School strip-search case reaches Supreme Court this week

By David G. Savage

Chicago Tribune

(MCT)

SAFFORD, Ariz. _ When Savana Redding, now 19, talks of what happened to her in 8th grade, it is clear the painful memories linger.

She speaks of being embarrassed and of fearing and distrusting a nurse, and of staying away from school for two months. And she recalls whispers and stares from others in the small eastern Arizona mining town of Safford after she was strip-searched in the nurse's office because a vice principal suspected she might be hiding an extra-strength ibuprofen in her underwear.

This week, the Supreme Court will hear her case. Its decision, the first to address the issue of strip-searches in schools, will set the legal limits, if any, on the authority of school officials to search for drugs or weapons on campus. And while Savana's story provokes outrage from many who hear it, the school district warns that its ability to keep all drugs out of its schools must be preserved.

Matthew Wright, the school district's lawyer, said the vice principal was concerned because one student had gotten seriously ill from taking unidentified pills.

"That was the driving force for him. If nothing had been done, and this happened to another kid, parents would have been outraged," Wright said. "If there are drugs and weapons at school, how much do we want to tie the hands of the administrators?"

Only once has the high court ruled on a school-search case, and it sounds quaint now. It arose in 1980 when a New Jersey girl was caught smoking in the bathroom, and the principal searched her purse for cigarettes.

The justices upheld this search because the principal had a specific reason for looking in her purse. However, they did not say how far officials can go _ and how much of a student's privacy can be sacrificed _ to maintain safety at school. That's the issue in Safford Unified School District v. Redding.

Savana was an honors student, shy and "nerdy" when the 8th grade began in the fall of 2003, she said.

She first learned she was in trouble when Kerry Wilson, the vice principal, came into a math class one morning and told her to come with him to the office.

He was in search of white pills. "District policy J-3050 strictly prohibits the non-medical use or possession of any drug on campus," he said later in a sworn statement.

Wilson knew a boy had gotten sick from pills he obtained at school. And that morning, another 8th-grader, Marissa Glines, was found with what turned out to be several 400 mg ibuprofen pills tucked into a folded school planner. A few days before, Savana had lent Marissa the folder. The vice principal also found a small knife, a cigarette and a lighter in the folder. When asked where she got the pills, Marissa named Savana Redding.

These "could only be obtained with a prescription," Wilson reported. Marketed over the counter as Advil and Motrin with recommended doses of 200 to 400 mg, they are commonly used for headaches or to relieve pain from menstrual cramps.

Savana, however, said she knew nothing of the pills in Marissa's folder.

"He asked if he could search my backpack. I said, 'Sure,' " she recalled. When nothing was found, Wilson sent Savana to the nurse's office, where the nurse and an office assistant were told to "search her clothes" for the missing pills.

(EDITORS: BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)

Savana said she kept her head down, embarrassed and afraid she would cry. After removing her pink T-shirt and black stretch pants, she stood in her bra and panties. She was told to pull her underwear to the side and to shake to see if any pills could be dislodged.

(END OPTIONAL TRIM)

It was "the most humiliating experience" of her life, she said.

"We did not find any pills during our search of Savana," Wilson reported.

Upset and angry, Savana's mother, April Redding, complained to the principal's office, then to the superintendent's office nearby. Both denied at first knowing that a student had been strip-searched.

"It was wrong. I didn't think anything like that could happen to my daughter at school," she said. "Why didn't they call me? I couldn't get them to explain it."

Contacted at the school last week, Wilson declined to discuss the case, as did other school officials.

When no one apologized, April Redding sued the school district. Her lawyers say the strip-search goes far beyond the bounds of reasonableness, especially when there was no imminent danger.

April Redding says she had a simple goal. "I wanted a judge to say what they did was wrong," she said.

(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)

After the strip-search, Savana refused to return to the middle school. She did not want to be in the presence of the nurse or the office assistant who humiliated her. She went to an alternative high school in Safford, but dropped out before graduating. She is taking psychology classes at nearby East Arizona College.

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© 2009, Chicago Tribune.

Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com/

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

EPA declaration sets stage for more regulation

By Jim Tankersley

Tribune Washington Bureau

(MCT)

WASHINGTON _ The federal government's declaration Friday that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health marked a first step toward likely regulation of the tailpipe emissions of cars, power plants and factories that scientists blame for global warming.

The decision by the Environmental Protection Agency was a clear break with the Bush administration, which downplayed concerns about global warming, and set the stage for a possible national standard for vehicle emissions and other federal efforts to curb such pollution.

