Latest news with #Keyser
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Fall of Saigon 50 Years Later: Vietnam War orphan discovers heritage and purpose
(QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Millions of Americans fought the Vietnam War. Fifty years ago, the war effectively ended with the fall of Saigon as the communist offensive overran the city on April 30, 1975. It was a hectic, chaotic, and dangerous time as American troops scrambled to get out of the country to safety. That included thousands of Vietnamese orphan babies to the United States in those last days in what became known as Operation Baby Lift. One of those orphans that made it out alive now lives and thrives in Gaston County. Family, faith, and connecting to his roots from a war-torn world where he was born are what's most important to Jason Keyser 'It's a natural affinity that I have for the culture of the people, even the pho, the soup that is kind of a staple of Vietnamese cuisine. I think it's in my bloodstream somehow because when I go to local pho shops around Charlotte, it's like there's something that connects me to the culture, to the people, to my heritage,' Keyser said. He lives a fulfilling life, running a successful computer business outside Charlotte and a bustling coffee shop in Ho Chi Minh City. But it wasn't always that way. 'A lot of my growing-up years, I didn't really want to care about Vietnam and my heritage. I think a lot of orphans feel like the stories in their mind that they create are better than the stories that they may find out,' Keyser said. One story Keyser heard often was that of the C-5 crash carrying hundreds of Vietnamese babies. 'When I was told the story, I was like, 'Well, how does that apply to me?'' Keyser asked. And then came the stunning revelation: he was supposed to be on that very plane. 'Sister Mary Nell, the nun who took care of me, said, 'Well, you and three other children were actually taken off that airplane before it ever took off.' And I was like, 'Wow, how'd that happen?' She goes, 'Well, in your case, you had severe dysentery, and so we needed to take you off the plane because you would not have made the flight out of the country,'' Keyser said. Saved by fate, Keyser was put on another transport the following week, headed for the US. With him, only some medical records. 'E-4, is there a plane seat that I had? So they knew that, you know, I was that guy with this set of documents because a lot of orphans don't have documentation,' Keyser said. Keyser was adopted by a family in San Francisco. He grew up with a brother and a sister. 'They always raised me as a Christian, and I always knew that my life had some meaning to it. ' But, as time went on, Keyser began to question who he was and where he came from. 'I had, you know, thoughts of suicide. And I've talked to a lot of other orphans, not just from Vietnam, over the years, and it is the sort of somewhat survivor syndrome. Why did I survive and not everybody else?' Keyser said. But he got through it, leaving those questions in the past until the birth of his son Adam. 'I helped give birth to him, uh, which was a really cool experience too. But when Adam came out, I kind of thought to myself, 'Hey, this is the first biological connection I have in this world that I know of, right?' Yeah, it really did change me,' Keyser said. Keyser immersed himself in unlocking the secrets of his past, traveling as often as he could to Vietnam, visiting the orphanage where he was left so many years ago. Keyser learned that the communists destroyed most of the records during the fall of Saigon. But, his journey led him to his true calling in life, helping other orphans. 'Right now, we have programs in Ukraine and in Uganda, Africa. And then last year, we started a coffee shop in Vietnam. We run a business because we use our business skills, and then we're able to work with the missions in or from orphanages in those countries and try to give a better future for some of these orphans that would maybe not be able to be adopted or get out of the country,' Keyser said. A purposeful, meaningful life that has come full circle for Keyser. 'I think it's important to make sure the story gets logged for a couple of reasons. One is so my children understand who they are, where half of them came from, and to make sure that all these, like, miraculous stories live on. And I think the other is what I've found in the last five years or so, is there's a lot of orphans that don't know how to cope with their situation,' Keyser said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Yahoo
Today in history: 1889, A pose of 16 armed men take secret train from Marysville to stop hydraulic mining
