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From the Washington Times

Congo ex-general said to be recruiting child soldiers again

by Rukmini Callimachi

DAKAR, SENEGAL — A Congolese general already sought on an international arrest warrant for his reputed use of child soldiers during an earlier conflict has forcibly recruited an additional 149 boys and teenagers since April, according to a Human Rights Watch investigation published Wednesday.

The children and teens were abducted from their homes and schools, from fields and the sides of roads in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo . They were beaten if they resisted, complained or walked too slowly, according to the report.

Several of the boys said that once they joined the ranks, they were forced to walk in front so that they would be the first to be ambushed or shot at.

Once a feared warlord, Bosco Ntaganda joined the Congolese army in 2009 as a general following a peace deal that paved the way for him and his men to be integrated into the military.

He was allowed to live freely in the provincial capital of Goma, where he played tennis and dined at top restaurants despite an International Criminal Court ( ICC ) indictment for war crimes said to have been committed by troops under his command in 2003, including the forced recruitment of children.

Last month, however, the agreement between the former warlord and the Congolese government disintegrated, and he and his troops defected.

He is thought to be the force behind a new rebel group that now is fighting the Congolese government in the district of Masisi in Congo 's wild east, a zone of thick jungle cut by skinny trails.

Human Rights Watch estimates that between 300 and 600 soldiers followed Gen. Ntaganda in his mutiny. Since mid-April, they have forcibly recruited an additional 149 boys and young men ranging in age between 12 and 20.

“ Bosco Ntaganda is once again committing the very crimes against children for which the Hague-based ICC has been demanding his arrest,” said Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch .

The U.N. estimates that at least 45,000 people have since fled their homes as a result of the fighting, including across the border into Rwanda.

Gen. Ntaganda has been sought by the ICC since 2006 in connection with war crimes, including the use of child soldiers in active combat in 2002 and 2003 in the Congolese district of Ituri, where he led another armed group.

It was only after his defection from the army in April that Congolese President Joseph Kabila made a speech suggesting that the Congolese government would consider arresting Gen. Ntaganda , reversing years of refusal to do so on the grounds that Gen. Ntaganda was necessary for the peace process.

This week, the chief prosecutor of the ICC announced that he is seeking an expanded indictment against Gen. Ntaganda , which will include additional charges of murder, persecution based on ethnic grounds, rape, sexual slavery, and pillaging in connection with his activities in Ituri in 2002 and 2003.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/16/congo-ex-general-said-to-be-recruiting-child-soldi/

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U.S. lowers threshold for lead poisoning

New standard puts more kids at risk

by Mike Stobbe

ATLANTA — For the first time in 20 years, U.S. health officials have lowered the threshold for lead poisoning in young children.

The new standard announced Wednesday means that hundreds of thousands more youngsters could be diagnosed with high levels of lead. Too much lead is harmful to developing brains and can mean a lower IQ.

“Unfortunately, many, many more parents will be getting bad news,” said Rebecca Morley , executive director of the National Center for Healthy Housing , a Maryland-based nonprofit focused on hazards to kids in homes.

The standard is for children younger than 6. Recent research persuaded experts and government officials that young children could be harmed from lead levels in their blood that are lower than the old standard.

Really, “there is no safe level of blood lead in children,” said Christopher Portier , who heads the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 's environmental health programs.

The CDC announced the change Wednesday, adopting recommendations made in January by an advisory panel of experts. At the same time, CDC officials acknowledged they don't have additional funds to help doctors or local health departments do more testing of children or find and clean up lead contamination.

Lead poisoning is detected through a blood test. The change means poisoning will be defined as 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. The old standard was 10 micrograms.

Under the old standard, lead poisoning in children had been declining in the U.S. Experts estimated that somewhere between 77,000 and 255,000 children had high levels of lead, though many of them are undiagnosed. The change could raise the count to 450,000 cases.

Lead — a metal that for years was common in paint and gasoline — can harm a child's brain, kidneys and other organs. High levels in the blood can cause coma, convulsions and death. Lower levels can reduce intelligence, impair hearing and behavior and cause other problems.