The Obama administration already is developing a plan to make the U.S. auto fleet cleaner by regulating carbon dioxide emissions from tailpipes. But the move Friday also gives it the capacity to either regulate larger emissions producers like power plants or prod Congress to set limits, which the administration would prefer.

Lawmakers have begun debating legislation that would crack down on power plant emissions, which generate twice as much greenhouse gas as cars and trucks. But the prospect of the White House taking action could push Congress to come to an agreement.

"The Obama administration now has the legal equivalent of a .44 magnum" to fight global warming, said Frank O'Donnell, president of the environmental group Clean Air Watch. "The bullets aren't loaded yet, but they could be."

Environmentalists celebrated the EPA's action as the clearest signal yet that the Obama administration is prepared to act boldly to combat global warming. O'Donnell called the move "a landmark moment in environmental history."

But critics say the EPA decision, and the regulations that could accompany it, could chill an already recessionary economy.

"An endangerment finding would lead to destructive regulatory schemes that Congress never authorized," a group of eight leading conservative and free-market activists warned the EPA in a letter this week. They added that "the administration will bear responsibility for any increase in consumer energy costs, unemployment and GDP losses" that result.

In its ruling, the EPA declared that carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases endanger public health. "In both magnitude and probability, climate change is an enormous problem," the agency declared. "The greenhouse gases that are responsible for it endanger public health and welfare within the meaning of the Clean Air Act."

The ruling includes a lengthy summation of scientific warnings about human contributions to climate change, and of the potentially devastating impacts that could result.

But in finding that greenhouse gases endangered public health "within the meaning of the Clean Air Act," the EPA also moved beyond what most Americans think of as air pollution, said Bill Farland, a former top EPA scientist who is now senior vice president for research and engagement at Colorado State University.

The EPA is equating otherwise benign gases that are leading to rising temperatures with traditional pollutants such as smog and lead, he said.

"Clearly, you can expose animals and humans to (carbon dioxide) without a harmful effect," Farland said. "On the other hand, in today's society there's mounting information that if you continue to release CO2, it's going to be problematic from a climate change perspective."

Friday's decision said that automobiles, which produce about 20 percent of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions, contribute directly to climate change. The administration is expected to develop vehicle emissions limits along the lines of strict regulations that California and other states are attempting to adopt.

Some industry groups said the text of the decision appeared to give the administration an "off ramp" to avoid widespread regulation.

William Kovacs, a vice president for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the finding allows the EPA to delay emissions limits until technology improves and compliance costs fall, a move he said would avoid "disastrous" regulations that would all but put the EPA in control of the entire economy.

Obama often links carbon emissions limits _ and the price increases they would assuredly impose on fossil fuel energy _ with the creation of millions of jobs through renewable energy development. EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said in a press release Friday that global warming "has a solution _ one that will create millions of green jobs and end our country's dependence on foreign oil."

The next move belongs to Congress. The House will reconvene Monday after a two-week break, with a major climate bill on its agenda. One of that bill's drafters, Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., on Friday called the EPA decision a "game-changer" that will force representatives to assume that if they don't limit emissions, the administration will.

Markey was echoed by the Senate's lead climate bill drafter, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who said that if Congress fails to pass a climate bill, "then I will call on EPA to take all steps authorized by law to protect our families."

The EPA will accept public comments on its finding for two months, and it has scheduled public hearings in suburban Washington and in Seattle. Industry groups will ramp up their economic warnings. The Sierra Club on Friday launched a campaign to generate a half-million comments in support of the finding and other parts of Obama's climate agenda.

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© 2009, Tribune Co.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Motorcyclist Killed in Saint James Motor Vehicle Crash

***UPDATE***
Serkan Senal, 30, of 19 Orchid Drive, Port Jefferson Station, has been identified as the motorcyclist who was killed in a motor vehicle crash in Saint James on April 19. Valerie Campbell, 19, of 26 Cambon Place, Nesconset, has been identified as the driver of the 2004 Jeep. The investigation is continuing.

ST. JAMES (Suffolk County Police Department) - Suffolk County Police Fourth Squad detectives are investigating a motor vehicle crash that killed a motorcyclist in Saint James today.

The motorcyclist whose identity has not been released pending notification of his family was riding a 2005 Suzuki motorcycle eastbound on Route 25 in Saint James at approximately 1:55 p.m. At the intersection of Route 25 and Cambon Place, the motorcycle struck a 2004 Jeep that was proceeding northbound on Cambon Place.

