Latest news with #Polite
American Press
27-05-2025
- Politics
- American Press
Police Jury recognizes Taylor for 44 years of service
Ben Taylor is presented a plaque honoring his 44 years of service to the parish. (Special to the American Press) During the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury's most recent meeting, the panel recognized the retirement of Ben Taylor Jr., executive director of the Lake Charles Housing Authority. Taylor is retiring after 44 years of service. Tarek Polite, director of human resources for the Police Jury, presented Taylor with a brief summary of his accomplishments over the years and a plaque on behalf of the jurors. 'Throughout his 30-year tenor in this role, Ben has not only transformed the agency, but also emerged as a respected innovator in the housing industry — one of his significant accomplishments was the transformation of the Lake Charles Housing Authority's Public Housing Portfolio into the Rental Assistance Demonstration model, known as (RAD), this unique program prioritizes public housing,' Polite said. Additionally, Polite said Taylor successfully secured the 'Choice Neighborhood' initiative brand, which they expect will revitalize the mid-city area of Lake Charles over the next 25-30 years and bring in more than $200 million in investment. Ben's commitment to affordable housing and community development led him to serve in various capacities at the national, regional and state level with organizations such as the Louisiana Housing Council and the Louisiana Housing Corporation, Polite said. 'He's more than just 'the numbers guy,' he's a man with deep compassion for the citizens of our parish and has worked to secure disaster recovery funding during this time,' Polite said. 'There comes a time when you go, 'It's time' and 'It's time,' ' Taylor said. 'I've enjoyed what I've done, I'm proud of what I've done, I appreciate the support we've had from the Police Jury on all of our projects that we've done.' Police Juror Brian Abshire said it was a pleasure working with Tyalor. 'The twilight of your career has been a little rough on you, but you ended on a great note,' Abshire said.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
Year after gunman tries to shoot him during sermon, pastor says he needs help keeping church safe
One year ago, on May 5, 2024, a gunman was seen on camera walking up to North Braddock Pastor Glenn Germany during his sermon, pointing a gun at him and pulling the trigger. The gun jammed. Deacon Clarence McCallister, who was running the livestream, didn't hesitate. He ran up to the suspect and tackled him. >>> Man arrested after trying to shoot pastor during sermon in North Braddock, state police say The heart-stopping and chilling video that's been seen across the country still haunts Pastor Germany. 'Every day I'm learning something that I didn't feel before, and it's still a healing process,' Germany said. Police arrested Bernard Polite. Polite is accused of killing his cousin, Derek Polite, about three hours before he walked into Jesus' Dwelling Place Church and tried to shoot the pastor. Pastor Germany said Polite told him the voices in his head told him to do it. The pastor visited Polite in jail several times to see if he could help him in any way. Germany said the last time he saw Polite was in November, when the alleged gunman had a disturbing message for him. 'He let me know that he still wanted to kill me and wished he had killed me,' Germany said. Channel 11's Antoinette DelBel asked, 'How does that make you feel?' 'Uncomfortable, to be honest with you,' Germany said. Since then, Germany has been taking action to make parishioners at Jesus' Dwelling Place feel secure. The pastor is working on adding safety measures, including new heavy-duty doors, installing cameras outside and inside, and more lighting, but the church needs help. 'It's a lot of work,' Germany said. 'We're a small church that's still doing what we can do in the community, but we're struggling.' The church was approved for a state grant, but they need to raise $24,000 to get it. Germany said they're about halfway there and hoped a GoFundMe page would have gained more attention. 'We wished that we had more donations coming in, but we don't,' he said. 'That GoFundMe, we didn't get much support for that at all.' Even though it's been a year since his brush with death, the pastor said the gravity of it recently hit him all over again. He added that he's going to continue to work toward healing. 'I got a family, and we have to be protected as well and that thing wears on me more than anything,' Germany said. Polite is waiting to be sentenced. The pastor is waiting to find out Polite's next court date is, and plans on being there. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wichita schools mourn Dr. Polite, devoted youth advocate
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Dr. William Polite, a youth advocate and staple of Wichita Public Schools, died over the weekend. Polite was the executive director of diversity, equity, and accountability for the district for over seven years. USD 259 Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld said Polite will be remembered as 'a leader for our district, a mentor in our schools and an advocate in our community.' He also volunteered for and steered multiple nonprofits that focused on helping at-risk youth. The United Way of the Plains said, 'May we all be inspired by his legacy' and 'may his memory continue to motivate us to be a #ForceForGood in our community.' How much rain Kansas got over Easter weekend Mayor Lily Wu hopes Polite's work will continue. 'Dr. Polite was so instrumental in helping youth as well as reminding our community that education is really the key to a lot of the ailments that our community is facing and so he's going to be greatly missed,' Wu said. For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Affordable housing project in limbo as new administration reconsiders $1B retrofit program
Michael Polite can look back now with newly fraught nostalgia to all the rituals that came with applying for and being awarded federal grant money for an affordable housing project downtown. In this case, Polite, a senior vice president for affordable housing developer Beacon Communities, recalls the time in November 2023 when his company received a more than $5 million federal grant through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the first round of a new Green and Resilient Retrofit Program seeded with $1 billion in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, legislation signed by former President Joe Biden in 2022. 'The action was already approved. The building was picked,' recalled Polite, who has applied for various subsidies of all kinds to pursue affordable housing projects in his career. 'The cardboard check had already been photographed.' Fast-forward about 16 months and with the new administration of President Donald J. Trump, working closely with Elon Musk overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency, Polite has reason to wonder if the federal funding is coming. 'Now, you have the new administration that has to figure out how is it going to proceed,' he said. While there has been no direct announcement by HUD yet of any changes to the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, the Associated Press is reporting, using unnamed sources and internal documents, that DOGE and the Trump Administration are halting the $1 billion GRRP, a move that if formally decided, announced and approved will throw plenty of plans and capital stacks into a state of uncertainty. The more than $5 million award to Beacon was expected to be used for such upgrades as new windows, insulation and HVAC at the May Building, located at 111 Fifth Ave. downtown. Click here to read more from our partners at the Pittsburgh Business Times. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Associated Press
09-02-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Polite scores 18 as UNC Greensboro takes down Western Carolina 74-70
The AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Ronald Polite had 18 points in UNC Greensboro's 74-70 victory over Western Carolina on Saturday night. Polite shot 7 of 15 from the field and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line for the Spartans (16-9, 9-3 Southern Conference). Donovan Atwell scored 12 points while going 5 of 14 (1 for 7 from 3-point range) and added five rebounds. Demetrius Davis went 3 of 10 from the field (2 for 7 from 3-point range) to finish with 10 points. Bernard Pelote led the way for the Catamounts (6-17, 2-10) with 17 points. Marcus Kell added 16 points and 11 rebounds for Western Carolina. Chevalier Emery also had 15 points. Both teams play again on Wednesday. UNC Greensboro hosts VMI and Western Carolina hosts East Tennessee State. ___