Usually, children who get lead poisoning live in old homes that are dilapidated or under renovation. They pick up paint chips or dust and put it in their mouth. Lead has been banned in paint since 1978. Children have also picked up lead poisoning from soil contaminated by old leaded gasoline, and from dust tracked in from industrial worksites.

Most cases of lead poisoning are handled by tracking and removing the lead source, and monitoring the children to make sure lead levels stay down. A special treatment to remove lead and other heavy metals is used for very high levels.

Specialists describe children as having lead poisoning only at those very high levels, but others use the term more broadly to describe any child with levels that can affect intelligence or cause other harm.

The CDC's threshold was last changed in 1991. The new standard was calculated from the highest lead levels seen in a comprehensive annual U.S. health survey. The CDC plans to reassess that level every four years.

Health officials have been focused on young children, who are most affected by lead poisoning. For older children and adults, there is no lead poisoning threshold, although pregnant women should have blood lead levels below 5 micrograms to protect the developing baby. Most cases in adults come from manufacturing jobs or hobbies, but those numbers have also been declining.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/16/us-lowers-threshold-for-lead-poisoning/

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FBI probes bomb plot leaks

U.S.-bound airliner was terror target

by Jerry Seper

The Washington Times

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III told a Senate committee Wednesday the bureau is investigating the source of leaks about a plot by al Qaeda terrorists to place a sophisticated explosive device aboard a U.S.-bound airliner.

In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. Mueller - in his first public confirmation of the investigation - said leaks threaten ongoing law enforcement operations, put the lives of sources at risk, make it harder to recruit sources, and damage relationships with foreign law-enforcement partners.

“We have initiated an investigation into this leak” and “will investigate thoroughly,” Mr. Mueller said.

Earlier this month, the Associated Press and other news organizations reported the CIA had thwarted a plot by al Qaeda operatives in Yemen to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner using a bomb with a sophisticated new design. The attack was planned to coincide with the first anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden .

The plot, according to federal officials, was an upgrade of the underwear bomb that failed to detonate aboard a jetliner over Detroit on Christmas Day 2009. The new bomb also was designed to be used in a passenger's underwear, but this time al Qaeda developed a more-refined detonation system, the officials said.

The new bomb did not contain metal, meaning it probably could have passed through an airport metal detector, and it was unclear whether new body scanners used in many airports would have detected it. The would-be suicide bomber, based in Yemen, actually was a double agent working with the CIA and Saudi intelligence agencies.

At the time, the FBI said only an improvised explosive device (IED) designed to carry out a terrorist attack had been seized abroad as the result of “close cooperation with our security and intelligence partners overseas.” The bureau said the FBI had possession of the IED and was conducting technical and forensics analysis on it.

“Initial exploitation indicates that the device is very similar to IEDs that have been used previously by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in attempted terrorist attacks, including against aircraft and for targeted assassinations,” the FBI said.

The White House acknowledged at the time that President Obama had learned of the plot in April and was assured the device posed no threat to the public.

The AP discovered the thwarted plot in early April, but agreed to White House and CIA requests not to publish it immediately because the sensitive intelligence operation was ongoing. Once officials said those concerns were allayed, the AP disclosed the plot despite requests from the administration to wait for an official announcement.

It remains unclear who built the new bomb, but because of its sophistication and its similarity to the Christmas bomb, authorities suspected it was the work of master bomb maker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri.

Al-Asiri constructed the first underwear bomb and two others that al Qaeda built into printer cartridges and shipped to the U.S. on cargo planes in 2010. Both of those bombs used a powerful industrial explosive and both were nearly successful.

Last week, Mr. Mueller urged the reauthorization of an act passed by Congress in 2008 - but slated to expire at the end of this year - that lets federal authorities conduct warrantless searches. He told the House Judiciary Committee the law allows the collection of vital information about international terrorists “while providing a robust protection for the civil liberties and privacy of Americans.”

