The September 11 Foundation has made the decision to provide humanitarian support to Ukraine and those providing services to the pending refugee population which may number more than a million. We are asking for your donations to help us provide food, medical supplies, and technical assistance to those in need right now.
Former Eugene paramedic Edward Blake was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison.
Blake, a former paramedic with Eugene-Springfield Fire, was sentenced for rape and sodomy charges. The guilty verdict came down January 31st, 2022. His conviction relates only to a single victim though there were questions about whether Blake was serial rapist.
In addition to registering as a sex offender, Blake will serve prison sentence plus eleven years and eight months in supervised release.
During his trial, evidence was presented showing he used EMS drugs including ketamine, fentanyl and morphine to sedate his victims.
Eugene Paramedic Edward Blake Sentenced After Serious Charges
Officials say one woman told investigators Blake told her he was a Eugene Springfield firefighter and sent her photos of medical supplies and medications he claimed to have taken from an ambulance. The woman said she went to a motel with Blake, was choked unconscious and regained consciousness to find an IV in her arm. Blake is accused of drugging the woman with fentanyl and sexually assaulting her while she was unconscious.
Another woman told investigators she obtained controlled substances from Blake and was hospitalized multiple times, and that Blake would come into her hospital room and administer drugs to her through an IV.
“She recalled Blake telling her to sell the drugs, but warned her not to let anyone keep the vials, because they could be traced back to him,” the U.S. Attorney’s statement read.
Should we call the Whitesboro, New York mayor Disney Villain Friedlander?
In the past few weeks we have learned about Robert Friedlander supporting the taxpayer funded give away of fire protection assets including apparatus, equipment, buildings, and land – moves experts say will cost the Village of Whitesboro in the long run, but now citizens have come forward about his lack of leadership on police matters and that he broadcast Disney movies in city parks without authorization and that he did so to fundraise for his reelection campaign.
We have reached out to the Walt Disney Company legal departmentfor comment about their copyright policy. They have yet to respond, but we will publish once they do.
Friedlander Tenure
Friedlander’s tenure is coming under increasing fire given his inability to get FEMA support for residents impacted by local funding and his taxpayer funded give aways of fire protection assets.
Now with the mayor’s fundraising off the back of children to pay for his political ambitions and give aways there are questions about if his leadership and management style are appropriate for the small village near Utica, New York.
Illinois State Police say that Interstate 39 crash between Normal and Minonk were closed for approximately 12 hours Thursday night after multiple crashes – creating involving more than 100 vehicles were reported on snow covered roadways.
According to authorities, the southbound lanes will remain closed throughout the night as crews clean up debris and plow snow from the roadway.
“We are diligently working to ensure motorists are safely escorted from the area to warming centers,” ISP said in a statement.
The crash occurred in Woodford County in the community of El Paso. Officials say that all southbound lanes of Interstate 39 were shut down, with traffic diverted off at exit 14.
Interstate 39 Crash – Another MCI Teaching Moment
The motor vehicle collisions on Interstate 39 are another opportunity to remember Mass Casualty Incidents can happen anywhere at any time. Local fire and EMS agencies must train for these before they happen in your jurisdiction.
Is Mayor Robert Friedlander incompetent or asleep at wheel? Earlier this week we were notified about the Village of Whitesboro giving away fire apparatus and equipment, land, and buildings in a move which may cost taxpayers.
After that story was published we were contacted by two women in the Village of Whitesboro who stated Friedlander’s actions on the fire service were just the beginning. They noted that he has mismanaged the village including not only fire issues, but police protection.
Mayor Robert Friedlander Incompetent?
In December 2021, a Whitesboro police officer was for allegedly surveilling and pulling over a woman without cause.
Officer Thomas Scarafile, 25, was charged with official misconduct, a misdemeanor, and second-degree harassment, a violation, Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara said Wednesday. He was indicted by an Oneida County grand jury and arraigned in county court in December 2021.
Reports allege that while on duty, Scarafile surveilled a waitress in Whitesboro after the two stopped dating.
“He basically started to watch her work,” he said.
Scarafile then pulled her over in the early morning hours of Jan. 18, 2021, on Westmoreland Road in Whitesboro, after which he called in the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office due to the conflict of interest.
“He acted like he didn’t know who he was pulling over,” McNamara said, adding that didn’t match evidence showing he was aware of who was in the car.
