MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2014 - NOVEMBER 16, 2014
riversideindependent.com
Criminal acts of sabotage continue in UCR labs by Vickie Vértiz
for botany and plant science. Sometime between October 17th and 20th, a suspect damaged the freezer lock, said the Enterprise quoting the police log. The motive for sabotaging the lock remains unknown, Lovekin told the Enterprise.
any number of honorary festivities, Aviles is reminded of the pride of serving his country almost every single day. On the day after Veterans Day, (Wednesday, November Please see page 2
Please see page 2
From January to April of this year, UCR police have been investigating a series of incidents in labs, for instance, the lab in Room 4126 of the genomics building had doors vandalized, freezers that were shut Please see page 4
World War II veteran among 17 set to receive high school diplomas at eighth annual operation recognition Sometimes he plays the bugle. Other days he carries the flag. Some days he triggers the 21-gun salute. Regardless of his assignment with Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 233 that particular day, 89-year old Joe Aviles remains ready—with
a chest full of military decorations and freshly-polished shoes—to remember his brothers who have laid down their arms for the final time. Between somber military farewells, civic celebrations, local parades, athletic events, or
More body worn cameras for Riverside County The Board of Supervisors approved the use of revenue from the Sheriff’s Department’s asset forfeiture fund to purchase a limited number of additional body-worn cameras in order to continue testing the devices. The Sheriff’s Department has continued its ongoing testing of various brands of body-worn cameras with a limited number of personnel across the Department’s operations, over the past few years. The testing to date generally showed that the body-worn cameras exonerate the actions of our deputies when complaints are lodged, making it far easier in defending against lawsuits and resolving complaints. It is believed that use of body-worn cameras will help agency accountability and transparency, reduce agency liability, and allow the review of past incidents to reduce false complaints. It can also assist with criminal prosecution and highlight deputy performance and professionalism. In the pilot programs, the feedback from deputies using the system thus far indicates very positive reviews and support, but much more work is required before these devices will even be considered as a department-wide mandate by the Sheriff. Following Board approval of the funding today, the Department will now move forward in our already ongoing testing and vetting of the body cameras by now ordering additional equipment and after its arrival, then outfitting our patrol deputies at the Jurupa Valley Station. This is but one more step in a long series of detailed testing the De-
- Photo by Carlos Puma
In the latest case of lab experiment sabotage at UCR, someone used a key to turn off a freezer in Batchelor Hall, damaging experiments, according to spokeswoman Kris Lovekin and the online police log, reported the Press Enterprise. Batchelor Hall has labs
VOLUME 1, NO. 28
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The Natural Cure for Diabetes program Our Natural Cure for Diabetes program is designed for those living with type 2 diabetes, and/or at-risk for developing diabetes. Participants will leave the program with an ACTION PLAN and a clear understanding of how to reduce or eliminate dependency on medication, improve their energy level, drop pounds, prevent diabetes related complications, maintain normal blood sugar and most importantly what to eat to accomplish the goal. Participants will also discover: •The Hidden Factors That Contribute to Diabetes •Which Foods to Eat and Which to Avoid •The Significance of Your Glycemic Load (Different from the Glycemic Index!) •The Key Questions You MUST Ask Your Doctor •The 3 Critical Success Factors to Reverse or Manage
Diabetes •The Best Alternative Sweeteners (It’s Not What You Think!) •The Significance of Protein and Your Blood Sugar •The Secrets to Using Ordinary Food to Combat Illness and Disease •How to Plan Meals to Ensure That Unwanted Pounds Come Off! •Easy and Healthy Ways to Prepare Tasty Meals All participants will receive: •A Live Educational Class and Training by our Holistic Nutritionist •Meal Prep Demonstration and Food Sampling The event will take place on Nov 12, 6:30-8:30PM at the The Necessary Nutrition Academy, 3985 University Ave, Riverside. Contact: www.necessarynutrition.com, rda@nessynutri. com, 951-259-5198
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More body worn cameras for County Continued from page 1
partment will continue to conduct over the next year or two. Deputies working patrol, special teams, and traffic assignments will now be able to provide input into this testing process. Their use by field deputies at a
patrol station will now also allow the Department to analyze critical issues related to storage, retrieval, all-weather durability and the enormous costs in archiving the data generated by the camera use.
