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Front Page News, By CARLA K. JOHNSON, Associated Press - Sat Jun 16, 2007 Missing for two days, 5-year-old Hannah Klamecki walked out of the woods on her own. MOMENCE, Ill. - A 5-year-old girl who was feared drowned with her grandfather on a boating trip startled searchers Friday when she emerged from the woods — naked, scratched and holding raspberries. |
"People were like, 'Who's that little girl? That can't be her, can it?'" Kankakee Sheriff's Chief Deputy Ken McCabe said. "I went up to her (and) asked, 'How you doing? What's your name?'" When authorities told Hannah Klamecki's family — already grieving the loss of her grandfather — that she was alive, the home erupted in screaming. Hannah was taken to a hospital as a precaution. She slept with her parents and a teddy bear at her side before being released. Cradling the bear, she spoke freely of her ordeal Friday evening. "I was scared last night when everybody was gone," she said. "I went searching all over the world to look for the cottage (where her grandparents live)." Hannah had scratches on her face and body and thick dirt under her nails. She had poison ivy rashes on her legs and couldn't walk because splinters and thorns cut her feet. Hannah and her grandfather, David Klamecki, 62, were last seen Wednesday evening on the river near Momence, about 45 miles south of Chicago. Authorities believe the river current swept the girl away from a small island where she and her grandfather had stopped to swim and to the shore of the mainland where she eventually was found.
She told searchers she was wearing floats on her arms and pulled herself from the water with a branch. "That's a tough little girl, I tell you," McCabe said. Hannah said she had taken off her bathing suit because it was muddy and itchy, friends of the family said. She was also a bit dehydrated and "very, very tired," said Riverside Medical Center in Kankakee spokesman Carl Maronich. On Friday morning, searchers found her grandfather's body near the island, which is close to a part of the river locals call "Whirlpool Bend" because of strong currents from the union of the river and two tributaries. The surrounding area is wilderness with no homes, and populated only by coyotes and deer, Momence Fire Chief Dave Horn said. Richard Wehrle, a friend and neighbor of David Klamecki, said the area is notoriously treacherous. "Anybody who knows that river knows that that's the deadliest part of the river," Wehrle said. The girl's footprints were still visible on the island beach. Searchers believed she had drowned and were scouring the area with a team of divers, sonar equipment and a helicopter. Hannah appeared just before 10:30 a.m., in an area about three-quarters of a mile from where she's believed to have reached the shore, McCabe said. The girl was reunited with her parents, who were waiting with family and friends at the grandparents' home. Hannah calmly sat in a rescue vehicle when her parents saw her for the first time, her father said. "She didn't say much," Mike Klamecki said. "She was eating her banana looking at us. We were jumping around like maniacs." Tricia Little, a close family friend of Hannah's parents, said David Klamecki taught the girl and her two younger sisters about the outdoors. She credits that instruction — and God — with Hannah's survival. Hannah's father, Mike Klamecki, is senior pastor at New Hope Community Church in Villa Park. Little's husband, Brian, said parishioners have been "praying for his whole family." "Obviously, we're giving all the glory to God on this one," Brian Little said.
The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the ban on partial birth abortion with a vote of 5 to 4. Opponents of the law question whether or not this will lead to the possible overturn of Row vs Wade.
The No Spanking Bill proposed in California, could become national law before to long, with the New Democrats in power of both the House and the Senate and with Nancy Pelosi a California Congress woman as the new Speaker of the House. The question is, would President Bush Veto such a bill if it came across his desk, or maybe will the Democrats wait two years to try to elect a Democrat President who will no doubt overwhelmingly sweep every Democrat passed legislation into law with one stroke of a pen? The country is headed towards a new modern day liberal point of view for society and cultural issues and some wonder if there is any way to turn back the tide as well as peoples minds towards conservative idea’s and moral judgments.
FOUND ALIVE, PARENTS REJOICE! - Ben Owenby a boy 13 years old missing since Monday, January 8 and Shawn Hornbeck age 15 also missing since October 2002, were both found together today alive in a St. Louis suburban apartment, a suspect is now in custody.
Washington - Bush meets with lawmakers to discuss the "No Child Left Behind" education act. WASHINGTON - By NANCY ZUCKERBROD, AP Education Writer - Bush to seek renewal of education law.
Alabama Passes GPS Law For Repeated Sex Offenders. Following Florida's recent stance on passing legislation to get tougher on repeated sex offenders with increased penalties, Alabama today passed the first GPS Tracking Device Law in order to track sex offenders who are released from prison back into society. Other states such as Oklahoma and Tennessee are working on similar legislative proposals to get tougher on repeated sex offenders but with today’s passing of the GPS law in Alabama, the federal government is proposing to reward those states that pass similar laws such as the one passed in Alabama today. A call for a national law is moving through congress and more and more legislators are signing on to tougher laws, which include tougher penalties and lifetime tracking of repeated sex offenders. If you would like to add your voice to help pass tougher legislation in your state to protect your kids, write your congressman and let them know how you feel. Tell your congressman to get behind and help pass The Children Safety Act of 2005.
