I u ly 30. 2008
Page A2
Church Gunman Hated Liberal Causes
servation" on $1 million bail, Adkisson, who neighbors said
authorities said.
had previously worked as a truck
The Unitarian-Universalist driver, did not expect to leave
church promotes progressive the church alive. He added the
social work, including advocacy man also reported having no
of women and gay rights. The family or next-of-kin.
"He certainly intended to take
Knox vii le congregation also has
Usher shielded others from bullets
(A P)— An unemployed man
accused of opening fire with a
shotgun and killing two people
at a Unitarian church in Ten
nessee apparently targeted the
congregation out of hatred for
its liberal social policies, police
said Monday.
K n o x v ille ,
T enn. P olice
C h ie f Sterling
Owen IV said a
letter had been
been recovered
from the SUV of
JimD. Adkisson,
58, by investiga
tors
seeking
clues about the
motive behind the Jim Adkisson
attack. Authori
ties said he was an apparent
stra n g e r to the T ennessee
church where gunfire punctu
ated a children's performance
based on the musical "Annie."
Two people were killed and
seven wounded Sunday.
"I, appears that what brought
him to this horrible event was
his lack of being able to obtain a
job, his frustration over that and
his stated hatred of the liberal
movement," Owen said at a
news conference.
No ch ild ren
were hurt, but five
people suffered
serious or critical
injuries. A burly
usher who died is
being hailed as a
hero for shielding
others from gun
fire Sunday at the
Tennessee V al
ley Unitarian Uni-
versalist Church.
W itnesses said
some of the men present tack
led a man who pulled a shotgun
from a guitar case before shoot
ing.
Adkisson, who ischarged with
first-degree murder, remained
jailed Tuesday under "close ob-
He certainly intended to take
a lot o f casualties. He had 76
rounds with him.
- Sterling Owen IV, Knoxville, Tenn. Police Chief
provided sanctuary for political
refugees, fed the homeless and
founded a chapter of the Ameri
can Civil Liberties Union, ac
cording to its Web site.
Owen said the letter indicated
Members o f the Tennessee
Valley Unitarian Universalist
Church hug in the parking lot
Monday, one day after a
gunman opened fire at a youth
performance at the church.
Grocery Bag Fee Proposed in Portland
Encouraging reusable cloth bags
grocery bags given out in the
United States are recycled,
said Stephanie Barger, execu
tive director of the Earth Re
sources Foundation in Costa
Mesa, Calif.
And if even people do a
better job of recycling, both
types present environmental
problem s. Plastic bags are
made from oil and don't biode
grade. Paper bags easily de
compose, but it takes trees to
make them.
Part of the money raised
from the fee would help pro
(AP) — City Commissioner
Sam Adams is pushing a plan
to impose a fee on grocery
bags. Paper or plastic.
Adams, who hopes to have
the fee in place before he takes
over as mayor next year, said
he's discussing that the City
Council vote for a fee ranging
anywhere from a nickel to 20
cents per bag.
"It’s a sim ple behavioral
change that we have to ingrain
in ourselves," Adams said.
Only 52 percent of paper
bags and 5 percent of plastic
vide free cloth bags to poor
people. Some would go to
ward city recycling programs
and some would go to stores
for adm inistration and pro
grams to educate consumers
about the fee.
Adams acknowledged that
the switch would represent a
lifestyle change for shoppers,
who would have to remember
to bring theirown bags or pres
sure the cashier to jam the
groceries into the fewest bags
possible — risking smushed
bread.
Portland, however, is not
alone on this issue. In fact, it's
behind other West Coast cit
ies.
In March 2007, San Fran
cisco became the first city to
ban the use o f plastic shop
ping bags.
Los Angeles, meanwhile,
voted Tuesday to ban plastic
shopping bags from stores be
ginning in July 2010. Shop
pers can either bring their
own bags or pay 25 cents for
a paper or biodegradable bag.
And on M onday, the Se
attle City Council approved
on a proposal to implement a
20-cent fee at grocery stores
on plastic bags.
Y o u r fa v o r ite n e ig h b o r h o o d g r o c e r y s to r e n o w d e liv e r s
g r o c e r ie s r ig h t to y o u r h o m e o r o ffic e .
a lot of casualties," Owen said.
"He had 76 rounds with him."
Although the outlook and be
liefs of individual Unitarian
churches can vary dramatically,
most congregations retain a deep
commitment to social justice,
which has led them to embrace
liberal positions over the years.
Unitarians were among the first
to ordain women, support the
civil rights movement and back
gay rights.
Black War Veteran
Dies after Apology
(AP) — An 83-year-old black
World War II veteran died hours
after receiving a long awaited
honorable discharge from the
Army.
Samuel Snow of Leesburg,
Fla., was one of 28 black sol
diers falsely convicted of start
ing a riot that led to the lynching
of an Italian prisoner of war at
an Army base in Seattle during
World War II.
The Army formally apologized
Saturday. The soldiers' convic
tions were set aside, their dis
honorable discharges were
changed to honorable d is
charges and they and their sur
vivors were awarded back pay
for their time in the brig.
Snow had planned to a t
te n d th e c e re m o n y b u t
wound up in a S eattle ho sp i
tal instead because o f a p ro b
lem with his pacem aker. He
died early Sunday m orning,
hours after his son told him
about the apology cerem ony.
John McCain
Barack Obama
Candidates Tackle Urban Agenda
Senators John McCain and
Barack Obama will speak later
this week at the National Urban
League conference in Orlando,
Fla.
Both presumptive presiden
tial nominees have accepted the
invitation to share their individual
plans for an urban agenda, and
to comment on the National
Urban League’s Opportunity
Com pact, the organization's
plan to increase.opportunities
for underrepresented popula
tions.
“We look forward to having
both Senator Obama and Sena
tor McCain at our annual con
ference to present their plans to
help bridge the economic divide
between communities of color
and mainstream America.” said
Marc Morial, National Urban
League president and chief ex
ecutive officer.
McCain is scheduled to speak
on Friday, Aug. 1, and Obama is
slated for Saturday, Aug. 2.
Seeking Donations
An account was opened today by Johnnie B. Will
iams as a donation account to help with the funeral
costs for his grandson Johnnie J. Williams. Refer
ence the Donation Account for Johnnie J Williams
atany branch of US Bank.
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