Lost Lake Tribune President's Day 2009 Edition

WORLD NEWS Australian Arson Suspect Arrested. YEA, Australia Friday— Police arrested a suspect in connection to one of the deadly wildfires in southern Australia that killed more than 180 people and left about 7,000 homeless. Police did not release any details about the suspect, but a newspaper report said he was a 39-year-old man who would likely be charged with arson causing death in what police call the Churchill fire. At least 21 people died in the Churchill fire, one of hundreds that scorched Victoria state last Saturday, destroying almost 2,000 homes. The official death toll is 181 and is expected to exceed 200. Officials have vowed to pursue murder charges against alleged arsonists if the evidence supports it. After The Age newspaper published a report, Victoria state police spokeswoman Marika Fengler confirmed that a man had been arrested in connection to the Churchill fire. She would give no further details. The newspaper reported that the man was from Churchill and was expected to appear in court later Friday. The report came as a blaze in the nearly burned-out wildfire zone flared up and menaced the town of Healesville — in a reminder that the country's worst fire disaster may not be over yet. In one of more than a dozen blazes firefighters still struggled to contain, flames hit a patch of extra-dry timber in a valley about 2 miles from Healesville, flaring up and sending embers and smoke over the town, said Stuart Ord of Victoria state's Department of Sustainability and the Environment. The Country Fire Authority said later Friday that the immediate threat to homes had eased, but warned residents to remain vigilant. The scale of the disaster became clearer Friday. The tally of homes destroyed in the wave of wildfires that swept Victoria state a week ago jumped to more than 1,800. The Victorian government also raised the number of people left homeless, to 7,000. Information gained from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,492124,00.html USA NEWS Stimulus Bill is Nearing Becoming Law. The Economic Stimulus bill (HR1/S1) is now at an estimated $787 Billion and cleared a revote in the house on Thursday. The US Senate passed the measure on Friday. President Obama plans to sign the bill into law on Thursday in Denver. In order to save space the LLT directs its readers to these websites for more information http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:S1: and http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-02-14-obama-denver-stimulus_N.htm Plane Crash in Buffalo, NY Kills Fifty. CLARENCE, N.Y. Thursday- A commuter plane crashed into a suburban Buffalo home and erupted in flames , killing all 49 people aboard and one person on the ground, authorities said. Flames silhouetted the shattered home after Continental Connection Flight 3407 plummeted into it around 10:20 p.m. "The whole sky was lit up orange," said Bob Dworak, who lives less than a mile from the crash site. "All the sudden, there was a big bang, and the house shook." The 74-seat Q400 Bombardier aircraft was flying from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey to Buffalo Niagara International Airport in light snow, fog and 17 mph winds. Dworak said while residents of his neighborhood about 10 miles from the Buffalo airport were used to planes rumbling overhead, this one sounded louder than usual, sputtered and made some odd noises. After hearing the crash, he drove over to take a look, and "all we were seeing was 50 to 100 foot flames and a pile of rubble on the ground. It looked like the house just got destroyed the instant it got hit." Witness Tony Tatro said he saw the plane flying low and knew it was in trouble. "It was not spiraling at all. The left wing was a little low," he told WGRZ-TV. It was the first fatal crash of a commercial airliner in the United States since Aug. 27, 2006, when 49 people were killed after a Comair jetliner took off from a Lexington, Ky., runway that was too short. Prior to the crash, the voice of a female pilot on Continental Flight 3407 could be heard communicating with air traffic controllers, according to a recording of the Buffalo air traffic control's radio messages shortly before the crash. Neither the controller nor the pilot exchange showed any concerns that anything is out of the ordinary as the airplane is asked to fly at 2,300 feet. A minute later, the controller tries to contact the plane but hears no response. After a pause, he tries to contact the plane again. Then the controller asks the pilot of a nearby Delta Air Lines plane to see if he can see the Continental flight. The answer was "Negative". Houston-based Continental Airlines issued a statement saying that preliminary information showed the plane carried 44 passengers and a crew of four. "At this time, the full resources of Colgan Air's accident response team are being mobilized and will be devoted to cooperating with all authorities responding to the accident and to contacting family members and providing assistance to them," the statement said. Chris Kausner, believing his sister was on the plane, rushed to a hastily established command center after calling his vacationing mother in Florida to break the news. "To tell you the truth, I heard my mother make a noise on the phone that I've never heard before. So not good, not good," he told reporters. Clarence emergency control director Dave Bissonette said the crash killed one person on the ground. Manassas, Va.