Latest news with #WilliamWhite
Morocco World
11-04-2025
- Morocco World
Calls for Justice After 3 Afghan Girls Violently Attacked in Houston School
Rabat – Three Afghan middle school students were attacked by a group of their classmates, prompting angry calls for justice and for the school to take urgent action. The incident took place at the Paul Revere Middle School on March 3. The Council on American-Islamic Relations-Houston (CAIR-Houston) says the incident left the three girls injured, with one girl so badly hurt that she was hospitalized for four days and now has to wear a neck brace, Fox 26 Houston reported . The group says the girls were surrounded by at least 20 students during lunch and were physically assaulted. CAIR said the attack was motivated by the girls' Afghan background and their decision to wear hijabs. A Houston-based civil rights group is calling on the Houston Independent School District (HISD) to take urgent action after three Afghan middle school students were allegedly attacked by a group of their classmates at Paul Revere Middle School on March 3. 'It is absolutely unacceptable for any student to be allegedly violently assaulted and then abandoned by the very institution that is supposed to protect them,' said CAIR-Houston Director William White.- He added that HISD must approve school transfers for the girls, investigate the attack fully, and ensure all responsible are held accountable, including any staff members who failed to intervene. CAIR is also calling for trauma-informed support for the victims and their families, along with stronger policies to prevent future attacks. CAIR-Houston shared a blurred photo of the injured girl in a neck brace on social media, and a video of the alleged incident showing a staff member trying to break up the fight. In a statement, HISD said that disciplinary actions had been taken against seven students involved in the attack. The district said the actions were in line with its Code of Conduct and emphasized that student safety is taken seriously. 'The seven aggressors in the incident received disciplinary consequences aligned with the district's code of conduct. The victim in the incident has been offered a school transfer, which is currently in process,' HISD said. The district also stated that school staff met with the family of one of the victims on March 6, shortly after the incident, and informed them of their right to press criminal charges. However, the family and their attorney, Ahsan Patoli, say the process has been too slow. 'What we're asking for is very, very simple,' Patoli said. 'We asked for the girls to be transferred into another school. This incident happened more than a month ago. We're still waiting on that to happen.' While HISD claims some of the details shared by CAIR do not match the results of their internal investigation, they agree that the attack was serious and needed action.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Scott Twp. dive team plus 61 other Lackawanna County fire, EMS outfits receive grants
Scott Twp.'s Dive Rescue Specialists were among the 62 fire departments and emergency medical services across Lackawanna County to recently receive state funding. The grants were issued by the Pennsylvania Office of the State Fire Commissioner to more than 2,500 outfits across Pennsylvania, totaling $37.5 million. The funds will support the needs of firefighters and emergency services workers with the purchase of equipment, to train firefighters, for facility upgrades and other operational costs. Dive Rescue Specialists, based out of Meredith Hose Company in Carbondale, participated in 45 responses to water-related incidents in 2024, some involving emergency rescues. * Scott Twp.'s Dive Rescue Specialists dive team members gather together for a group photo during Camp Cadet, a summer camp program they work with involving children, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania State Police Department. (FRED BALES / SUBMITTED) * Scott Twp.'s Dive Rescue Specialists assess a water rescue on Dec. 24, 2024 in Hillside Park, South Abington Twp. When they arrived, the car was empty; the man inside managed to escape and swim to shore. (FRED BALES / SUBMITTED) * On Dec. 24, 2024, the Scott Twp. Dive Rescue Specialists dive team was called to Hillside Park in South Abington Twp. to help rescue a man trapped in a submerged car. By the time they arrived, the car was empty. The man managed to escape and swim to shore, but his car remained submerged. (FRED BALES / SUBMITTED) * On Dec. 24, 2024, the Scott Twp.'s Dive Rescue Specialists were called to a second submerged vehicle rescue while on another call in South Abington. In this incident, a woman was trapped in her vehicle, submerged in cold water and unable to escape. The dive team helped her escape the car and get to safety. (FRED BALES / SUBMITTED) * A sonar photograph taken by a fisherman who identified a submerged van. Dive Rescue Specialists were called to the scene to help remove the van from the watery depths. (FRED BALES / SUBMITTED) * A van that was pulled from the water by Dive Rescue Specialists after 17 years of submersion. (FRED BALES / SUBMITTED) * An ice rescue demonstration at Winterfest. One diver simulates a person in need of rescue, and another demonstrates the techniques involved to save a person from water covered by ice. (FRED BALES / SUBMITTED) Show Caption 1 of 7 Scott Twp.'s Dive Rescue Specialists dive team members gather together for a group photo during Camp Cadet, a summer camp program they work with involving children, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania State Police Department. (FRED BALES / SUBMITTED) Expand 'Many of our dives are quite dangerous,' said William White, vice president of the dive team, describing rescues in murky waters. 