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December 27th: On this day

On this day in 2015, American country singer and the lead vocalist for the Arkansas-based band, Backroad Anthem, Craig Strickland died. Strickland and a friend, Chase Morland, had gone to an area known as Bear Creek Cove, at Kaw Lake to hunt for ducks. Morland drowned after the Boat they were in capsized, while Strickland swam to shore, but later succumbed to hypothermia. The area had been experiencing severe inclement weather due to Winter storm Goliath with freezing temperatures. His body was discovered on January 4, 2016 after last being seen on December 27, 2015. It was determined by Oklahoma Highway Patrol that Strickland’s body had been difficult to locate due to the camouflage hunting gear he had been wearing at the time of his death.

Carly Pierce and Michael Ray are engaged

Carly Pierce and Michael Ray are heading down the aisle and broke the news in arguably two of the sweetest social media posts ever.  Ray proposed to Pearce on Wednesday (Dec. 19) while on vacation in Tulum, Mexico, but both waited until the holiday weekend to share the news online.

Ray writes, “You are the biggest blessing I have and will ever receive. You are my best friend, my partner in crime, my workout, grilled chicken, wine-drinking, classic country Opry loving, Nashville Palace hanging, Publix grocery shopping, This Is Us watching, living room late night dancing, laugh until we cry soul mate.  I’m glad we have forever together my love cause it is gonna take every second of it for you to understand how much I truly adore, respect, honor and love you!”

The two went public with their relationship over the summer. They initially connected after a Grand Ole Opry show at the Nashville Palace.

December 26th: On this day

On this day in 1968, Glen Campbell was at #1 on the US Country chart with “Wichita Lineman”. Jimmy Webb’s inspiration for the lyrics came while driving through Washita County in northern Oklahoma. Webb was driving through an endless litany of telephone poles, each looking exactly the same as the last. Then, in the distance, he noticed the silouette of a solitary lineman atop a pole. Webb then “put himself atop that pole and put that phone in his hand” as he considered what the lineman was saying into the receiver.

Medical checks ordered after 2nd detained child migrant dies

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has ordered medical checks on every child in its custody after an 8-year-old boy from Guatemala died, marking the second death of an immigrant child in the agency’s care this month.

The death came during an ongoing dispute over border security and with a partial government shutdown underway over President Donald Trump’s request for border wall funding .

The boy, identified by Guatemalan authorities as Felipe Gómez Alonzo, had been in CBP’s custody with his father, Agustin Gomez, since Dec. 18. CBP said in a statement late Tuesday that an agent first noticed the boy had a cough and “glossy eyes” at about 9 a.m. Monday. He was eventually hospitalized twice and died just before midnight, the agency said.

CBP said in the statement that it needs the help of other government agencies to provide health care. The agency “is considering options for surge medical assistance” from the Coast Guard and may request help from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.  The hospital, the Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center, declined to comment, citing privacy regulations.

Felipe and his father were detained by CBP for about a week, an unusually long time that the agency did not fully explain Tuesday.  CBP typically detains immigrants for no more than a few days when they cross the border before either releasing them or turning them over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for longer-term detention.  Agency guidelines say immigrants generally shouldn’t be detained for more than 72 hours in CBP holding facilities, which are usually smaller and have fewer services than ICE detention centers.

CBP said it apprehended Felipe and his father on Dec. 18 about 3 miles (5 kilometers) away from an official port of entry, the Paso del Norte bridge connecting El Paso and Juarez, Mexico. They were held at a processing center for almost two days then taken to the El Paso Border Patrol station on Thursday.  CBP said it moved them to Alamogordo at about 1 a.m. Sunday “because of capacity levels at the El Paso station.” Alamogordo is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) from El Paso.  Oscar Padilla, the Guatemalan consul in Phoenix, said he was told by the boy’s father in a telephone interview that the two had been traveling from their home in Nentón, a village about 280 miles (450 kilometers) from Guatemala City. They were planning to go to Johnson City, Tennessee.

CBP promised “an independent and thorough review of the circumstances,” and the Guatemalan foreign ministry called for an investigation “in accordance with due process.”  Democratic members of Congress and immigration advocates sharply criticized CBP’s handling of Jakelin Caal’s death and questioned whether border agents could have prevented it by spotting symptoms of distress or calling for an evacuation by air ambulance sooner.

CBP has said that it took several hours to transport Jakelin and her father from a remote Border Patrol facility to a larger station, where her temperature was measured at 105.7 degrees Fahrenheit (40.9 degrees Celsius). Emergency medical technicians had to revive her twice. She was ultimately flown to an El Paso hospital, where she died the next day.

Xochitl Torres Small, a Democrat who will represent the district starting in January, called for a thorough and transparent investigation into the children’s deaths and more medical resources along the border.  “This is inexcusable,” Torres Small said in a statement Tuesday. “Instead of immediately acting to keep children and all of us safe along our border, this administration forced a government shutdown over a wall .”

 

Oskaloosa early childhood & recreation center update

The Oskaloosa City Council held a study session last week on a 28E agreement between the City and Oskaloosa School District to build an early childhood and recreation center.  The Oskaloosa School Board approved the agreement the week before last.  Oskaloosa Mayor David Krutzfeldt says the City Council will vote on the agreement at its January 7 meeting.  “And so I expect that that will pass.  But bear in mind, this is just the funding agreement.  So what comes next is the design of the building. And then after the design comes the engineer’s estimate of what it’s going to cost.  And if you’ve been paying attention to construction inflation for the last couple, three years,  we’re anticipating that there’s going to be more difficult decisions made, not unlike what we went through when we built the fire station.”