-based Colgan did not immediately return telephone calls. Federal Aviation Administration investigators will join a team led by the National Transportation Safety Board that will be on the scene at first daylight, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said from Washington. Twelve homes were evacuated near the crash site, about 10 miles from the airport. The tail or part of a wing was visible through flames and thick smoke that engulfed the scene. Two women believed to be residents of the neighborhood were being treated at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital for what were described as non-life threatening injuries, hospital spokesman Michael Hughes said. They were transported by ambulance. Information gained from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090213/ap_on_re_us/plane_into_home MINNESOTA NEWS (Editor's note: The LLT sees this story as appropriate for the reading of Adults and their teenagers only, Please do not read this story if you are prone to have health or emotional problems when thinking about blood or related topics. The LLT is committed to providing important news stories while not applauding sinful behavior. The LLT does not wish to scar one's emotions but understands that many of its readers have seen visual media which would be similar in description to this article.) Charges in double slaying describe violent struggle MORA, MINN. - Lois and Larry Steenerson pleaded with 911 dispatchers for help Sunday night as they relayed their own killings-in-progress over the phone, screaming in pain as they were attacked. "Somebody's robbing us," Lois Steenerson said in the first call, according to a transcript released Tuesday by the Kanabec County Sheriff's Office. "They've shot. There's guns out here. Quick." The transcript details a desperate set of exchanges between the Steenersons and two dispatchers who could hear the couple struggling with their attacker. Craig M. Hohenwald, 27, of Brook Park, MN was charged Tuesday with two counts of second-degree murder with intent and two counts of second-degree murder without intent for the double slaying. Jennifer Ann-Lind Seiberlich, 28, of Mora, was charged with aiding an offender accomplice after the fact and aiding an offender to avoid arrest. According to investigators, Seiberlich told them that she received a text message from Hohenwald before the killings that read, "Are you up for a crazy night. 10g's." When she called him to ask what he meant, she told investigators, she assumed it had something to do with marijuana. The 911 calls began about 10:20 p.m., when Lois Steenerson, 66, first called for help. The two calls were disconnected, dispatchers called back and Larry Steenerson, 61, answered. "They're trying to kill us here," he said. "Craig. Ohh! Craig Hohenwald." "Craig Hohenwald?" the dispatcher asked as sounds of a struggle, including breaking glass, were heard. Lois Steenerson then picked up the phone. "They stabbed us," she said. "OK, where were you stabbed at?" the dispatcher asked. "On my neck," Lois Steenerson said, before declaring, "I'm dying. Ohh!" First on the scene was a Mora police officer, who saw a man in a dark coat dash out the front door of the Steenersons' house and get into the passenger side of a car, according to the charges. The car, however, was blocked from leaving by the squad car. Hohenwald got out of the car, and the officer drew his gun. Hohenwald was covered in blood from his hands to his elbows, with more blood on his head and chin, according to the charges. The officer ordered Hohenwald to the ground and ordered Seiberlich out of the vehicle. While waiting for back up, the officer overheard Hohenwald "utter something about his family and a real estate or land deal," the charges said. Court documents from a lawsuit filed by the Steenersons in 2007 show that Hohenwald's parents, Linda and Gerald Hohenwald, had fallen behind on the repayment of about $250,000 they owed the Steenersons in connection with a property deal. A trial is scheduled for June. Other court documents filed by the Steenersons expressed concern that the Hohenwalds were selling their property, which might have left the Steenersons with nothing to