Correction to story about Col. West

A reader has sent me the following as a correct version of the events concerning Col. West. The footnote citations were in the copy sent to me, although the footnotes were not.

He wrote, "The story about col west and his interrogation is incorrect. There were no missing soldiers, and no intense combat...that is a tea party urban myth.  Here is the correct account:

"[edit]Iraq interrogation incident

"While serving in Taji, Iraq, on August 20, 2003, West was in charge of the interrogation of Yahya Jhodri Hamoodi, a civilian Iraqi police officer suspected of having information about attacks on American troops in the area.^[8] Interrogators had been informed the detainee knew about a planned ambush. When the detainee refused to talk, LTC West was asked to assist. Hamoodi continued to withhold information, and West was accused of firing his pistol past the prisoner's head, frightening him into talking. According to West's sworn statement,^[5] the detainee told West:

“

[The attack] was to occur Friday morning in Saba al Boor vicinity of the police station by positioned snipers supposedly being brought in from Fallujah. [The detainee] was to ID my vehicle and myself for these rooftop firers. We took this information and the following day established flask CPs and used AH-64s overhead. There was no attack and no further attacks have emanated from the town since the apprehension of [the detainee] and his named associates.

”

"At least one suspect was arrested as a result of the information obtained through the detainee's information. The suspect's home was searched, but no plans for attacks or weapons were found. West testified he did not know if "any corroboration" of a plot was ever found. He added: "At the time I had to base my decision on the intelligence I received. It's possible that I was wrong about Mr. Hamoodi."^[9]

"West, who had completed almost 22 years of active service, was charged with violating articles 128 (assault) and 134 (general article) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He was processed through an Article 32 hearing in November 2003, where he admitted he was wrong to fire the pistol and was fined $5,000. LTC West accepted the judgment and retired with full benefits in the summer of 2004.^[10]"

^{[Note from Gus: Many thanks to the reader for his time to provide the correction.]}

Woodstock's Senior Call-in Program needs more users

One of the best-kept secrets in Woodstock is the Senior Citizen Call-in Program of the Woodstock Police Department. It was designed to provide an extra layer of security to senior citizens in Woodstock who live on their own.

Here's how it works. A Woodstock senior citizen fills out a form, signs a waiver and then registers those forms at the Woodstock Police Department, along with keys to his residence. Each day the senior citizen contacts the P.D. by 10:00AM. All it takes is "Hi, this is Gus. I'm okay."

If the senior doesn't call by 10:00AM, the telecommunicator (dispatcher) will begin a follow-up procedure, starting with a phone call to the senior. If there is no answer, a police officer will be dispatched with the key to the senior's residence. The officer will knock; if there is no answer, the officer will enter.

The program is explained on the Police Department's webpages, which can be found through the City's website at www.woodstockil.gov/  Roll your mouse over City Departments (on the left); continue rolling over Police and then click on Community Programs/Services. Then search for and click on Senior Citizen Call-In Program.

Service agencies, such as Faith in Action and McHenry County Senior Services, could publicize this program and encourage seniors to register. Churches can promote it. Dorr and Greenwood Townships could promote it. Woodstock Fire Rescue District could promote it. Seniors at the new Coffee with the City at Stage Left Cafe could sign up on the spot. Perhaps The Woodstock Independent would cooperate with an insert of the registration forms (which could be printed two-sided).

All senior citizens, with limited exceptions, should be eligible, whether single or married. It doesn't matter whether they live in a house or apartment.

Two websites to check out, too

Yesterday I wrote a new DWI website (www.dwihitparade.com/) out east that it going to make lives miserable for drunk drivers.

Ken Rossignol, the publisher, has sent along links to two other websites he has - a political blog at www.townhallalliance.com/ and www.the-chesapeake.com/, which is his original publication that he stopped in order to bring out St. Mary’s Today (www.stmarystoday.com/) 22 years ago. 

He wrote, "We ran the liberals out of office at the county commissioner level this past fall, and we are going to keep on the pressure on the Republicans. You might enjoy some of the videos which are on the political site and were part of the campaign."

I believe you'll enjoy them, too.

Thanks, Ken, for inspiring me in the direction of my blog and my traffic crusade. Next trip to Maryland I'll be sure to stop and say Hello.

CUE Center involvement in Bentley case

The CUE (Community Unified Effort) Center for Missing Persons (www.cuecenter.org/ and www.ncmissingpersons.org/) was founded in 1994 by Monica Carlson. Since that year it has helped more than 9,000 families in their efforts to find lost family members. The CUE Center is headquartered in Wilmington, N.C.

