Paulina López on Social and Climate Justice
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Washington Post
11 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Massachusetts assisted-living blaze kills a musician, secretary, and veteran Army sharpshooter
Gabriel House had seen better days. The 100-unit assisted-living facility that burned Sunday night , killing nine people so far , opened in 1999. Some photos on its Facebook page show neat rooms but older-looking carpeting and furniture. Her granddaughter didn't like the assisted-living center, but 86-year-old Eleanor Willett wanted something that left her money to play the slots at a casino. She earned too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford a higher-priced assisted-living facility, Holly Mallowes told The Associated Press Tuesday. 'She said, 'I don't need much, but a roof over my head and someplace to put my sewing machine,'' Mallowes said. Willett was the oldest to die. Here's what we know so far about the victims. A Massachusetts native, Willett spent more than 20 years as a secretary and even worked briefly as a cocktail waitress, her granddaughter said. Her home was always a base for everyone in her family, Mallowes said. 'My mom worked a lot and Grammy's was always a place we called home,' said Mallowes, 45. 'We lived with her often. She was very strong. She outlived two husbands and raised five children. She was absolutely a joy.' Mallowes, a paralegal who lives in Dartmouth, described her grandmother as 'very religious' and a 'devout Catholic.' 'She wanted to be somewhat independent,' Mallowes said of Willett's decision to move to Gabriel House in Fall River , about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Boston. 'To leave her home alone all day, I was to afraid something might happen.' 'As our grandparents and parents get older, we say 'I'll make it to go see them a different day' and you always put it off,' Mallowes said. 'See them while you can. Tomorrow is not promised.' Mackin, 71, was a violist who performed in Boston-area orchestras, according to her nephew, Austin Mackin. She was described in a statement from family members as 'gifted beyond words.' 'We will all miss Kimmy,' the statement read. 'Beyond being exceptionally kind, few knew that she was a brilliant musician.' Kim Mackin received a full scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music and after graduating, toured the world as first chair viola. Breonna Cestodio described her 78-year-old uncle, Rochon, as 'a very quiet guy,' yet a 'great guy.' 'He kept to himself,' she told reporters. 'He was a sharpshooter in the Army. He loved getting visits from all of his nieces and nephews.' Rochon moved into Gabriel House about a year ago. Cestodio had little good to say about the facility, remarking that it always seemed hot inside the building. 'Every time you visited him, he was sweating,' she said. 'No air in the building. I never saw any workers, except in one closed-off section. I never saw any workers.' —- Associated Press writer Mark Scolforo contributed from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Teen counselors and rookie rescue swimmer save dozens in Texas camp flood
A US coast guard rescue swimmer on his first rescue mission as well as teenage counselors who helped shepherd cold and wet young campers to safety have been credited with saving dozens of lives at a flood-ravaged Christian summer camp on the banks of Texas's Guadalupe River. Their stories of heroism and fortitude – including the counselors' writing young campers' names on their arms and legs with Sharpies so that authorities could identify them if necessary – are among the first to emerge recounting the grim reality of the torrent of water that surged Friday through the all-girls Camp Mystic, where at least 27 campers and counselors are known to have died. As of Tuesday morning, a further five campers and one counselor remained unaccounted for. Coast Guard petty officer Scott Ruskan, 26, of Oxford, New Jersey, spoke of plucking mud-covered children to safety after his helicopter crew flew through appalling weather to reach the campsite in rural Hunt early Friday afternoon. He and his colleagues, he told the Washington Post, were greeted with scenes of devastation, and dozens of children, teenage camp counselors and staff desperate to escape. 'That's how quickly this floodwater rose,' he told the newspaper in a phone interview. 'They didn't have time to grab shoes. You're just carrying kids that don't have shoes on, they're covered in mud, and you're trying to get them out of there. 'Some of it was simply talking to them and consoling them and trying to make them feel comfortable.' Ruskan, who joined the Coast Guard in 2021 and qualified as a rescue swimmer only last year, is credited with saving at least 165 lives during the three hours he spent on the ground triaging children and adults, and prioritizing the evacuation of the neediest cases, many on board Texas national guard black hawk helicopters. Many of the counselors, he said, were not much older than the young girls they were chaperoning – and they deserved credit for their role in saving lives. He said some told him of throwing children through windows and doorways to escape the fast-rising floodwater. 'It was some really heroic stuff by those camp counselors,' Ruskan said. 