The woman was arrested for driving while intoxicated, but the charges were dismissed due to the arrest being without probable cause, McNamara said. He said his office began investigating the incident shortly after the arrest, after receiving anonymous emails about a Whitesboro police officer.
“We don’t believe there was any unauthorized surveillance, whatever that means,” Scarafile’s attorney Kurt Hameline said Wednesday. “He made a legitimate traffic stop.”
Whitesboro Mayor Robert Friedlander provided Scarafile, a full-time officer with the village, with paid leave.
The women who contacted us say this mayor does not pay attention to details and makes poor hiring decisions.
One said, “we should be questioning his judgement when he hires police officers more interested in their personal love life than public safety.”
The woman who’d been pulled over filed a notice of claim against the village and Oneida County Sheriff’s Office, potentially costing the taxpayers of Whitesboro more for the “mayor’s lack of basic human resources skills.”
The Whitesboro residents asked not to be identified for their comments for fear of retaliation by Mayor Friedlander.
A report in Other Side Dallas alleges that Brad Namdar solicited escorts prior to this run for Texas 32nd Congressional District.
Namdar is heavily involved in anti-human trafficking issues and is the leading contender for the Republican nomination for Congress in TX32.
Per local news reports, an escort said she first met Namdar in May 2021 as he was gearing up for his campaign for the purposes of paid sex. This happened twice.
The Dallas Morning News says they were provided with evidence, including videos, of the alleged sexual encounters. The News is not naming her because she fears retaliation from Namdar and his supporters.
The Dallas Morning News also claims to have uncovered allegations through school records that Namdar inappropriately touched a student when he was a teacher and coach at a Dallas high school. Child Protective Services was notified about the alleged incident, but local law enforcement officials said they have no records of such a report.
Namdar has become the favorite in the race given the endorsement of former TX32 Representative Pete Sessions.
In December, Other Side Dallas called him the “prohibitive favorite” and the Dallas Morning News just endorsed him also in the race for the Republican primary to challenge Colin Allred.
However, those in Barry Wernick’s D11 campaign circle described him as a self described “kingmaker.”
Namdar has made his anti-trafficking work central to his campaign. There has been no response from either Governor Abbott or Pete Sessions about the allegations.
Robert Friedlander has some mad on Valentine’s Day 2022. Citizens of New York’s Whitesboro Village are not feeling the love this Valentine’s Day as Mayor Robert Friedlander gave away land, fire engines, and equipment belonging to local taxpayers in a move some experts call “questionable…at best.”
“In other municipalities where an elected official unilaterally gives away city equipment it prompts outside investigations to see what the elected official is receiving for that decision,” said Kathryn Morales, Chief Operating Officer for the September 11 Foundation.
She continued, “these moves almost always cost the taxpayers in the long run either due to corruption or incompetence.”
In jurisdictions in other states like Arizona and Texas there have been significant financial impacts on the municipality when elected leaders choose to give away taxpayer resources. In this case, a building, the land it sits on, and fire apparatus and equipment were all given away.
There is also an underlying concern that this might be a preliminary move to dissolve the village itself by making it financial unsustainable. Currently the Village of Whitesboro relies heavily on income from fire services and levies.
Robert Friedlander Leadership
Friedlander has not responded to a request for comment or clarification, but he is up for re-election in 2022.
Whitesboro citizens would have to rely on outside investigation though as former Police Chief Jason Buley passed away last year and Mayor Friedlander has still not appointed a replacement.
Welcome To The Rock is the opening of the Broadway play Come From Away. We mention them because when September started, we began posting a list of ways to remember September 11.
The full list of suggestions is below. However, we want to make sure we all never forget our neighbors in Canada who responded through difficult circumstances.
One of our board members noted, Come From Away is the “perfect narrative of the hospitality, generosity, and inclusiveness we can all show when we choose to do so. It brings tears to my eyes that it takes a tragedy to come together.”
Come from Away is a the musical tale written by Irene Sankoff and David Hein.
It is set in the week of the Tuesday 9-11 attacks and tells the true story of what transpired when thirty-eight planes were re-routed to the small Newfoundland town of Gander.
The characters in the musical are based on (and in most cases share the names of) real Gander residents as well as some of the 7,000 stranded travelers they housed and fed.