Recently, I received an email from a "~Linda~" and a private Yahoo! Mail email address with information about the Cue Center's efforts in the Beth Bentley case. ~Linda~ (there was no last name in the email) has now been identified to me as Linda Stovall, and she is a volunteer with the CUE Center.

The CUE Center assisted in the development of a new site created by Beth's brother in Arizona, and it can be viewed at www.helpfindbethbentley.com/

So just where does Nygren live now?

On December 3, 2010, only two after taking office for his four-year term as Sheriff of McHenry County, Keith Nygren sold his house in Hebron to Bryan Krause, his subordinate, employee and head of the County garage facility that services sheriff's department vehicles.

If Nygren were put under oath, or if Bryan were, when would they say they had begun to plan that real estate transaction. Before December 3? Before December 1? Before November 2, which was Election Day in McHenry County?

When did Bryan apply for his mortgage to buy a house for $250,000 that very likely was worth about $170,-180,000 on December 3? Does he have a friend in the banking business who made him a very good deal on a loan? What was the true Fair Market Value of 10213 Meadow Lane in Hebron on December 3?

Nygren wasn't too concerned "about security" during the years he owned that house in Hebron. If anyone wanted to find out where he lived, a quick visit to the Treasurer's Office or the Recorder's Office would have provided the answer.

If it wasn't a problem before December 3, why is it now? Or is it?

To legally hold the Office of Sheriff of McHenry County, Nygren must be a resident of the County. Is he? As the people of Chicago are finding out, intent is an important element of residency.

If Nygren sold the Hebron home and Mrs. Nygren is a Florida resident and living in Cape Coral, Florida and assuming that they aren't divorcing, what odds would Jimmy the Bookmaker lay on Nygren's hanging around in McHenry County?

Is he getting his ducks lined up, so that he can resign (retire?) and clear out of state?

For many homeowners the interest on the primary's home mortgage is an important tax consideration. Renters don't get that deduction. A decent apartment, sufficient in size to hold his familiar household furnishings, would cost $1,500-2,000/month - in after-tax dollars.  Is Nygren in a 40-50% total income tax bracket, effectively pushing his monthly housing cost to $36,-48,000/year out of his $145,000 salary? Why wouldn't he want to continue to own?

Or is he renting a room (or the entire house he just sold) from Bryan on some kind of a sweetheart deal; say, $200/month? If he rents the room/house for less than FMV, won't Bryan be gifting the difference to him? And, of course, filing the appropriate Federal and Illinois Gift Tax Returns?

And, if Nygren did get, say, $70,000 more than the FMV of the house on the date of sale, would that excess be a gift to him from Bryan?

DWI Hit Parade

Check out this new website that is devoted to publicizing DWIs. It won't be popular with drunk drivers, but the rest of us will like it.

Created by Ken Rossignol of somewhere-in-Maryland, Ken has been on a crusade for years against drunk driving. Visit http://www.dwihitparade.com/

The first DWI Hit Parade was published on July 31, 1990, and has since "recognized" approximately 65,000 drunk drivers.

The offer of a free coffin isn't a joke. "A 2007 offer of a free coffin for the first drunk driver to kill himself during the Christmas season resulted in zero fatalities in the three counties of Southern Maryland due to alcohol as of Christmas Eve.  After victory was declared for the effort, and the offer ended, three days later a young man killed himself in Hollywood, MD. while driving drunk." (Snipped from DWIhitparade.com)

For years he published St. Mary's Today at www.stmarystoday.com  Last year he turned management duties over to others. And here's the new online publication.

Police agencies which desire to assist by providing arrest information are invited to send the data to staff@dwiHitParade.com

Looking for a part-time job? Pass up this one

Be careful with the emails you receive that look "too good to be true." They probably are - - too good to be true.

A reader forwarded an email he had received, as an example of what he referred to as the "#1 scam involving US postal forged money orders."

The email purported to inform the recipient of an opening for a "Customer evaluator" for a survey company. It must be an English offer, because neighborhood was spelled "neighbourhood". It involves some "money transfer" scheme that is not entirely clear, but it looks to me like they are trying to get their hands on U.S. postal money orders, possibly for the purpose of fraudulent reproduction of them.

Although it doesn't require personal identifying information other than a full name and address, that could be used to begin building a database for future identify theft.

Most readers will just hit Delete, when they receive emails such as that one. At the very least, your caution flag ought to fly high, if you consider it all.

Earn $700/week part-time, working once or twice a week? I don't think so!

Thanks to the reader for this alert.