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THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2012
HE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
LAW
Marriage fraud case falls through
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The cousin of a Kansas soldier testified Wednesday that she introduced him to a Jamaican woman and helped arrange the couple's wedding so that the soldier could receive extra money from the military and the woman could get legal immigration status.
Tawanna Priest-Stewart told jurors in the trial of Shannakay Hunter that she paid $70 for the couple's marriage license and helped make the travel plans for Hunter to travel from New York to Kansas in May 2010 to marry Joshua Priest, who was then an Army private stationed at Fort Riley. The couple had not met before then.
"I am not saying I didn't know it was wrong at the time, but it seemed like a good idea even though everybody in the situation knew it was wrong," Priest-Stewart said.
Hunter, 28, faces federal charges of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, marriage fraud and lying to the government. Priest, 23, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit marriage fraud in a deal with prosecutors, who agreed to leniency in exchange for Priest's testimony against his wife.
Two of Priest's former girlfriends and another friend also took the
stand to testify that Priest had told them the marriage was not real.
"He told me it was a contract marriage. He told me he did it because she wanted her green card and he wanted to move off post," said Arlycia Bowden, an Army specialist who had lived with Priest in Junction City for four months in while he was married to Hunter.
Priest's superiors at Fort Riley detailed for the jury a meeting they had with Hunter when she came to the base asking that they order him to go to New York for her immigration hearing. They told jurors Priest later acknowledged to them that he had been defrauding the government with the false marriage.
Sgt. David Gentz testified he called immigration authorities and the Department of Homeland Security to report the suspected fraud. He told jurors he just "didn't feel that it was right" so he needed to intervene.
The defense opened its case by putting on the stand a domestic abuse victim advocate who testified about a January domestic abuse incident that sent Hunter to the hospital with chest contusions after Priest punched her in the chest.
COMMUNITY
Students look to help locals
REBEKKA SCHLICHTING
rschlichting@kansan.com
Super Service Saturday is one of many opportunities for students to get involved with the Lawrence community and connect with other Kansas students through volunteer work.
Center for Community Outreach will be hosting Super Service Saturday this weekend. Students can sign up to volunteer from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Big 12 room in the Kansas Union. Free pizza and T-shirts will be provided. At 1 p.m. students will be shuttled to their desired volunteer locations and shuttled back to the Union at 3 p.m.
"We are in this community and we are at KU but sometimes we don't really feel Lawrence around us," said Jill Wendorott, CCO executive director. "By volunteer-ing with the CCO, you can really reach out and connect with your community. You get to see more of the city and you get to interact with a lot of people."
During Super Service Saturday, students will also learn about the 13 volunteer programs that are coordinated by the Center for Community Outreach. The programs have their volunteer services once or twice a week or monthly. Students can also sign up on the CCO website, www.cco.ku.edu, or by showing up at a volunteer site during the times of service.
Each of the 13 programs has different volunteer opportunities. The jobs include working with children in music, teaching, gardening, working with the elderly, helping the homeless and working in health areas.
"The retention of volunteers is always a problem." Wenderott said. "The CCO doesn't require people to RSVP, and you don't have to be totally committed."
The CCO, located in the Kansas Union, reaches out to about 3,000 volunteers a year. Along with its ongoing programs, the CCO organizes service days, such as Super Service Saturday. Other popular service days make up Into The Streets Week, which takes place in the spring.
"Making those connections with people who have the same interests as you and the same passion for giving back to the community gives you that personal benefit," said Nikki Boggess, CCO managing director. "Seeing the way you affect people with your community service is amazing."
United Way Roger Hill Volunteer Center, 2518 Ridge Court, is another volunteer organization in Lawrence. It works with more than 100 volunteer agencies. A list of agency locations, volunteer needs and sign-ups are available at www.volunteerdouglascounty.org.
United Way director Lori Johns said the Boys and Girls Club is a popular volunteer spot for
college students.
"We get a lot of KU students looking for volunteer opportunities to get involved with the community of where they are going to school, or for a class, or maybe they just want to check out a specific field of interest," Johns said.
Volunteering at a hospital helped Eric Sparks, a senior from Topeka, come to a realization.
"It gave me appreciation for the amount of work it takes to keep a hospital going." Sparks said. "Just being there helped me figure out that med school wasn't quite for me."
Kelsey Corrigan, a junior from Olathe, said she is passionate about health and wellness for children. She has volunteered with a Kansas City organization. Girls in the Run, for the past four seasons. Last season she helped a girl who wasn't physically active become excited about running.
"It has to do with what I'm studying in school," Corrigan said. "It gives me a good sense of well-being because I'm actually doing something to benefit people. Philanthropy is huge. It's important to give back. We've been given our talents for a reason."
— Edited by Sarah McCabe
Super Service Saturday Job Sites
Campus Garden
• Weeding garden and planning
Rain Garden
* Planting and cleaning garden
Lawrence Community Shelter
Lawrence Public Library
Family Promise
Lawrence Arts Center
* Getting preschool room ready
Clinton Lake
• Litter pick-up
Pioneer Ridge
• Playing BINGO and volleyball with residents
Hidden Valley
• Trail cleanup
Lawrence Humane Society
Independence Inc.