Mr. Mueller said the FISA Amendments Act (FAA) gave law enforcement authorities wide-ranging surveillance authority to target terrorism plots as al Qaeda and its affiliates continue to scheme to attack U.S. sites. He said records seized from Osama bin Laden 's compound in Pakistan, as well as the recent conviction of an al Qaeda operative plotting to conduct coordinated suicide bombings in New York, confirmed that the group was committed to renewed attacks.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/16/fbi-director-probe-under-way-leak-al-qaeda-plot/

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Inside the Ring: Terrorists' antics

by Bill Gertz

The Washington-based legal group Judicial Watch earlier this month sent an investigator to Guantanamo Bay Naval Air Station , Cuba , to watch the May 5 arraignment of Khalid Shaikh Mohammad (aka KSM ) and four others accused of plotting and executing the Sept. 11, 2001, airline attacks.

Judicial Watch outlined the disruptive tactics of the five terrorism suspects, who stretched out the proceedings for 13 hours through a series of deliberate delaying actions.

The four others on trial in Cuba are Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash , Ramzi Binalshibh , Ali Abdul Aziz Ali , and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi . All are charged with terrorism, hijacking aircraft, conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, and destroying property in violation of the law of war.

Judicial Watch stated in notes provided to Inside the Ring that the disruptive tactics included:

• Refusal to wear any of the listening devices provided for the purpose of simultaneously interpreting into Arabic everything said in open court.

• Refusal to answer the judge's direct questions as to whether the listening devices were working, whether the attorneys provided by the U.S. government at no charge on the defendants' behalf were acceptable to them, and whether they understood the charges against them.

• Smiling, giggling, gesturing, talking, passing notes and even sharing a magazine among the five accused. Additionally, reputed mastermind KSM - who sat at the front table on the defense's side of the courtroom - used a bold marker to make signs that he hung from a computer screen and microphone at his station in view of his followers sitting directly behind him.

Linguists complained during the hearing that touching the microphone caused static that impaired their ability to hear and interpret the proceedings. They also complained that side conversations further prevented them from hearing and interpreting the proceedings.

• Abruptly rising to engage in a repetitive stand, bend, kneel pattern of prayer at times not related to any recognized worship obligations.

c Removing clothing while engaging in a verbal outburst to allege mistreatment in confinement. Bin Attash also claimed that former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was being detained at Guantanamo. Gadhafi was killed by Libyan rebels in October.

Another oddity: A defense attorney donned a black head covering and full-body gown known in the Middle East as an abaya.

Lawyer Cheryl Bormann , who has said she is not Muslim and was a Chicago public defender before the Cuba proceedings, urged the court to order that the female members of the prosecution team, including a Navy lieutenant who wore a service dress-blue uniform, be ordered to wear similar Muslim garb out of respect for the religious duties of her client, Bin Attash .

“The strangest incident, however,” according to Judicial Watch , “may have been a defendant's parting greeting toward a transparent divider at the rear of the courtroom.”

“Beyond the transparent divider sat a handful of the 9/11 victims' surviving family members who had been invited to observe the proceedings in person,” the notes stated.

“ Eddie Bracken , whose sister was killed in the World Trade Center prong of the attack, said at a press conference held the following morning that Binalshibh mocked his sister's death by smiling and giving Bracken a thumbs-up sign the night before. Although a thumbs-up gesture generally means approval or agreement in the United States, in the Middle East the sign is considered obscene and symbolizes an insult … .”

The five defendants attempted to plead guilty in October 2008, but those pleas were voided after the Obama administration sought to move the case to the Justice Department .

The defendants said through their attorneys that they are refusing to participate in the proceedings to protest the legitimacy of the military tribunal.

The presiding judge at the hearing was Army Judge Col. James Pohl, who granted the defense's request to start the death-penalty trial no earlier than May 5, 2013.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/16/inside-the-ring-terrorists-antics/?page=all#pagebreak

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From the L.A. Times

7 deputies from L.A. County sheriff's gang unit placed on leave

All are suspected of belonging to the alleged Jump Out Boys secret clique that celebrates officer-involved shootings. Investigators are trying to determine if they committed serious misconduct.

by Robert Faturechi, Los Angeles Times

May 17, 2012

Seven deputies from the Los Angeles County sheriff's gang unit have been placed on leave on suspicion that they belong to a secret clique that celebrates shootings and brands its members with matching tattoos, sources confirmed.

