European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 1, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 24 Star s and stripes april i 2007 Page 25 judge strikes Down Flag desecration Laws Des Moines two state Laws that prohibit misuse and desecration of an american Flag Are unenforceable and unconstitutional a Federal judge has ruled District judge Robert w Pratt said the Iowa Laws violate a due process clause in the 14th amendment of the Constitution the american civil liberties Union of Iowa brought a lawsuit on behalf of a Man charged with a mis Demeanour for flying a Flag upside Down and writing on it and another Man also charged with flying a Flag upside Down it declared the Riding a Victory today should Mark the end of government misuse of these Laws to intimidate arid harass those who disagree with government poli said Ben Stone Acle of Iowa executive director in a state ment Man faces charges of cruelty to 77 sheep Apex a Man who kept 77 sheep in his suburban Home was charged with 30 counts of Misdemeanour animal cruelty David Watts 47 was being held at the Wake county jail in lieu of bail following a court appearance a judge denied a re quest by Watts lawyer to release him pending trial Watts surrendered the flock to animal control officers after police found some sheep grazing on artificial Flowers in the town cemetery in Apex a suburb of Raleigh thirty of the sheep were euthanized because of various health problems in addition sheep Bones and car casses were found in Watts Yard veterinarian Kelli Ferris who examined the flock said some of the animals hooves had never been trimmed causing infections that led the sheep to walk on their Knees Bill for climbers to carry locator devices advances Salem a Bill that would require mountaineers to carry locator devices when climbing mount Hood advanced in the Oregon legislature when the House approved it an electronic transmitter helped rescuers find three climbers trapped on mount Hood overnight in february the climbers activated the locator which led searchers directly to them the House voted 3322 in favor of the measure if approved by the Senate and signed by the governor Oregon would be the first state to adopt the requirement most people support this Bill be cause it saves said rep John Lim a Republican he com pared it to requiring life jackets on boaters or helmets on motorcycle riders mountaineering groups have opposed the legislation they say its a Good idea for climbers to carry electronic locators but a require ment would infringe on their free Dom american Roundup Democrat judges pick up Slack for aging peer Sioux Falls supreme court watchers often speculate about aging justices holding off retirement until the election of a president who will pick an Ideo logically similar replacement but some Washington conserva Tives Are questioning whether a fed eral District judge Here is doing the same thing getting help from two colleagues who have added some of his cases to their own already heavy caseloads District judge Charles Kornmann 69 put off his retirement after two fellow democratic judges agreed to share his workload a move that could allow someone from their party to get Kornman is Job if a Democrat is elected president in 2008 democratic president Bill Clin ton appointed All three in the 1990s travelling preacher shot to death at his Home Are investigating the shooting death of a 56yearold Man who was shot in the face when two men wearing red bandannas ransacked his Home police said that Lee Perry oneals wife Annette suffered minor injuries the shooting was reported just after 2 she said he tried to charge at them when they started Strug gling she ran to the phone to Call push and pull Mike Johnson left and his brother Chuck Johnson both of Jonesboro raise a butlers tent for the Battle of Anderson civil War reenactment in Anderson 911 and she heard the Annette Sis Ter Jean Lewis told Khou television Sta Tion the television station reported that Oneal was a r travelling preacher originally from new Orleans who fled to Houston after Hurri f Cane Rita destroyed his Home in Beaumont the suspects stole oneals vehicle which was later recovered accused scanners banned from cafeteria Cleveland no soup for you a Man and a woman accused of scamming stores out of millions of dollars have been banned from the courthouse cafeteria after a police officer said the two were spotted lifting food if they do that in Here then what Are they doing out there on Bond said Richmond Heights police sgt Chuck Duffy Duffy said Joan Hall 65 loaded a takeout lunch into a plastic bag and set it atop a newspaper rack near the checkout counter then he said Roger Neff 75 moved the lunch to the top of a trash can where they waited for a few minutes then left with the lunch 700 evacuated after fire at chemical facility Humboldt fire broke out in a chemical storage faculty forcing As Many As 700 peo ple to evacuate Homes and Busi Nesses in the area officials said Homes downwind were evacuated because of the smoke and work ers at nearby manufacturing plants were told to leave As a pre caution mayor Allen Barker said no injuries were immediately re ported firefighters were still working evening a dispatcher said some evacuated residents were allowed to return the fire was at the Helena chem ical co warehouse and office in Humboldt a West Tennessee town of about residents 15 Miles Northwest of Jackson 110 parakeets taken from mans apartment Seattle the Seattle animal shelter found new Homes for 110 parakeets discovered in a on bedroom apartment at least 30 people holding cages the shelter required for free adoption of the Bright multicoloured Birds were lined up waiting when the shelter opened at noon the Birds were found after neighbors complained you could hear the noise from the animal control officer Neil Deruyter said the Birds were being kept in unsanitary conditions and were sur rendered by their owner an unidentified Man in his 50s who had been collecting them