Stateline busy with events for Memorial Day

From keynote speakers, to bands and pork chop barbecues, the Stateline Area will be bustling with Memorial Day activities this weekend.

The following is a roundup of area Memorial Day events:

Beloit and South Beloit

Memorial Day festivities in South Beloit and Beloit kick off at 6:30 a.m. Monday, with the laying of the wreath at the Beloit Rotary River Center, near the lagoon in Riverside Park. Lineup for the parade starts at 8 a.m. on Liston Avenue, one block past Oakland Avenue off Blackhawk Boulevard in South Beloit. The parade starts at 9 a.m., starting in South Beloit and ending at Horace White Park in Beloit.

“We’re happy that the downtown (construction) was completed,” said Michael Bendickson, South Beloit American Legion member. “The parade route will continue to State Street, then take a right on East Grand Avenue.”

The parade will feature some special guests, including the Navy Band from Great Lakes.

“The main purpose is to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice and honor all service men and women,” said Bendickson.

Following the parade, there will be a ceremony at Horace White Park at 11:30 a.m. There will be a 10 a.m. Memorial Day Service hosted by the South Beloit Legion at South Beloit City Park. There will also be an 11 a.m. ceremony at Floral Lawns Cemetery. There will also be noon Memorial Day ceremonies at East Lawn Ceremony in Beloit and the South Beloit American Legion Post Home.

Town of Turtle

The town’s Memorial Day ceremony starts at 2 p.m. Monday at the Turtle Community Center, 6916 S. County Road J in Beloit. The parade will proceed to Turtleville and Shopiere cemeteries, then return to the community center for a video and refreshments.

“We’d love to have folks show up and celebrate the day with us,” said Roger Anclam, Town of Turtle board chair.

Roscoe

The Roscoe VFW Post 2955 will have its Memorial Day parade at 11 a.m. Monday in downtown Roscoe. Lineup will start at the corner of Bridge and Main streets at 10:30 a.m.

Rockton

The Rockton Memorial Day parade, hosted by the American Legion Walter Graham Post 332, will be held Monday, kicking off at 9 a.m. Parade participants will line up on East River Street by 8:30 a.m.

The parade will proceed north on Blackhawk Boulevard, pausing on the bridge for a wreath-throwing ceremony. Then it will continue north, turning left on Main street, continue and turn right on Center street. The parade will then turn west on Union street, then right onto West Street and proceed to the Rockton Cemetery for the Memorial Services.

Those attending the parade are asked not to park their cars along the parade route.

Clinton

Clinton’s Memorial Day parade starts at 9:30, with the lineup starting at 9 a.m. The parade will head down Main Street, through the downtown district, head up on main street, though the downtown district to head to Clinton Senior High School, 112 Milwaukee Road. There will be a program after the parade, which will feature speaker John Solis, a county service officer for Rock County.

Orfordville

Hosted by the Kenneth S. Wells American Legion Post, Auxiliary Unit and SA Squadron 209 Orfordville, the community will kick off their Memorial Day activities Monday.

The program will start at the Parkview High School gym at 10:15 a.m. Lt. Karl Hanson, an Iraq and Bosnia veteran. Following the program there will be a parade from the school to Memorial Park at the Clubhouse for the annual rededication and reading of the 166 memorialized names. The Legion Chicken and Pork Chop Barbecue will then be served in the Clubhouse. Cost for a full dinner with half chicken or one pork chop is $7, and $8.50 for two pork chops.

Delavan

Delavan kicks off its Memorial Day celebration starting Sunday, with a church service at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church. Legion members should meet at the Delavan American Legion Post #95 parking lot at 9:45 a.m., then proceed to the church.

On Monday, the Delavan Memorial Day parade starts at 9 a.m. on the corner of Main Street and Walworth Avenue; line up starts at 8:45 a.m. The parade will proceed down Walworth, return on Seventh Street and then go north to the Spring Grove-St.Andrews Cemetery, where the Memorial Day ceremony will be held. The ceremony will feature Lt. Colonel John Loomer as Master of Ceremony, Poppy Princess Taiya Schroder, and keynote speaker Geoff Blumenfeld, a Marine corps captain who flies the Osprey aircraft.

Following the ceremony, the parade will proceed to Old Settler’s cemetery in downtown Delavan, where the national anthem and taps will be played, and there will be a rifle salute.

