Be prepared before the storm hits. Learn how to keep yourself and your loved ones safe before, during, and after Hurricane Florence.

2018 Hurricane Season

Hurricane Florence
Be prepared before the storm hits. Learn how to keep yourself and your loved ones safe before, during, and after Hurricane Florence.

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New: Preparedness and Safety Messaging for Hurricanes, Flooding, and Similar Disasters
CDC developed a reference document that contains key messages on hurricane and flood related health threats. The Preparedness and Safety Messaging for Hurricanes, Flooding, and Similar Disasters can help local responders quickly create and adapt health communication products for affected communities. The document contains messages on various topics including food safety, carbon monoxide poisoning, waterborne diseases, and mold.
Hurricane Messaging Toolkit
Share health and safety information with friends and family using our multimedia toolkit: How to Help Loved Ones in Hurricane-Affected Areas.

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Debra Muse, 63, of Wallingford in Fleming County sentenced to five years in prison as part an investigation into pervasive and severe $6 million crop insurance fraud

 Debra Muse (left), 63, of Wallingford in Fleming County sentenced to five years in prison as part an investigation into pervasive and severe $6 million crop insurance fraud

Agent is first sentenced for ‘pervasive and severe’ $6 million crop insurance fraud


By Greg Kocher

gkocher1@herald-leader.com

September 11, 2018

Updated 4 hours 32 minutes ago

A crop insurance agent whose actions defrauded taxpayers of nearly $6 million was sentenced Tuesday to five years in federal prison.

Debra Muse, 63, of Wallingford in Fleming County was the first defendant to be sentenced as part an investigation into crop insurance fraud. She pleaded guilty in April to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of making a false statement and report.

The initial indictment said the loss amounted to $169,000 but court documents filed in advance of the sentencing said Muse “churned out” fake documents and reports to cause the government to pay out $5,917,515 in crop insurance indemnity payments “to producers who did not deserve that money” over the course of 2013 and 2014.

During sentencing, a federal judge considers not only the specific acts for which a defendant is convicted but also considers the scope of behavior involved.

“This investigation has revealed that the abuse of the crop insurance program is pervasive and severe,” a government sentencing memorandum said. “Like any government benefit program, people find a way to abuse and unjustly benefit from the system designed to help those that need it.”

Muse, who must report to prison on Oct. 1, was ordered to pay $1.6 million in restitution. She had no comment after the sentencing.

In addition to working as a crop insurance agent, Muse was employed as a seasonal worker at Clay’s Tobacco Warehouse in Mount Sterling.

For the warehouse, Muse entered information into a software program that tracked the purchases, sales and shipments of tobacco. The government says Muse created false sales bills, shipping reports and tobacco grade reports used in filing fraudulent claims.

As a crop insurance agent, Muse obtained policies for her client farmers. Those farmers, with help from Muse, filed false claims that defrauded the government of $1,656,276. But the government said Muse also helped farmers on insurance claims sold by other agents in the crop years 2013 and 2014. Those claims totaled $4,261,239, the government says.

Co-conspiring farmers profited under the scheme because they were paid twice for each pound of tobacco: once through the false crop insurance claim and also through the sale of unreported, hidden tobacco.

Muse profited by collecting the original insurance commission, by retaining and expanding the business of her crop insurance clients, and by securing business for the tobacco warehouse. Her commissions rose from more than $40,000 in 2013 to $56,879 in 2014, according to testimony during a two-day sentencing hearing.

Six Central Kentucky farmers have been indicted in three other fraud cases pending in federal court in Lexington. Other farmers who have not been indicted are in negotiations to reach a settlement in which they agree to pay damages to the government. One farmer who has already reached a civil settlement with the government is Brandon Overley, Muse’s son-in-law, according to a court record.

The investigation into Clay’s Tobacco Warehouse became public in December 2015 when federal agents raided the Mount Sterling business. Nevertheless, Muse created one false document in January 2016, after the warehouse had already been searched.

“She continued to break the law,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Anderson.

Investigators said some of the warehouse records were obviously falsified to the point of being comical. For example, one customer’s name was listed as “Go Cats.”

But U.S. District Judge Joseph M. Hood interrupted to say from the bench, “I guarantee you, somewhere in Eastern Kentucky there’s somebody named Go Cats.”

Defense attorney John Helmuth had objected to the calculations for the loss amount. Helmuth argued that others had access to a computer at the warehouse and others could have falsified records.

Hood didn’t buy that argument. “She (Muse) used her skills to run this deal. She used her computer skills to do this,” Hood said.

