Latest news with #Hanford
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Investigation uncovers what led to brawl at Hanford, Pasco basketball game
High emotions, mass confusion and unfounded accusations of racial slurs were what likely led to a pair of fights at a February varsity basketball game between the Pasco Bulldogs and visiting Hanford Falcons. That's according to an investigation by the Pasco Police Department and its school resource officer obtained by the Tri-City Herald through the state Public Records Act. Several officers interviewed more than a dozen witnesses, parents and students in the days that followed the Feb. 4 incidents. Police also determined that a Hanford assistant coach tried to intervene between two fighting players but that allegations he choked a Pasco player were unsubstantiated. It was a 'split-second decision' to place his arms around a swinging Pasco player and likely 'the best option to de-escalate the situation,' said police. 'There were coaches up and down the court grabbing onto players to stop their aggressive movement toward players on the opposite team,' wrote Officer Joseph Wysock, a school resource officer at Pasco High School. 'Many of the events on Feb. 4, 2025, were unlawful and were against high school sports policies from both schools,' Wysock wrote. 'The game's coaching staff and school administrators handled the situations professionally to de-escalate many problems.' The firstfight occurred in the waning moments of the game, after a Pasco player going for a layup was pushed mid-air by a Hanford opponent. The hard foul led to a scrum between the two teams and the allegations involving Hanford's assistant coach. But a second fight after the game involved mostly enraged fans and parents. Several people walked away with bruises and scratches, and police identified one parent who may have instigated the fight. While Pasco police recommended third-degree assault charges for two parents and one student involved in the second incident, the city attorney chose to not file charges in the case, said Richland attorney Scott Johnson, who represents the assistant coach. The Herald is not naming those involved or the assistant coach since no charges were filed. The Hanford assistant coach remains on administrative leave from his part-time coaching job as the school investigation continues, but he has said he doesn't plan to return next season. Richland said in a statement to families days after the incident that the coach's actions 'do not reflect our commitment to safety' and would not be tolerated. Johnson argues the district should retract those statements in light of the Pasco police report. 'They made a snap judgment critical of their own coach before they knew any of the facts,' he wrote. 'The false statements the Richland School District made caused my client and his family to be subject to numerous threats, including threats of physical harm.' The Tri-City Herald has requested additional records about the Richland School District's internal investigation. A spokesperson for the district said it's standard practice for a staff member to be placed on leave when safety-related concerns are reported. 'This ensures a thorough, impartial review while prioritizing the safety and well-being of students and staff. The RSD's investigation into any potential violations of district policies is ongoing,' Richland public information officer BJ Sorenson told the Herald. In the days and weeks since the fights, Pasco High School has reviewed and enhanced its safety protocols. That includes more supervision and safety staff at home athletic events. 'At the district level, we have worked closely with the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) to address broader concerns and reinforce clear expectations for behavior and sportsmanship,' a statement from the Pasco School District reads. 'As part of this effort, QR codes are now posted at home athletic events, providing spectators with a simple and immediate way to report concerns or inappropriate conduct during competitions,' the statement continues. It was alleged by some witnesses that the tussles were preceded by the use of racial slurs against Pasco players on the court, specifically during a foul in the third quarter. Wysock interviewed the game referee and two Pasco coaches. All three denied hearing anything racial, and police were unable to establish any probable cause that slurs had been used. The referee explained in an interview with Wysock that it's WIAA protocol to pause play, speak with coaches and warn the benches if slurs or disparaging remarks are heard during play. Police were unable to discern what was said by players during the third-quarter foul, but one juvenile witness claimed a Hanford player called someone an anti-Black epithet. The Hanford assistant coach and a younger student were accused of calling a Pasco player 'carrot top' and 'carrot cake.' 