In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be performed at Phoenix Middle School in Delavan starting at 9:30 a.m.

If you have any questions, contact George Ballman at 262-728-3558.

Darien

Memorial Day festivities will begin Monday at 11 a.m. at the Darien Cemetery. There will be a short parade from the Darien Fire Station to the cemetery. Post member Ken Anclan will serve as emcee, and Gary Sisk will be chaplain. Auxiliary member Marie Huisheere will present the memorial wreath, and Chris Jordan, county veterans service officer, will be the day’s speaker.

Music will be provided by the Delavan Darien High School Band, under the direction of DDHS Band Director Jim Gornic. The post firing squad will visit two area ceremonies following the program. There will be a pot luck dinner at the Darien Legion Hall at noon.

In case of inclement weather, all events will be held at the Darien Legion Hall, 24 Market St.

Memorial Day 2011

QUANTICO NATIONAL CEMETERY, VA -- When I was a kid, we called May 30th "Decoration Day."

It was an occasion for Boy Scouts to be up before dawn and report, in uniform, to the American Legion hall. There, Cub Scouts would be paired with older Boy Scouts, organized into detachments of a dozen or so and issued bags of small American flags. Each group then "deployed" in station wagons and pickup trucks to local cemeteries and churchyards, where we placed Old Glory on every veteran's grave.

Later in the morning, there was a parade down Main Street, led by a color guard, the high-school band and ranks of veterans from World War I, World War II and the war of the moment, Korea. The Veterans of Foreign Wars sold red poppies to raise funds for the disabled. Politicians made speeches, and citizens prayed in public. It was a solemn annual event that taught us reverence for those who served and sacrificed for our country.

It's no longer so.

Begun as a local observance in the aftermath of the Civil War, the first national commemoration took place on May 30, 1868, at the direction of General John A. Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. Though his General Order No. 11 specified "strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion" -- meaning only Union soldiers -- those who tended the burial sites at Arlington, VA, Gettysburg, PA and Vicksburg, MS, decided on their own to decorate the biers of both Union and Confederate war dead.

For five decades, the holiday remained essentially unchanged. But in 1919, as the bodies of young Americans were being returned to the U.S. from the battlefields of World War I, May 30th became a truly national event. It persisted as such until 1971, during Vietnam -- the war America wanted to forget -- when the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by Congress went into effect and turned Memorial Day into a "three-day weekend."

Since then, it's become an occasion for appliance, mattress and auto sales, picnics, barbecues and auto races. Thankfully, there are some places besides Arlington National Cemetery where Memorial Day still is observed as a time to honor America's war dead. Here in Triangle, VA, the Marines do it right.

Like all Marine Corps installations, every major structure at Quantico is named for a fallen fellow warrior. On May 13, hundreds of Marines and their families gathered to dedicate a new staff noncommissioned officer academy, named in honor of Sergeant Kenneth Conde Jr. Our Fox News "War Stories" team was embedded with his unit, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, in Ramadi, Iraq, during April 2004. Shortly after Sgt. Conde was wounded in action during a gunfight with enemy insurgents, I asked him why he refused to be medically evacuated. His response: "There is no other choice for a sergeant in the Marine Corps. You have to lead your Marines."

Corporal Jared McKenzie, one of Conde's Marines, said of his sergeant -- "He always led from the front and never asked us to do something he wouldn't do." Sgt. Conde was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his valor and wounds in that engagement. On July 1, just eight days after his 23rd birthday, he was killed by an improvised explosive device.

At the dedication ceremony, Conde's Battalion Commander, Colonel Paul Kennedy, described the young sergeant as "a courageous, inspiring leader." The fallen Marine's father, Kenneth Conde, Sr. said, "I'm wearing my son's combat boots. Though they fit, I could never fill them."

Just down the road from Conde Hall is another testament to how the Marines honor America's heroes. Quantico National Cemetery occupies 725 beautifully landscaped acres donated by the Marines to the Veteran's Administration in 1977. This final resting place for more than 28,000 Americans who served in every branch of our armed forces is closely linked to some of the most crucial events in U.S. military history. The fledgling Continental Navy prepared to battle the British fleet here in 1775-76. During the Civil War, it was a blockade point and subsequently a logistics base during the bloody battle for Fredericksburg. In 1918, the Marines established a training base and an air station for units deploying to fight in World War I. Since 1941, Quantico has been the home of the Marines' Officer Candidates School and The Basic School for all Marine officers. Today it is also home to the FBI and DEA academies.