for about five years authorities said the owner told the officers he previously tried to give the Small Birds to another shelter but said he had been told Only five would be kept and the rest would be euthanized away team Atlantic Beach Navy personnel move toward a Supply air drop during a maritime Craft air delivery system exercises off the coast of fort Macon near to tit training a a Man runs along the tidal Basin ring framing Cherry Blossom in Washington the Trees Are estimated to be at Peak Bloom within Days for Sale Kriff of the Hill run i me 11111 Jose Garcia sorts Golden King crab w seafood Dock in Auke Bay in Juneau Alaska the crab was being delivered to the Dock by the alaskan Pride tender the Golden King crab season is open descendants of primitive artist James Krutz have turned to an online auction House to sell his steel Structure of a 20foottall Cowboy named big Jim in Charleroi outside his defunct garage welding business rain rain go away a woman makes her Way Down a set of outdoor stairs amid a falling rain in Cincinnati picking in Ron Smili i Lull a up Pieter ing gear from his 36foot Sailboat on Del Monte Beach in Monterey Calif Smith said he had been rowing out to secure the boat when it broke free from its mooring during heavy winds Jacksonville a the Moon rises behind Faro Rekic As he puts a fresh coat of paint on the 318foot am transmission Tower for radio station Wop which is near Faa requires training to Cut air traffic noise fed eral aviation administration has ordered air traffic control lers to receive quarterly refresher training in procedures to control noise from flights in and out of Ronald Reagan National Airport the Agency actions come in response to a study that found air traffic noise has steadily increased in some Northern Virginia neighbourhoods since the sept 11 2001 terror attacks the Mclean citizens association found that noise from flights has increased an average of decibels in Eastern Mclean and decibels in great Falls raising noise Levels in both locations to about 55 decibels the Faa sets 65 decibels As the acceptable maximum for aircraft noise rancher jailed after his Loose cow causes crash Logan a rancher blamed for a Loose cow that caused a fatal car wreck was sent to jail for 30 Days during an emotional court hearing that included references to John Wayne and a wild West gun Duel Kimberly Johnsons relatives pleaded with 1st District judge Gordon Low to order the Maxi mum oneyear jail sentence for Darrell Kunzler 71 Johnson 40 of Auburn died in november 2004 when her Subaru legacy crashed into a Black Angus cow on state Road 30 West of Logan two children 14 and 10 survived they were visit ing family members during thanksgiving in december Kunzler of Ben son pleaded no contest to reckless endangerment a Misdemeanour prosecutors son killed mom left her on Road Wheaton a Man accused of beating and Stran gling his Mother left her body in a car parked along a Busy express Way prosecutors said the body of Ruth Harrell 59 was found inside a Nissan sentry on the shoulder of the Eisenhower expressway or interstate 290 on Chicago West Side Jae Harrell 24 of suburban Willowbrook has been charged with first degree murder in the death of his Mother a registered nurse she died of strangulation and head injuries according to the Cook county medical examiners office Snow pack water Content reaches lowest level Sacramento the water Content in the Sierra Snow pack is at its lowest level in nearly two decades leading to con Cern that California May not be Able to fulfil its water obligations to cities and farms if dry conditions persist for another year the latest measurements were taken near South Lake Tahoe Dur ing the fourth Snow Survey of the season by the state department of water resources this Survey is considered the most important be cause state hydrologists use it to predict water supplies and deliver ies for the summer months the water Content in the Snow pack along the 400milelong Range averaged 46 percent of nor Mal that the lowest level since 1990 when it was 40 percent of nor Mal Man charged with wounding police officer new York a Man has been charged with wound ing a police officer who confronted nun about smoking marijuana out Side a Brooklyn Beauty parlor authorities said officer Rory Mangra was hit in his right ankle in Park slope he was listed in stable condition at new York methodist Hospital the suspect Kingsley Newland 34 was charged with attempted murder assault criminal posses Sion of a weapon and criminal pos session of marijuana police said another Man who fled the scene was being sought Good Samaritan robbed after helping Motorist Rock Hill a Man robbed a Good Samaritan who had helped pushed his truck to a nearby Gas station police said Darvin Wayne Capps 25 of York was charged with Stro Garm robbery in the Inci Dent in which he pulled a razor Blade and stole a necklace Accord ing to a police report its getting to the Point that its hard to be a Good Samaritan be cause you dont know who youre stopping to police it Jerry Waldrop said Kevin Tucker 21 said he will be More careful in the future but still plans to help people when he can everybody not like Tucker said animal control officer accused of shooting dog Copan Washington county prosecutors charged the animal control officer Here with one count of cruelty to animals for wounding a dog Carlotta Evans 55 had gone to a couples Home to warn them that their dog was accused of chasing children when Evans drove away the dog reportedly chased her vehicle she stopped got out and shot the animal with a 22caliber Rifle authorities said Airport opts for carpet Over disposable booties Honolulu Honolulu International Airport is in stalling carpet at its seven Security checkpoints after travellers complained about having to walk Bare foot or in socks across the Bare floors the state decided against buy ing disposable booties to hand out As some other airports do officials said stories and photos from wire services