On April 19, 1889, 16 armed men organized by then Yuba County District Attorney traveled from Marysville by secret train to gold country and captured 20 men, all Chinese, who were illegally operating a hydraulic mine. This was the time of the great 'civil war' between valley interests and mountain interests, between miners and farmers, of 'Gold vs. Grain,' as is the title of a history on the hydraulic mining industry and the devastating floods made worse by their operations. In 1884, a federal appellate court issued a perpetual injunction against hydraulic mining, stating that debris from such operations could not be let loose into the mountain rivers. Some mines continued to operate, however, either by pretending to build dams to impound the debris that really did not, or in some cases leasing the operation to others so that they take the risk if folks from the valley arrived to arrest them. W.T. Ellis Jr. was a young man at the time. He describes the odyssey of the Marysville posse in his book, 'Memories, my seventy-two years in the romantic county of Yuba, California,' available online at the Library of Congress. 'A few weeks previous, an injunction had been issued by our Superior Judge, (Judge Keyser), enjoining the owner, superintendent and some thirty of their employees from operating the Omega Mine. Our watchmen discovered that the injunction had been ignored, the mine was being operated, and no attention was being paid to the court summons. Our District Attorney, E. A. Forbes, got out papers for contempt of court. Secret arrangements were then made with the Southern Pacific Railroad for an engine, passenger coach and box car to come from Sacramento and stop on the main track of the Yuba River railroad bridge, in the thick timber which existed there at that time. Sixteen of us had been sworn in as deputy sheriffs the day before, and by ones and twos, we walked across the bridge, so as to not attract attention and all met in the timber where the train was to stop and meet us. When we got on the train, we stopped at Yuba Station, where we loaded a wagon and horses into the freight car. We left at 3:30 P.M. on a Thursday afternoon on April 18th, 1889, pulled down the blinds and started for Emigrant Gap, which we reached shortly after midnight; we unloaded and started for the Omega Mine, about eight miles distant over a mighty bad road, covered with snow and slush, most of us walking the entire distance to keep warm. We reached the mine just at daybreak, surrounded the rooming house, then called out for the inmates to come out and surrender. Immediately there was a great stir inside the house, doors and windows were hastily barricaded and it looked like a fight ahead. Finally however, there was quiet inside the house and then finally, a number of our men, finding a large log handy, rushed with it against the front door, breaking it down, the rest of us following in ready for action. It was rather amusing however, when we found no one in sight, the inmates had hid under beds, tables, in a basement and up in the eaves of the house; they had plenty of arms and ammunition, but they showed no fight. We got the bunch out, placed handcuffs on them and started on the long weary trek back to Emigrant Gap. We were in a hurry, wanting to get out of the country as soon as we could but the prisoners wanted to lag on the way and had to be hurried by some well directed swift kicks; the one I had was very 'onery' but after I had prodded him several times in the ribs with the rifle I carried, he 'got a move on.' We reached Emigrant Gap, embarked on the train in a hurry and started for Roseville at high speed, having arranged for a 'clear track' to that place. When we reached Roseville, we were much relieved, on the trip down, we feared that some telegraph operator would 'tip' some one off and the train might be ditched; we wired home from Roseville and reached Marysville at 4:00 P.M. and practically the whole town was at the depot. We marched our twenty prisoners to the County Jail placing them in charge of Sheriff Saul. The following day a Mr. Frank M. Stone, an attorney from Stockton appeared on their behalf and made all kinds of demands and complaints but on April 25th, Judge Keyser fined each of them $500.00. They all expected their mining friends to pay their fines but failing to do so, were kept in jail for several months, when the County, getting tired of feeding them, made an arrangement, by which some lumber company took them off the County's hands and took them to Oregon to work in a lumber camp. I was a County Supervisor at that time and some of the mountain newspapers 'roasted' me 'good and plenty' for being a County Supervisor and stooping so low as to be a 'kidnapper and a spy.'