The motorcyclist and the driver of the Jeep were transported to Stony Brook University Medical Center where the motorcyclist was pronounced dead at 2:20 p.m. The driver of the Jeep was treated and released.

Both vehicles were impounded for safety checks. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Fourth Squad at 631-854-8452.

'One Tree Hill' actor arrested for selling Social Security numbers

By John Riley
Newsday
(MCT)

NEW YORK _ Antwon Tanner, a successful actor and regular on the popular teen drama "One Tree Hill," was charged Thursday with trafficking in Social Security cards and numbers in federal court in Brooklyn.

Tanner, 35, plays a character named Antwon "Skills" Taylor on the CW Network show, set in a town in North Carolina. He has a long list of acting credits, including a role in the movie "Coach Carter" and TV appearances on "Boston Public," "CSI" and "NYPD Blue," according to imdb.com, an entertainment Web site.

He was caught in a sting run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. An undercover agent, through an informant, ended up buying 16 Social Security numbers and three fake cards from Tanner over the phone for more than $1,000, according to a law enforcement official.

Social Security numbers _ unassigned, from real people or from dead people _ can be used for identity theft, credit card fraud, or to get false passports or other identification documents. The charges didn't specify where Tanner got the numbers and cards or how he thought they would be used.

Wearing a baggy green jacket and white tennis shoes, Tanner pleaded not guilty Thursday. A Californian, he was released on a $250,000 bond. He could face five years or more in prison on each of two counts, prosecutors said.

Tanner and his lawyer both declined to comment as they rushed out of the courthouse. On the street outside he was immediately recognized by one young man who identified Tanner as the point guard from "Coach Carter," a basketball movie starring Samuel L. Jackson.

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© 2009, Newsday.
Visit Newsday online at http://www.newsday.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Obama: No prosecution for CIA operatives in interrogations

By Margaret Talev and Marisa Taylor
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)

WASHINGTON _ President Obama said Thursday that the United States will not prosecute CIA officials who participated in controversial terrorism interrogation techniques _ including waterboarding and slapping and sleep deprivation _ that were secretly authorized under President Bush and have since been rescinded.

"This is a time for reflection, not retribution," Obama said in a written statement issued as the Justice Department prepared to turn over by a court deadline Bush-era memos that authorized various legally questionable techniques.

"In releasing these memos, it is our intention to assure those who carried out their duties relying in good faith upon legal advice from the Department of Justice that they will not be subject to prosecution," the president said.

The memos were issued between 2002 and 2005 by the Bush Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. The Obama administration was being compelled to release them to the American Civil Liberties Union under a federal court-imposed deadline in an open records lawsuit being brought by the group.

CIA director Leon Panetta told employees in a memo Thursday that despite Obama's assurances, "This is not the end of the road on these issues" to expect more pressure from the Congress, the public and the courts to release more information.

At the same time, he said, it was important to understand the "context" of the memos, coming soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

He said: "The fact remains that CIA's detention and interrogation effort was authorized and approved by our government. For that reason, as I have continued to make clear, I will strongly oppose any effort to investigate or punish those who followed the guidance of the Department of Justice."

Panetta also said the CIA would provide legal representation to any staff investigated for their actions.

The memos are being released late Thursday afternoon.

The administration was redacting at least some information, at the request of intelligence officials.

In his statement, the president said of intelligence operatives, "we must protect their identities as vigilantly as they protect our security, and we must provide them with the confidence that they can do their jobs."

Obama also said: "The exceptional circumstances surrounding these memos should not be viewed as an erosion of the strong legal basis for maintaining the classified nature of secret activities."

The four memos are said to detail the type of "enhanced" interrogation techniques that were condoned by the Justice Department for use by the CIA.

For years, the Bush administration has refused to release memos that provided the legal underpinning for harsh interrogations, eavesdropping and secret prisons, citing national security, attorney-client privilege and the need to protect the government's deliberative process.

Shortly after Obama took office, Attorney General Eric Holder pledged to release as many of the still-secret Office of Legal Counsel memos and opinions as possible while protecting national security information.

Critics of the prior administration see the release of the documents as necessary to determine whether former administration officials should be held accountable for legal opinions that justified various antiterrorism measures, including the use of waterboarding, an interrogation technique that simulates drowning.

Two previous Justice Department memos in 2002 and 2003 had approved the use of waterboarding and other harsh methods so long as they did not cause pain similar in intensity to that caused by death or organ failure.

