11 Temmuz 2012 Çarşamba
Are counties on the hook for debt issued by 'nonprofits' they create to oversee jail bonds?
10 Temmuz 2012 Salı
9 Temmuz 2012 Pazartesi
Scroggins, Euelle D. 'Pete' (ca. 1927 - 30 Dec 2011) [tba]
Euelle D. "PETE" Scroggins, Published in Houston Chronicle on January 5, 2012 {Legacy]EUELLE "PETE" SCROGGINS (1927 - 2011)
Euelle D. "PETE" Scroggins of Thorsby, AL passed on Dec. 30, 2011 at age 84. Loving husband to Margaret Goo-Scroggins of Hilo, HI and dedicated father, he is survived by his beloved wife of 51 years, daughter Suzie, sons Mark & Scott, grandson Marcus, Sons-in-law Glenn, Chris & Carlos and beloved Chihuahua Timmy.
Retired SIU Seafarer, caring husband, father, grandfather and friend he fought valiantly to the end. We were blessed to have been at his bedside holding his hands and praying over him as he passed away peacefully to be with God.
Services are on Sat. Jan. 7, 2012 at Corpus Christi Catholic Church 9900 Stella Link Houston, TX. The Rosary will be said at 1:15 p.m. & Mass at 2:00 p.m.
Published in Houston Chronicle on January 5, 2012
Scroggin, Eddie 'E.S.', Jr (22 May 1919 - 10 Jan 2012) [49765]
Scroggin, Eddie 'E.S.', Jr, , Record added: Jan 10, 2012, Find A Grave Memorial# 83240776Eddie "E.S." Scroggin, Jr
Birth: May 22, 1919
Center Ridge
Conway County
Arkansas, USA
Death: Jan. 10, 2012
Little Rock
Pulaski County
Arkansas, USA
Eddie "E.S." Scroggin Jr of Little Rock was born May 22, 1919 in Center Ridge Arkansas to parents Eddie S. Scroggin Sr. and Jewell Dickson Scroggin and passed away on January 10th, 2012 in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is preceded in death by his parents and his wife of 70 years Geneva Scroggin with whom he has been reunited; his son Dwayne Scroggin; grandson David Lynn Scroggin and granddaughter Sara Alysha Wilson and a brother Donald Freeman and a sister Lucille Roy
Mr. Scroggin was a veteran of WWll and was a HAM Radio Operator, WN5QAT, which was his favorite pass time. He was also a member of Park Hill Baptist Church.
He leaves to cherish his memory his children David Scroggin of Hot Springs Village; his daughter Deanne Hooker and her husband Mark of Maumelle 8 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren.
The family will receive friends for a Life Celebration from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM on Friday, January 13th, 2012 at Griffin Leggett Rest Hills Funeral Home, 7724 Landers Road in North Little Rock
Burial:
Unknown
Created by: KL
Record added: Jan 10, 2012
Find A Grave Memorial# 83240776
Scrogin, Martha Jane Wilson (19 Aug 1924 - 8 Jun 2012) [23816:J]
Date: July 3, 2012
Page: 5
Record Number: d54df5537babcbf650c6665eb1604d1d
Copyright 2012 Mexico Ledger. All Rights Reserved.
Scroggins, Roger Dale (27 Feb 1956 - 30 Jun 2012) [41239:C]
Published in Ukiah Daily Journal on July 8, 2012 [Legacy]Roger Dale Scroggins 56, passed on June 30th 2012. Devoted husband of 31 years to Teri Scroggins of Rohnert Park. Loving father of Summer (Gene) Morgan, Jessica (Sean) and Lacey Scroggins. Grandfather of Hunter and Jordyn. Son of Margie [39861] and the late Onnie Scroggins [39847]. Brother of Larry (Linda) and Steve (Cindy) Norton, Sandy [41330] (Greg) Erickson, Kim [41331] (Jim [41332]) Neustel and several nieces and nephews. He was a retired heavy equipment operator and was known as the go to guy for hard jobs. He loved the outdoors and enjoyed camping with family. Everyone loved listening to him play guitar and sing music by the fire. He loved hunting and fishing. He had a reputation for working entirely too hard. He enjoyed watching baseball and loved coaching his girls. He was a true country boy inside and out, and will be missed by all who knew him.
