Latest news with #Durrett
Indianapolis Star
04-07-2025
- Indianapolis Star
Ralph Durrett hopes to create 'positive childhood experiences' for Indianapolis' youth
Jeremiah McCurty, 12, stood in front of his peers, demonstrating how to cut a zig-zag pattern into a potato, make homemade French fries and showcase how to handle a kitchen knife. These were skills he learned from a local chef while attending one of Indianapolis' summer youth programs. He even tries to find excuses at home to make his family food. Mostly to show them what he had learned earlier that day with Chef Debbie Williams. Before this summer, McCurty had never held a knife and lacked the confidence to be a center of attention among his peers. 'The program has been pretty fun,' McCurty said. 'I'm making friends and get to learn stuff – if I want – but I mostly get to have fun.' These are the kinds of stories that Ralph Durrett Jr., Indianapolis' chief violence prevention officer, was hoping to hear after creating the city's new youth program. Durrett was hired with hopes of curtailing the city's growing problem of youth violence. It's an issue that is still a focus for many in the city, as just a week ago, Indianapolis police responded to a triple shooting near Monument Circle in which a 16-year-old boy was in connection with the shooting. In April 2024, IMPD announced it would begin enforcing the state's curfew law for minors to reduce youth crime. Under that law, a 16-year-old cannot be unaccompanied in public after 11 p.m. or before 5 a.m. on a weeknight. Durrett doesn't believe that harsher punishments are the best way to address this problem, even if many in the community would argue otherwise. More: Meet the man tasked with reducing violence among Indianapolis youth Durrett believed that it wasn't the right move to handle this problem. 'When we have the opportunity to create positive childhood experiences, we know that we can push them in a direction that moves them beyond the adverse circumstances they're experiencing,' Durrett said. 'This is perhaps the most important thing we can be doing for (kids) from the city's perspective. Being able to give young people a safe place where they can be themselves and provide them with enriching skill sets.' Durrett modeled the city's youth program after his childhood experience, where local leaders like Rev. Fred Dorsey created a haven for kids at the now-shuttered YMCA near 10th Street and Fall Creek Parkway North Drive. 'I'm not sure I would be standing where I am today if it weren't for (Dorsey) and the men that were at the YMCA who allowed us to be in that space,' Durrett said. 'It gave us the opportunity to be mentored by men who helped put our lives and my own on a different track direction.' "It's important to invest in the next generation to help kids escape violence," Durrett said. Durrett often visits youth-focused programs like Indianapolis' Summer in the City program or Kokomo's Urban Outreach. He also spends one day a week at the Marion County Youth Services Center, making connections with young people already in the justice system. 'We've been coming here in hopes of opening up minds and hearts. (We've been) pouring them with information about how they can further develop their lives,' said Dorsey. 'It's important for these kids to know that there is a chance for them to do more with their lives and that there is more to life than what we've been accustomed to.'
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Salvation Army and Fans 4 Oklahoma fan drive underway; here's how to help
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — The warm, even hot, temperatures are upon us, which means high heat is on the horizon. You can help people stay cool this season by taking part in the Salvation Army fan drive. Free Boat? All this mechanic had to do was bring it back from the bottom of Arcadia Lake KFOR has once again partnered with The Salvation Army to help provide relief for Oklahomans. To some, they're just box fans, but to others, they can be life-changing during the summer season. 'It does help those families who can't afford A/C, want to keep their electric bill down,' Salvation Army Social Services Manager Paul Durrett said. 'So, it does help those families, you know, kids, elders, and the vulnerable people.' Just last year, the Salvation Army says your donations ended up in the hands of 300 people who needed them. This is all part of the annual fan drive, and this year, they're already noticing a need for them earlier than usual. 'We started getting calls last month wondering where we're going to get fans,' Durrett said. You can help out people in need, and it starts at Westlake ACE Hardware locations across the city. 'We are allowing individuals to round up at the register, and all of those donations will come back to purchase box fans for the community members in need,' Salvation Army's Development and Marketing Manager Annie Perkins said. That event is going on until June 7. You can also buy a box fan and donate it to the Salvation Army facility off NW 10th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. Another way to help is to drop a fan off at the upcoming fan drive with the Bricktown Rotary and KFOR . 'Which will be held at Rococo's on Western,' Perkins said. 'That'll be taking place on Monday, June 9th from 4-6:30 p.m.' Donations can also be made online. Durrett said every bit counts. 'There's a lot of people that want to donate either money, fans to this cause,' he said. 'So, it's big. It shows people helping people out.' The Salvation Army plans to hand fans out in mid-June while supplies last. If you need one, you can visit the Salvation Army facility off NW 10th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue on Tuesday's and Thursday's during regular business hours. You do have to show a valid I-D to receive one. Fans 4 Oklahoma Fan Drive Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
