Latest news with #MarionCounty
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
3 injured in Ocala shooting, deputies say
The Brief Three people were hospitalized in the shooting, according to deputies. The shooting happened around 3 a.m. in the 3900 block of Maricamp Road. No suspect or victim information has yet to be released. MARION COUNTY, Fla. - Three people were sent to the hospital after a shooting in Ocala early Saturday morning, according to officials with the Marion County Sheriff's Office. Deputies said the victims were shot inside a vehicle in the 3900 block of Maricamp Road around 3 a.m. The shooting remains under investigation. Victim or suspect information has yet to be released.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'Big beautiful bill' threatens family planning services in West Virginia
FAIRMONT — President Donald Trump's budget may defund women's health care in some areas should the bill passed by the House of Representatives move through the US Senate unchanged. The bill, H.R. 1, prohibits federal funds from reaching agencies that provide family planning services, reproductive health and related care. However, family planning encompasses more than just reproductive or abortion-related services. 'There's so much more involved than just planning for contraceptives,' Marion County Health Department Director David Whittaker said. 'There's many components. There is breast and cervical cancer screenings, there is sexually transmitted disease testing and pregnancy tests. They get to see a doctor, a physician they may not normally get.' The Marion County Health Department doesn't currently offer family planning, but is working on bringing it back. The service was discontinued during the pandemic. Whittaker said the Health Department is targeting July 1 as the return date for family planning services. Whittaker said broadly, family planning can be considered as women's health care. Family planning provides women with checkups for the underlining symptoms of breast and cervical cancer, which help reduce the risk of cancer. He said the teen pregnancy rate can also be lower in areas that provide a comprehensive family planning program. The rate of sexually transmitted diseases is also lower in communities where family planning programs are utilized. Brian Huggins, health officer at the Monongalia County Health Department, said abortion tends to get mixed into family planning because of Planned Parenthood. In states that haven't banned abortion, Planned Parenthood offers the service. However, abortion is banned in West Virginia, meaning health departments like Monongalia and Marion do not offer the service. Family planning, however, can prevent abortion in the first place by providing people with resources that prevent unintended pregnancies. Children born from unwanted conceptions face higher risks in life. 'A lot of the research has show that children that were unwanted conceptions are at greater risk of being born at low birth weight, of dying in the first year of life, of being abused and not receiving sufficient nutrition for healthy development,' Huggins said. Huggins said funding for family planning is handed down by the federal government to the states, and the state distributes the funds. Funding for family planning programs is paid through Title X grants, handled by the Office of Population of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. According to the office's website, Title X family planning clinics have ensured access to a broad range of services for more than 50 years. According to a locator tool on the website, Fairmont Statue University Student Health receives Title X funds, as does the Harrison-Clarksburg Health Department and Community Care of Clarksburg. Whittaker said the Marion County Health Department has received a notice of award for its family planning clinic from the state government. Huggins said family planning does not fall under basic public health services, meaning it can't use state funds which are reserved for things like immunization. Family planning is considered an enhanced service, so the program either has to make money on its own or the funding has to come from an outside source. The federal government covers the funding for a lot of these services, but few Title X programs exist in the state. If H.R. 1 cuts funding for family planning, Huggins said realistically, family planning wouldn't be available in the state. 'It's just another way that people that are already struggling are probably now potentially going to lose access to birth control they need and may end up with unwanted pregnancies, which comes with additional costs,' Huggins said. 'And I talked about the risks to the babies in those situations. 'And our foster care system in West Virginia is also overwhelmed. To lose family planning services could put more kids into that system.' The teen pregnancy rate in West Virginia is 22.5 births per 1,000 girls. Overall, the teen birth rate declined by 50% from 2007 through 2020. According to Mission WV, a community welfare organization, only 50% of teen mothers receive a high school diploma by 22 years of age. Ninety percent of women who do not give birth as teens graduate high school. With funding for family planning being cut, public health experts like Whittaker and Huggins worry the drop in teen pregnancy might reverse. 'A lot of the people that come in are between the ages of 16 into their late 20s, and that's when you're trying to get your life off the ground,' Huggins said. 'So really being able to give them their choice in this, is really critical and important.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