On Memorial Day, an "Avenue of Honor" through Quantico National Cemetery is adorned with American flags. A "Memorial Pathway" displays monuments to Edson's Raiders of WWII fame and recipients of the Purple Heart; memorials to the 1st, 4th and 6th Marine Divisions; and a monument erected to America's veterans by the commonwealth of Virginia.

This is also the final resting place for a close friend and a reminder of present day peril. On February 17, 1988, U.S. Marine Colonel William "Rich" Higgins was kidnapped in Beirut by Iranian-supported Hezbollah terrorists. They murdered him in July 1990. His remains were interred here in 1991. Rich Higgins' gravesite is my Memorial Day reminder that the streets of heaven really are guarded by U.S. Marines. So are the streets of America.

The true meaning of Memorial Day

WPRI) - This Monday, many Americans will spend a day off from work or school going to parades, attending barbecues or taking advantage of Memorial Day sales. But, how many will actually stop to remember the true meaning of the holiday?

Ask any military family who has lost a family member to war or a person who has a loved one deployed overseas and they will likely tell you Memorial Day is not a celebration. It's not a happy day. It was never intended as the unofficial start to summer or a big day for race fans. It's a somber occasion meant to honor the men and women who have died in service of the country.

• Memorial Day Coverage

"Many people look at it as a time to relax, have a hamburger and enjoy a parade," said retired Lt. Gen. Reginald Centracchio, Rhode Island National Guard . "We've basically forgotten the main reason for Memorial Day; and that's to really remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice."

The holiday, originally called Decoration Day, started in the Civil War era; when the graves of those killed in action were adorned with wreaths. In 1971, Congress declared it a national holiday to be observed the last Monday in May. Since then, many veterans groups have lobbied for a return to the traditional observance of May 30, saying the creation of the national holiday further eroded the day's meaning.

"Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed greatly to the general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day," the VFW said in a 2002 Memorial Day address.

In order to remind Americans about the true meaning of Memorial Day, President Bill Clinton in 2000 issued the National Moment of Remembrance resolution. It asked all Americans to "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps.'"

• Other ways to observe Memorial Day

So, while it's okay to enjoy a day off from work or school to go to a parade, attend a barbecue, or take advantage of those sales; why not take a quiet moment to remember those who sacrificed it all for all of us. It's the least we can do.

Beneath the Vatnajokull glacier lies the most active volcano in Iceland. Only hours ago, it has erupted again sparking renewed air traffic fears.

The latest Grímsvötn Volcano eruption is reported to be more powerful than its last in 2004. Its previous eruptions in the last 100 years were recorded in 1922, 1933, 1934, 1938, 1945, 1954, 1983, 1998 and 2004. According to a May 21, 2011 article in Ice News, Iceland volcano ‘not Eyjafjallajokull’, Saturday's eruption was expected by volcanologists this year.

Ash More Dense, Less Likely To Spread Far

The Icelandic Met Office website reported that ash is falling in the vicinity of the Vatnajokull glacier. This also includes towns of Hofn i Hornafirdi and Kirkjubaerklaustur as well as farmland nearby. The plume is up to 12 miles (20km) high, but the basalt eruption is meant to give the ash a density that will prevent a Eyjafjallajokull-style spreading.
Other effects associated with Grímsvötn is glacial flooding. As lava protrudes the Vatnajokull glacier and the ice is melted, water is produced.

Kermadec quake fails to raise a ripple

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake today struck near New Zealand's Kermacec islands, but scientists in the islands were unaware of the tremor.

There were no reports of damage or risk of tsunami, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

A spokeswoman for Auckland Museum said she had been in contact with a research group on the islands since the quake.

"They had to be informed by us that there had been an earthquake," she said.

The team of 19 people, which includes experts from the Department of Conservation, Te Papa, NIWA and Australian Museum, have recorded a number of new marine species during their trip.

Many of the research team were aboard a boat by Macauley Island, a small island in the Kermadec Islands group, when the 6.1 earthquake struck.

"Everybody was unaffected by it."

