HAMILTON, Ohio - A city prosecutor accused of nighttime nude promenades in a public building has suffered from "a very serious and persistent (mental) illness" and personal difficulties that may have contributed to his alleged conduct, his lawyer says. Scott Blauvelt, 35, is charged with two counts of public indecency. Security cameras captured him walking unclothed in the city and county towers of the Government Services Center twice last week, authorities say.
On paid administrative leave from his city job that pays $70,000 a year, Blauvelt faces a pre-disciplinary hearing today. There, he can respond to claims that he violated these city conduct rules: "unbecoming conduct" and "performance of illegal acts while on and/or off duty."
In a written statement Tuesday, his lawyer, Mike Gmoser, said Blauvelt was being punished "for having a very serious and persistent illness exacerbated by a severe brain injury" in a car wreck. Gmoser also said his client was on anti-seizure medication "that caused the very conduct charged in this case." Blauvelt's boss, Law Director Hillary Stevenson, said she couldn't recall any other unusual behavior from Blauvelt. But in hindsight, "obviously there is some concern" about a possible pattern of nudity, Stevenson said. She cited allegations that Blauvelt was unclothed when his car missed a curve and crashed into a utility pole June 22, 2005, near Liberty, Ind.
Stevenson said she reasoned at the time that Blauvelt's clothing could have been disturbed when he was ejected from the vehicle. Besides, she said, the crash's severity overshadowed the clothing concerns. Blauvelt remained hospitalized for weeks; he returned to work part-time after four months.
Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper says people on Tuesday were "bewildered" by the case. Many also mistakenly believed Blauvelt works for him. "He's never worked for me," Piper said.
Blauvelt did work for former county prosecutors Dan Gattermeyer and the late John Holcomb. Blauvelt then worked as a defense lawyer before becoming a city prosecutor in March 2005.
People who know Blauvelt, an attorney since 1997, say news of the charges left them dumbfounded. "We've never had a bizarre conversation," says Frank Schiavone, a defense lawyer in Butler County. "He was always fair, very competent, a nice guy."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/11/2006 08:06 ||
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Local community activist Joy Powell this morning turned herself in to Rochester Police, after being accused of breaking into a relative's home and attacking her cousin, about 30 hours earlier.
The Rev. Joyce E. Powell, 44, of 127 First St. was charged with first-degree burglary and second-degree assault, both felonies, said Rochester Police Officer Deidre Taccone. Powell was also charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief, a misdemeanor, Taccone said.
According to court records, Powell, an anti-violence activist, and several other people broke a window at 61 Copeland St. Sunday evening and entered the house. Once inside, Powell and the others allegedly repeatedly beat her 44-year-old female cousin with a small baseball bat and allegedly sprayed mace in the woman's face.
The assault left the woman with multiple injuries, including numerous cuts and bruises, a fractured vertebra and a bruised liver, officers said.The victim was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital on Sunday for treatment. She was listed today in satisfactory condition.
The incident stemmed from a family dispute, Taccone said.
Of course. Doesn't this sort of thing happen in your family from time to time? No??? Huh.
#8
Argh, should be : "one of my uncles was chased by a family member who shall remain unnamed, with a pickaxe, though.", pretty funny when I think about it (but it was real tense at the time).
On the spectrum of ideas, there are bad ideas, there are good ideas and then there are million-dollar, why-didn't-I-think-of-that ideas. One innovative Chaska resident may just have one of the latter on his hands.
The "Season Shot" is a shell filled with spices, designed to "shoot, kill and season" game birds. By next fall, the product could already be on the market. Finally, hunting in good taste.
Brett Holm, a carpenter by trade, came up with the idea after watching a friend struggle to dress a bird he had just shot. His friend had to cut the bird into pieces and then roll it with a rolling pin to find and remove the BBs before he could prepare and serve it. What's next? Bio-erodable liquid-filled caplets that internally marinate or baste the meat?
[more funny stuff at link]
Two U.S. Forest Service employees from Utah were evacuated by helicopter from the Sawtooth Wilderness in late September after encountering a pack of howling wolves about five miles east of Graham in the Johnson Creek drainage.
Johnson Creek is the southwestern portion of the Sawtooths and in the North Fork of the Boise River drainage. I hope that clears that up.
According to Ed Waldapfel, spokesman for the Sawtooth National Forest, the incident occurred Sept. 23 at about 10 a.m. when the employees observed wolves chasing a bull elk across a meadow. "A little while later they started hearing wolves howling all around them," Waldapfel said. "They called on their radio or satellite phone and asked their supervisor if they could leave the area."
"No matter which way they went they said they could hear the wolves," he added. "They climbed onto a rock outcropping and continued to communicate with their supervisor. "They admitted they were very scared and wanted to get out of the area."
"It was the sound of the howls that scared them," Waldapfel said, "and the fact (the employees) were from another part of the country. They're not part of our regular workforce and so they hadn't had training for this kind of wildlife encounter." Yeah, they were from Utah, an adjacent state. If they were from Delawere, it might be different.
Steve Nadeau, the state's wolf program supervisor for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, was shocked that wolf howls would elicit a helicopter evacuation in a wilderness area.
"Holy molysounds to me like someone's read too many of Grimm's fairy tales," Nadeau said. "I'm flabbergasted that (the Forest Service) would go to that extent over wolves howling in the woods because wolves howl in the woods all the time. That's how they communicate. If they felt threatened I guess the Forest Service reacted appropriately. But I can't imagine why the feeling was any more than anyone else walking in the woods."