ANOTHER BACKOVER DEATH: 53-year-old Scott Allen Olewski died from blunt force trauma after he was struck by a truck backing up at Bay Valley Foods in North East, PA

53-year-old Scott Allen Olewski died from blunt force trauma after he was struck by a backing up truck

 

SEPTEMBER 7, 2018


North East, PA



Federal safety investigators continue to look into what led to the death of an east county man killed in a workplace accident.

Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook has ruled that 53-year-old Scott Olewski died from blunt force trauma. Olewski was working in the loading dock at Bay Valley Foods in North East when he was struck by a truck backing up.

Olewski was wearing work headphones at the time. Safety inspectors from the occupational safety and health administration are reviewing the case along with State Police.

Bay Valley Foods is a leading provider of private label foods and food service goods in North America.

Look closely the next time you visit a grocery store or happen into a restaurant kitchen. Most likely, you’ll see our products there. We’re Bay Valley Foods, a leading provider of shelf stable foods, including pickles, relish, non-dairy coffee creamers, salad dressings, marinades and BBQ sauces, cheese sauces, puddings, aseptic broths & stocks, salsa and picante, and special sauces. Our customers rely on us for quality private label products, strong regional brands and reliable foodservice products and shelf stable foods. 

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By Tim Hahn

September 2, 2018

The man was pronounced dead on Friday night. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.

NORTH EAST, PA — 

The Pennsylvania State Police and the Erie County Coroner’s Office are investigating the death of an Erie man who was killed in a workplace accident at a North East Township business on Friday.

The 53-year-old man, whose name has not been released, died after he was hit by a truck while working around a loading dock at Bay Valley Foods, Erie County Deputy Coroner John Maloney said Sunday. Bay Valley Foods is located on Parkway Drive, off Loomis Street east of North East Borough.

Emergency responders were called to the business after the incident was reported on Friday at 5:45 p.m., according to East Erie County Emergency Communications. Maloney said he pronounced the man dead at the scene at 7:02 p.m. Friday. An autopsy will be performed on Tuesday, he said.

State police in Lawrence Park Township confirmed on Sunday that they are investigating the incident but did not release any other information.

A spokesman for Bay Valley Foods parent company TreeHouse Foods Inc. on Sunday confirmed the incident and expressed sympathy to the man’s family. He said the company is working with the authorities in their investigation.

Michael Don Tuntland, 66, an employee of Barney’s Sooper Markets in Spokane, Washington, was coming down a ladder, missed a rung and fell. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Michael Tuntland, an employee of Barney’s Sooper Markets in Spokane, Washington,  was coming down a ladder, missed a rung and fell.  He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Michael Don Tuntland, 62

Michael Don Tuntland, 62, passed away far too soon on Monday, Sept. 3, 2018, at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Wash. Mike was born to Donald Tuntland and Beverly (Wendlandt) Hanks in Spokane on Nov. 3, 1955, after the birth of his older brother, Ken and before his younger brother, Jon. Mike’s first chapter of life was full of him and his brothers raising hell, constantly doing everything they could to keep their mother on her toes and living a youthful Idaho life to its fullest.

Mike married Kelly Corey in 1981 (amicably ending in 2003), and two years later began his second great chapter in life — and what he would consider his most important — fatherhood. His daughters, Lindsey and Brianna (“Bri”), were born in 1983, followed by his youngest, Kristina (“Kristi”), in 1986. From his daughters’ first breaths until his last, Mike gave every ounce of his heart to his kids. His daughters lived a childhood with a remarkable father who unconditionally stood in their corner and supported them through the good, the bad and the unknown.

As his daughters grew older, he returned to one of his greatest passions — riding his motorcycle. He felt a harmony on two wheels that gave him endless joy in the rare times that he wasn’t working, with his family, reading a great book, or simply giving his time to anyone who needed a helping hand.

One by one his daughters married (Lindsey to Eli Neidig, Brianna to Beau LaTourette and Kristi to Graham Hanson), and then the third and most precious chapter of his life began — grandparenthood. Over the course of five years Mike had six granddaughters: Tenley (7), Mia (6), Sloane (5), Sienna (3), Molly (2) and Camryn (2). The light in Mike’s eyes when he saw his grandkids could only be rivaled by the love and laughter those girls showed him when he pulled up on his motorcycle, wrestled them to the ground, gave them mustache kisses, or rocked them to sleep to the sound of classic rock. The man who likened himself to a rough, beer-drinking, motorcycle riding, tattoo-sporting (a flower for every granddaughter), gun-loving, rock and roll-blaring Idaho good ol’ boy was completely melted by the smiles and love of the daughters and granddaughters that made his life whole. Though far too premature, Mike’s life ended just as he would have wanted, surrounded by the daughters that gave him his life’s absolute joy.