'Northeastern PA doesn't have a lot of clear lakes. Visibility is very poor. The rivers are really pretty dangerous, with the current, with the underwater things that you could get caught on, logs, fences, different things.' The period following heavy rainstorms is often problematic, specifically around fast moving rivers, like the Susquehanna, and during freezing temperatures. 'Not only are they (rescue divers) working on ropes, but they're fighting against the currents,' White said. 'We also have divers that dive under the ice, they go in through a hole in the ice and do a search, and it's a situation where you can very easily get lost under the ice.' White outlined the dangerous and harrowing rescues the emergency dive team routinely engages in across Lackawanna County and beyond. 'We had drownings in the Susquehanna River, we were called to Schuylkill County, Columbia County, we were out in the Poconos for dives for drowning victims, we also do boat rescues. … We had someone drown in the Lackawaxen River. … In September of 2023, we had the flooding in Chinchilla that came down and was a very dangerous situation,' he said. 'There were two people who were swept away and drowned. We rescued over 90 people out of cars that were caught in that flooded water,' he said, explaining that his dive team's area of coverage is Lackawanna and Susquehanna counties, but that they also respond to calls to Wyoming, Wayne, Bradford, Monroe and Pike counties. Aside from the funds they receive from the state, they operate mostly through community donations, White said. 'Many businesses have been very generous to us and have helped with purchasing equipment for us,' he explained, adding that a dive truck and emergency equipment ranges in cost from $65,000 to $170,000 if bought used. New dive trucks can easily stretch up to half a million dollars in price. For the past 42 years that they've been serving the community, the Dive Rescue Specialists have operated out of community buildings including the Justus Fire Company, the Scott Twp. Hose Company, and now the Meredith Hose Company. All funding goes a long way for the organization, such as toward a new center of their own. 'We're building a building right now. … A garage meeting room facility,' White said. 'We probably still need $100,000 to finish the building so we can move into it,' he said, adding the structure is up but 'there's no power, no heat, no lights, there's a lot of things that need to be done.' Fred Bales, chief of the dive team at Dive Rescue Specialists and former fire chief, teaches public safety dive instruction in Pennsylvania and beyond. The work takes a toll. 'We have positive things that we do when we talk about surface water rescue, ice rescue. … Those give us very positive outcomes because we get to save lives,' Bales said. 'When we're doing dive events, we're not saving a life. We're returning the body of a loved one to a family. We don't like those calls. We like calls with happy endings. Unfortunately, the majority of the calls we get aren't happy endings.' He added that their work includes assisting law enforcement, weapons recovery and vehicle recovery. Bales called the dive team in Scott Twp. 'incredibly unique,' as it operates as a standalone organization. 'To the best of our knowledge, we are the only independent (dive) team in the state,' Bales said. He explained that back in the 1980s, there was no dedicated dive group, which led divers, who spanned communities across Lackawanna County, to establish one. 'We addressed an unmet need,' Bales said. White explained that replacing their diving gear every three years or so is paramount. 'Dive equipment is life safety equipment, your life involves that equipment being in good shape, properly maintained,' White said. 'We turn it over regularly to make sure it's up to snuff.' He said that divers, themselves, must be replaced, as they only have a finite span that they are capable of public safety diving. 'Dive teams are very hard to keep going, because they typically go 10 years and then they're retiring, and health problems, and so on, so you have to keep bringing on new people and training new people,' he said. 'We're probably on at least our fourth generation of divers. We replace divers as we go along, because if you don't, you'll be out of business.' Lackawanna County grant recipients Archbald Community Ambulance and Rescue Squad, Archbald, $24,879. Archbald Community Ambulance and Rescue Squad, EMS, Archbald, $15,000. Artisan Fire Company, Jermyn, $12,018. Black Diamond Hose Company No. 2, Archbald, $12,448. Blakely Borough Community Ambulance Association, Peckville, $13,524. Blakely Borough Community Ambulance Association EMS, Peckville, $15,000. Blakely Hose Company No. 2, Blakely $14,385. Chinchilla Hose Company of South Abington Twp, South Abington Twp., $14,170. Chinchilla Hose Company of South Abington Twp. EMS, South Abington Twp., $10,000. Carbondale Fire Department, Carbondale, $12,233. Clarks Summit Fire Company 1, Clarks