This powerful musical returns to Broadway on September 21st. It is also touring nationally. We hope you will also remember 9-11 by buying a ticket to both keep September 11 alive in our memories and support the arts as they return to the theater.
The production runs in a single act over approximately one hundred minutes without intermission.
Welcome To The Rock And More Ways To Remember 9-11
The 9-11 Foundation supports everyone remembering September 11. We hope this list is of assistance to teachers, community groups, and others who seek a formal process to remember that day’s events.
Today, the 9-11 Foundation asks you to share your experience with September 11 so we all with never forget that day, its challenges, or its heroes.
September 11 isn’t just about tragedy, but about the spirit of America coming together, unified, to assist and help one another. 9-11 while horrible was a shining example of what America can do when it comes together.
Today we ask Americans to share their experiences and their support for us.
Go to Facebook and follow us there. Share your personal story about that Tuesday in September or your donation.
We are also on Twitter and while there are fewer characters to work with we welcome your mentions of our work or lists like this which we think empower our friends and neighbors to take action.
Our Instagram account is relatively new, but we hope you will engage us there too if that is the platform for you.
If you can donate today to our mission we are grateful, but if not we would ask you to consider shopping using an Amazon Smile account which donates funds to us through your every day purchases.
The quickest way to make a difference is spread that message on social media to your friends. It costs you nothing and makes an enormous difference.
Tell your local schools that you want 9-11 responders speaking to your local students. Every year we speak to hundreds of school students about September 11 and how they can make a difference in their community.
We are not pushing an agenda other than the values of teamwork, family, self respect, good decision making, and the importnce of pursuing excellence. If those are lessons you want taught in your community let’s discuss how we can get into your classrooms.
We know America is better when we overcome our own differences whether they are skin color, sex, marital status, religion, and even political identification.
Eleven Ways To Remember 9-11: Share Your Experience and Support
We should never forget 9-11, but we should also never forget we can make a major difference in someone else’s life donating blood today while remembering yesterday.
Donate today and support our mission to remember 9-11 and educate the next generation about the heroism and lessons from that day.
This sounds like a bad fundraising request, but the 9-11 Foundation was formed to never forget 9-11 which means keeping that day alive in the minds of school children not alive for the events that day.
We do that by making September 11 connect to their lives today with lessons on overcoming adversity and challenge, unity, and leadership using skills on display on September 11: family, teamwork, self respect, intelligence, and passion for excellence.
Our speakers have traveled the country speaking to tens of thousands of school students on how they can apply lessons from two decades ago to their lives now.
Donate To 9-11 Foundation
Your tax deductibe contribution is well used. We have earned the Guidestar Gold Seal of Approval for financial transparency and appropriate use of donor funds.
We also know not everyone can contribute. For this we have set up a Smile account with Amazon allowing a percentage of your ordinary purchases to support our mission.
Your support matters whether it is a contribution through our donation portal, an Amazon purchase using Amazon smile, or participating in donor events like North Texas Giving Day, where donors have provided matching funds to money raised in September.
First and foremost, when you contribute to our shared you are making the world a better place. We will help children feel supported and understand what was a confusing situation. We will help communities realize they are neighbors and not just a collection of people.
Your financial support shows kindness and those around you see that. It inspires them in their daily lives too.
Many say the he act of financially helping our charity gives an improved sense of wellbeing. You are sacrificing hard earned dollars, but are doing so to create positive change in the world. This is a beautiful gift and provides purpose in life for many.
Those who support our mission also get the opportunity to build their social circles by working with like-minded people – in some cases current day responders. This improves your overall well being and helps you become healthier and happier.
The mental and spiritual benefits from knowing your contributing to an important national cause are important also.
For some though their motivation is knowing that as an IRS approved public charity your contribution is tax deductible and will both help the next generation understand the tragedy of that Tuesday in September.
It has a financial incentive for you too.
The bottom line is today is less different from twenty years ago than we think it is. Together we united and responded to a horrific series of events that temporarily paralyzed a nation watching the horror, but we united in action.
We united in responding.
We were better working together then and we are better working together now.
Your financial contribution helps us work with the next generation of leaders to not only remember that awful day, but celebrate the successes and use them moving forward together.
We really are better together. We are better united as a team. We are better united as a nation. Help us today.
Eleven Ways To Remember 9-11: Donate
We should never forget 9-11, but we should also never forget we can make a major difference by contributing to our mission today.
