911 Emergency:The Dahmer Tapes.

The Milwaukee Police Department released a transcript today that is evidence that two officers missed a chance at preventing the death of 14-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone.

Jeffrey L. Dahmer, confessed to 17 murders, Sinthasophone being one. Dahmer pleaded he was insane. He was arrested after the police found 11 mutilated bodies in his apartment a week ago.

The transcripts were a 911 call from 37-year-old Glenda Cleveland, a Milwaukee resident. Cleveland called at 2 a.m. on May 27 reporting that her daughter and niece had seen a naked boy on the street corner of 25 and State, and needed help.

“He’s butt-naked and he has been beaten up. He is very bruised up. He can’t stand. He is really hurt. And I, you know, ain’t got no coat on,” Cleveland explained to the dispatcher. Cleveland was then transferred to the fire department and an ambulance was sent to the scene.

Another caller reported a male dragging a naked male who looked injure. The Milwaukee emergency operator responded,”OK. We will get someone out there.”

The officer that was sent to the scene reported back to the dispatcher,”36…. Intoxicated Asian, naked male. (Laughter.) Was returned to his sober boyfriend. (More laughter.)”

The police officer never took any of Cleveland or her daughter and nieces’ information, this bothered Cleveland. She did a follow-up call to Milwaukee Emergency about the male,” The fact is a crime was being committed. I am sure you must need, you know, some kind of information based on that.”

Cleveland was then transferred to an officer who was at the scene. The officer told Cleveland that the male was just an adult intoxicated boyfriend of another boyfriend. Cleveland asked several times if the officer was sure the boy was an adult. “Are you positive? Because this child doesn’t even speak English. My daughter had, you know, deal with him before, seeing him on the street.”

The officer responded,” Hmmm. Yea. No. He’s, he’s, oh, it’s all taken care of, ma’am, I can’t make it any more clear. It’s all taken care of. That’s, you know, he’s with his boyfriend and, ah, his boyfriend’s apartment, where he’s got his belongings also. And that is where it is released.”

Cleveland explained that she was just worried the male was a child instead of an adult. However the officer insisted that the male was not child.

When Dahmer was arrested he told the police that two officers had been at his apartment two months earlier to investigate a 911 call. After the officers left, Dahmer killed Sinthasomphone. The two officers’ that reported on the scene were suspended a week ago with pay but not identified.

Charges: Man provided gun in St. Paul killing; teen thought it was unloaded

Daniel T. Cornell, 19, of St. Paul, was charged on Monday with numerous felonies connected to Darion Joseph Smith,a 15-year-old boy who was shot in the back of the head by another boy in a St. Paul home.

Cornell was arrested last week in the death of Smith,a student at St. Paul Central High School.

According to the charges, Cornell and others in the Maryland Avenue E. home had been playing Russian roulette prior to the shooting. They played with a gun that Cornell brought to the home, except they played without the .22-caliber revolver being loaded.

When the guest were ready to leave, Cornell decided to load the handgun with three live rounds. Soon after, the trigger was pulled while aimed at Smith's head.

http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/78164217.html?elr=KArks:DCiUocOaL_nDaycUiacyKU7DYaGEP7vDEh7P:DiUs

Eighth Story.

Laura Sweeney
November 25, 2009
Eighth Story

“I picked to do PSEO because I hate high school, I felt like I was above all the other high school students in maturity and intelligence,” Melissa Zeman, a 16-year-old PSEO student at ARCC . “It’s free college, I don’t understand why people wouldn’t chose to do PSEO. “

Zeman isn’t the only PSEO student who feels like this. Of the 20 people surveyed four said they were PSEO students, when asked why their explanation was almost word for word as Zeman’s.

When asked if the surveyors were PSEO students in high school, six said yes, two said no, and 12 said they wish they were. “I wish I would have done the PSEO program when I was in high school. I was the type of person who just hated being in school with all the immature kids, I felt more grown up. If I would have done the program I probably would already be done with school and saved a lot of money that I’m wasting in school right now,” Katie Sweeney, a 21-year-old student at ARCC.

20 out of 20 surveyors answered that PSEO is a very good program when asked if they believed PSEO is a good program.

Most students don’t even notice who is and isn’t a PSEO student. “I only notice when those students make a spectacle of themselves. Say, if I’m doing a group project and I have a PSEO student in my group, if they aren’t doing their portion of the project, I might be a little more aware of the face that they are PSEO. Or if they talk too much in class, start drama, and act like college is like high school that upsets me! So it all depends. Some PSEO’ers are great at fitting in and acting like the rest of us, and then I think they belong there,” Carissa Parker, a student at ARCC says of PSEO students.