'I really hope they get the recognition they deserve.' Two Camp Mystic counselors, 19-year-olds Silvana Garza Valdez and María Paula Zárate from Mexico, spoke to the Mexican news network Televisa about the ordeal, which they said began at about 3am on Friday when electricity to the camp went out. But it was not until about noon, they said, that counselors were informed that some areas of the sprawling 725-acre campsite had been flooded and survivors were gathered in a dining hall. The pair said the urgency of the situation was becoming clearer, and they began preparing girls in their care for what might be to come. 'We began writing the girls' names on their skin, wherever it could be visible,' Zárate said. 'We told them to make a bag with all their things, whatever was most necessary … to get ready to evacuate. But we didn't know if they were going to evacuate us or not, and so we waited.' They attempted to calm the frightened girls with songs and games as they watched furniture and other camp equipment washing by as the water rose higher. 'All the girls started going crazy and crying because they didn't want to leave the camp – because they wanted to be with their parents,' Garza Valdez said. 'It was a terrible situation. I don't know to explain it. It was something very awful.' She said she and those with her didn't initially realize others at the camp had died. 'What they spoke to us about at the time was that 25 girls were missing – and that two were found at a nearby campground alive and well.' They did not have their cellphones with them to be able to know more about the situation that was unfolding – or call their families – because the devices were kept in the camp's front office, Garza Valdez said. Their group was eventually rescued by a military team that arrived at the campsite at about the same time as the Coast Guard and national guard. 'I felt like I was in a dream – I didn't think it was true,' Garza Valdez said. 'I don't think I understood the gravity of the situation until we saw it leaving on the army trucks. It was terrible. A week before, we were sleeping in the [hardest-hit cabins], and so simply it was difficult to process that they had moved and that we are alive' because of that. Ruskan spoke of the frustration of not being able to reach Camp Mystic immediately. He told the Post that early reports of flooding were received by 6.30am Friday, and his crew was in the air by 7am – but had to redirect to San Antonio because of zero visibility. They finally landed in Hunt at 2.30pm, knocking over archery targets in a field from the helicopter's downdraft as they descended. The former financial consultant recalled that his trainers told him that his first rescue missions would be unlike anything they taught him to expect. 'That's kind of the point,' he said. 'The expectation is that everyone is looking for someone to not be a hero, but kind of help them out and get them situated. 'That's what they needed me to be, and that's what kind of was in this case.'
CBS News
36 minutes ago
- CBS News
Mount Washington residents frustrated as large trucks, buses keep getting stuck on steep streets
Neighbors in Mount Washington say they're fed up again after large trucks and buses continue to get stuck on their steep streets. One couple says it's more than frustrating, and it's damaging their property. KDKA-TV was at the intersection of Ulysses and Sycamore Street, where residents say buses and trucks frequently get stuck. Drivers attempting to turn have caused repeated damage to property in the area. Photos from Monday show a Greyhound bus stuck on steep Sycamore Street, a road even cars struggle to navigate. But neighbors say this isn't a one-time occurrence. Genevieve Jerome says this has been going on for three years. "You don't know if they're going to run into your house some day or back into your house," Jerome said. Her yard, a stop sign and a fire hydrant have all been hit multiple times. She says it's not just frustrating, it's dangerous. "I ran to the side of my house and sure enough it was the Greyhound cutting right through the yard, slowly backing up and grinding in my yard right now, and I'm like yelling and waving my arms," Jerome said. Despite "No Truck" signs nearby, large vehicles continue to roll through, including another bus just yesterday. Sean and Emily McCann, visiting Pittsburgh from Boston, witnessed the latest incident. "There's a lot of different ways to get where you need to go, so I'm surprised they come through this neighborhood," said Sean McCann. "Yeah, unless there was a detour, but yeah, I don't know it was rough," said Emily McCann A Greyhound spokesperson responded to KDKA-TV in a statement, saying: "We are aware some of our coaches have experienced difficulties navigating steep roads in the Mount Washington neighborhood, and we apologize for any disruption this has caused residents. To help prevent future issues, we are actively working with our technical support team to remove these streets from our GPS routing system and we are reinforcing guidance to our drivers to prevent future occurrences." Jerome says she's worried for more than just her property. "There's people and kids, it's a neighborhood, it's a residential neighborhood, so yeah, there's some safety risks," she said. Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith told KDKA-TV that Pittsburgh police are aware of the issue and are working on a solution that includes enforcement and rerouting. At this time, Jerome says she has not been reimbursed for the damage to her yard, but she's hopeful a fix is coming soon.