The move is a sign of the intensifying nature of the investigation of the "Jump Out Boys." Suspicion about the group's existence was sparked several weeks ago when a supervisor found a pamphlet describing the group's creed, which promoted aggressive policing and portrayed officer shootings in a positive light.

Days after The Times reported on the discovery of the pamphlet, the captain of the division gathered his deputies for a private briefing, during which he told them that they had shamed the department by forming the group and urged those responsible to identify themselves, a source with knowledge of the unit's inner workings said.

At some point, one deputy came forward, and named six others, said sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing.

All seven of those deputies were placed on leave with pay sometime this week. Internal affairs investigators are trying to determine whether the deputies violated Sheriff's Department rules or committed serious misconduct.

The deputies under scrutiny have all worked on the Gang Enforcement Team, a unit divided into two platoons of relatively autonomous deputies who target neighborhoods where gang violence is high, locate armed gang members and take their guns away.

Investigators are looking at whether the deputies sported matching tattoos. The suspected design of the tattoo was obtained by The Times and confirmed by two sources: It includes an oversize skull with a wide, toothy grimace and glowing red eyes. A bandanna is wrapped around the skull, imprinted with the letters "OSS" — representing Operation Safe Streets, the name of the larger unit that the Gang Enforcement Team is part of. A bony hand clasps a revolver. Investigators suspect that smoke might be tattooed over the gun's barrel after a member is involved in a shooting.

One source compared the notion of modifying the tattoo after a shooting to a celebratory "high five."

Despite the disturbing allegations, sources say there is currently no evidence that the men were involved in improper shootings or other misconduct. Still, the revelations have heightened concerns. What investigators are most concerned about isn't the alleged tattoos, but the suspected admiration they show for officer-involved shootings, which are expected to be events of last resort.

The department has long grappled with unsanctioned cliques inside its ranks . Last year, the department fired half a dozen deputies who worked on the third, or "3000," floor of Men's Central Jail after the group fought two fellow deputies at an employee Christmas party and allegedly punched a female deputy in the face.

Sheriff's officials later said the men had formed an aggressive "3000" clique that used gang-like three-finger hand signs. A former top jail commander told The Times that jailers would "earn their ink" by assaulting inmates. This week, two former jail supervisors told a county commission created to examine jail abuse about troubling deputy behavior.

One said jailers ignored orders from direct supervisors, preferring instead to listen to rank-and-file deputies who had worked at the jails for several years and earned the informal title of "OG," short for "Original Gangster."

Another testified about becoming alarmed by how large numbers of deputies assigned to the same floor made it a habit to arrive and leave work together and not mix with colleagues from other floors. "This is reminiscent of a gang…. This is how gang members act," said retired Lt. Alfred Gonzales.

The Jump Out Boys, sources said, was a name coined by Compton-area gang members alluding to how quickly deputies from the unit would jump out of patrol vehicles to stop them.

One source with knowledge of the inner workings of Operation Safe Streets said the deputies placed on leave this week consist of current and former Gang Enforcement Team members.

Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore confirmed that seven deputies were placed on leave, but declined to discuss the details of the probe. "We took the appropriate action and we will continue to take the appropriate action," he said. "It's still early in the investigation."

Whitmore said placing so many deputies on leave over one incident hasn't happened since the 2010 Christmas party fight involving the "3000" deputies . He said the action is one of the largest mass leaves ever ordered by the department.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sheriff-clique-20120517,0,1187715.story

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Drug smuggling border tunnels targeted in new get-tough law

by Richard Simon

WASHINGTON — Responding to an increase in smuggling tunnels along the California and Arizona borders, the House on Wednesday passed legislation aimed at helping law enforcement combat underground drug trafficking.

In a rare bipartisan vote, the House overwhelmingly approved the Border Tunnel Prevention Act.

President George W. Bush in 2006 signed legislation making it a federal crime to build or finance a cross-border tunnel to smuggle drugs, illegal immigrants and weapons.

Sponsors of the new bill said the 2006 law needs to be strengthened because tunnels are still being discovered -- 40 in California and 74 in Arizona since 2006, according to federal officials.