Published in Ukiah Daily Journal on July 8, 2012
Scrogin, Maxine Louise Solomon (7 Dec 1923 - 3 Jul 2012) [51273:J]
Published in Appeal Democrat [Marysville, CA] on July 8, 2012 [Legacy]Maxine Louise Scrogin
December 7, 1923 - July 3, 2012
Maxine was born to Ray and Sarah Solomon on December 7, 1923 in Caldwell, Idaho. She was one of 11 children.
Maxine passed peacefully into the presence of her Lord while she slept Tuesday, July 3, 2012. She is preceded in death by her loving husband of 57 years, Harold Scrogin [40483], who passed away November 18, 2010.
She had a large and adoring family and is survived by her children, Peggy Bowen (Ken), of Williams, and Jack Rentz (Freddie) of Live Oak as well as 11 grandchildren and 21 great grandchildren, and her brother William Solomon of San Dimas.
She met and married her first husband, Jack M. Rentz in 1940 in Denver, Co., where their two children were born.
The family moved to Southern California in 1945. Eight years later, while moving to Live Oak, where they were building their business, Jack died in an accident.
Maxine finished construction and continued running the business and later opened and operated her own dress shop.
She married Harold, a Live Oak local, in 1953. Together, the couple ran a farming operation and spent many wonderful years full of fun, laughter, and dancing.
Her family remembers her as a loving and godly example, dedicated to teaching, supporting, encouraging and loving her children and grandchildren, which she considered her life's greatest joy and investment.
She did various bookkeeping and tax preparation jobs, and also served as the long-time secretary for the Live Oak Cemetery District.
Maxine was a wonderful student who loved school and graduated at the head of her class. Her love of learning was something she carried with her throughout the rest of her life and she looked forward to her daily crossword puzzles (which she always did in pen).
Her sudden death leaves behind an emptiness in each of the hearts of those who loved her, but all are thankful for the many precious memories and lifetime of love shared with "Nana". Although missed, her family is thankful for the reassurance that "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord", and are comforted in the knowledge that "to live is Christ, to die is gain."
Visitation will be at Ullrey Memorial Chapel on Monday, July 9, 2012 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Internment will be private with a memorial service to be held at a later date.
Published in Appeal Democrat on July 8, 2012
8 Temmuz 2012 Pazar
Poor training, low-quality certification and high error rates dog police canine units
 |
| Via Simple Justice. |
Dog-sniff evidence is problematic because dogs can't be cross examined. There's wide variation in their accuracy, not to mention the quality and quantity of their training. And dogs naturally pay careful attention to cues from their handlers, creating a significant risk of false positives. Since no attorney will ever get a dog on the witness stand, the other elements (accuracy, training, and methods to avoid cues from the handler) have been critical to the creation of probable cause in previous court decisions. Unfortunately, the bar on all those measures is lowering rapidly.
Courts already accept dog "alerts" as a legitimate basis for a search, even when the dog regularly "alerts" where no contraband is found. In this story out of Roanoke Virginia, a dog name Bono found drugs "just 22 times out of 85 'alerts'," or 26% of the time, and yet a judge upheld the search. Arguing that the dog's performance was actually better than the statistics tended to show, prosecutors in Bono's case argued the dog should get credit for some "hits" that found no contraband, claiming that: "In some cases where nothing was found after an alert by Bono, police later determined that drugs had been in the vehicle earlier, likely leaving an odor the dog was trained to detect." The judge accepted that argument, but even granting such a (highly dubious) premise, Bono's alerts were clearly mistaken half the time, and in another quarter of his hits he's detecting traces that did not actually indicate drugs were present. That fact undermines the US Supreme Court's past rulings (e.g., US v. Place) which upheld dog sniffs in part because they disclose "only the presence or absence of narcotics, a contraband item." In Bono's case, his "hits" mistook the absence of drugs for their presence nearly 3/4 of the time.
Detecting drugs that used to be in the location is not the same as detecting contraband presently in a suspect's possession. In Texas, Deputy Keith Pikett claimed his dogs could distinguish smells in "scent lineups" up to 17 years after the sample was gathered, so if you take that preposterous claim at face value (as many Texas prosecutors have) heaven knows how long the lingering odor of marijuana might trigger a "hit"? If I buy a car from a pothead and years later a cop runs a drug dog around it, will the dog still signal that marijuana is there? Should that constitute probable cause to search my car today? That's the logic of the Roanoke court.
The judge in Bono's case upheld the dog sniff as probable cause mainly because, while the dog "may not be a model of canine accuracy," police were justified in acting on it because of the "dog's training and flawless performance during re-certification sessions." Unfortunately, even flawless performance means different things to different agencies.