'Pasco has a red-haired Hispanic player,' Wysock wrote. 'I interviewed him and he was unaware of these comments being made, nor did he feel that they were racial. In fact, he thought about making them a nickname for himself.' The first fight at Pasco High School occurred with less than four seconds left on the clock of the game as the Falcons led the Bulldogs, 62-45, according to police reports. As Hanford was running out the clock, a Pasco player stole the ball and was pushed during a layup. He landed and hit the padded wall. 'This caused the Pasco players to get upset and act with instant retaliation,' Officer Wysock wrote. Then, coaches, parents and fans from both teams came onto the court from the bleachers. 'Pasco High School administrators and coaches from both teams were clearing the court and addressing concerns as best as they could. They established command and control of the incident for the time being. Parents grew concerned over the events that just took place, such as the hard foul and the Hanford coach grabbing a Pasco player. Parents started pointing fingers as possible instigators,' he continued. A frustrated Pasco mother was identified as a 'component of what instigated' later fights. She and her husband initially thought it was their son who had been grabbed by the coach. After the game, as parents were waiting for their kids to come out of the locker rooms, she pointed out to the district athletic director a 20-year-old Hanford fan whom she believed was involved in the altercation, and that was 'saying racial slurs throughout the game.' That fan reportedly got into an argument earlier that evening with a few of the Pasco fans in the locker room tunnels, and was asked to leave the tunnel. A Pasco student there to watch the game overheard the mother's discussion with the athletic director, and he confronted the Hanford fan. After the game, words were exchanged between the Hanford fan and Pasco student, according to the police report, and shortly after the fan was surrounded by three men. '(The fan) crosses his arms in a manner that portrays he is not going to leave or listen to the crowd yelling and pointing for him to leave,' the report reads. The Hanford fan's father tried to intervene and the Hanford fan gets into a wrestling match with one of the Pasco aggressors and punches began flying. Several spectators, parents and students rushed to try to break up the cluster, but others who rushed in tried joining in on the fight, the police report said. Reports said the fan was beat by 'around 5-6 adults,' and was even knocked unconscious by an aggravated Pasco student who rushed into the scrum to land a 'haymaker' punch that also knocked down another person. The school's vice principal, the athletic director, Hanford coaches and several 'good Samaritans' broke up the fight. Wysock's report was based on 'hours of video footage' — both closed circuit and submissions from the public — and several written statements and interviews. It led him to the conclusion that reactions from players, fans, parents and students resulted in 'multiple people breaking the law.' 'It is not uncommon for players' emotions to be elevated during games, and retaliation for a hard foul has become common in college and professional sports,' the school resource officer wrote. 'In the events of the game between Pasco High School and Hanford High School, the actions taken by some reached the criminal level.' In addition to the three individuals recommended on third-degree assault charges, Pasco police also listed the names of nine individuals who likely broke state law by disturbing a school activity. The misdemeanor comes with a simple penalty of up to $50.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The US buried millions of gallons of wartime nuclear waste – Doge cuts could wreck the cleanup
In the bustling rural city of Richland, in south-eastern Washington, the signs of a nuclear past are all around. A small museum explains its role in the Manhattan Project and its 'singular mission – [to] develop the world's first atomic bomb before the enemy might do the same'. The city's high school sports team is still known as the Bombers, with a logo that consists of the letter R set with a mushroom cloud. Richland lies just 30 miles from the Hanford nuclear site, a sprawling plant that produced the plutonium for America's atomic weapons during the second world war – including the bomb dropped over Nagasaki. Over the decades, thousands of people in the Tri-Cities area of southern Washington worked at the plant, which shuttered in 1989. But a dark legacy of Hanford still lingers here: vast amounts of highly radioactive waste nobody is quite sure what to do with. Residents have long spearheaded an operation to deal with 56m gallons of nuclear waste left behind in dozens of underground tanks – a cleanup that is expected to cost half a trillion