While there are no documented cases of wolves attacking humans in Idaho, Waldapfel acknowledged "these employees probably were not aware of that fact." Of course not, being in the Forest Service and all, what would they know about wild animals?
#2
Ordinarily, I wouldn't be concerned with American wolves, either, aside from rabies. But this sounds a bit abnormal.
First of all, the wolves had been on the hunt, and might have gotten pumped up and a bit too focused, which can even be a problem even with dogs. i.e., never interpose your body between two large dogs that are fighting.
Second, wolves have a superb sense of smell, and if there was any human odor within many miles they ordinarily scram.
Third, if they were correct that the wolves were circling them, this is not good. I would be inclined to beat feet myself, rather than trust my life to some wolf researcher who is certain that they never attack humans.
On the upside, it was west of the Mississippi. There are considerable concerns that on the east side, wolves have been cross-breeding with coyotes. Two very different personalities and two very different kinds of intelligence. Now, that is a hybrid I would be very worried about.
#3
These poor Forest Service folks were probably not armed. And even if they were, they probably were not allowed to shoot 'endangered species' (there are plenty of humans after all.)
#2
Actually, it's a remnant of a leg of Sirush, and the find has an uncanny relationship to lost fragments of Enuma Elish, where a quarrel between neighbors has been described and that segments ends with a curse " You ate my Sirush! May your teeth fall out!"
As you can see, the find seems to indicate that precisely that happened.
Bomb squad officers in Adelaide have been brought in to remove explosives, fuses and detonators hidden in a northern suburbs home.
"Honey! Have you seen my detonators?"
Police said a large quantity of explosives were hidden in the kitchen area of the property at Salisbury North. They also found amphetamines, a large amount of cash, two revolvers, ammunition and other prohibited weapons including daggers, throwing knives and throwing stars during a search of the home yesterday.
"I put them in with the amphetamines, dear!"
Police bomb technicians attended and assisted with the seizure of the explosives, a boost charge, fuse and detonators all of which were removed safely from the home, a police spokesman said.
"Mom! Where are the boost charges?"
A 43-year-old man was arrested at the property and charged with possessing a controlled substance for sale, unlawful possession and various firearms offences. He is expected to appear in a suburban court later today.
#1
After a while those damn cockroaches just drive ya crazy. Makes you want to blow the hell out of them. Ahem, this bloke wasn't perchance a Muzzie was he ?
#2
Sounds like a biker to me, SO35. Speed, throwing knives, throwing stars- seems a bit vigorous for our more languid faith based boomers.
Salisbury North is Lowlife Central in South Australia. Lots of hydroponic Cannabis growers (quasi legal in S.A. for a long time) and a vibrant druggie ecosystem generally.
The Indian government yesterday banned children under 14 from working in homes, hotels and restaurants, aware that the country's image suffers while its young are employed by middle-class families and businesses.
The tightening of the labour law aims to relieve 250,000 children of backbreaking work across India. Employers who violate the law face up to a year in prison or a fine of 10,000 rupees (£120), or both. But campaigners say this is at best a tiny step forward as child labour remains widespread in India. The central government's statistics show more than 16 million children aged between five and 14 work. The World Bank says the figure is closer to 45 million.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/11/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Get 'em outta sight and into the sweatshops, I guess.
Late at night, a posse of young Indian women walk down a dark city street wearing spaghetti-strap tops and body-hugging outfits, defying the stares of onlookers in a country where a woman is raped every 29 minutes. Around two dozen women took part in the demonstration to highlight the dangers for women walking on Indian streets by heeding organisers instructions to wear "something they always wanted to [wear] but could not" during their late night protest.
"If I was not in a group, God only knows what would have happened," Amrita Nandy Joshi, a 31-year-old Oxford graduate said as the group made its way down a dimly-lit New Delhi road after 10pm, a walk normally done only with a male escort, if at all.
"We call this direct public intervention against street sexual harassment," said Jasmeen Patheja, a gutsy 26-year-old photographer working in the southern IT hub of Bangalore who brought the novel protest to the capital. "I was fed up with being teased every day. One day I reached a threshold and decided to take action," she said.
Patheja formed Blank Noise, a movement that rallies for safer streets for Indian women. Since setting up Blank Noise about three years ago, Patheja has organised "night actions" in four other cities, inviting women through her blog (www.blanknoiseproject.blogspot.com) to meet at a designated place at night and then set out on a walk.
Along the route, they spray messages on the road that describe the abuse that many young Indian women encounter daily in the hope that they will be read the next morning by pedestrians and create awareness.
"Mansi, 14, 4.45pm - A stranger whispered continuously into my ear, asking me to sleep with him."
"Pinki, 11, 8am - A hand touch my behind. I was scared."
"Mohini, 19, 9am - A stranger rubbed his private parts against me."
Patheja said that while the names had been changed, the incidents were real and reported by people through her blog.
According to the latest official figures, a woman is raped every half-hour in India. Last year, there were more than 18,000 rapes in the country, and these are only the reported cases. Activists suspect the number is much higher as many women don't report attacks to police, fearing harassment or social stigma.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/11/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
What did they expect, dressed like that? They were asking for it!
And always remember, the USA is the most backward, intolerant country in the world.
#7
I wonder what the rules are for carrying short knives are in India? The girls could publicize a "two-foot rule", so that any strange male comes within two feet of them, he *might* get nicked, without warning.
A small cut on the arm or body will turn off all but the most aggressive thug. Plus, it is pretty hard to get in somebody's space if they have a small blade and use it. In needs minimum training and a tiny cost, if any.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