Community input needed on new playgrounds in Marion County
FAIRMONT — Marion County Commissioner Bobby DeVaul asked his fellow commissioners Wednesday to earmark money for three or four new playgrounds around the county and present that information at a future commission meeting. 'I like to earmark the money so the community knows, it's not just us blowing smoke,' DeVaul said. 'The money's earmarked, and that's where hopefully you guys can help us get a story out there, get some responses and see if anybody actually wants it. And if it's earmarked on the next agenda, then we can go from there.' The county recently installed a new playground at the Marion County Soccer Complex so far on US 250 North. DeVaul said the community response to the addition has been great. The playground was added to give kids who accompany soccer players something to do while they wait for the player to finish their game. Although there was initial skepticism the playground would interfere with the games, it is a welcomed addition to the complex. Now, DeVaul wants to replicate that success at other locations throughout the county. He hopes earmarking the money will show the community he's serious about building the playgrounds, and generate community engagement for the project. Another source of inspiration was the recent work the City of Fairmont has done to improve the city's playgrounds and parks. DeVaul isn't prepared to receive responses from the community just yet. More information will be released after commissioners successfully earmark an amount. Commissioners will finalize the details before placing the item on the next meeting's agenda. DeVaul said sometimes the county forgets the outlying areas and he thought it'd be nice to be able to give something back. 'I hope to keep kids active out in the playgrounds,' he said. 'Give something for families to go do when it's nice out. I was at Merrickville Baseball Field. There's nothing for kids to do while games are going on. It'd be great if they had a playground there for the same kind of thing.' Jon Dodds, board member of the West Virginia Three Rivers Festival gave commissioners a report about this year's festival. He said, although the weather was a challenge and some groups didn't show up, the festival was still a success. Dodds, who shoots video using a drone, said his video of the festival has received 10,000 views on Facebook. Commissioner Linda Longstreth complimented him for making the festival available virtually. Wesley Dobbs, interim president of the Dunbar School Foundation, attended the meeting in an attempt to rebuild trust with the Marion County Commission. Foundation Board Secretary Howard Brooks attended last month to let the commission know the foundation was working to get Dunbar School back on track. He also requested funds for a refurbishment project. The Foundation has been navigating the fallout from an alleged misuse of COVID-19 pandemic funds, which led to the federal government seeking answers from a former employee. Dobbs told the commission the foundation wants to turn the annex building of the Dunbar School into a place that can provide technical education classes. Dobbs said Fairmont's Black community wants to do its part, and to do that requires providing new graduates out of high school a place to learn trade skills and keep them out of problems. Dobbs said refurbishing the building will require a new roof. He also said the foundation will continue to be a nonprofit. Brooks also attended to follow up on the the funding request. After figuring out there was a breakdown in communication over some necessary paperwork, Commission President Ernie VanGilder said the commission would get the paperwork over to the foundation. There's still work to be done to repair the damage done to the foundation's reputation. 'We're just trying to come out from that stigma and do something good for the community,' Dobbs said.
CTV News
2 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Police: Mom shot man who tried to rape her 12-year-old daughter at hotel
INDIANAPOLIS — A mother shot and critically injured a 39-year-old man attempting to molest her 12-year-old daughter last week at a hotel on the northwest side of Indianapolis, investigators say. In Marion Superior Court 30, Bruce Lee Pierce faces three top-level felony charges: attempted rape, and two counts of attempt to commit child molesting. He also faces a mid-level felony charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violence felony, and a low-level felony charge of confinement of a person 13 or younger. Pierce has been listed on the Marion County Sheriff's Office's sex offender registry since September 2019. He was convicted three times of child molesting in Hendricks and Morgan counties in 2016 and 2022, and was last released in August 2022, according to the registry and Indiana Department of Correction online records. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department confirmed Thursday that Pierce has not yet been jailed. IMPD was called to a report of a shooting and an attempted rape about 7:45 a.m. May 24 at the Baymont Inn, 3850 Eagle View Drive. That's northwest of the I-465 interchange for West 38th Street. In court documents, investigators from IMPD say they learned the mother had left the hotel room to take items to a car, and, when she returned, she found Pierce trying to rape her 12-year-old daughter and shot him. The girl was taken to Riley Hospital for Children due to the firearm being discharged by her ear. The girl said he'd only touched her stomach, chest and shoulder when ripping her clothes off. Pierce was taken to Eskenazi Hospital in critical condition. Investigators took a Glock 43 firearm covered with blood in a trash can in the hotel room. Before Pierce was taken to the hospital, an IMPD officer took an empty holster from Pierce's waistband. Multiple shell casings and live rounds were found in the room as well. A warrant was issued Wednesday for Pierce's arrest. The Marion County sex offender registry had Pierce's last address as 6231 W. Washington St. That's the address of Regal 8 Inn located northwest of the I-465 interchange. A desk clerk told IMPD that Pierce was last seen on Tuesday morning at the motel. Because of Pierce's prior convictions for child molesting, Pierce, once arrested, will face a bond greater than the standard amount because he's a risk to the community. Bond will be set once an initial hearing is held, online court records say. Once jailed, Pierce will be held seven days without bond so prosecutors can initiate a bond revocation. Prosecutors also say Pierce is on probation for driving while suspended. In Boone County, Pierce has a pretrial conference scheduled for June 11 in Boone Circuit Court in Lebanon on charges of driving while suspended, operating a motor vehicle without financial responsibility, operating with expired plates, and operating a motor vehicle with a false plate that belong to another vehicle. On the registry, Pierce is described as 6-feet-2 and 200 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair, although his photo of the registry shows he's bald. The IMPD reports on the incident say Pierce weighs 175 pounds. The registry says he has multiple tattoos: on the left leg, 'VL,' skull, tribal; on right shin, 'Kayden'; on upper back, cross; on chest, tribal, 'Live & Let Live'; on right forearm, Chinese and Lexis; on left forearm, Chinese, fork 'Bruce II'; on face, 'Real Fame'; about left eye, 'EMMA'; above right eye, teardrop; on neck, 'FTW biohazard sign; on right hand across knuckles, 'FAST'; and on left hand across knuckles, 'LIFE.' Gregg Montgomery, CNN
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton arrested and charged with DUI
Gymnastics legend Mary Lou Retton was arrested on May 17 on suspicion of impaired driving and charged with DUI. The 57-year-old was detained in Marion County for 'driving under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances, or drugs', according to the West Virginia Magistrate Court system. The Olympic gold medalist was released after personally posting a $1,500 bond. An attorney for Retton was not listed in court records and her spokespeople have yet to comment. She was caught 'slurring her words' with a bottle of wine behind the wheel of her Porsche, can reveal. Court documents obtained by revealed that she had 'the odor of alcohol' coming from her while sitting in the driver's seat of her still-running car. Officers also noted that she had a 'screw top container of wine' that was in the passenger seat of her car when they approached her. She failed all three phases of the standard field sobriety test and refused a roadside preliminary breath test, as well as a secondary chemical test of her blood. Best known for receiving two perfect-ten scores at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics weeks after a knee operation, Retton has battled more health issues in recent years. She struggled with pneumonia in 2023, which led her daughter to create a crowdfunding page to help pay mounting hospital bills. The fund raised $200,000 in a day, as per However, the family soon drew criticism after refusing to clarify where the donations would be going, while Retton's claim that she did not have insurance was also doubted by some. 'They didn't deserve that,' Retton said in May when asked about the backlash her daughters received. 'They were just trying to take care of me. I don't care about the naysayers. There are trolls everywhere. It's what makes us America. Everybody's got an opinion, but it is what it is.' While there was a happy ending for Retton in 2023, doctors briefly feared for her life as her daughters delivered what they thought would be their final farewell to their mother. Even now, Retton fears she will never properly recover from the damage to her lungs. 'It's been really hard,' she said in an emotional interview with People in 2024. 'My lungs are so scarred. It will be a lifetime of recovery. 'My physicality was the only thing I had and it was taken away from me. It's embarrassing.' Retton believes she recovered from the terrifying ordeal as 'God wasn't ready' for her yet, despite admitting that she is extremely fortunate to still be alive. She added: 'Girl, I should be dead. The doctors told them [daughters] to come to say their goodbyes. 'They prayed over me, and McKenna said, "Mommy, it's OK, you can go". 'I didn't have much of a relationship with my mother, but I can't imagine what that was like, to watch their mom on her deathbed.'
