911 Call:The case of Jeffrey L. Dahmer.

Today Milwaukee police released the transcript of a 911 call made on May 27 by resident Glenda Cleveland, 37, related to the case of Jeffrey L. Dahmer.

Dahmer confessed to killing 17 people and pled insanity after police found 11 mutilated bodies in his apartment. Two months ago Mrs. Cleveland contacted police officers to report that there was a “butt-naked” young man in the middle of the street at 25th and State. Mrs. Cleveland said that the boy was very bruised and looked as though he had been beaten. She insisted that the boy needed help and informed them that he couldn’t even stand. The dispatcher speaking with Mrs. Cleveland transferred her call to the fire department and assured her that they would send an ambulance.

The transcript includes statements from the officer at the scene to the dispatcher describing, “Intoxicated Asian, naked male. Was returned to his sober boyfriend.” The tapes reveal that the officer is heard laughing as he makes the report.
Mrs. Cleveland made a follow up call 10 minutes later inquiring if the naked boy seen by her daughter and niece was certified as an adult. Mrs. Cleveland expressed concern that no information had been taken from the girls and queried whether further information “must be needed.” The officer states that the boy was only an “intoxicated boyfriend of another boyfriend.”
Mrs. Cleveland repeatedly asks for confirmation that the boy was an adult saying, “It appeared to have been a child.” The officer states multiple times that he is, “as positive as I can be,” that it wasn’t a child as it may have appeared. The boy involved was later found to be only 14-years-old and subsequently killed by Dahmer. As of one week ago, the officers involved were placed on suspension.

A glimpse of hope for children with autism

Researchers have recently found that early intervention with toddlers who are diagnosed with autism can both raise IQ levels and help them to improve their language skills as well as behavior. The intervention program is called “Early Start Denver Model” and it emphasizes play therapy for autistic children at an early age. -CNN

The power of music

Out of 25 people polled at the Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC), nearly 70% answered that they would rather have music than have television, newspapers, magazines, or video games.


Dictionary.com defines the term music as “an art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color.” Whether it was the soft hum of vibrating strings on an instrument or the melodic sound of a human’s vocal cords, music is something that has been around for many years. Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff once said, “Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music.”


The results of the poll done with ARCC students revealed that of the 25, 64% of the participants answered that music is ‘very important’ to them. ARCC student Laura Sweeney said in response to her opinion on what life would be like without music, “I don’t think there would be life without music.” Andie Anderson mentioned on helium.com that music surrounds us all; there is music in dentist offices, operating rooms, weddings, funerals and music also plays a crucial role in movies. Seventy-six percent of ARCC students polled reported that they listen to music everyday for a minimum of two hours.


True Grimes, a student at ARCC, said, “Because music is considered the most popular way that Americans relax, we’d be a lot more stressed out without it.” According to psychcentral.com, Grimes may indeed be correct in her statement. Psychcentral.com says that music, especially slow and quiet classical music, can have a very strong relaxing effect on both our minds and bodies. The website also points out that soothing classical types of music can have a positive effect on our physiological functions, lower blood pressure, and minimize the levels of stress hormones.
ARCC student Rachel Hiel said, “I think people would be less open without music. Music is a great way to express your emotions and feelings and without it people are less likely to express that,” in response to the idea of a world without music. Healthychild.com confirms Hiel’s opinion and says that music can not only just be a useful relaxant, but also can provide people with the means of expressing their feelings and releasing their emotions. In the same way as poetry, the lyrics of songs themselves are expressions of a writer or singer’s emotions and feelings.

There are many different types of music in the world so, in turn, there are many people who like different types of music. The survey conducted with ARCC students asked them what their favorite type of music was. The top response, given the alternative choices of country, classical, hiphop/rap, and rock, was ‘other’ with 44%. The remaining percentages were: rock (32%), country (12%), classical (8%) and hiphop/rap (4%). Also included in the poll was the question of favorite music artist; among a broad variety of answers, the only answer mentioned by more than one respondent was The Beatles.

