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Big-hearted Chicago Special Education teacher focuses on students' values and needs

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:14 GMT

CHICAGO — As the school year winds down, WGN’s May Teacher of the Month is a special education teacher on the Chicago’s North Side. Parents call Mr. Chad a blessing. They say he’s big-hearted, patient and focused on the diverse needs of his students. Mr. Chad Kirkpatrick teaches children with special needs at McPherson Elementary School in Ravenswood.He’s been at the school for more than 20 years. In his classroom, a dozen students work in small groups “They get all of their academic instruction in here. That’s reading and math, science and social studies,” he said. “But on top of that they also get independent functioning and social emotional work.”The days are very structured.“Each child has their own individual schedule that they follow,” he said. WGN-TV’s Teacher of the Month Award nomination application But he’ss always ready to quickly switch gears when needed “Life is full of unpredictability,” he said. “You notice the table is broken in my classroo...

Family of Louisiana Arby's manager found dead in freezer sues company

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:14 GMT

NEW IBERIA, La. (KLFY) – The family of a woman who died in the New Iberia, Louisiana Arby's on May 11 is suing the fast-food company, the family's lawyer has confirmed. Nguyet Le, 63, of Houston, was working as the acting manager of the restaurant when she was found dead in a walk-in cooler, according to the New Iberia Police Department. Paul Skrabanek, the family's attorney based in Houston, said preliminary findings from the Iberia Parish Coroner's Office show that she died of hypothermia.  Body found at New Iberia Arby’s identified Skrabanek said the family is suing, in part, because no one from Arby's would respond to his inquiries. Nexstar reached out to Arby's Thursday but hadn't received a statement as of publishing time.He also gave new details into what happened the night of May 11."I think once you see the police report, you're going to see how horrific this was and how it was described to me," Skrabanek said. "Her getting caught into this freezer and trying to...

Notorious 'Phony Nun' house burns in Brooklyn

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:14 GMT

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn (PIX11) — Cheyama Legrand cried when she heard her childhood house at 222 Brooklyn Avenue was gutted by fire Wednesday morning. Even though it was a place where teens and women were beaten or murdered in the 1960s and 70s, it was still a place she called home."I was devastated when I got the call," Legrand told PIX11 News Thursday. "We all grew up in the big house. My brothers and sisters. Daddy loved all his children, no matter what people say about him." 4-month-old girl dies at Manhattan hotel: police Devernon Legrand, who called himself a bishop, went to prison in 1975 for stomping two teenage sisters to death and also for the murder of an ex-wife. But the mystery of what happened to about 20 other missing women was never solved.It's believed Legrand fathered between 50 and 70 children — with women that lived with him at 222 Brooklyn Avenue. Many were forced to dress in black habits to look like Catholic nuns and then beg at tourist spots or in the subw...

With his first veto ever, Walz nixes Uber/Lyft driver pay-raise bill, citing cost and service concerns

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:14 GMT

Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday vetoed a bill that would have mandated higher pay and job security for Lyft and Uber drivers in Minnesota, saying the legislation wasn’t ready to become law.“Rideshare drivers deserve fair wages and safe working conditions,” Walz said in a statement announcing his first veto ever in his five-plus years as governor. “I am committed to finding solutions that balance the interests of all parties, including drivers and riders. This is not the right bill to achieve these goals.”Uber threatened to offer only premium-priced service in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and cut off service altogether in the rest of Minnesota if Walz signed the legislation.“This bill could make Minnesota one of the most expensive states in the country for rideshare, potentially putting us on par with the cost of rides in New York City and Seattle — cities with dramatically higher costs of living than Minnesota,” the Democratic governor said in a letter to legislat...

Walz names new commissioner of Department of Employment and Economic Development

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:14 GMT

Matt Varilek, president of the Little Falls-based Initiative Foundation, will lead the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.Matt Varilek, president of the Little Falls-based Initiative Foundation, will lead the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, Gov. Tim Walz announced Thursday, May 22, 2023. (Forum News Service)Gov. Tim Walz announced Varilek’s appointment Thursday.Varilek will succeed Steve Grove, who announced his departure in February when he was named publisher and CEO of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.The Department of Employment and Economic Development is the state’s principal economic development agency, promoting business recruitment, expansion and retention, workforce development, international trade, and community development.The Initiative Foundation fosters economic development in a 14-county area of central Minnesota. It’s one of six such foundations started in the 1980s to serve greater Minnesota.“From streng...