A case out of Florida which will be argued before the US Supreme Court this fall will determine whether drug-sniffing dogs may be used to glean probable cause outside someone's home without a warrant. The Florida Supreme Court's ruling being challenged by the state made the following argument to say mere certification was insufficient to demonstrate dogs' competence, because:
conditioning and certification programs vary widely in their methods, elements, and tolerances of failure. Consider, for example, the United States Customs Service regime:
The Customs Service puts its dog and handler teams through a rigorous twelve-week training course, where only half of the canines complete the training. Customs Service dogs are trained to disregard potential distractions such as food, harmless drugs, and residual scents. Agents present distractions during training, and reward the dogs when those diversions are ignored. The teams must complete a certification exam in which the dog and handler must detect marijuana, hashish, heroin, and cocaine in a variety of environments. This exam and the following annual recertifications must be completed perfectly, with no false alerts and no missed drugs. If a dog and handler team erroneously alerts, the team must undergo remedial training. If the team fails again, the team is disbanded, and the dog is permanently relieved from duty.
In contrast, the testimony below disclosedthat Razor and his handler had undergone just one initialthirty-day training course and one week-long annualrecertification course. In neither course was Razor conditionedto refrain from alerting to residual odors. Whereas the CustomsService will certify only dogs who achieve and maintain aperfect record, Razor's certification program accepted aseventy percent proficiency. These disparities demonstratethat simply characterizing a dog as "trained" and "certified"imparts scant information about what the dog has beenconditioned to do or not to do, or how successfully. (Emphasis in original, citations omitted.)CBS News' 60 Minutes addressed the subject of low-quality training for sniffer dogs in a 2009 story:
"We don't have a set of standards," says Auburn University professor Larry Myers, one of the country's leading experts on canine detection programs.Meanwhile, Scott Greenfield at Simple Justice brings word of a drug-dog case from across the country in Nevada that should give everyone pause. Nevada state troopers have sued their superiors, alleging that:
He believes there is insufficient regulation and no universal tests for the dogs: "We honestly don't have a set curriculum. We've got to get everybody up to some minimal agreed level."
He also says there are good programs that turn out reliable dogs, but some produce dogs that make lots of mistakes -- and even tell lies.
"They can tell you that something's there, that's not there, simply to get praise, to get food, to get whatever they're working for," says Myers, who adds that canine programs are supposed to train dogs specifically to avoid that problems like that. "It is a tremendous problem. We have trainers that can't train. Dogs are being used that can't --don't know how to do anything."
Do trainers have to be licensed? "In some programs, yes. And in most programs, no," says Myers.
This means that poorly trained dogs and handlers are working in many parts of the country.
the drug-sniffing dogs used by troopers in the program were intentionally being trained to operate as so-called trick ponies, or dogs that provide officers false alerts for the presence of drugs.Dogs naturally pay very carefully attention to their people. They've been doing so for millenia. In Nevada, troopers are accused of intentionally teaching the dogs to alert based on their cues. Which raises the question: How can any court ever determine whether a dog alerted to the smell of drugs, an intentional or unintentional cue from their handler, or for that matter the package steaks recently purchased by the suspect? As pointed out in a recent article from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers' trade journal:
The dogs were being trained to alert their handlers by cues, instead of by picking up a drug's scent by sniffing, the complaint said. When a dog gives a false alert, this resulted in illegal searches and seizures, including money and property, the complaint said.
Dogs are not motivated in the same way as humans. Dogs have no interest in ridding the world of illegal drugs. Dog trainers, including police K-9 trainers, use treats, toys and praise to reward dogs when they do what they have been conditioned to do. If a police K-9 alerts, it gets a reward. K-9 handler/trainers know this, and the dogs quickly learn that an alert results in a reward in most instances, even if nothing is found.Even if such cues are not intentional, the fact is that dogs seek to please their handler raises questions of inherent bias, particularly when the dog's "hit rate" is as low as Bono's above. As the NACDL article pointed out, "If law enforcement or magistrate judges, who are presumed to be impartial, were to be similarly incentivized, it would constitute violations of the Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments." To the dog, after all, it's all just a game in which they want to find reason to alert in order to get a reward. To law enforcement and those targeted, though, it's not a game at all, even if federal jurisprudence on the subject has been mostly a joke.