Relieving Stress

I have many different things that I use to try and relieve my stress. One of my favorite things to do is simply sit down and play the piano. Something about playing a song on a piano pushes my thoughts away and allows me to feel more relaxed and at peace.

Another one of my stress relievers is being around my friends and family(except when they are the cause of my stress). Being around the ones I love calms me down when I'm feeling uptight and stressed. It's always nice to be able to talk to someone you care about and let out all of your anger and frustrations. My sister and I frequently "vent" to each other when we are feeling stressed or angry. One of the other things I often do is pray. Praying probably relieves my stress the most out of them all.

Massacre in the Philippines

A gunman killed an estimated 21 people in Manila, Philippines on Monday.
Among the people killed it was reported that around 12 of the 21 people killed were journalists. One of the presidential advisers called the killings the most “gruesome massacre of civilians” in recent history. –CNN

Tobacco Survey

Over 70% of the people who completed a survey recently on the Anoka-Ramsey Cambridge campus about the use of tobacco answered that they knew 10 or more people who smoke a regular basis.

Cigarette smoking is easily observed in American society, and this was confirmed by my survey on tobacco in which 100% of the respondents answered that they knew at least one or more person who smokes regularly. According to cancer.org, “It is estimated that more than 43 million adults currently smoke cigarettes.” Over 60% of the respondents of the tobacco survey also answered that they had one or more immediate family members who regularly smoke tobacco.

Tobacco smoke affects many people, even those whose immediate family members do not smoke regularly. Opinions about being in proximity to people who are smoking appeared to be polarizing in this survey. Given three choices of “very much dislike,” “slightly dislike,” or “don’t care,” respondents were divided equally between the two extremes. News is constantly surfacing about the laws of when and where smoking is allowed. In 2007 Minnesota became the 22nd state to pass a smoke-free law that restricts smoking in both restaurants and bars, according to Startribune.com. The respondents of the tobacco survey split about 50/50 on whether they “greatly disliked” or “did not care” about smoking in general.

Smoking is a controversial topic for many people, but statistics reveal its effect on personal health. Lungusa.org reports that, “Every year in the U.S. over 392,000 people die from tobacco-caused disease, making it the leading cause of preventable death.” Around 50% of the respondents to the tobacco survey reported a reaction of “did not care” about smoking in general.

Balloon Boy

Richard and Mayumi Heene, parents of “balloon boy,” plead guilty on Friday to a felony charge of attempting to influence a public servant. In October a large silver balloon came loose from the Heenes’ yard and began to float away. The Heenes’ claimed that their 6-year-old son was inside the balloon. Millions of people watched the hoax take place and witnessed a military aircraft attempting to track the balloon for nearly two hours. -CNN

~Mexico~

My family never traveled very much when I was growing up except to visit my grandparents in Virginia, so I haven't had the chance to explore too much outside of Minnesota. But my first big trip, which I hope is not my last, was going down to Mexico with my church youth group on a missions trip.

We drove the whole way in a charter bus and I can assure you that it was one of the longest rides I have ever been on. It was definitely an interesting experience to ride 30+ hours on a bus with 35+ people. The whole trip was an experience that I will treasure and never forget. Although most of us knew each other before going on the trip, we got to know each other in a whole new way and we all became very close.

While we were in Mexico we were able to do a ride range of things and meet a wide range of different people. It was a very strong learning and cultural experience. We were able to help out at a juvenile center and also an orphanage. The orphanage was one of my favorite parts out of the entire trip. The kids there were so overjoyed to see us when we went to visit and it was obvious that they would give anything just to have someone to play with. Although most of us who went did not speak very good English, the kids didn't seem to care at all. They just continued to try to make us understand what they were saying and would laugh when we attempted to say something in English.

This trip was not only my favorite trip I have ever taken, it was also one of my favorite experiences. I hope with all my heart that I can go back someday and maybe see some of the people that we met while we were there again. Even if I am never able to go back as I so strongly wish, the time I will always cherish the time I spent there.

