Latest news with #Renfro
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
10 years after Coeur d'Alene Police Sgt. Greg Moore was killed in the line of duty, his memory lives on
May 5—Former Coeur d'Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer woke up in the early morning hours of May 5, 2015, to his phone incessantly ringing on his nightstand. It was Lee White, the city's police chief. "When you're getting a call at 2:30 in the morning from the police chief," Widmyer said, "it's never good news." White told the mayor something that would change the community of Coeur d'Alene forever — their loved and respected police officer, Sgt. Greg Moore, was murdered by a convicted felon during a stop. Moore was the first Coeur d'Alene police officer to be killed in the line of duty. At the time of his death, he was married to Lindy, a local schoolteacher, and had two young children: Gemma, 1, and Dylon, 12. Ten years later, Moore's family, the police department and the community came together once again to honor their fallen hero in a procession from the cemetery to McEuen Park, where Moore's memorial waterfall is located. "He did not die in vain," White told the crowd, as he stood in front of the waterfall. "He was taken from us, doing what he did best. Serving and protecting — not only our community, but also the ideals, the values and the freedoms that are so uniquely American." That night, Moore was patrolling in northwest Coeur d'Alene when he saw a man walking along the road in a residential neighborhood. Moore was looking for someone he suspected to be breaking into residents' garages, so he stopped his car to talk to him. The seasoned officer of 16 years called police dispatch and asked them to run a check on the man: It was 26-year-old Jonathan Daniel Renfro, who was on parole after serving more than five years for grand theft, assault and battery on a prison guard, according to previous reporting from The Spokesman-Review. He also was convicted in Nevada for assaulting a police officer, court records show. Moore asked Renfro to step over near his patrol car. That's when Renfro reached into his right pocket, pulled out a handgun and shot Moore in the head. Moore had gone silent after the request for someone to run Renfro's information through a criminal database. A police dispatcher began attempting to communicate with Moore using his call number: "K27, Central, your status?" The dispatcher asked. There was no response. First responders found Moore bleeding on the ground in the dark street of the Sunshine Meadows neighborhood. His police car was gone, and his belongings were missing. When Renfro was arrested later after stealing Moore's car and gun, the sergeant was lying in the hospital in critical condition. "We didn't know the extent of the injuries right away," said Councilwoman Christie Wood, who was also a sergeant with the department at the time. The swarm of officers who gathered at the hospital that night were all hoping for good news because Moore was still alive, she said. Moore died of his injury at 5:50 p.m. with his family by his side, previous reporting states. "It was just crushing. I worked with Greg for several years. I knew him well — he was very popular and everyone loved him. And he was just a jokester ... We had opposite views, so we would always debate each other. He was so good at that," Wood said. "It's just so hard to believe Greg is not with us." Wood remembers White, who was not even a year on the job as the city's police chief at the time, practically holding the grief-stricken department together by a string. "He was a rock," she said. "... We were falling apart." Renfro was convicted of murdering Moore and sentenced to death in 2017. He is still sitting on Idaho's death row. Still, after a decade, losing Moore feels just as recent. Widmyer described it as "raw." "Raw for the family," he said. "When you lose someone like that ... The sting never goes away. They live with that. Every day." White told the crowd he has a very clear memory of that day, and the days following. Even though his father was a police officer, the impact of losing a fellow officer never really hit him until he put on a badge. "I still remember the faces and the smiles of the brothers who died," White said. "In some places ... it seems that only the officer's family and fellow officers remember their quality. But our community is different. We understand that the police and the community are in this together." As White spoke, the emotion from some of the Coeur d'Alene Police officers that lined the park did not discriminate. Both young and seasoned officers had single tears streaming down their faces. Moore's widow watched earnestly from the front row as her left hand rested on her daughter's fingertips. The sound of bagpipes rang through the air to the tune of "Amazing Grace." "Greg Moore was killed protecting the life and property and the way of life of the citizens of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho," White said. "He will never be forgotten."