Source: FOX40
URL Source: http://fox40.trb.com/news/ktxl-011107spank,0,6184029.story? coll=ktxl-news-1
Published: Jan 11, 2007
Author: none listed
Post Date: 2007-01-15 14:33:45 by Alan Chapman
A new bill wants to outlaw parents from spanking their children. The assemblywoman sponsoring the measure wants to protect those who can't defend themselves, but is it taking governing too far?
Spanking is a touchy issue for many people. Some use it. Others don't. An assemblywoman wants to ban all forms, even a slap on the hand.
Speaker Pro Temp Sally Lieber plans to introduce a bill that would ban any form of spanking on kids less than three years old. That's includes spanking hands, faces or bottoms. Lieber said, "That would include slapping spanking smacking hitting punching, any striking of a child."
Lieber said, "The borders begin to blur and there ought to be a bright line in the law that says no hitting a child 3 years or under."
We found parents on both sides of the spanking issue, but many, whether they agreed with spanking or not, felt the government shouldn't tell parents how to parent.
Karen Fontaine is both a parent and grandparent. She said, "What else are they going to do next, are they going to take over and raise our children?"
Kary Mansu is also a parent, "I think it's a moral issue, how do you put a moral issue into no law and law, how do you control it?"
No-spank bill on the way
By Mike Zapler
MediaNews Sacramento Bureau
New: Schwarzenegger says he was smacked as a kid
Vote: Should California ban spanking of young kids?
SACRAMENTO - The state Legislature is about to weigh in on a question that stirs impassioned debate among moms and dads: Should parents spank their children?
Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, wants to outlaw spanking children up to 3 years old. If she succeeds, California would become the first state in the nation to explicitly ban parents from smacking their kids.
Making a swat on the behind a misdemeanor might seem a bit much for some -- and the chances of the idea becoming law appear slim, at best -- but Lieber begs to differ.
``I think it's pretty hard to argue you need to beat a child 3 years old or younger,'' Lieber said. ``Is it OK to whip a 1-year-old or a 6-month-old or a newborn?''
The bill, which is still being drafted, will be written broadly, she added, prohibiting ``any striking of a child, any corporal punishment, smacking, hitting, punching, any of that.'' Lieber said it would be a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail or a fine up to $1,000, although a legal expert advising her on the proposal said first-time offenders would probably only have to attend parenting classes.
The idea is encountering skepticism even before it's been formally introduced. Beyond the debate among child psychologists -- many of whom believe limited spanking can be effective -- the bill is sure to face questions over how practical it is to enforce and opposition from some legislators who generally oppose what they consider ``nanny government.''
``Where do you stop?'' asked Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, who said he personally agrees children under 3 shouldn't be spanked but has no desire to make it the law. ``At what point are we going to say we should pass a bill that every parent has to read a minimum of 30 minutes every night to their child? This is right along those same lines.''
One San Jose mother of three said she believes spanking is a poor way to discipline children, but she also wondered whether a legislative ban makes sense. Should a mom who slaps her misbehaving kid in the supermarket, she asked, be liable for a crime?
``If my 6-year-old doesn't put his clothes in the hamper, I'm not going to whack him. He just won't get his clothes washed,'' said Peggy Hertzberg, 38, who teaches parenting classes at the YWCA. ``I think instead of banning spanking, parents need to learn different ways of disciplining and redirecting their children.''
Lieber conceived the idea while chatting with a family friend and legal expert in children's issues worldwide. The friend, Thomas Nazario, said that while banning spanking might seem like a radical step for the United States, more than 10 European countries already do so. Sweden was the first, in 1979.
Nazario said there's no good rationale for hitting a child under 3, so the state should draw a ``bright line'' in the law making it clear.
``Why do we allow parents to hit a little child and not someone their own size?'' asked Nazario, a professor at the University of San Francisco Law School. ``Everyone in the state is protected from physical violence, so where do you draw the line? To take a child and spank his little butt until he starts crying, some people would define that as physical violence.''
It's unclear how a spanking ban would be enforced. Most slapping, after all, happens in the confines of a home, and most children up to age 3 aren't capable of reporting it.
Doctors, social workers and others who believe a child has been abused are required by law to report it to authorities. Nazario said he and Lieber are still debating whether to treat slapping the same way, or simply to encourage those who witness it to report it. But in either case, said Lieber, the law ``would allow people who view a beating to say, `Excuse me, that's against the law.' ''
Experts in child psychology disagree over whether spanking is a legitimate or effective way for parents to discipline their children. Professor Robert Larzelere, who has studied child discipline for 30 years, said his research shows spanking is fine, as long as it's used sparingly and doesn't escalate to abuse.
``If it's used in a limited way,'' the Oklahoma State University professor said, ``it can be more effective than almost any other type of punishment.'' He added that children 18 months old or younger shouldn't be spanked at all, because they can't understand why it's happening.
As for Lieber's proposal, the professor said: ``I think this proposal is not just a step too far, it's a leap too far. At least from a scientific perspective there really isn't any research to support the idea that this would make things better for children.''
But Lieber is optimistic that lawmakers will find her proposal hard to resist. For the record, she does not have children and says she was not slapped as a child. But she does have a cat named Snoop, which her veterinarian told her never to hit.