24-04-2025
- General
- Axios
First Look: Bryn Mawr College unveils new art path honoring Black workers
A new art installation recognizing hundreds of Black workers who helped build and run Bryn Mawr College is being unveiled today. Why it matters: The five-year project, a collaboration with Monument Lab, is a way for the Main Line school to reckon with its history of racism. The big picture: D.C.-based artist Nekisha Durrett 's installation, "Don't Forget to Remember (Me)," includes 10,000 clay pavers that form a knotted, braided pathway in the Cloisters courtyard near the Old Library, where some of former president and dean Martha Carey Thomas' ashes are interned. The space has felt fraught for decades for students of color because of Thomas' antisemitic and racist views and public embrace of eugenics, Durrett tells Axios. The school renamed the library in 2018 after public outcry over Thomas' legacy of exclusionary policies. Zoom in: The handmade clay pavers are inscribed with the names of 248 Black servants who worked at the college between 1900 and 1930, while other pavers light up, signifying countless unnamed people whose contributions are lost to history. The soil comes from the old Perry House, a former Black cultural center on campus. A team of researchers and students pored over the school's archives to identify the workers, Durrett tells Axios. The intrigue: The length of the trail is the same distance that it took Enid Cook, Bryn Mawr's first Black female graduate, to walk from her off-campus home to the college's center. What they're saying: Durrett says she was inspired by the braids of a Black guide who led a "Black at Bryn Mawr" campus tour she attended while embarking on the project. The guide told Durrett she still felt uncomfortable entering the Cloistures, but Durrett wanted to change that by filling the space with a symbol of Black identity and strength — the braid. "This piece is about reclamation," Durrett tells Axios. "It's a reminder to look to the ground," Paul Farber, director of Monument Lab, tells Axios, "to see where you are and the layers of time."
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State attorney finds ‘insufficient evidence' to prosecute former Sheriff Clovis Watson Jr.
A Florida state attorney has decided not to file criminal charges against former Alachua County's Sheriff Clovis Watson Jr. following a statewide investigation over the seizure of "privileged communications" and official misconduct. In a letter dated Feb. 19 from State Attorney John Durrett to FDLE Inspector David Snowden, Durrett writes that Alachua County Capt. Brandon Kutner was commanded by then-Undersheriff Joel Decoursey Jr. to "monitor and intercept privileged communications." In turn, Kutner illegally recorded a conversation between Decoursey and Watson. "A lieutenant with ACSO indicated in a sworn statement how they had personally witnessed Captain Kutner actively monitoring privileged communications," Durrett, the state attorney for Florida's Third Judicial Circuit, wrote in the letter. "The only evidence to support the charge of unlawful interception in violation of Florida Statute 934.03 is the testimony of the immunized, Captain (Brandon) Kutner." Following Watson's official misconduct charge, Durrett wrote that he found "insufficient evidence" to prosecute Watson for ordering to destroy a different recorded conversation. Business news: Another loss: Restaurant/entertainment venue closure follows others at Celebration Pointe However, a sergeant mistakenly recorded a conversation with the former sheriff. "Here, the Sergeant simply made an error in believing that the same exceptions applicable to criminal investigations applied in internal investigations," Durrett said. "This action stands in contrast to Captain Kutner who indicated he was directed to unlawfully intercept communications involving the same attorney." Watson's actions to destroy or "ordering to destroy" a recording caused the official misconduct to be directed to the former sheriff, not the sergeant. However, no evidence was supported. Durett added that both sides of the aisle agreed the conversation shouldn't have been recorded and the officer was later disciplined. In February, Watson, in his official capacity as Alachua County sheriff, lost a racial discrimination lawsuit against former Sgt. Kevin Davis for favoring less-qualified Black officers for promotions and transfers. However, ACSO has filed an appeal to lower the damages in the case from $15 million to $30,000 and will have a scheduled hearing in July. This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: State attorney declines to prosecute former Alachua County sheriff