dollars and may not be completed until 2100. The government has called it 'one of the largest and most expensive environmental cleanup projects worldwide'. In recent weeks, what has already been a costly and painstakingly slow process has come under renewed scrutiny, following an exodus of experts from the Department of Energy (DoE) that is overseeing the cleanup being executed by thousands of contract workers. Related: Nuclear waste ravaged their land. The Yakama Nation is on a quest to rescue it According to local media, several dozen staff, who reportedly include managers, scientists and safety experts, have taken early retirement or been fired as part of a broader government reduction overseen by Elon Musk and his 'department of government efficiency'. The government has refused to provide a specific figure for how many people involved with cleanup efforts have left. The top DoE manager at the Hanford site, Brian Vance, who had many years of experience, resigned at the end of March without giving a reason. The changes have thrown the communities around the Hanford plant into limbo. And while the Department of Energy has said that only six staff have been fired, and reiterated its commitment to the cleanup, that hasn't managed to assuage locals' concerns. Those raising the alarm include politicians from both parties, environmental activists, and Indigenous communities who have historically owned the land on which the 560 sq mile (1,450 sq km) site sits. The US senator for Washington Patty Murray said workers were already understaffed, and that cutting further positions was 'reckless'. 'There is nothing 'efficient' about indiscriminately firing thousands upon thousands of workers in red and blue states whose work is badly needed,' the Democrat said. Dan Newhouse, the local Republican congressman is similarly concerned. 'A strong, well trained federal workforce is essential,' he wrote in a weekly newsletter to constituents. Concerns have also been raised by some over the difficulty former workers face in making medical compensation claims to the government for everything from cancer to acute pulmonary disease linked to their time at the plant. Taken together, there is fresh anxiety in a community, where many are still living with the health and environmental effects of Hanford. ••• Richland, part of the Tri-Cities, was obtained by the army in 1943 to house workers engaged in top-secret efforts to produce plutonium used in the world's first nuclear explosion – the-so-called 'Trinity' device tested some 200 miles from Los Alamos, New Mexico, in 1945. Though the city was returned to the public a decade later, it can still feel like a company town. To get anywhere near what is known as Hanford's B-reactor, the world's first full-scale plutonium production reactor, you need to sign up for an official tour. Yet a view of its grey, single tower, looming from the hillside, can be seen from state route 24, close to the Columbia River. Those expressing concern about the federal government downsizing include local Indigenous groups who historically owned the land where the site is located and were pushed off it by the government. The Hanford plant area contains the location of several sacred sites, among them Gable Mountain, which were used for ceremonies, and the area of Rattlesnake Mountain, or Lalíik, which has for centuries been used to hunt elk. The site is also located close to the Yakama Indian Reservation, home to 11,000 people, and the tribe has long pushed to be central to decisions about the cleanup and what it is eventually used for. The tribe recently signed a deal to carry out their first elk hunt in the area for seven decades. 'One of the biggest fears is that without proper manpower, there might not be a very good crew for the cleanup of the property,' says Gerald Lewis, chairman of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. 'Without this cleanup, that's been happening for a number of years, we're afraid of a nuclear mishap.' Dr Elizabeth McClure, a health data specialist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, is currently conducting research in the communities around Hanford. She says there is a history of government-led cover-ups over the years at the site, including what is known as 'the Green Run', the intentional release of 8,000 so-called curies of iodine-131 into the atmosphere in 1949. By comparison, the leak of radioactive material at the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 involved just a dozen. The Green Run was only acknowledged by the government in 1986. It later emerged that so-called 'downwinders', suffered higher rates of cancer and harm to their lymphatic system. She says Indigenous communities, and other marginalised groups, are often not included in research into the broader impact of places such as Hanford. 'In public health, we're doing work to improve the wellbeing of the public,' she says. 