``And if you never hit a cat,'' Lieber said, ``you should never hit a kid.''
By CHRISTOPHER LEONARD, Associated Press Writer
BEAUFORT, Mo. - Two boys kidnapped four years apart and found in the same suburban St. Louis apartment smiled shyly but said nothing to media at two hug-filled news conferences Saturday, a day after they were rescued.
The boys' parents clung to them and focused on their joy at the shocking outcome, saying little about the 41-year-old man charged in the case or how the teens were treated.
The boys — 15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck, abducted more than four years ago, and 13-year-old Ben Ownby, taken after getting off his school bus Monday afternoon — smiled shyly and appeared at ease.
"I still feel like I'm in a dream, only this time it's a good dream, not the nightmare I've had four-and-a-half years," Hornbeck's mother, Pam Akers, said Saturday at an elementary school adorned with balloons and welcome-home signs.
Hornbeck's stepfather, Craig Akers, said he and his wife were in disbelief when they were reunited with the boy.
"There was that split second of shock," he said. "Once I saw the face, I said, 'Oh my God, that's my son.'"
Hornbeck smiled often, his mother's arm draped around him, and seemed at ease. He was much bigger than pictures of the missing 11-year-old, his hair darker and longer.
Hornbeck and Ownby disappeared 4 1/2 years and 40 miles apart, though both were last seen in towns within 60 miles of St. Louis.
A routine search warrant led police to investigate the Kirkwood, Mo., apartment of Michael Devlin, an Imo's Pizza manager and part-time funeral home worker. He was charged with first-degree kidnapping and bail was set at $1 million.
Ownby grinned broadly as his mother recalled that soon after his return home, Ben immediately went to the computer to play video games.
"We're just ecstatic," Doris Ownby said. "Don't want to let him go out of our sight."
Authorities declined to offer further details about Devlin. FBI Special Agent Roland Corvington said federal charges were possible.
The key to finding the boys was a beat-up white pickup truck spotted by a schoolmate of Ownby's who got off the bus at the same time. The friend saw the pickup speeding away about the time Ownby vanished from the gravel road near his home.
On Thursday night, Kirkwood city police officers saw a white truck matching the description. They traced the owner, contacted the Franklin County Sheriff's Department, then searched Devlin's home Friday and found the boys.
There were no details about what police found inside the apartment or how or why the boys might have been detained. Franklin County Prosecutor Robert Parks said more charges are likely.
In Kirkwood, one of Devlin's neighbors, Rick Butler, 43, said FBI agents came to his door Thursday night and showed him a picture of Ben.
He said he had not seen the boy but had seen another boy he believes was Hornbeck. He said he saw no evidence that the boy was scared or trying to get away. He even saw Devlin and the teen pitch a tent in the courtyard.
"I didn't see or hear anything odd or unusual from the apartment," Butler said. "I just figured them for father and son."
___
Associated Press writers Cheryl Wittenauer, Betsy Taylor and Jim Salter in St. Louis contributed to this report.
President Bush plans to meet with lawmakers next week to boost efforts to renew the No Child Left Behind education law, according to a Democratic congressional aide.
The top Democrats and Republicans on the House and Senate committees that deal with education issues planned to attend the White House meeting Monday, the aide said on the condition of anonymity because the White House had not announced the session.
Monday is also the day the Bush administration is commemorating the fifth anniversary of what is widely considered the most significant federal education law in decades.
Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, said she was optimistic the law would be renewed for five more years. She said it is a natural issue on which Bush and Democrats, who won control of Congress in November, can come together.
"It's on everybody's list of things where we might forge agreement as we have done before," she said.
The law seeks to ensure that all children can read and do math at grade level by 2014, which has placed unprecedented demands on schools. They have been required to step up testing, raise teacher quality and place more attention on the achievements of minority children.
Poor schools that get federal aid but do not make enough progress must provide tutoring, offer public school choice to students or initiate other reforms such as overhauling their staffs.
Spellings said there were a few "bright-line principles" that the administration would not agree to alter under a rewrite of the law. Among them is the requirement that all students are proficient in reading and math by 2014 — a goal many observers call unrealistic.
Spellings said the administration was open to debating how student achievement should be measured. Critics, including the teachers' unions, have said the current law does not give enough credit to schools that make significant strides in student achievement but fall short of reaching an annual target.
"There is too much punishing going on," said Reg Weaver, president of the National Education Association, the largest teachers union in the country. Weaver also called the law "grossly underfunded."
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass., and Rep. George Miller (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., who are to lead the committees overseeing education, say the administration has provided about $50 billion less than originally called for by Congress.
Republicans say it is common practice for legislation to be funded at less than the full level Congress authorizes.
Spellings declined to preview the amount Bush would seek when he releases his annual budget in February. She did indicate an interest in getting more money to teachers who work in schools that have difficulty attracting people.
Bush sought $500 million from Congress for that purpose last year and got about $100 million.
"Our best teachers, or are most experienced teachers, are in places with our least challenged learners," Spellings said.
Spellings also reaffirmed the administration's view that the law, which focuses on early and middle grades, should be expanded in high schools.
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