Vets receive high school diplomas Continued from page 1
12), Joe Aviles will step into the role of the distinguished honoree when he and 16 other veterans of foreign wars are presented with a high school diploma at the 8th Annual Operation Recognition to be held at the Moreno Valley Parks & Recreation Center (14075 Frederick Street, Moreno Valley). Operation Recognition is a program of the Riverside County Office of Education that presents diplomas to residents of Riverside County who missed completing high school due to military service in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, or due to internment in World War II JapaneseAmerican relocation camps. Operation Recognition high school diplomas are authorized to be granted to eligible veterans by the California Education Code, Section 51440. As a teenager growing up in Pomona, Aviles first signed up to serve his country at the age of 17. He soon found himself on an island in the Pacific with a 1918 rifle helping build airplane runways. He served as a gunner in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Saratoga aircraft carrier during World War II and later served as a tank commander for the U.S. Army during the Korean War. While in the Pacific, Aviles recalled the frantic scrambling to save the U.S.S. Saratoga after multiple direct hits from kamikaze planes during the battle of Iwo Jima. He described having to sleep on top of ammunition piles and digging the deepest
foxhole possible to sleep alongside his tank crew and on top. “Sleeping on a bunk bed while in the Navy was much better than sleeping conditions in the Army,” Aviles said. “When I returned home from Korea, I had to sleep on the floor for a long time before my body could get used to sleeping on a bed again.” Although his formal education never reached beyond the 10th grade, he became a successful cement mason in the construction trades. Tears welled up in Aviles’ eyes when he recalled how both education and the sacrifices of so many young men seemed to be lost on today’s younger generation. “They need school. They aren’t going to learn by quitting and going to the streets and getting into bad situations,” Aviles said. Now a resident of Beaumont, Aviles never shared the details of his military career with his three children (much less his ten grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren), but he shared the news about finally getting his high school diploma with his buddies in his billiards league. “They asked me if it means that I’m going to get a higher paying job now. I think I just got out of a lot of work,” Aviles joked when he thought of the prospect of receiving his high school diploma 70+ years later. “I used to love arithmetic, but when it came to algebra, forget it.”
NOVEMBER 10, 2014 - NOVEMBER 16, 2014 | 3
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Physical fitness test proves that California students are becoming more fit State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced that the percentage of students who met the Healthy Fitness Zone performance standards in all six areas continued to climb this year, according to the results of the 2013‒14 Physical Fitness Test. “It’s encouraging to see our students becoming more fit and healthy,” said Torlakson. “Students have to be healthy and alert to succeed in the classroom, in college, and in their careers, but also to lead a more fulfilling life. That’s why it is so important that all of us— teachers, parents and community leaders—teach our children the importance of eating right, and exercising regularly and following healthy lifestyles ourselves so we can serve as role models.” More than 1.3 million fifth, seventh, and ninth graders took the FITNESSGRAM® during the 2013‒14 school year — a series of six separate tests that measure aerobic capacity, body composition, abdominal strength, trunk extensor strength, upper body strength, and flexibility. In all three grades the percentage of students who performed all six tests at the highest level increased compared to the last two years. Overall, about 26.6 percent of fifth graders, 33 percent of seventh graders, and 38.1 percent of ninth graders scored at the highest levels, called the Healthy Fitness Zone (HFZ). This represents levels of fitness that offer protection against diseases resulting from sedentary living. Torlakson, an avid runner and former high school cross country and track coach, demonstrated his commitment to fitness by launching a Team California for Healthy Kids initiative shortly after taking office. The initiative brings together educators, community leaders, athletes, and other celebrities to help schools offer
healthy choices to students. Students also improved in Aerobic Capacity, one of the six areas assessed annually and is considered among the most important gauges of health (Table 2). Aerobic Capacity is the ability to perform large muscle, high-intensity exercise for prolonged periods. Please note that the HFZ performance standards for the Body Mass Index (BMI), one of the three body composition test options under Body Composition, were updated for the 2013‒14 fitness assessment period. Thus, current Body Composition scores cannot be compared to previous years. This is the 15th year for
reporting physical fitness test results in California public schools. The program was first authorized in 1976 and reestablished in 1995 by Assembly Bill 265. The following year, the State Board of Education designated FITNESSGRAM® as the required physical fitness test to be administered to students in grades five, seven, and nine. The 2013–14 physical fitness results for schools, school districts, counties, and the state are available on the California Department of Education (CDE) Physical Fitness Test Results Web page. More information is also available on the CDE Physical Fitness Test Web page.