The legislation would make it a crime to attempt or conspire to build, finance or use an illegal cross-border tunnel. It would allow law enforcement to seek judicial approval to use wiretapping in investigations of the tunnels and permit seizure of cash or other property brought into the U.S. in an illegal tunnel. It also would allow prosecutors to pursue money laundering charges in tunnel cases.

"This bill reaffirms our determination to bring an end to cross-border tunnels," said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas).

Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas), the bill's chief sponsor, said it would close loopholes in existing law and "improve the tools available to investigate and prosecute individuals who construct cross-border tunnels."

A similar bill has passed the Senate.

Its chief sponsor, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), pledged to work to move a final bill to President Obama 's desk.

U.S. agents use a range of devices from ground-penetrating radar to seismic sensors to try to find and destroy tunnels.

"But despite these efforts, drug smugglers continue to build the tunnels, often spending $1 million to dig a single pathway equipped with lighting, ventilation, water pumps, and hydraulic elevators," according to a House Judiciary Committee report.

Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), a House Judiciary Committee member who was one of the dissenters in the 416-4 vote, questioned whether the legislation was needed.

"While I do think border tunnels are a serious problem, I believe we already have adequate laws with very harsh penalties to deal with the problem," he said.

The 2006 law was passed after the discovery of a tunnel spanning nearly half a mile from a nondescript industrial building in Tijuana to an Otay Mesa, Calif., warehouse and equipped with lighting, ventilation and a pulley system.

It made it a federal crime, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, to build or finance an illegal cross-border tunnel, and subjected property owners to a maximum 10 years in prison for allowing construction of a cross-border tunnel on their land.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-border-tunnels-20120516,0,3836865.story

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From Google News

Ore. county cutting law enforcement to bare bones

GRANTS PASS, Ore. – A failed levy vote in an Oregon county is taking a toll: government workers facing dismissal, a pending prisoner release, and crimes such as misdemeanor domestic assault and shoplifting likely to go unprosecuted.

A day after Josephine County voters resoundingly turned thumbs down on a levy to plug a $12 million budget gap, the sheriff and district attorney began handing out pink slips Wednesday, cutting staff to levels probably not seen since the region was settled during the 1850s Gold Rush.

"We're going to wreck the train here and see how we can put it back in the future," Stephen Campbell, district attorney for the Southern Oregon county, told The Associated Press.

The sizeable budget gap was left by the expiration of a federal safety net for timber-reliant counties such as Josephine.

As a result of the cutbacks, the routine areas of law enforcement — drunken drivers, domestic abuse, shoplifting and car wrecks — will likely be where people see the loss of sheriff's patrols and prosecutors first.

Losing four of his nine prosecutors, Campbell is working out a list of which crimes he will be able to prosecute, and which he will not. Most misdemeanors will not be prosecuted. That includes minor assaults, such as from domestic disputes, and minor thefts. Domestic abuse rises to a felony if it is done in front of the kids. Resisting arrest will still be prosecuted, as will some drunken driving. But reckless driving, menacing, driving while suspended, probably not. Even some felonies won't go to court.

"The list is pretty long," Campbell said. "I have been telling the budget committee for years now that I can't carry out my mandate as it is. There is a segment of cases that are declared violations, which we don't prosecute, that are prosecuted in most counties of the state. That has already been happening. This is even worse."

With a population of 83,000, Josephine County is in the heart of Oregon timber country. It grew up first on gold, then on timber, which reached a peak in the 1980s, then collapsed with logging cutbacks on national forests in the 1990s to protect the northern spotted owl and salmon from extinction. The logging cutbacks reduced revenues for Josephine and other timber counties in the West. Many still see a return to logging as their best hope.

In 2000, Congress enacted a law that set up a safety net for timber-reliant counties like Josephine. That law expired last year. A one-year extension has a chance to pass Congress, but even if it does, it will only provide $4 million to Josephine County, not enough to make up for the loss of the levy.

With its failed vote on Tuesday, Josephine County was the first to try to compensate for the loss of the federal timber subsidies by raising property taxes. Neighboring Curry County is considering asking voters to approve a sales tax in the fall.