But those memos were widely condemned and later withdrawn because of questions about whether they were encouraging torture. The disclosure of them also forced President Bush to declare, "We do not torture," a phrase he would come to repeat often when defending the administration's anti-terrorism policies.

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© 2009, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Visit the McClatchy Washington Bureau on the World Wide Web at www.mcclatchydc.com.

Accolades and Updates 4-14-09

Edward Ehmann, Superintendent of Schools of the Smithtown School District, made the following announcements at the April 14th Board of Education meeting at the Joseph M. Barton Administration Building.

SHS East student Valentine Esposito and SHS West student Kelly Prudente have been selected as Semi-Finalists in the prestigious Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Competition. The YES Competition awards college scholarships each year to high school juniors and seniors who conduct outstanding research projects that apply epidemiological methods of analysis to a health-related issue.

John Nolan was recently named the Model Schools Administrator of the Year for his commitment to promoting the growth instructional technology in 2008/2009.

Dogwood Elementary librarian Shelia Cavooris is an award winner of a grant titled, We the People “Picturing America” Bookshelf.

Branch Brook Elementary teacher Victor Collaco is the winner of a Western Suffolk BOCES Model Schools Teacher Integration Award.

For the third time in five years, the Nesaquake Middle School Trivia Team took first place in the Middle School Division of the Suffolk County United Cerebral Palsy Trivia Contest.

Members of the Smithtown High School East’s Honor Society recently visited after school with the patients at the Smithtown Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Care. The residents were treated to a fantastic concert by Brian Harte, Caitlin Marsh, Jennifer Cohen, Emily Hittner, Mitchell Feinberg and Diane Cho.

Two SHS East ninth graders, Alissa Cutrone and Taylor Trentadue were awarded Honorable Mention at an Italian Poetry Contest at Stony Brook University.

The Great Hollow Middle School Mock Trial team recently competed in the 26th Annual Mock Trial Tournament at Dowling College under the direction of advisor Richard Restifo.

Accompsett Elementary School hosted its Annual Fairy Tale Ball. The Ball is a culminating event for the Fairy Tale unit of study. The second grade students read fairy tales, composed their own fairy-tales, retold Jack and the Beanstalk from the Giant’s point-of-view. The children also enjoyed a Cinderella Rap and a Fairy Tale Jingle.

Great Hollow and Nesaquake Middle Schools recently placed at Regional Science Olympiad Competition. Both schools earned medals for their achievements and have been invited to compete at the NYS competition.

The Mills Pond Civics Club has received a grant from Newsday’s Future Corps for the fifth year in a row. The grant will be used to purchase flats of flowers for their annual St. James Healthcare Facility Spring Planting Day. The students assist the seniors in beautifying their courtyard.

Mills Pond Elementary teacher Tara McCluskey’s fifth grade class has been chosen by Newsday’s Kidsday to develop a week-long series for the month of July. This opportunity will include celebrity interviews, taste tests, testing age appropriate toys and video games, restaurant reviews, school wide polls, and articles of interest, to name a few. The Kidsday editor, Patrick Mulooly, will be visiting the class several times and working closely with each student on developing their pieces.

Two Smithtown Juniors Named Semi-finalists in the Young Epidemiology Scholars Competition

East junior Valentine Esposito

(Smithtown Central School District) - Valentine Esposito and Kelly Prudente have been named semi-finalists in the Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Competition administered by the College Board. Valentine Esposito, a student in Ms. Trinkle’s science research program at High School East, conducted a study titled “The Influence of Fear on Teenage Drug Use.” She employed extensive research to investigate a current issue plaguing teens today. She was mentored by Ms. Trinkle who says that her work involved meticulously organizing data. Her effort was outstanding and this recognition is well deserved. Kelly Prudente is a member of the research program at High School West. Dr. Figueiredo, research coordinator at West, stated that Kelly’s strong work ethic was a key component in the success of Kelly’s project entitled: “The Effect of Select Non-Academic Activities on Self Esteem.” Kelly’s sister Katie Prudente was one of our two Semifinalists last year!

”According to Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board, “The YES Competition was developed to help students hone their skills in using research methods and critical thinking to identify new ideas that may help address some of the major public health issues we face today.” The College Board further explains that, “The YES Competition is designed to spur students’ interest in the field of public health, specifically epidemiology which explores disease, illness, and injury within populations with the goal of developing methods for prevention, control, and treatment to improve health.” Valentine and Kelly will each receive a $1000 scholarship.