'If you aren't getting the insights and feedback of who's being harmed, you're not going to be able to make improvements.' Also monitoring developments is Hanford Challenge, an environmental group that has highlighted – among other issues – the estimated million gallons of radioactive waste already leaked into the soil because several dozen storage tanks are cracked. A plan to send 2,000 gallons of waste for treatment in Utah or Texas was put on hold after protests from communities on the route, including the city of Spokane and the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Nikolas Peterson, a spokesperson for Hanford Challenge, is concerned about job losses and how it will impact a cleanup operation that is taking place far away from the public eye. 'This level of reduction in staffing raises serious concerns about oversight, accountability and continuity. While the contractor workforce performs the bulk of the cleanup work, DoE staff play a critical role in setting priorities, ensuring compliance and maintaining transparency with the public,' he said. 'A diminished federal presence could slow decision-making, weaken oversight and reduce opportunities for meaningful engagement with stakeholders.' ••• For former plant workers like Larry White, the legacy of Hanford is complex. White says he loved the camaraderie of the job, sucked up the hour-long commute, and didn't grumble when he was required to put on protective gear that made the temperature soar. But the job left him with lingering scars. White developed skin cancer and a progressive lung disease that has made it painful to breathe. Even now, as the 83-year-old makes out medical compensation claims, he is not one to complain, even though it hurts to breathe. 'I was treated good while I was there. They took care of us,' says White, who owns and helps farm seven acres in Yakima, a town some 45 miles from Hanford. Since 2000, the government has paid out at least $2.2bn to former Hanford employees, representing 13,000 people. White is being helped by his son, Doug White, a consultant, community activist and part-time farmer who ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for Newhouse's seat in 2022. His son admits he is struggling with the paperwork required to process the claim and is struggling to get help. He says it is essential officials are transparent. 'I'm finding it extremely complicated, unintelligible and opaque,' says White. 'It's a struggle. It's an absolute struggle.' Another former staff member, Richard Badalamente, spent 22 years working as a behavioral scientist at the DoE's National Laboratory, originally part of the Hanford site. Today he's a campaigner for environmental and other causes. Badalamente, 88, says the concerns triggered by news about a reduction in staff symbolise the peculiar relationship between the Hanford community and its history. 'The concern is twofold,' he says. He says the economic 'fuel' for the region comes from the massive operation that may not be completed for 75 years. He adds: 'The concern is the Trump administration will not support a robust cleanup.' It appears many of the recent departures have come as part through voluntary redundancy, or delayed resignation program (DRP), that have been used in other government departments to trim numbers. The DoE said by email it would not provide a number for how many employees had opted for early retirement. It said all requests 'were subject to approval, and certain public safety, national security, law enforcement, or other essential employees may not be approved for participation'. It also would not say how staff had been selected. It confirmed Vance's deputy, Brian Stickney, was among those who had taken early retirement. Vance did not respond to inquiries from the Guardian. Asked about the impact on the cleanup, the spokesperson said: 'The DoE is committed to meeting cleanup responsibilities at Hanford safely and effectively while delivering on President Trump's mission to increase innovation across the federal government and promote greater efficiency and accountability.' In a note to staff, he said: 'Hanford's cleanup mission is one of the most complex and challenging in the world, and the progress we have made is nothing short of remarkable.' How swiftly that progress now goes remains to be seen. Back at the visitors' museum in Richland, near the black-and-white photos of Ronald Reagans's 1956 morale-boosting visit to Hanford, a 15-minute informational film highlights in plain, unemotional language the scale of the 'unintended consequences and legacies of the Manhattan Project'. Solving these complex environmental problems, the film says, will rely on the same 'drive, dedication, human ingenuity and political will' put into building the bomb. • This article was amended on 20 May 2025. It was iodine-131, not 'iodine-1', that was released into the atmosphere in 1949.