Tulsa businessman the victim of a jewelry heist in downtown St. Louis

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:14 GMT

ST. LOUIS – A Tulsa businessman tells FOX 2 that he’s the victim of a St. Louis high-dollar jewelry heist.Detectives with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department confirmed more than $400,000 worth of watches were stolen from the man’s hotel room at the Embassy Suites near America’s Center in downtown St. Louis.“I’m going to be honest with you. I believe this was planned,” Rion Woodiest said. “I really believe this was some kind of jewelry heist.”Woodiest grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois, until his family relocated to Tulsa when he was in high school. After serving seven years in the Army, he went into business four years ago. St. Louis firefighter accused of stealing wallet from teen crash victim He sells high-end jewelry, including gold, platinum, and diamond watches.The five stolen watches were Cartier, Rolex, and Audemar Piquet models.The Embassy Suites hotel was like a second home, he said.Woodiest has stayed there more than 600 nights in recent years as he travels for...

Missouri sheriff warns of significant traffic as people travel to see exhumed nun

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:14 GMT

GOWER, Mo. -- A Missouri sheriff's office says residents should expect a significant increase in traffic as hundreds travel to see a nun's exhumed, "incorrupt" body. Catholic faithfuls from across the country are making the pilgrimage to the small town of Gower, Missouri, to witness what they describe as a miracle.Four years after her burial, the Benedictine monastery recently exhumed the body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, who was the African American foundress of the Benedictine Sisters of Mary, Queen of the Apostles. St. Louis firefighter accused of stealing wallet from teen crash victim The sisters told the Catholic News Agency that after her death she was buried but not embalmed. They had plans to move her body to a final resting place inside their monastery chapel. They expected to find bones in her cracked wooden coffin, but instead found no real signs of decay after four years. In the words of the sisters, it is “incorrupt.” The word incorrupt lends sp...

Man charged with vehicular homicide DUI in hit-and-run that killed Adams County teen

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:14 GMT

A 38-year-old man is charged with vehicular homicide-DUI for a hit-and-run incident involving a teenage victim in Adams County.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | El Paso County sheriff’s deputy arrested on investigation of menacing Crime and Public Safety | Northbound Wadsworth reopens after crash in Arvada involving Denver police vehicle Crime and Public Safety | Suspect in fatal shooting in NE Denver is arrested in Dallas Crime and Public Safety | South Adams County fire chief on leave, an interim chief is named Crime and Public Safety | Colorado man building white supremacist community in the mountains, had automatic weapons, FBI says Brandon Monroe also is charged with leaving the scene of an accident causing death and vehicular homicide-reckless driving, according to an Adams County district attorney’s news release.Kara Kincaid, 16, died in the April 11 incident at the intersectio...

Attempted kidnapping of 10-year-old girl caught on camera in Riverside County

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:14 GMT

Surveillance cameras captured an attempted kidnapping of a 10-year-girl while she was in the front yard of her Murrieta home, and while the alleged kidnapper is still on the loose, the young girl’s father is speaking out.  Michael Angodung said just before the incident happened, it had been a completely normal Sunday evening for his family.  “I let my guard down pretty much,” he said. “It was just unexpected on a Sunday night. My daughter loves playing volleyball. So, she asked me, ‘Dad, can we play outside?’ and (I said), ‘Sure. I’ll give you 10 minutes because I’ve got to back and do some chores.'”  Angodung said he played in the front yard with his daughter, Kassidy, before heading into the house to get a drink. That’s when he caught a glimpse of a man walking down the street.  “You couldn’t mistake his walk. He had a funny walk. I thought not much of it,” he told KTLA.  Not even a minute after he entered his home, he said his daughter came running for him. &n...

Southern California man drowns in Colorado River

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:11:14 GMT

A Southern California man was found dead after drowning in the Colorado River on Wednesday.The victim was identified as Robert L. Gardella, 69, from Phelan, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.Boating deputies received reports of a drowning in the river, located about 2.5 miles north of Lake Havasu around 3:30 p.m. According to witnesses, Gardella jumped from an anchored vessel to retrieve a fishing pole that had fallen into the river.He began "struggling in the water for an unknown reason, went under the water and never resurfaced," authorities said.Divers from the San Bernardino County Sheriff, Mohave County Sheriff and Lake Havasu City Police were dispatched to the scene to search for Gardella. L.A. tech CEO found dead under mysterious circumstances, family seeking answers Authorities conducted remote-operated vehicle sonar scans along with rescue dives to locate the missing man. A helicopter from the Arizona Department of Public Safety also conduct...