Josephine County Sheriff Gil Gilbertson handed out pink slips Wednesday to 70 deputies and civilian personnel, leaving him with just 28 after June 1. That will require releasing about 90 inmates from the jail in the coming weeks, leaving 30 people behind bars. Those being held are considered the greatest risk to the community.

There will be no more detectives, no more road deputies, and just one dispatcher. Contract deputies will still patrol the city of Cave Junction, federal lands and the Rogue River during the day, because they are funded by outside revenues. Gilbertson will be the only county lawman on call around the clock. For backup, he can call on the contract deputies during business hours, but otherwise will have to wait for a state trooper, which could take more than a half hour.

The Illinois Valley Safehouse Alliance logs about five incidents a week where sheriff's deputies are called to a domestic disturbance, and gets about 40 victims a month, said Grace Auzenne, a domestic violence advocate for the organization. With no one but the sheriff himself to call around the clock, no jail space to hold offenders, and no prosecution, the problem is sure to escalate, she said.

"All in all it's not looking good for rural areas," she said.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/17/ore-county-cutting-law-enforcement-to-bare-bones/

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New Jersey

Neighbors improve Birches West community

by Melissa DiPento

Last October, Kathy Raroha worked with Washington Township's community policing officers to try to establish a town watch group in her 900-home development, Birches West.

A few residents came with Raroha to the meeting, including Michelle Jones.

The two began to talk about their community and how to make it better. And a few months later, they had formed a non-profit community group, the Birches West Neighborhood Alliance.

Members began to come together in January, and soon enough, the group was planning cleanup days and spring flings.

“We wanted to bring the neighborhood together to raise greater awareness and give people a place to go with concerns,” Jones, the group's vice-president, said.

Jones said neighbors on her street have a relationship, but she wanted to see it grow to the entire neighborhood.

“From my own experience, when neighbors know each other, there's trust. We're trying to get that sense of community where we look out for one another,” Jones said.

The group has a whole laundry list of initiatives they'd like to see come to fruition, but they're starting small.

The group has goals to clean up the neighborhood, have a sign placed at the neighborhood's entrance, build a playgroup and community garden, as well as add trashcans, pet spaces and benches.

So far, they can cross one item off their list.

Last month, the group hosted a cleanup day behind Thomas Jefferson Elementary. Jones said she and her neighbors uncovered a wooded area near the stream.

“Once we went down, we found an overwhelmingly beautiful spot with potential,” she said.

The group hopes to get some help with lawn maintenance in the area to create some walking trails.

The group aims to hold two cleanup days a month. But that's not all they're working on.

The Birches West Neighborhood Alliance has created seven committees to focus on various improvements throughout the community.

There's the neighborhood watch committee, the event planning and welcoming committee, the beautification committee and the fundraising and business liaison committee.

There's also a representative from the government liaison committee who attends township meetings and reports back to the group.

The communications committee is responsible for upkeep of the website and Facebook page.

And there's the youth involvement committee, which members cant wait to see get off the ground.

“We want the youth in the neighborhood involved, to get their perspective,” Jones said. “We want something for kids to do to occupy their time.”

The group, Jones added, runs entirely off of donations. They recently held their first spring fling event, which boasted more than 30 crafters and vendors, activities for kids, an informational table about Birches West Neighborhood Alliance, auctions and free police fingerprinting services for kids.

There's more coming this fall, Jones added, with plans for a fall festival and community yard sale.

“Word is getting out. It takes a little while, but we're getting positive feedback,” Jones said.

Mayor Barbara Wallace, the Washington Township Police Department and Democratic Assemblyman Paul D. Moriarty have been supportive of the group's efforts, Jones added.

“Everything we've had, the mayor's been on board,” said Raroha, the group's president. “It's old school Washington Township (to have individual neighborhood groups) and she'd love to bring it back.”

Raroha said the response from neighbors has been great so far. She said she envisions neighbors knocking on doors, even if it's just for a cup of sugar.

“My thought – the community has to see we care ourselves before they start caring. It's been great,” Raroha said.

For more information or to get involved, email info@bircheswest.org. The group's website is bircheswest.org. They can also be found on Facebook at facebook.com/BirchesWest.

http://sj.sunne.ws/2012/05/16/neighbors-improve-birches-west-community/