Long Beach Office 3780 Kilroy Airport Way Suite 360 Long Beach, CA 90806 Ph. (562) 472-0071 Fx. (562) 689-0071 Los Angeles Office 5701 South Eastern Avenue Suite 100 Los Angeles, CA 90040 Ph. (323) 727-1144 Fx. (323) 727-9198 www.heger-industrial.com Lic. #00814086
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Police conduct compliance Expansion of program to checks on registered sex offenders identify likely gifted children On October 30, 2014, the 290 PC Compliance Unit, with the assistance of officers and detectives from various divisions within the Riverside Police Department and the University of Riverside Police Department, conducted eighty (80) compliance checks in accordance with state sex registration laws. The effort was to ensure that information provided during the registration process is accurate and up to date by physically going to the home of the sex registrant. The compliance checks conducted were by a mixture of fourteen (14) officers and detectives that took the ma-
jority of the day to complete. At the conclusion of the eighty (80) compliance checks, four (4) registered sex offenders were found to no longer reside at the registered address and had not updated their current address as required under Section 290 of the California Penal Code. As a result of the four non-compliant sex offenders, the 290 PC Compliance Unit has initiated criminal investigations against these individuals. General information about sex registration can be found on the City of Riverside website at the following link: http://www.riversideca.gov/ rpd/GenInvest/290home.asp
The CDE is partnering with two organizations to expand a pilot program called Project CHANGE that trains teachers to identify potentially gifted preschool to grade two students. Staff from the CDE, the University of Southern California, and the California Association for the Gifted will visit school sites to start other Project CHANGE programs around the state. The goals are to let people know there are educational services to help gifted children flourish; increase the number of such students in underrepresented groups, schools, and districts; and to reduce
attrition from these programs. The USC’s Rossier School of Education announced earlier this month that it received a $328,743 grant from the federal Jacob R. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program to support Project CHANGE during its first year. It may qualify to receive up to $1.7 million over five years. The CDE’s involvement in Project CHANGE furthers State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson’s A Blueprint for Great Schoolsinitiative designed to meet the needs of the whole child and strengthen the state’s teacher corps.
Criminal acts of sabotage continue in UCR labs Continued from page 1
off and ruined experiments. Test tubes were also stolen and three gas valves were turned on and left unattended, potentially as an act of arson. Other items that were stolen include a laptop computer, a camera, and lab notebooks, according to an affidavit filed by a UCR detective who obtained a search warrant, said the paper. A suspect has not been identified, but there is speculation about the culpability of someone who posted comments on an online PressEnterprise story about the lab contamination. Their apparent
knowledge of the lab space made it seem as if they knew how the attack was carried out, said the paper. In that incident in early April, a woman had worked with an isotope called Phosphorous 32, a radioactive material used in medical treatments and fertilizer. After she finished working, she checked herself using a Geiger counter and noticed that her hands, lab coat and pen were contaminated, according to the affidavit. “Based on all of the suspicious incidents in the lab, I believe someone was trying to de-
liberately sabotage the research of the lab,” Harding wrote in the affidavit. “Furthermore, I believe that someone deliberately exposed lab employees to radiation with the intent to cause them serious physical harm.” The Enterprise said Harding characterized the intentional exposure as an assault with a deadly weapon. The reason for this is that light exposure to Phosphorous 32 can result in radiation sickness, with symptoms of nausea, stomach cramping, hair loss, skin burns and diminished organ function, said the paper. Additionally, heavier exposure can destroy intestinal linings and cause bleeding and death, according to medical reports. A day later, The PressEnterprise published a story about the contamination that had forced about 100 people to evacuate the building. A reader with the Yahoo profile of Rad Rad commented on the story and wrote: “Small amount! This is not true! Concentrated P32 was spread onto a fan to make it airborne. It is yet to be decontaminated. The woman was not decontaminated on site and was in fact back
at work the following day still with a radioactive finger but wearing a glove to prevent further contamination.” According to the Enterprise, in a separate comment entry, the person wrote: “There has been total inaction until yesterday. As soon as radioactive is mentioned then the place is full of police, FBI, ambulances, fire trucks. Oh well at least the lab was not burnt down.” The comments prompted Harding to serve a search warrant to Yahoo who, it would seem, could provide the identity of the writer. However, Yahoo was unable to find that information, according to Harding in a phone interview with the Enterprise. No reason was given as to why the information was not available at Yahoo. UCR police stated in the affidavit that they believe the radioactive material was spread in one lab with the intent of harming others. If anyone has any information on the identity of the suspect or on the lab incidents, they are asked to contact UCR Police at 951-827-5387. Anonymous tips may be left online at police.ucr.edu/anon.html