The Guardian
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
The US buried millions of gallons of wartime nuclear waste – Doge cuts could wreck the cleanup
In the bustling rural city of Richland, in south-eastern Washington, the signs of a nuclear past are all around. A small museum explains its role in the Manhattan Project and its 'singular mission – [to] develop the world's first atomic bomb before the enemy might do the same'. The city's high school sports team is still known as the Bombers, with a logo that consists of the letter R set with a mushroom cloud. Richland lies just 30 miles from the Hanford nuclear site, a sprawling plant that produced the plutonium for America's atomic weapons during the second world war – and later the bomb dropped over Nagasaki. Over the decades, thousands of people in the Tri-Cities area of southern Washington worked at the plant, which shuttered in 1989. But a dark legacy of Hanford still lingers here: vast amounts of highly radioactive waste nobody is quite sure what to do with. Residents have long spearheaded an operation to deal with 56m gallons of nuclear waste left behind in dozens of underground tanks – a cleanup that is expected to cost half a trillion dollars and may not be completed until 2100. The government has called it 'one of the largest and most expensive environmental cleanup projects worldwide'. In recent weeks, what has already been a costly and painstakingly slow process has come under renewed scrutiny, following an exodus of experts from the Department of Energy (DoE) that is overseeing the cleanup being executed by thousands of contract workers. According to local media, several dozen staff, who reportedly include managers, scientists and safety experts, have taken early retirement or been fired as part of a broader government reduction overseen by Elon Musk and his 'department of government efficiency'. The government has refused to provide a specific figure for how many people involved with cleanup efforts have left. The top DoE manager at the Hanford site, Brian Vance, who had many years of experience, resigned at the end of March without giving a reason. The changes have thrown the communities around the Hanford plant into limbo. And while the Department of Energy has said that only six staff have been fired, and reiterated its commitment to the cleanup, that hasn't managed to assuage locals' concerns. Those raising the alarm include politicians from both parties, environmental activists, and Indigenous communities who have historically owned the land on which the 560 sq mile (1,450 sq km) site sits. The US senator for Washington Patty Murray said workers were already understaffed, and that cutting further positions was 'reckless'. 'There is nothing 'efficient' about indiscriminately firing thousands upon thousands of workers in red and blue states whose work is badly needed,' the Democrat said. Dan Newhouse, the local Republican congressman is similarly concerned. 'A strong, well trained federal workforce is essential,' he wrote in a weekly newsletter to constituents. Concerns have also been raised by some over the difficulty former workers face in making medical compensation claims to the government for everything from cancer to acute pulmonary disease linked to their time at the plant. Taken together, there is fresh anxiety in a community, where many are still living with the health and environmental effects of Hanford. Richland, part of the Tri-Cities, was obtained by the army in 1943 to house workers engaged in top-secret efforts to produce plutonium used in the world's first nuclear explosion – the-so-called 'Trinity' device tested near Los Alamos, New Mexico, in 1945. Though the city was returned to the public a decade later, it can still feel like a company town. To get anywhere near what is known as Hanford's B-reactor, the world's first full-scale plutonium production reactor, you need to sign up for an official tour. Yet a view of its grey, single tower, looming from the hillside, can be seen from state route 24, close to the Columbia River. Those expressing concern about the federal government downsizing include local Indigenous groups who historically owned the land where the site is located and were pushed off it by the government. The Hanford plant area contains the location of several sacred sites, among them Gable Mountain, which were used for ceremonies, and the area of Rattlesnake Mountain, or Lalíik, which has for centuries been used to hunt elk. The site is also located close to the Yakama Indian Reservation, home to 11,000 people, and the tribe has long pushed to be central to decisions about the cleanup and what it is eventually used for. The tribe recently signed a deal to carry out their first elk hunt in the area for seven decades. 'One of the biggest fears is that without proper manpower, there might not be a very good crew for the cleanup of the property,' says Gerald Lewis, chairman of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. 