An honorable hero

Police officer Kimberly Munley put an end to the Fort Hood massacre on Thursday in Texas. Munley confronted and shot the man responsible for killing 13 people, ending the massacre at the Army base. Munley was injured during the exchange but according to her father she is doing well. -CNN

Halloween Costumes

When I was growing up my parents didn't like us to go trick or treating or dress up. Instead they would usually take us out to eat, or just rent a movie to watch at home with some candy. I remember that one year I really wanted to dress up because I never had before and my parents caved and said I could. I was about 11 years old and I had no ideas of what to dress up as. My brother just happened to have a cape and a Darthmall(from star wars)mask, so since I didn't have anything else I dressed up as Darthmall. Even though I didn't even really like him, because he was the bad guy, I didn't really care because I was just excited about dressing up.

I saw this video and decided right away that I think this is one of the best and one of my favorite halloween costumes I have ever seen. Let me know if you agree. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1HWqbOSJLo

Dr. Kittock is more than just a teacher and a volunteer, she is a "Book Lady"

To her students at Anoka-Ramsey Community College she is known as Dr. Kittock or Dr. K, but to the kids at the Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) she is simply known as the “Book Lady”.

Kittock has been volunteering at HCMC and reading to the children there for nearly a year now. Kittock said that she merely looked up the phone number for HCMC and volunteered her services wherever needed. HCMC has a literacy program in which they give out a free book to every child, patient, sibling, relative, or visitor. There are a group of volunteers, such as Kittock, who sit out in the waiting room with a pile of books and read to the kids at various times during the day.

Kittock has devoted one day a week, every Tuesday morning, to reading to kids at HCMC. Kittock says that she usually spends about two hours reading, but the time is flexible if she needs to leave early or wants to stay late. When Kittock first became a volunteer, they had many different jobs available for her to choose from but she quickly told them, “I wanna be a book lady!”.

Although they have books available for her use, Kittock likes to also bring books with her from her house to read. Kittock is given the choice of which books to read, but she prefers to let the kids choose. “Sometimes if they get called into the doctor before I get to their book, it cracks me up, because they’ll get done with their doctor appointment and they’ll come right back,” said Kittock. Two of the most popular books are Where The Wild Things Are and Horton Hatches an Egg, which Kittock says she usually ends up reading three or four times every morning.

Kittock says that she can have anywhere from just one child to seven or more; she welcomes whoever is there and wants to listen. She says that, as often happens with kids, they will walk away during a story, but they almost always come back. “It’s just pure, pure, pure fun; the magic of the story keeps them coming back,” states Kittock.
There are 30 different languages that are spoken at the pediatric ward where Kittock volunteers, but Kittock indicates that the language barrier is not a major problem. Kittock says that her motivation for volunteering at HCMC comes easily from her adoration and love for the kids. “I’m absolutely, over the moon, crazy about reading and the magic of reading and the magic of education.”
Kittock says that her favorite story from her volunteer work at HCMC so far has been the story of a little boy named Emilio. Kittock says that Emilio sat and read with her for over 90 minutes until eventually it came time for her to leave. Because HCMC is a public hospital kids often have to wait for quite a while before being able to see the doctor.

Kittock says she apologized to Emilio for having to leave and said that she hoped that he would be able to get in to see the doctor soon. Emilio, to Kittock’s surprise, responded by saying ‘Oh, I’ve already seen the doctor.’ Emilio told Kittock that he had already seen the doctor, but he told his Papa that he wanted to stay and read with her. “That man had sat almost two hours after the appointment was done so that Emilio could read with me!” said Kittock. Kittock says that although she tried to thank the dad, he kept trying to thank her saying that he was very grateful and that it was important that she read to his son.

Kittock says that she would never give up her chance to read to the little kids at HCMC and she couldn’t adore it more. “If I could get every student I’ve ever had and continue to have, to do a week of it at HCMC, they would be a changed person,” says Kittock.