rivalry is the oldest one west of the Mississippi and Staker says its long history has been filled with upsets. Staker says the Iowa game this past weekend shows that anything can happen.

Cornell is 2-7 and is coming off a victory over Loras.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With:

Morningside plays for conference championship Saturday

November 10, 2009 By

The championship in the Great Plains Athletic Conference is on the line this Saturday in Sioux City when Morningside hosts the University of Sioux Falls in a battle of unbeatens. Sioux Falls is top ranked nationally in the latest N-A-I-A poll while the Mustangs are ranked fourth.

Morningside coach Steve Ryan says it’s great scheduling for the conference with both teams coming in undefeated and the title riding on the game. Both teams have dominant defenses and average better than 50 points per game on offense though Ryan says the styles are different.

Ryan says Sioux Falls quarterback Lorenzo Brown is dangerous through the air and on the ground. Brown has passed for 29 touchdowns this season and rushed for another 11. He says that makes it extremely difficult to stop them. He says last year they felt several times they had him stopped, but he broke out and made a play.

The season will continue for both teams but Ryan says right now the focus is on winning a league title. Ryan says his team is confident an they know they can win. Sioux Falls beat the Mustangs in a close game a year ago and eventually won the national championship.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With:

Supreme Court orders 10-day shut down to meet budget cut

November 10, 2009 By

The Iowa Supreme Court  has ordered over one week of unpaid leave days to make up for state budget cuts. Court communications officer, Steve Davis, says this is the first action the court is taking to cut costs. Davis says the Supreme Court ordered ten days of unpaid leave for all judges, magistrates, and court staff and the court also ordered that all court offices be closed on the days designated for unpaid leave.

Davis says the closings will save millions. He says the 10 days of “mandatory unpaid leave” for the 1,935 court employees will save $4.1 million for this fiscal year from now until June 30th. Davis says the court is working on additional cost-cutting measures and will announce those on Thursday. The 10 days the courts will be closed include Christmas and New Year’s eve.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, Crime & Courts, Politics & Government

Crane collapses in Cedar Rapids, no injuries reported

November 10, 2009 By

Officials in Cedar Rapids say no one was injured when a 550-ton crane crane collapsed at the construction site for the new United States federal courthouse. Emergency crews were notified of the collapse at 11:10 a.m. and arrived on scene shortly thereafter to find that the crane had collapsed, landing on a portion of a nearby small office pod and larger office building.

Firefighters determined that the crane operator was uninjured as the crane landed on its side with the cab portion of the crane upright. They says the crane landed on a portion of the small office pod and missed a security officer inside. The larger office building was struck on the opposite end of where approximately six employees were inside a conference room.

The crane was being operated by personnel from Dawes Rigging and Crane Rental of Wisconsin. The crane was helping to set up a larger crane for construction of the Courthouse. Preliminary reports indicate that the crane encountered some unlevel surface, causing the collapse. The fire department says there were 50 to 60 people on the site at the time of the crane collapse.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters
« Older Posts