'Without this cleanup, that's been happening for a number of years, we're afraid of a nuclear mishap.' Dr Elizabeth McClure, a health data specialist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, is currently conducting research in the communities around Hanford. She says there is a history of government-led cover-ups over the years at the site, including what is known as 'the Green Run', the intentional release of 8,000 so-called curies of iodine-1 into the atmosphere in 1949. By comparison, the leak of radioactive material at the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 involved just a dozen. The Green Run was only acknowledged by the government in 1986. It later emerged that so-called 'downwinders', suffered higher rates of cancer and harm to their lymphatic system. She says Indigenous communities, and other marginalised groups, are often not included in research into the broader impact of places such as Hanford. 'In public health, we're doing work to improve the wellbeing of the public,' she says. 'If you aren't getting the insights and feedback of who's being harmed, you're not going to be able to make improvements.' Also monitoring developments is Hanford Challenge, an environmental group that has highlighted – among other issues – the estimated million gallons of radioactive waste already leaked into the soil because several dozen storage tanks are cracked. A plan to send 2,000 gallons of waste for treatment in Utah or Texas was put on hold after protests from communities on the route, including the city of Spokane and the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Nikolas Peterson, a spokesperson for Hanford Challenge, is concerned about job losses and how it will impact a cleanup operation that is taking place far away from the public eye. 'This level of reduction in staffing raises serious concerns about oversight, accountability and continuity. While the contractor workforce performs the bulk of the cleanup work, DoE staff play a critical role in setting priorities, ensuring compliance and maintaining transparency with the public,' he said. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion 'A diminished federal presence could slow decision-making, weaken oversight and reduce opportunities for meaningful engagement with stakeholders.' For former plant workers like Larry White, the legacy of Hanford is complex. White says he loved the camaraderie of the job, sucked up the hour-long commute, and didn't grumble when he was required to put on protective gear that made the temperature soar. But the job left him with lingering scars. White developed skin cancer and a progressive lung disease that has made it painful to breathe. Even now, as the 83-year-old makes out medical compensation claims, he is not one to complain, even though it hurts to breathe. 'I was treated good while I was there. They took care of us,' says White, who owns and helps farm seven acres in Yakima, a town some 45 miles from Hanford. Since 2000, the government has paid out at least $2.2bn to former Hanford employees, representing 13,000 people. White is being helped by his son, Doug White, a consultant, community activist and part-time farmer who ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for Newhouse's seat in 2022. His son admits he is struggling with the paperwork required to process the claim and is struggling to get help. He says it is essential officials are transparent. 'I'm finding it extremely complicated, unintelligible and opaque,' says White. 'It's a struggle. It's an absolute struggle.' Another former staff member, Richard Badalamente, spent 22 years working as a behavioral scientist at the DoE's National Laboratory, originally part of the Hanford site. Today he's a campaigner for environmental and other causes. Badalamente, 88, says the concerns triggered by news about a reduction in staff symbolise the peculiar relationship between the Hanford community and its history. 'The concern is twofold,' he says. He says the economic 'fuel' for the region comes from the massive operation that may not be completed for 75 years. He adds: 'The concern is the Trump administration will not support a robust cleanup.' It appears many of the recent departures have come as part through voluntary redundancy, or delayed resignation program (DRP), that have been used in other government departments to trim numbers. The DoE said by email it would not provide a number for how many employees had opted for early retirement. It said all requests 'were subject to approval, and certain public safety, national security, law enforcement, or other essential employees may not be approved for participation'. It also would not say how staff had been selected. It confirmed Vance's deputy, Brian Stickney, was among those who had taken early retirement. Vance did not respond to inquiries from the Guardian. Asked about the impact on the cleanup, the spokesperson said: 'The DoE is committed to meeting cleanup responsibilities at Hanford safely and effectively while delivering on President Trump's mission to increase innovation across the federal government and promote greater efficiency and accountability.' In a note to staff, he said: 'Hanford's cleanup mission is one of the most complex and challenging in the world, and the progress we have made is nothing short of remarkable.' How swiftly that progress now goes remains to be seen. Back at the visitors' museum in Richland, near the black-and-white photos of Ronald Reagans's 1956 morale-boosting visit to Hanford, a 15-minute informational film highlights in plain, unemotional language the scale of the 'unintended consequences and legacies of the Manhattan Project'. Solving these complex environmental problems, the film says, will rely on the same 'drive, dedication, human ingenuity and political will' put into building the bomb.
