Paw Prints Newsblog

by Lindsey Baty

On the morning of  October 27, 2009, in Coralville, Iowa, police found a seven-year-old boy in a family van covered in dried blood. His throat had been slit, but he was luckily still alive. Outside of the van, his two-year-old brother was found also covered in dried blood, his throat slit, and he was unfortunately dead. The seven-year-old claimed his mother Michelle Kehoe cut his throat then moved on to cut his little brother’s throat. During an audio recording that played Thursday in Kehoe’s first-degree murder trial, the boy said, “She cut me.” Kehoe is pleading not guilty to first-degree murder, attempted murder and child endangerment causing serious injury. As Kehoe listened to the recording of her seven-year-old son, she frowned, occasionally bowing her head.
Assistant Iowa Attorney General Andrew Prosser claimed that the boy locked himself in the van overnight after his mother slashed his and his younger brother’s throats the previous day after leaving them for dead. Then after doing so, Kehoe walked down to a nearby lake and attempted to cut her own throat using the same knife that had been used on her two sons,a camouflage-handle Winchester hunting knife that she had bought the month before. After she attempted to kill herself, she slowly ran down the road and went to the nearest house she could find, which was about a half mile from the van. As someone opened the door, Kehoe immediately told them a story of how a stranger abducted the family, killed her sons, and tried to kill her.
After authorities went searching for the stranger that killed her sons, the only thing they found was a van with a seven-year-old that was claimed to be dead still alive. Deputy Stephen Peterson asked the boy who had done this to him, and he responded, “My mom.” Kehoe began to plot her murders about a month before, buying duct tape, ropes, and the knife. At the crime scene, police found signs of cover-up including, pieces of a first aid kit scattered around and a handwritten note Kehoe allegedly wrote during the attack. The note ends saying, “‘Oh no, here he comes again…” If convicted of first-degree murder, Kehoe faces life in prison with out parole.

by Rachel Caird

The two week long climate conference opened up in Copenhagen this morning. With 192 delegates from various countries around the world already participating, while expecting over 14,000 more to join, this conference is sure to make an impact. Their first order of business is to make an agreement on cutting back greenhouse gases, especially by the United States, which is one of the top contributors of pollution.

By the end of this conference, over 100 leaders from around the globe will have gone to Copenhagen, including President Barack Obama, who will bring with him a proposal, saying that he will pledge for America to cut down greenhouse gases by 17% by the year 2020, and 83% by the year 2050. However, the UN’s goals are to cut down greenhouse gases by 25-40% by the year 2020. Another issue they will be discussing is the cost for this kind of adaptation.  Many have suggested that rich countries must help poor countries by giving them $10 billion a year for aid, beginning immediately. Only time will tell what politics and Mother Nature have in for us this time.

by Becky Hoffman

It is now a week into November, and, for seniors, that is a really big deal. As of the first of November, UC schools have been accepting applications, and UC and CSU schools deadlines for the applications are November 30^th.

So, the good news about this is that the physics test and the AP government test are done, and students can now focus on their essays for college. It is also of note that if students need recommendation letters from teachers that they give them at least two weeks to write it so that should be done very soon. Also, you need to get your official transcripts from the office!

Good Luck to all, and don’t forget to apply for scholarships.

by Lea Morgan

Three of North Dakota University’s star softball players were found dead on Tuesday, November 3^rd.  Ashley Neufeld, Kyrstin Gemar, and Afton Williamson were found inside a Jeep Cherokee, submerged under pond water.

As there isn’t much to do in Dickinson, North Dakota, the girls were known to make usual trips out to the pond to stargaze and talk.  But late on this particular Sunday night, teammates received distress calls from their helpless friends and mentioned “water” and “lake,” but were unable to track where the call was coming from.

From the tread marks the Cherokee left, it seemed as if the girls simply lost control of the wheel and drove into the pond.  No foul play is suspected in this unfortunate case.  Nonetheless, the girls will be missed.  Condolences to their families.

Lauren Brown

A bomb-sniffing dog that had disappeared over a year ago has been returned to its Australian unit. Sabi, a black Labrador, was with a joint Australian-Afghan army patrol ambushed in restive Uruzgan province in September 2008, triggering a gunfight that wounded nine troops and earned one Australian soldier the country’s highest bravery medal. But there was no sign of Sabi after the battle, and months of searching failed to find any sign of the retriever— until now. A U.S. soldier recovered Sabi at an isolated patrol base elsewhere in Uruzgan, though details about the exact site were not given. Exactly where Sabi has been or what happened to her during the past 14 months will probably never be known, but she was found in good condition, indicating that somebody had been looking after her. A warm and happy welcome was waiting for this truly amazing dog when it was returned to its rightful owners, proving that sometimes miracles do come true.

by April Ball

Tiger Woods was recently rumored to have cheated on his wife with Rachel Uchitel, a New York nightclub hostess.  She has denied having an affair with Woods. Last week, the National Enquirer published a story saying the world’s number one golfer had been seeing Uchitel.  They were recently together in Melbourne, coincidently where Woods won the Australian Masters.
On top of this, Tiger Woods also crashed his SUV into a tree in central Florida.  He was taken to the hospital where he was treated for minor injuries.  He hit a fire hydrant and then a tree.  Tiger’s wife heard the accident and immediately ran outside her home and used a golf club to break the window of the SUV and pull Woods from the vehicle.  Then she rendered first aid.
After Woods crashed his car outside his home early last week, he has been faced with a lot negative publicity, and this allegation only adds fuel to the fire.  Though all of this turmoil Tiger’s three major sponsors, Nike, Gatorade, and EA Sports have said they support and are committed to the golfer.  They said they have no plans to change their marketing campaigns because of the incidents; however, AT&T declined to comment.

by Mallory Stratton

NASA said last Friday it had discovered a significant amount of water on the moon, opening up the idea of a lunar space station. On October 9, they intentionally crashed the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, into the shadowed region of Cabeus Crater near the moon’s south pole. After the satellite landed, a rocket flew out to measure the amount of water exposed and provide other data. The $79 million mission was to determine the presence of water on the moon; however, other finds are expected once more studying is done. Michael Wargo, chief lunar scientist at NASA headquarters in Washington, said the latest discovery also could unlock the mysteries of the solar system. Sources for the water could include solar winds, comets, giant molecular clouds or even internal activity in the planet itself. Wargo said that the Earth may also have a role. At the end of their statement, NASA said, “In addition, water and other compounds represent potential resources that could sustain future lunar exploration.”

by Chanel Yust

Released on Wednesday,September 15th, Google stated that they will be going through an examination process. They will be testing out the new “FastFlip” format. Reading will be easier; however, there will be a charge due to the program only being able to display the first page of the article. They will be displayed on electronic pages, and you will be able to scroll through the pages by clicking on either side of of the story, but in order to finish the article, you most log onto the website.

by Mallory Stratton

Want more information on a specific college? Not yet sure what your plans are? There are many upcoming opportunities for high school students to get more information. Admission representatives from the following colleges will be visiting West Hills to answer your questions about financial aid, admission, campus life, majors and more: Saint Mary’s College of CA, Oct 28, 10:30 AM; University of Redlands, Oct 28, 12:15 PM; San Diego State, Oct 30, 10:30 AM. Sign up on the college clipboard in the counseling center to attend their presentations. Don’t miss out on these great opportunities!