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Yahoo
Man dies after car, electric scooter collide in Hagerstown, deputies say
HAGERSTOWN, Md. () — Deputies are investigating after a crash in Hagerstown early Tuesday morning left one man dead, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said. According to the sheriff's office, deputies responded to Longmeadow Road in the area of Cambridge Drive at around 6:45 a.m. for a crash involving a car and an electric scooter. There, they learned that a Jeep Compass and the scooter were traveling west on Longmeadow Road when they collided. Two students charged after bomb incident at Boonsboro High School The driver of the jeep was uninjured; however, responders took the man driving the electric scooter to the hospital, where he died. Deputies are working to learn what led up to the crash. The sheriff's office urges anyone who witnessed the collision to contact Deputy Keyser at 240-313-2878. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Melancholy, new Salt Lake City wine bar, serves vintage charm
At Melancholy, one of Salt Lake City's newest wine bars, patrons can enjoy their sips surrounded by antiques and junkyard discoveries that tell their own stories. State of play: Fallan Keyser, who owned the now-closed bar Good Grammar, and Shaleen Bishop, a former set designer for films, music videos and commercials, teamed up last year to open the dark and brooding bar. The original plan was to open a coffee shop, but they switched gears after stumbling upon the two-story building at 556 Gale St. "This has to be a wine bar," Keyser thought at the time. The intrigue: While the 1,000-square-foot bar situated in the trendy Post District may seem new like much of its surroundings, the building has been standing for at least a century, Keyser noted. Most materials used to decorate the bar are refurbished, or "up-cycled" as she calls it. Notable pieces include post office boxes in front of the bar that were intended for the TV show "Yellowstone" and a retro radio that was featured in a Backseat Lovers music video. The vibe: Keyser described the bar as "granny chic," while Bishop said she wanted the bar to feel as cozy as putting on sweatpants after a long work day. The establishment currently hosts a book club and has partnered with the neighboring Dangerous Pretzel shop. There are also plans to hold wine-tasting classes. The menu: The bar serves wine varieties from all over the world that you may not find at your local liquor store, along with cocktails, beer and zero-proof beverages. The latest: Melancholy released its new spring menu last week. What's next: As warmer weather arrives, Keyser and Bishop plan to add outdoor patio seating with firepits that will significantly expand the bar's 50-person capacity.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Yahoo
POLICE: Somerset County man caught three times with fentanyl, other drugs
SOMERSET COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — A Somerset County man is facing charges after multiple raids at an apartment led to the discovery of heroin, fentanyl and other drugs. James Keyser, 51, is facing drug charges after he was allegedly caught with various drugs three separate times in the last year, according to a criminal complaint. The first incident was in April 2024 after officers with the PA Office of Attorney General and the Somerset County Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at an apartment on Missoura Street. Officers noted that during the search of the apartment, 'various drug paraphernalia' were located in a bedroom, along with a backpack that belonged to Keyser. Keyser agreed to let officers search his bag, and the following items were found: 20 stamp bags of suspected heroin marked 'ghostbuster' Seven stamp bags of suspected heroin marked '420 Venom' One baggie of suspected fentanyl One baggie of suspected fentanyl marked 'Manitoba' One baggie of suspected meth Seven pills of suspected Oxycodone marked 'M05 52' Empty stamp bags Two sheets of tin foil One plastic straw with white residue One digital scale $460 in cash Cambria County woman caught with meth, crack and cocaine, police said Keyser and Amy Johnson, 47, of Somerset, were found in the apartment and charged but were released at the time pending further investigation. The second incident happened on Sept. 1, 2024, when officers with the Somerset Borough Police were called to Center Avenue for a reported overdose. Officers found an unresponsive male in a bathroom and had to administer Narcan before the patient was released into EMS care. The person who was with the overdose victim admitted that they had been with Keyser before the incident. The witness told officers that they saw Keyser give the man two stamp bags of what they thought were heroin or fentanyl, according to the affidavit. Officers then applied for and were granted a search warrant to once again search Keyser's apartment on Missoura Street. During a search of the apartment, officers found 43 baggies marked 'STAY HIGH' that held a crystal-like substance. They also found drug paraphernalia including glass smoking devices, stamp bags, digital scales and prescription medication. Police also noted in the complaint that a cell phone was found and that Keyser used it to 'solicit drug sales in the hopes of buying, trading or selling illicit drugs for profit.' The third incident happened on March 4, 2025, when officers conducted a traffic stop. During the stop, officers allegedly found 420 stamp bags of suspected fentanyl. A search warrant was granted, and they found even more suspected fentanyl and a revolver. Both Keyser and Mathew Kalina were arrested and charged for this incident. Johnson is only facing a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. She has a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 25. Keyser is facing multiple felony charges of possession with the intent to deliver and criminal use of a communication facility, along with misdemeanor charges of intent to possess a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He's in the Somerset County Prison with bail set at 10% of $200,000. He has yet to be arraigned on charges for the third incident. Kalina is being kept in the Somerset County Prison with charges pending, according to Somerset County District Attorney Molly Metzgar. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