Summit, $13,524. Clarks Summit Fire Company 1 EMS, Clarks Summit, $15,000. Columbia Hose Company No. 5, Carbondale, $12,663. Cottage Hose Ambulance Corps., Carbondale, $12,879. Cottage Hose Company No. 2, Carbondale, $13,739. Covington Independent Fire Company, Covington Twp., $14,600. Covington Independent Fire Company EMS, Covington Twp., $15,000. Crystal Fire Company No. 1, Jermyn, $13,739. Dalton Fire Company, Dalton, $13,309. Dive Rescue Specialists, Peckville, $15,000. Dunmore Fire Department, Dunmore, $15,246. Eagle Hose Company No. 1, Dickson City, $15,000. Eagle McClure Hose Company No. 1 Station, Taylor, $14,815. East Side Hose Company No. 4, Archbald, $12,018. Elmhurst Roaring Brook Fire Company, Roaring Brook Twp., $15,246. Eureka Hose Company No. 4, Olyphant, $13,309. Eynon Sturges Volunteer Hose Company No 3, Eynon, $25,955. Fleetville Volunteer Fire Company, Fleetville, Benton Twp., $12,879. Grattan Singer Hose Company No. 1, Simpson, $12,879. Greenfield Twp. Volunteer Fire Company of Lackawanna County EMS, Greenfield Twp., $15,000. Greenfield Twp. Volunteer Fire Company of Lackawanna County, Greenfield Twp., $14,385. Greenwood Hose Company No .1, Moosic, $16,322. Jefferson Township Volunteer Fire Company, Jefferson Twp., $14,385. Jessup Hose Company No. 1, Jessup, $12,233. Jessup Hose Company No. 2, Jessup, $15,676. Jessup Hose Company No. 2 EMS, Jessup, $15,000. Justus Volunteer Fire Company, Clarks Summit, $13,094. Justus Volunteer Fire Company EMS, Clarks Summit, $15,000. Lawrence Hose Company No. 1, Old Forge, $13,524. Liberty Hose Company No. 6, Olyphant, $12,018. Madisonville Independent Fire Company, Madison Twp., $13,094. Meredith Hose Company, Childs, $12,663. Moscow Volunteer Fire & Hose Company FC, Moscow, $14,385. Moscow Volunteer Fire & Hose Company EMS, Moscow, $15,000. Old Forge Hose and Engine Company FC, Taylor, $13,739. Olyphant Ambulance EMS, Olyphant, $15,000. Olyphant Hose Company No. 2, Olyphant, $12,879. Pennsylvania Ambulance EMS, Dunmore, $15,000. Queen City Hose Company No. 8 FC, Olyphant, $12,879. Scott Twp. Hose Company, Scott Twp., $13,524. Scott Twp. Hose Company EMS, Scott Twp., $15,000. Scranton City Bureau of Fire, Scranton, $16,322. Spring Brook Volunteer Fire Company, Moscow, $12,663. Taylor Fire and Rescue, Taylor, $20,000. Thornhurst Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company, Thornhurst, $13,094. Throop Hose Company No. 1, Throop, $12,879. Throop Volunteer Hose Company No. 3, Throop, $12,018. Whites Crossing Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company, Carbondale, $13,309. Whitmore Hose Company, Mayfield, $12,448. William Walker Hose Company, Jermyn, $15,461. William Walker Hose Company EMS, Jermyn, $15,000. Wilson Fire Company Number 1, Peckville, $13,309.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Yahoo
15-year-old girls were being trafficked from Griffin home: Arrest warrant
The Brief Arrest warrants: Two runaway teens were held for eight days in a vacant home with no power or water. Four adults are charged with human trafficking, sex crimes, drug offenses, and child cruelty. The search continues for one of the suspects. GRIFFIN, Ga. - New details have emerged in the investigation of horrific crimes committed against two 15-year-old girls in Griffin. PREVIOUS REPORT: 3 arrested in Griffin for child exploitation, 1 person still on the run FOX 5 has obtained the arrest warrants for the four adults who are accused of human trafficking and sex crimes against the girls. What we know Tamarrius Lewis, 32, William White, 42, and Shelithia Blackmon, 38, were all arrested in this case. The records show that the teens had run away from a state group home. According to the warrants, the adults held the 15-year-old girls at a Griffin home on North 5th Street for eight days. The warrants stated that the home had no electricity or running water. A neighbor told FOX 5 that the home was vacant. According to these warrants, the four adults are accused of sexually assaulting the teens and giving them marijuana, meth, crack, cocaine, and alcohol. What we don't know The Griffin Police Department, in a press release about the case, said the investigation is ongoing and there could be more charges. They are also looking for Lewis' brother, Tobias Lewis. There is a reward for information on his whereabouts. Police say he is facing similar charges as the other two men. The backstory Police say that the situation began when they received a tip about a 15-year-old runaway being at the home on Jan. 29. They raided the home with SWAT and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). They learned that there were two 15-year-olds there, runaways from what the warrants described as a state group home. The police say the girls are back in their homes and recovering. What's next White and Lewis were charged with statutory rape and aggravated sodomy. All three are facing charges of human trafficking, child cruelty and drug charges. What you can do They encouraged anyone who suspects human trafficking to call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. The Source Initial details were provided by the Griffin Police Department. Arrest warrants for Tabias Lewis, Shelithia Blackmon, William White and Tamarrius Lewis were obtained and the details in those documents were used in this article. The mug shots of those arrested were provided by the Spalding County Sheriff's Office.