collect if they won their court case. When authorities entered the Steenersons' home Sunday night, they found Lois Steenerson in the couple's bedroom. She had suffered a large stab wound between her left collar bone and shoulder blade, and was taking shallow breaths. She died at Kanabec County Hospital. Walls along a stairwell were covered in large red smears. An empty pistol holder sat on a stair. Larry Steenerson was found in a downstairs office covered in blood. He had been stabbed 30 to 40 times, according to the medical examiner. He died at the scene. A bloody knife and gun were found behind the passenger seat of Hohenwald's getaway car, according to the charges. A handcuffed Seiberlich, in orange and blue jail garb, made her court appearance Tuesday, slumped over and fighting tears through most of the proceedings. As she was escorted out of court, Seiberlich quietly said, "I love you," to family and friends. Her bail is set at $100,000 with conditions, or $250,000 without conditions. Before the hearing, Seiberlich's boyfriend, Gabriel Schmidt, said that he spoke with her by cell phone while she was under arrest Sunday night. He said she told him that Hohenwald refused to tell her where they were going that night, and ordered her to stay in the car when they arrived at the Steenersons' house. Schmidt said Seiberlich often gave Hohenwald rides because he didn't have a driver's license because of a previous drunken driving offense. "She didn't have anything to do with this," said Seiberlich's brother, Anthony Bowman. Hohenwald appeared in court a few hours later and was largely unemotional. His bail is set at $700,000 with conditions, or $1.5 million without conditions. His attorney, Paul Egtvedt, declined to comment. On Tuesday, Hohenwald's mother, Linda, said only, "My son's a good kid. That's a fact." This information gained from http://www.startribune.com/local/39369372.html?elr=KArksUUUU Pillsbury Property May be Sold This Summer.- According to Crossroads College President, Mike Kilgallin, the school may buy Pillsbury's property sometime around July first. "It would be tough to make a decision in August when classes are about to start,” said President Kilgallin, who added that the board of trustees will ultimately make the decision. “We’re doing an investigation to see if it makes sense, trying to determine what it may mean to move to Owatonna.” The Pillsbury property of 18.7 acres is valued at $7.5 million. President Kilgallin said Crossroads is considering what “special issues” the old buildings may have and the cost of deferred maintenance. The campus is home to two buildings that are more than 100 years old — Old Main, built in 1898, and Kelly Hall, built in 1892. Crossroads is interested in the campus because it offers large spaces for students to congregate. It already has a gymnasium and an auditorium, both of which the current Crossroads campus lacks. However, Crossroads needs to sell its own property and President Kilgallin believes that selling the Rochester campus will be hard in the current property market situation. Trinity Lutheran Church of Owatonna has also expressed interest in buying the part of the property that includes the gym and athletic field. But, Pillsbury's Glenn Brownewell does not want to sell the property in pieces. For more information see http://owatonna.com/news.php?viewStory=103548 Your email mesages are APPRECIATED at benfugate2005@yahoo.com subject line: Letter to the Editor Editorial It is now official, 2006 was the year that US Congress stopped performing its constitutional responsibility! Since then the Congress has spent over 7 Trillion dollars and added about 2 Trillion to the national debt. Less bills have been passed by the last congress than by most of the congresses before it. The current congress has forever bankrupted the United States by passing the economic stimulus bill. They think that money grows on trees and that trees grow like weeds. They think that the American people don't care about excessive spending and extremely high taxes, but our Congress is wrong. The American people do care and they want real CHANGE! We want our current congress to stop spending more than the expected revenues. We want congress to stop wasting their time on deporting law-abiding baseball players just because of one unnecessary "lie". We want congress to stop making 20 million dollar check to mice just because they might be "endangered". We want the 111th congress to cut corporate tax rates and to cut at least 100,000 government jobs by the end of 2009. We want the congress to reverse the appointment of Timothy Geinther. We want the US congress to not allow Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel to run the US census. We want a congress that respects human life and DOMA. What do you want? Send the LLT editors an email at benfugate2005@yahoo.com