Wales Online
07-05-2025
- Wales Online
23-year-old graduate sold vile pictures of children and babies being raped for '£30 for over 100'
23-year-old graduate sold vile pictures of children and babies being raped for '£30 for over 100' A judge described the trade in indecent images as 'vile' and told the defendant: 'These were real babies somewhere in the world being tortured' Dean Hanford (Image: South Wales Police ) A paedophile sold horrific images of children and babies being sexually abused and raped to like-minded people, a court has heard. It is not know how much Dean Hanford made from what a judge called the "vile" trade but police were able to get hold of data from online payment system PayPal which showed amounts being credited to him. Hanford's barrister told Swansea Crown Court that the defendant admitted to being sexually attracted to children, a candid admission which was rare in such cases. Sending the 23-year-old graduate to prison a judge told him "These were real babies somewhere in the world being tortured so people like you can masturbate over the images." The court heard Hanford's activities came to light as part of an investigation by the National Crime Agency which then alerted South Wales Police. In the summer of 2023 police executed a search warrant at the defendant's house and seized devices which were found to contain significant numbers of indecent images and videos. The court heard there was also evidence Hanford had been sharing the material with others with the defendant boasting in messages that he had "tons" of images which we was selling for "£30 for over 100". Article continues below Officers also found screenshots which appeared to be confirmation messages from people unknown of moneys sent. Prosecutor Emily Bennett said police also put in data access requests to online payment system PayPal which revealed credits paid to the defendant between June, 2022, and June, 2023, many of which were marked with the reference "videos". Dean William Hanford, of Caroline Street, Blaengwynfi, Afan Valley, had previously pleaded guilty to possession and distribution of Category A images, possession and distribution of Category B images, and possession and distribution of Category C images when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. Read about a father caught with a so-called "paedophile manual" which contained a detailed step-by-step guide on how to find, groom, and have sex with children from the age of two James Hartson, for Hanford, said the defendant had led a "sheltered life" and experienced "loneliness and isolation" which were factors in what had been described as his "addiction". He said Hanford was educated to degree level and worked "for a leading Welsh utility company" and said in a detailed pre-sentence report the defendant recognised he was sexually attracted to children, a candid admission which the courts rarely hear in such cases. The barrister said Hanford accepted the selling of the images was "partly financially motivated" and was done to support his mother who was unable to work. Judge Paul Thomas KC said Hanford had been caught with "a huge number" of indecent images including Category A images showing children and babies - including newborn babies - being sexually abused and raped. He said the defendant was not just viewing the images but was perpetuating and fuelling the "vile" market for such material by selling the images to others. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter here. The judge said he had read the detailed pre-sentence report on the defendant, and had read a reference from the defendant's mother which spoke of her pride in her son's personal characteristics. He said either the mother was unaware of the nature of the offending or the reference "perhaps gives a clue as to why you turned out the way you did". With one-third discounts for his guilty pleas and in accordance with the sentencing guidelines Hanford was sentenced to 28 months in prison. He will serve up to half that sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Article continues below The defendant will be a registered sex offender for the next 10 years, and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for the same length of time.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
DOGE to close Hanford, PNNL worker office and 5 other federal leases in Eastern WA
The Trump administration plans to end the lease of the Richland office used to help ill Hanford workers and their survivors sort out their options for compensation and care. The Hanford Workforce Engagement Center at 309 Bradley Blvd. opened in 2018 with union and nonunion representative to help people who might be eligible for federal compensation understand what help is available from different programs and how to navigate the claims process. The programs are complex and with services that overlap benefits. To date it is the only federal lease that the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, led by billionaire Elon Musk has targeted to end in the Tri-Cities area. However, the Trump administration has announced plans to end five other federal leases elsewhere in Eastern