“If the student has a good work ethic and the patience and maturity why not be in college, they already have the grades to get in,” Sweeney says.
Dan Mau says “PSEO is a great program, when I was in high school doing it was the best thing ever. I loved getting out of high school and saying I’m going to college now. I also felt like I belonged there. I felt I was never judged that was probably because no one suspected I was still only 17-years-old. These days when I’m sitting in class I can tell who is and isn’t the traditional student.”

When asked if they felt high school students belonged in college 19 of the 20 said they feel they did, one answered no.

“I don’t understand why some people have a problem with high school students being in college. Seriously I’m at a maturity level that’s higher than the rest of my high school probably put together. Also I’m in the same class as the traditional student so doesn’t that cross out the possibility of me being stupid? I have the same level of intellect as you so why are you judging me? I’m just trying to get some free college, and by the looks of it others wish they would have too,” Zeman says when told some people don’t agree with high school students being in college.

By the looks of it Zeman is making a choice many other college students wish they would have made when they had the chance.

My Ways to Relieve Stress.

I generally take my stress out by listening to music. I like to listen to upbeat music so it puts me in a good mood. While I'm listening to my music I'm also dancing. As a dancer I find it easier to express my emotions in my dance moves instead of spilling my heart out to my friends. Usually the music and dancing works for me but if they don't I'll just grab a magazine and take a nice bubble bath. I'm not the type of person that explains how I feel so I keep my stress in and relieve it in ways people don't have to listen to me complain.

Brooklyn Park fire takes hours to control

Brooklyn Park firefighters took several hours on Friday to bring a fire under control in a building that contained hazardous chemicals.

A team of hazardous materials experts stood by as firefighters put out the fire. No chemicals leaked nor spilled said Fire Chief Ken Prillaman.

No cause to what started the fire has been determined. No one was injured in the fire at the building on Xylon Ave., which houses a plating operation.

http://www.startribune.com/local/north/70611387.html?elr=KArks:DCiUMcyaL_nDaycUiacyKUUr

Seventh Story.

The Post-Secondary Enrollment Options program, also known as PSEO, was created in 1985 to promote rigorous educational pursuits and provide a wider variety of options for high school students.

Through PSEO, high school students receive both high school and college/university credit for college or university courses they have completed. The program is available to students throughout the state. In nearly every Minnesota public high school, students earn credits through PSEO. Only juniors and seniors are alowed into the PSEO program.

The standards for taking PSEO classes differ in grades. For juniors in high school they have to rank in the upper one-third of their class or score at or about the 70^th percentile on a nationally standardized, norm-referenced test. For seniors in high school they have to rank in the upper one-half of their class or score at or above the 50^th percentile on a nationally standardized, norm-referenced test.

Out of the 21 teachers at Anoka Ramsey Community College surveyed, 17 said that their PSEO students did as well if not better than the traditional students in their class. The other three that were surveyed chose to not answer. One of the teachers said that most PSEO students just don’t understand the jest of college life yet and should stay focused on graduating high school first.

That being said 13 of the 16 students surveyed said that the PSEO students in their classes keep up with the other college students. Three of the 16 students feel the PSEO students fall behind quite a bit.

On that note most teachers and students think that PSEO students are at the same level of intellect as the traditional students that attend ARCC on either campus.

Robbinsdale man charged with distributing Ecstasy

Thongsay Prommachai, 28, of Robbinsdale, was arrested in a grocery store parking lot with more than 4,000 ecstasy pills. He was indicted on Tuesday.

Prommachai is charged in U.S. District Court with one count of distribution of Ecstasy. He has posted $25,000 bail.

Federal agents received information that Prommachai was dealing in October. A cooperating defendant arranged to buy the drug from him for $4.50 per pill. Their conversations were recorded.

On Oct,15, Prommachai told the buyer he had 4,500 pills for sale. They then set up a deal in the Cub Foods parking lot in Crystal. Agents had recording devices on the buyer and in the vehicle.

Prommachai got into the buyer's vehicle and left a bag of pills. That's when agents arrested Prommachai.

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/69727922.html?elr=KArks:DCiUMcyaL_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

A Place I've Travled.

This past Christmas I was blessed with plane tickets to Naples, Flor. My dad had always bragged about going there and spending weeks just relaxing on the beach, I was so jealous. So this past year he treated my family and I with tickets to Naples. I had never been there before and was shocked when I arrived. Our condo was across the street from a Jaguar car dealership. When my sister and I went for a little shopping trip our car was valet. I couldn't believe it, it seemed to me as if I were in the richest part of Florida. The weather was gorgeous. I would much rather be in Flor then back home in Minn. I spent most of the day just laying on the beach getting my tan on. I couldn't believe my dad would splurge on a vacation like this, I'm grateful he did though. Christmas night my family spent on the beach and watched the beautiful sun set. I would defiantly have to say that was one of the best Christmas's I've ever had.