* Working outside,
weeding and mulching
Baker Wetlands
* Watering trees and collecting seeds
COURT CASE
Ballard Center
• Maintain grounds and do work in the class rooms
Held by Center for Community Outreach (CCO)
Judge closes off pretrial hearing
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KINGMAN, Kan. (AP) — A southern Kansas judge said he closed a pretrial hearing in a first-degree murder case against a former law enforcement instructor because he didn't want to taint the jury pool in a county with just more than 7,800 residents.
With a county jury pool of less than 5,000 people, Kingman County Judge Larry Solomon said he didn't want to risk any of them being exposed to inadmissible evidence that could prevent Brett Seacat from getting a fair trial.
Seacat, 36, of Kingman is accused of intentional murder in the shooting death of his wife, Vashi Seacat, in their home on April 30, 2011. Investigators found Vashi Seacat's body among the charred remains of the home where the couple lived
with their two sons, ages 2 and 4, The Wichita Eagle reports.
Solomon said Wednesday that it's the first time in his 23 years on the bench that he excluded the news media and public from what is normally an open proceeding.
Seacat has pleaded not guilty. His defense team has suggested Vashi Seacat committed suicide, based on a coroner's inability to rule her death a homicide due to severe heat damage to her body.
"I have an extremely small county and an extremely小 jury pool" compared to other counties where high-profile cases have been heard, Solomon said in court. He said he expects 12 to 15 percent of the jury pool will be called to fill out juror questionnaires, which is "unheard of in this county."
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1. Learn about financial and managerial accounting, business and measurement systems, product costing systems and management planning.
2. Prepare yourself for a job in public accounting, auditing, forensic accounting small business management and many others.
3. Talk business in six classes. Enroll in the Business Minor.
FOOD
KU SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The University of Kansas
ACCT 205. Survey of Accounting business.ku.edu/bminor
Federal officials say nothing they have seen so far in the video shows meat from cows that may have been sick made it into the food supply, but interviews with employees were ongoing.
Slaughterhouse under investigation
The suspensions occurred after an animal welfare group's covert video showed cows that appeared to be sick or lame being beaten, kicked, shot and shocked in an attempt to get them to walk to slaughter.
"There are behaviors in the video which appear to be unacceptable and would not adhere to the standards we demand of our suppliers." McDonald's said in release.
FRENSO, Calif. (AP) — The federal government and McDonald's Corp. suspended purchases of meat Wednesday from a California slaughterhouse under investigation for animal cruelty and possible health issues.
The video was shot in June and July by an undercover operative for the group Compassion Over Killing who worked at the plant and also gave a written statement to the USDA about events not
The fast-food chain joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture in severing ties with Central Valley Meat Co.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
"We do know that workers were trying to make non-ambulatory cows not eligible for slaughter go to slaughter," said Erica Meier, executive director of the animal welfare organization. "We believe red flags are raised for sure with our video, but it's up to the USDA to decide."
on tape.
The Hanford slaughterhouse is in the same city where a dairy cow at a rendering plant was discovered in April to have mad cow disease. The USDA said earlier this month it was an isolated case and didn't pose a threat to the food supply.
It's against the law to slaughter a non-ambulatory animal for food out of concern that it could be infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease.
Central Valley Meat Co. primarily slaughters dairy cows that have lost their value as milk producers.
The USDA bought 21 million pounds of beef from the company in 2011 for the national school lunch and other federal food programs.
Records show the government made five large-scale purchases of ground and chunk beef, spending more than $50 million of the total $135 allocated by the government for such acquisitions that year.
This still image made from video provided by Compassion Over Killing, appears to show workers at a Central California slaughterhouse bungling the slaughter of cows. Federal regulators shut down the slaughterhouse Tuesday, Aug. 21,
USDA spokesman Justin DeJong said he did not know to which government food programs the beef was allocated. The meat generally goes to the national school lunch program and food distribution on Indian reservations, and is available for discount purchases by community food banks.
"The department works to ensure that product purchased for the federal feeding programs meets stringent food safety standards and that processors comply with humane handling regulations;" the USDA said in a statement.
The video appears to show workers bungling the slaughter of cows struggling to walk and even stand. Clips show workers kicking and shocking cows to get them to stand and walk to slaughter.
McDonald's also said it had suspended purchases of meat from the slaughterhouse. The company did not immediately say how much meat it had been buying. But a spokesman for the
chain said the percentage of meat purchased from the slaughterhouse was in the single digits.
Regional fast-food chain In-N- Out Burger previously suspended purchases after learning of the allegations of inhumane treatment.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture acted quickly to shut down Central Valley Meat Co. of Hanford on Monday after the video documented the treatment of dairy cows.
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WICHITA, Kan. — A southeast Kansas couple who operate a joint beauty salon and gun shop are facing federal firearms charges.
Joint beauty, gun shop face firearms charges
The U.S. Attorney's office says 50-year-old lefrey Eberhart was charged Wednesday with unlawful possession of a firearm and dealing firesarms without a license. Forty-one-year-old Tracey Hart is charged with aiding a felon in possessing firearms and providing firearms to a convicted felon.
The Eberharts run Traceys Dream Weavers Salon and Sporting Goods in Augusta, which marketed guns to women.
Investigators said Tracey Eebert failed to mention her husband — a convicted felon — when she sought a federal license to sell firearms. Agents reported seeing Jeffrey Eebert selling guns at Dream Weavers' booth at a January gun show in Topeka.
Neither Eberhart has an attorney. A call to their shop was unanswered.