Washington, including offices for the Drug Enforcement Administration and offices that work to protect endangered salmon and steelhead, help farmers and manage forest service land. DOGE lists the closure of the office just off George Washington Way as saving $53,700 by canceling an annual lease that costs about $19,500. The U.S Department of Labor has paid out nearly $2.5 billion in compensation and to cover medical bills of Hanford nuclear site workers who developed diseases such as cancer after exposure or suspected exposure to radiation or chemicals on the job. In some cases, the compensation from the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program was paid to their survivors. Workers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland also are eligible for compensation and medical care under the program, which has paid $435 million to PNNL workers or their survivors. The payments have included almost $860 million in medical care to current and former ill Hanford workers and $155 million to ill PNNL workers. Locally, people may know it as the 'white card' program because of the color of the medical benefits card issued by the U.S. Department of Labor, which covers medical expenses for covered conditions including 24-hour in-home health care. Compensation can include a $150,000 payment for radiation-caused cancers or lung disease caused by the metal beryllium and $250,000 for wage loss, impairment and survivor benefits for exposure to toxic chemicals. Claims have been filed for compensation or care for 15,600 Hanford and PNNL workers. Hanford was used from World War II through the Cold War to produce nearly two-thirds of the plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program. What is now called PNNL was established in the 1940s for research to support Hanford and the Manhattan Project. Hanford and PNNL workers or their survivors also may be eligible for Washington state Department of Labor and Industries workers' compensation under a Washington state law that eased eligibility for claim approval. The Hanford Workforce Engagement Center at this point remains open in Richland and can be reached by calling 509-376-4932. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said she is demanding answers from the Trump administration on how it plans to ensure the continuity of service for people who rely on the Hanford center and services provided by other federal agencies in offices with leases it plans to end. DOGE posted online that planned leased terminations would reduce about 8 million square feet the federal government is paying for and save $350 million. 'Trump and Elon are rich enough that they've never had to rely on any of the services the federal government provides and they have no idea what it's like for people who do,' said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., in a news release Friday. 'They're just trying to break government and enrich themselves, and they don't give a damn about the consequences for regular people,' she said. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., who was in Pasco on Thursday said then that the federal government must cut its spending of nearly $3 trillion more than money it collects annually. Other federal leases in Eastern Washington that the Trump administration plans to end include: ▪ The Bureau of Indian Affairs Yakama Agency office in Toppenish. Members of the Yakama Nation can get in-person assistance to help ensure the federal government's responsibility to the Yakama Nation are fulfilled. ▪ The Drug Enforcement Administration office in Yakima. Six employees, including federal law enforcement officers, worked out of the office as of April 2024, according to information from Murray's staff. ▪ Natural Resources Conservation Service's Dayton Service Center. The office provides in-person help with federal programs to farmers, producers and forest landowners. The agency works to reduce erosion and flood damage and to improve water quality, restore watersheds and manage agricultural waste. ▪ The Forest Service Ranger Station in Pomeroy. It is the Pomeroy Ranger District station for the Umatilla National Forest, which stretches over 1.4 million acres in the heart of the Blue Mountains of Southeast Washington and Northeast Oregon. ▪ The U.S. Geological Survey's Washington Water Science Center field office in Spokane Valley. The center works to protect endangered salmon and steelhead, ensure dam operators have the information needed to operate safely, and protect farmers and their crops, according to Murray's staff. In addition to ending leases, the Trump administration also listed online several federally owned buildings in the state that it plans to get rid of, before deleting the list, according to Murray's staff. They include the Henry M. Jackson Building in Seattle, the largest federal building in the Northwest, housing help centers for the Social Security Administration, Veterans Affairs and the Internal Revenue Service, plus other services. Other Seattle federal buildings also were on the list, along with the Vancouver Federal Building and the Bonneville Power Administration Headquarters in Portland, Ore.