New Zealand's subtropical Kermadec Islands group lies 1000km north east of the North Island.

A small US religious group had predicted that Judgement Day would begin a day earlier, on Saturday, with an earthquake in New Zealand.

5 injured in Canoga Park crash

CANOGA PARK - Five people were injured today, one critically, in a traffic collision in Canoga Park, a city fire official said. 

The crash in the 21000 block of Saticoy Street was reported at 5:24 p.m., said Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department. 

"It was a two-car collision,'' Scott said. "One (person) is critically injured. The other four suffered non-life threatening injuries.'' 

Scott said all five people were taken to local hospitals. The cause of the crash was not immediately determined.

Sitting next to President Obama, Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu says no to 1967 borders

WASHINGTON -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat alongside President Barack Obama on Friday and declared that Israel would not withdraw to 1967 borders to help make way for an adjacent Palestinian state. Obama had called on Israel to be willing to do just that a day earlier.

The Israeli leader said he would make some concessions but Israel would not go back to the lines from decades earlier because they would be "indefensible."

For his part, Obama said that there were differences of formulations and language but that such disputes are going to happen "between friends."

The president never mentioned the 1967 borders as the two men talked with reporters. The leaders spoke after a lengthy meeting in the Oval Office, amid tense times.

Obama said in his speech on Thursday that the United States supports creation of a Palestinian state based on the border lines that existed before the 1967 Six Day War in which Israel forces occupied east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. The comment drew angry criticism in Israel, and Netanyahu made clear after meeting with Obama that the idea was unacceptable.

"We cannot go back to those indefensible lines," said Netanyahu.

Both Obama and Netanyahu said they shared a desire to get to peace and played down disagreements. "We may have differences here and there," Netanyahu said.

But there was no sign of resolution of the many barriers that stand between Israel and the Palestinians, more now than last September when Obama brought the two parties together to call for a peace deal within a year -- a deadline that now looks unattainable.

Netanyahu said his nation could not negotiate with a newly constituted Palestinian unity government that includes the radical Hamas movement, which refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist. He said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had to choose between continuing the deal with Hamas and making peace with Israel.

FDA approves new HIV drug from Johnson & Johnson

WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration says it approved a new HIV drug from Johnson & Johnson for patients who have not been treated with other medications for the virus.

The once-a-day pill Edurant works by blocking the virus from reproducing. It is designed to be used with other drugs that reduce levels of HIV in the blood.

FDA officials say the approval provides an additional option to HIV patients, who respond differently to various medications.

The FDA approved the drug based on a study showing it was as effective as Sustiva, an older HIV drug already on the market.

Police shooting death of Pacoima burglary suspect under investigation

An investigation was underway in the death of a burglary suspect who, after being chased by Pacoima residents, was shot by police with beanbags last week and later died while in custody, authorities said Friday.

Van Nuys resident Victor Preciado, 32, was arrested May 11 after LAPD Foothill Division officers shot him several times with a less-lethal beanbag shotgun after he refused to drop a pair of garden shears, according to LAPD.

Preciado, who officers said appeared to be under the influence of drugs, was taken to a local hospital for medical evaluation, where he slipped into a coma. He died Tuesday, six days after his arrest, according to LAPD.

The cause of his death has not been determined.

Police arrested Preciado after receiving two separate radio calls - one for a burglary at a car shop and another about a man causing a disturbance at a home in the 10600 block of Tamarack Avenue in Pacoima.

Preciado allegedly committed a theft at the shop and was then chased by neighbors to the Tamarack home minutes before police arrived, LAPD said.

When officers arrived at the home, they saw Preciado trying to get inside while holding what looked like a knife but later turned out to be the garden shears, according to LAPD.

Officers ordered him to drop the weapon in Spanish and English, but Preciado refused and they shot him several times, according to LAPD. He was taken into custody without further resistance and transported to the hospital.

The incident is being investigated by the LAPD Force Investigation Division.

Workers to fill 20,000 potholes across L.A.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Saturday urged Angelenos to report potholes in their neighborhoods in preparation for a two-day blitz next month, when crews will be dispatched with orders to fix 20,000 of them.

"Starting today, I want to encourage Angelenos to call 311 and report pothole locations in your neighborhoods," Villaraigosa said, arguing that "the condition of our street network affects the quality of life for every Angeleno."