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
School leaders hope federal funding survives any Dept. of Ed changes
ERWIN, Tenn. (WJHL) — Shealan Renfro, Justin Clouse and Jesse Adkins gathered around their transition to work teacher, Kelly Price and job coach Darlene Wall Tuesday morning at Unicoi County High School, eager to do their part preparing snacks at the school's 'Pitchfork Cafe.' Seniors Renfro and Clouse and Adkins, a junior, receive significant support through federal Department of Education funding — funding their teachers and Unicoi County Schools administrators hope will survive any pending changes at the department. 'We couldn't function properly without the funding from the federal government,' the system's special education supervisor, Amy Horton, told News Channel 11 Tuesday. 'That money goes to pay for teacher salaries, our assistants, busing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, all of those related services for students with IEPs.' Horton is talking about individualized education plans — documents that guide services for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities since the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 50 years ago. Like Title I money serving low-income schools and school nutrition programs, IDEA funds currently flow from the U.S. Department of Education to individual states, then out to individual districts. Horton, Unicoi County Director of Schools John English and Federal Programs Director Mike Riddell all say they're waiting to see what approach just-confirmed Education Secretary Linda McMahon takes. Tuesday, her first official day on the job, McMahon spoke of a 'historic overhaul' at a department that has long drawn criticism from conservatives for, among other things, wresting control of education from states and localities. 'We're all for control back to the states, local control,' English said. 'We can't afford to lose the funding that is essential for the services that those kids need, program staffing. So that's the piece that kind of has us concerned is, 'what's it going to look like from a funding standpoint?'' Along with playing a crucial role in funding for students with special needs, federal money helps schools with significant percentages of low-income students, Riddell said. About $900,000 is helping every Unicoi County school except the high school this year to hire interventionists and instructional assistants, purchase equipment and supplies, provide software for math and English/language arts, and boost parent involvement. Riddell said the funding is 'extremely effective' in helping student performance and well-being in Title I schools — and it's ubiquitous in a place like Unicoi County. 'It has affected thousands of students just in our district.' In the Pitchfork Cafe, with its small ratio of staff to students, Renfro talks about her job at a local florist and her plans for life after high school. It's the kind of future that was a lot less likely before IDEA and the changes it brought to not just families, but communities, Horton said. 'I think that the students and families and just communities are stronger because of the provisions of IDEA,' she said. 'Students are able to go into normal classrooms. They are able to get access to tier one instruction just like their peers, and to socialize with peers and to be successful community members.' She, Riddell and English are all cautiously hopeful that changes at the federal level will fall more on the side of reduced bureaucracy and less on the side of depleted funding. McMahon has said that even if the department is abolished — something that would require Congressional approval — funding to the groups that get it now could continue under other federal departments. 'My hope of restructuring of the Department of Education (is that it) would actually be beneficial to us cutting some of that red tape, some of the restrictions and requirements for those funds and giving that to the state and then to the local education agencies,' she said. One example, she said, is the difficulty smaller school systems often have qualifying for certain grants — and the heavy administrative burden many of those funding opportunities include. Riddell agreed. 'If you cut waste and fraud across the government, then potentially if they keep the budget level and don't cut it, then there's potential to get even more money for those programs if it's handled appropriately and effectively and efficiently,' he said. Riddell said he and colleagues from other districts got some guidance from state authorities recently. They said any potential changes to federally funded K-12 programs would become clearer four to six weeks after the March 14 deadline for budget passage. Horton said they're 'anxiously awaiting the decisions that are going to come our way.' If those decisions include any significant level of funding cuts, 'it would be catastrophic. 'We would not be able to employ the teachers that we have, the interventionists that we have to support student reading and mathematics in the early grades, pre-K, for students with disabilities. We would not be able to provide the instructional materials that our students need in the high school, and middle school assistance that support students going from class to class and helping them in small groups.' Whatever the future brings, though, Horton said she's confident of one thing. 'In my 25 years, teachers always make a way for their students,' she said. 'And I don't foresee the funding going anywhere. Those provisions to support students with disabilities are so impactful for our kids and I do not believe that that is going anywhere.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chipley's Renfro becomes program's first state champ
CHIPLEY, Fla. (WMBB) – Chipley High School senior weightlifter, Jaci Renfro took home gold at the FHSAA State Championships, becoming the first state champ in program history. Renfro won the 129-pound weight class in the Olympic event by lifting a total of 345 pounds. She medaled at State in both her sophomore and junior seasons but this was her first gold medal and she says it was the perfect way to end her high school weightlifting career. 'After the past three years, I got silver my second year and bronze my third year, so it feels good to get first place for my last,' Renfro said. 'I was very joyful but I was also crying because it was like a sad moment and a happy one at the same time. For it to be my last one and hit that lift, I couldn't have done it without God.' Renfro says she does not plan to compete in college but she will compete at USA Nationals this summer, trying to improve upon her third-place finish in 2024. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