In his usual selfless manner Mike didn’t want services on his behalf. Instead, his family will be hosting a celebration of life at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018, at the Fort Ground Grill. The family asks only for you to bring a story about Mike that will help honor the life and legacy he leaves behind.

Mike was preceded in death by his father, Donald Tuntland and his infant nephew, Barney Tuntland.

It appears that Tuntland was more than employee.  His father built the Barney's Sooper Market chain, now known as Barney's Harvest Foods.

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Donald E. TUNTLAND
Obituary



 
TUNTLAND, Donald E. Passed away on May 11, 2013 in Lewiston, ID. He was born on August 18, 1931 to Barney and Elvina Tuntland in Shields, ND. He spent his childhood in Montana before moving to Spokane in 1942. Donald graduated from West Valley High School in 1949 and attended WSU. 

He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1951 and after his discharge from the service he returned to Spokane. He joined his father in the grocery business and went on to build the Barney's Sooper Market chain, now known as Barney's Harvest Foods. He retired from the company in 1990. 

Donald served as a board member for URM Stores, Inc. for 24 years. He moved to Lewiston ID in 1975. He started a furniture manufacturing company, Contempo in Clarkston, WA, which he operated with his wife Sandra. He later sold the company in 2009 and retired full time. 

Donald is survived by his wife of 28 years, Sandra of Julietta, ID; sons, Ken, Mike and Jon all of Post Falls, ID; eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Richard and his great-grandson, Benjamin Michael. The Tuntland family will have a celebration of Donald's life on Saturday, June 22nd at the Quality Inn, 700 Port Ave. in Clarkston, WA at 2:00 PM. He will be greatly missed by his family and many friends.

MENTALLY ILL POLICE OFFICERS ARE POLICING THE STREETS: An on-duty Chicago police officer, 47-year-old sergeant, Steven Bechina, fatally shot himself on the Near West Side.

On-duty CPD officer kills self while sitting in vehicle on Near West Side 


Bechina’s apparent suicide comes months after another police officer, a 36-year-old man, shot himself in a patrol car with his service weapon. The officer killed himself after “battling personal hardships,” Guglielmi tweeted in July.

By Tom Schuba


An on-duty Chicago police officer fatally shot himself Monday afternoon on the Near West Side.

The 47-year-old officer, Steven Bechina, was found unresponsive inside his vehicle in the first block of North Desplaines, according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead, police said.

An autopsy Tuesday found Bechina died of his wound and his death was ruled a suicide, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Bechina was a sergeant in the Chicago Police Department’s Mass Transit Unit, police said.

“Our hearts are heavy and deepest condolences are with his family and fellow officers tonight,” Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted.


He is survived by his wife, Lori; his children, Marty and Luke; his mother, Noreen; his sister, Kim (Jim) Galbraith; and his many nieces, nephews, friends and young athletes he coached.
============================


A police sergeant in Chicago fatally shot himself in a squad car while working on Labor Day, officials said.

Steven Bechina, 47, was found unresponsive in his vehicle by fellow officers Monday afternoon in the city’s West Loop. He was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition but was later pronounced dead, the Chicago Sun-Times reports, citing police and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Anthony Guglielmi, a police department spokesman, confirmed the officer’s death Monday on Twitter.

“Devastating news as an on duty #ChicagoPolice officer has taken his own life this evening,” Guglielmi wrote. “Our hearts are heavy and deepest condolences are with his family and fellow officers tonight.”

There’s no indication that anything job-related — such as a call for service or an encounter with a citizen — played a role in Bechina’s death. The officer used his own service weapon in the shooting, Guglielmi told The Post early Tuesday.

Bechina’s apparent suicide comes months after another police officer, a 36-year-old man, shot himself in a patrol car with his service weapon. The officer killed himself after “battling personal hardships,” Guglielmi tweeted in July.

“Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and certainly his police family,” Guglielmi told the Chicago Tribune at the time. “We know they’re very affected. The superintendent talked to those folks today. It’s very difficult for us and we’ve made awareness about suicide a priority because we know we’re one of the departments with the highest rates of suicide.”

Chicago, CPD Police Officer Steve Bechina Commits Suicide By Fatally Shooting Himself In Squad Car On Labour Day In Downtown Chicago

The father of three reportedly shot himself in a squard car as American marks 2018 Labor Day on Monday the 3rd of September 2018.

47-year-old Steve whose lifeless body was found by a fellow officer was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead moments later.

Steve’s apparent suicide comes months after another officer fatal shot himself in a patrol car with his service weapon after struggling with untold hardships.