Charges: Brothers grew pot on Aitkin County land

Nathan D. Bassett, 34, and Tytus A. Bassett, 31, both of Wahkon, Minn,face charges of growing hundreds of marijuana plants on land owned by Aitkin County. Both Bassett brothers were indicted by a federal grand jury. Charges including conspiracy to manufacture with intent to distribute marijuana. The indictment alleges the brothers had a marijuana-growing operation. They produced 428 plants throughout the spring and fall of 2009.

http://www.startribune.com/local/north/69405007.html?elr=KArks:DCiUMcyaL_nDaycUiacyKUUr

Enterprise Ideas.

1. My first is about PSEO students. I would interview the students and see how they are doing in both their high school and college course. Then I would interview their teachers and ask how they are doing in their class. Also I could interview a counselor at my high school and ask how many students are interested in PSEO and how to get involved in it.

2. My second idea is the Impact of Workforce Retraining Initiative (WRI). This allows Anoka-Ramsey Community College to offer half-price tuition to students on welfare. It was created just before the start of spring semester of 2009 and will cut back for the 2010 spring semester and will only be available to past recipients. Mary Jacobson, and three students which are using the WRI.

3. I could do a story on the thief that has been happening. There has been several complaints about theft of their personal belongings. This includes cellphones, Ipods, and laptops. Campus Security says that it happens when students walk away from their belongings. The head of security, victims of the thief, Mary Jacobson.

Halloween.

With costumes prices out of the roof, this year I decided to wear a hand me down costume from my older sister. In the past years I have worn a new costume every time. I remember my eighth grade year I was a bee. It was a short little dress with yellow and black stripes going across it. I wore it to school with tights and wings that went with it. My math teacher thought it was inappropriate and sent me to the office. My principle was a girl at the time and thought I looked adorable and her daughter, the same age, had the same costume. I thought it was so funny that my principal liked my costume and my teacher thought it was inappropriate. The last couple of years I have worn short little skimpy dresses, not this year. This year I wore a body suit that was designed as a race car driver. I added some sun glasses and windblown hair as accessories. I'm very glad I didn't wear a short little skimpy almost nothing dress this year because it was freezing! I'm happy I looked good and didn't spend any money at all on my costume.

Viewing Art in a Different Way.

Laura Sweeney

November 2, 2009

“Teaching was a logical way to make a living as an artist,” said Rachel Breen, an art teacher at Anoka Ramsey Community College at the Coon Rapids campus.

At first Breen was inspired to become an artist. Teaching was a way to keep in contact with other artists while still thinking about the relationship between form and content.

Art has taught Breen many lessons, “Sometimes visual thinking can be a better way to understand, analyze, and communicate about things.”

So what does Breen plan on teaching her students? “ There are so many things I want to teach my students, in a global sense I want to teach them to access art, to understand it enough to appreciate it even if they don’t like it, to be able to extract meaning and thereby enjoy what it provides to the richness of life. In a more local sense, I want to teach them enough about how to work with medium that they can express themselves with confidence and skill.”

Breen has not always been an art teacher. In fact she worked as a community organizer for the first 20 years of her work life. “I am a nontraditional student and went back to graduate school in my 40’s.”

“Conveying ideas in a complex yet accessible ways,” Breen says of what she wishes she could be great at.

Breen had dreams of becoming a famous artist but insists,” I’m pretty realistic.”

If Breen was not an art teacher should would be a travel journalist.” I love to travel.”

“I like abstraction the best,” Breen says of what she likes to paint most often.

In high school art was Breen’s favorite class along with English.

Breen had her first experience teaching art in graduate school, she has been hooked ever since.

“William Kentridge,” answers Breen of who her favorite artist is. William Kentridge is an artist from South Africa who uses charcoal. “Which is my favorite medium; He draws representational but also erases his drawing and then redraws on top of drawings that have been erased. The meaning of his work comes, not only from the imagery he draws but also from "how" he draws. The process itself embeds meaning into his work. I am fascinated by this and try to do the same in my own work.”

Breen likes to switch things up when she is doing her work. She likes to try new things and never is disappointed in her piece. Breen always sticks with what she is working on and never gives up on a piece until she is finished with it. Breen sees art in a different way than most people. She looks at it in a different state of mind; she has knowledge of the work and can see the beauty of it.

Even though Breen only took teaching art as a way to be an artist while having a steady job, her students thank her because they know that she has impacted their life in a way another teacher couldn’t.