In 2016, Oskaloosa voters approved a one cent local option sales and services tax, with 3/4 of the proceeds being used to build the center.  The Mahaska County YMCA would operate the center.  The project is expected to cost around $20 million.

Ottumwa man will stand trial on May 7th for bank robbery

The trial for a man accused of robbing a Keokuk County bank is being delayed.  Twenty-eight-year-old Ethan Spray of Ottumwa is accused of robbing the South Ottumwa Savings Bank in Hedrick on August 6.  Spray was to stand trial for first degree robbery next month, but the defense has been granted a delay until May 7. Spray is also accused of robbing a bank in Packwood; his trial for that starts in February in Jefferson County.

Oskaloosa boys and girls basketball both took a loss on Friday night

Oskaloosa’s boys’ basketball team is going into the Christmas break with a two game losing streak.  Tenth ranked Pella defeated the top-ranked Indians 69-61 Friday night (12/21) in Oskaloosa.  Pella made a dozen three point baskets in the game, with Logan Shetterly and John Oltman making five apiece.  Shetterly had 26 points on the night for the Dutch.  Oskaloosa’s Cole Henry had 28 points to lead the Indians, who are now 7-2 on the season.  The Indians boys are off until January 4 when they play at Indianola.

Pella’s girls also defeated Oskaloosa Friday night, 60-15.  The Lady Dutch got off to an 11-0 start at the end of the first quarter and took it from there.  Emily Holterhaus had 19 points to lead Pella; Lindsey Holmberg had four to lead Oskaloosa.  The Indians girls are also off until a January 4 game at Indianola.

Police say a Colorado woman was likely killed at home, fiance charged

The fiance of a Colorado woman who has been missing since Thanksgiving Day was arrested Friday on allegations of killing the mother of his child, and police said she likely died at her house in a mountain town.  But authorities declined to say whether they had found the body of Kelsey Berreth, 29, what led to the arrest of Patrick Michael Frazee and what motive there might be for Berreth’s disappearance and slaying.

Frazee, 32, was arrested at his home in the alpine town of Florissant on suspicion of murder and solicitation of murder, said Miles de Young, chief of police in neighboring Woodland Park, where Berreth lived.  “As you can tell from the arrest, sadly, we do not believe that Kelsey is still alive,” De Young said.

Authorities also declined to elaborate on the solicitation of murder charge, how they believe Berreth was killed or other aspects of the investigation.  Police have said Frazee was the last person to see Berreth alive. The couple shared a baby daughter but didn’t live together. Her mother previously said financial struggles delayed them from moving in together but her daughter was excited to get married.

The disappearance of the young pilot mystified family and friends and led to a social media push for information on her whereabouts.  She was last seen at a grocery store near her home. Surveillance video showed her walking in on Thanksgiving Day with what appears to be the couple’s daughter in a baby carrier. Frazee had told police that the couple met that afternoon so he could pick up the child.  De Young said the girl is in protective custody and will be turned over to Berreth’s family.

Frazee’s attorney, Jeremy Loew, has said his client was cooperating with investigators and provided DNA samples. Loew wasn’t immediately available for comment Friday but planned to release a statement, his office said.  Authorities searched Frazee’s cattle ranch and Berreth’s townhome but declined to say what they found. De Young did say evidence suggests “the crime” occurred at Berreth’s home and that her cellphone was found in Idaho. Investigators were working to recover the phone, which is key.

Police said the only signs of Berreth after Thanksgiving were some text messages and that location data suggested the phone by Nov. 25 was near Gooding, Idaho, 800 miles (1,290 kilometers) from her house.  Her mother, Cheryl, lives in Laclede, Idaho, 580 miles (930 kilometers) north of Gooding, but police have not explained whether that has any significance in where the cellphone was discovered.  Police started looking for Kelsey Berreth on Dec. 2 at her mother’s request.

Investigators who went to Berreth’s house found cinnamon rolls in the kitchen and both of her cars outside. De Young said the company where Berreth worked as a flight instructor, Doss Aviation, had accounted for all their planes and that police had no reason to believe she used someone else’s plane.  Cheryl Berreth told NBC News that her daughter’s relationship with Frazee had been good and loving.  She said the couple had weathered some financial struggles. Frazee runs a cattle ranch, and prices for the industry have been poor, delaying their plans to find a house and move in together, Cheryl Berreth said.  “They had plans that haven’t worked out as they would have liked. But they’ve dealt with that and they’ve made things work regardless,” she said.

The mother also told CBS that her daughter was looking forward to being married but said the couple had not set a wedding date.  A former boss said Kelsey Berreth was dating Frazee when she started working as a flight instructor at Springs Aviation in Peyton in 2016. She was “a little reserved and sometimes soft-spoken” but often talked about her then-boyfriend, company owner Bobby Hosmer said.

District Attorney Dan May says formal charges are pending and could take as long as 10 days to file. Frazee’s arraignment has yet to be set, May said. He said the search and arrest affidavits will stay sealed for now.

Authorities said as many as 30 FBI agents are participating in the investigation in several states.

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