The mayor told residents that "with your help, we will undoubtedly be able to exceed our goal for the upcoming Operation Pothole weekend."

The Department of Public Works will use the information phoned in to fill an unprecedented 20,000 potholes the weekend of June 4 and 5 - an operation that will involve 75 crews, according to a statement from the mayor's office.

The city of Los Angeles says it fills an average of 250,000 potholes annually.

"Pothole repair is one critical component of our overall street maintenance and resurfacing program," said Public Works Commissioner Andrea Alarcon. "Under the Mayor's proposed budget, in the next fiscal year we would be able to fill over 300,000 potholes to ensure safer streets for City residents"

Coroner: Playboy playmate found dead in home died of heart disease

Yvette Vickers, a onetime Playboy playmate and actress whose badly decomposed body was found inside a Benedict Canyon home, died from heart disease, coroner's officials said Saturday.

The body of the 82-year-old Vickers' was found two weeks ago in an upstairs bedroom in her home in the 10000 block of Westwanda Drive, according to Assistant Coroner Chief Ed Winter.

The body was so badly decomposed it could not be immediately determined if it was that of a man or a woman, he said.

Coroner's officials said Saturday that Vickers has been determined to have died a natural death caused by arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

The neighbor who found the body said she went to check the home because she saw old letters and cobwebs in Vickers' mailbox.

"The letters seemed untouched and were starting to yellow," she told the Los Angeles Times. "I just had a bad feeling."

In addition to posing for Playboy, Vickers appeared in B-movies such as "Attack of the 50-Foot Woman" and "Attack of the Giant Leeches."

Woman charged with murder in killing of MTV music coordinator

A woman arrested in a series of robberies was charged today with two counts of murder, including one for the shotgun slaying of an MTV music coordinator in the Mid-Wilshire area.

Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck said he also anticipated murder charges being filed against the two men also arrested in the crimes.

Destiny Young, 29, was charged with two counts of murder and six counts of second-degree robbery, with special circumstances of murder during a robbery and multiple murders that potentially make her eligible for the death penalty.

Jabaar Vincent Thomas, 26, was charged with three counts of second- degree robbery and one count of being a felon in possession of a handgun.

Richard Edward Anderson Jr., 33, was charged with six counts of second- degree robbery.

The trio were in court Friday, but their arraignments were put off until June 2.

Beck said all three were suspected in the roughly 1:30 a.m. Sunday killing of Gabriel Aron Ben-Meir, 30, and the April 30 killing of Marcelo Aragon, 35.

"Between April 29th and May 11th, these three individuals, armed with a shotgun, committed a series of 10 robberies and two homicides in the Mid- City, Koreatown, Pico-Union and Southwest area of Los Angeles," Beck said.

On Wednesday, police stopped a car believed to have been used in at least some of the robberies and arrested Thomas and Young.

CURS survey: Boc preferred by the PDL supporters as president of the party, USL supporters prefer Blaga. USL leads by 55% while PDL rests at 20%

2011 shows that PM Emil Boc is preferred by PDL supporters for the highest position of the party (57%) in the detriment of his main counter candidate Vasile Blaga credited with 34% or Theodor Paleologu 5%.

In exchange, supporters of the opposition’s alliance, USL, would opt for Vasile Blaga as President of PDL (46%) followed by Theodor Paleologu (12%) and Emil Boc (9%). The survey reveals that USL is credited by 55% of the voting intentions followed by PDL 20% and PP – Dan Diaconescu 11%.

Greater Romania Party and Hungarian Democrats are credited with 5% of the vote each. The survey also shows that the trust level enjoyed by Emil Boc and Vasile Blaga among PDL supporters: 46% and 37%.

EurActiv.ro: Amnesty International writes about Roma citizens who are still discriminated in Romania

Amnesty International released on Friday the annual 2010 report on the human rights situation across the world. Romania has three pages in the report, all focused on the issue of Roma. Roma were discriminated against in 2010 in terms of access to education, households or jobs, the report reads.

Several governmental officials made racist comments against the Roma, the Amnesty International report reads. Baconschi is quoted in the report as the Foreign Affairs minister who connected criminality to the Roma community. President Basescu’s declarations in Slovenia, when he qualified the Roma as delinquents, people that are hard to integrate and unwilling to work also appear in the report.