Tribune finds prosector misconduct in nearly a quarter of Texas exonerations
The Texas Tribune analyzed 86 overturned convictions [from the National Registry of Exonerations], finding that in nearly one quarter of those cases courts ruled that prosecutors made mistakes that often contributed to the wrong outcome. This multi-part series explores the causes and consequences of prosecutorial errors and whether reforms might prevent future wrongful convictions.Here's a notable tidbit:
Between 1989 and 2011, at least 86 Texas defendants including Loveless and Miller had their convictions overturned, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. In an extensive analysis of court rulings, news reports and pardon statements, The Texas Tribune found that in nearly one-quarter of those cases — 21 in total — courts ruled that prosecutors made mistakes that in most instances contributed to the wrong outcome. The wrongfully convicted in those cases spent a combined total of more than 270 years in prison. (See an interactive presentation with details about all the cases.)See related Grits posts:
- What can the Texas Legislature do to reduce prosecutor misconduct?
- Two suggestions, one radical, one modest, on prosecutorial reform
- Did prosecutor misconduct shift balance of power to Dems in the US Senate?
- Judge: Prosecutorial misconduct warrants new trial in 1997 capital murder case
- Texas Monthly roundtable on innocence, punishing prosecutors
- A 'perverse' position on prosecutors fabricating evidence ... from the Obama Administration
- State Bar should sanction prosecutor from Michael Morton case but almost certainly won't
- Oddsmaker: When judge finds willful Brady violation, what are chances state bar will discipline?
- Blackwell: Texas state bar 'not set up to oversee prosecutors'
- Michael Morton, John Thompson highlight prosecutor misconduct forum
- Study: Prosecutor misconduct in Texas rarely disciplined
- Transcript of interview with Prof. Jennifer Laurin on prosecutorial oversight
- Professor Jennifer Laurin previews forum on prosecutorial misconduct
- Why aren't prosecutors held accountable when courts find knowing misconduct?
- Eliminate judge-made immunity for prosecutor misconduct
- SCOTUS seems indifferent to prosecutorial misconduct
- Legislature should limit immunity for sleazebag prosecutors like Charles Sebesta
- Prosecutors seldom disciplined for misconduct; can they be held liable in civil court?
- Prosecutors ask SCOTUS for 'absolute immunity' when fabricating evidence
- Prosecutorial hubris, entitlement, on display in recent cases
- Improving prosecutorial accountability
- What sanctions for prosecutors who cheat to win?
'Brady violations' sometimes stem from police misconduct instead of prosecutors
"The pendulum is at its very farthest point in its swing toward maximizing prosecutorial power," says Scott Henson, a policy advisor for the Innocence Project of Texas and the author of Grits for Breakfast, a Texas criminal-justice blog. "We're at the point where all these grants of power to prosecutors have started to create, basically, false positive errors in the system where we're falsely accusing people," he says. And all venues for remedy — the courts and the State Bar, basically — are "neutered and unable to deal with it."One of the examples mentioned by Minora was Kerry Max Cook, who has not yet been formally exonerated but was unquestionably the victim of prosecutor misconduct. The story quoted from a 1996 Court of Criminal Appeals opinion declaring, "the State's misconduct in this case does not consist of an isolated incident or the doing of a police officer, but consists of the deliberate misconduct by members of the bar, representing the State over a 14-year period — from the initial discovery proceedings in 1977 through the first trial in 1978 and continuing with the concealment of misconduct until 1992."
The Observer story also hones in on an underlying issue that's less frequently discussed - police withholding exculpatory evidence not just from the defense but from the prosecution team. "While police give prosecutors a thin file of relevant information, the complete, fat file stays in the department with documents that may be useful" or sometimes, exculpatory.
Prosecutors are obligated to hand over all exculpatory evidence and the courts consider "Brady" material any exculpatory evidence held by any government agent, not just what's in the prosecutor's file. When police fail to hand over exculpatory evidence, it will still be dubbed a "Brady violation" and hence prosecutorial misconduct in court, but in some cases the prosecutor may be unaware the evidence exists. Shannon Edmonds of the Texas District and County Attorneys Association recently told Grits that, according to an internal review, about half of Brady violations stem from prosecutors withholding evidence and the rest from police never giving the information to prosecutors in the first place.
Obviously Grits doesn't believe prosecutors should be sanctioned by the State Bar unless they knowingly withheld evidence. But since they rarely punish prosecutors, the much greater problem is that, even when knowing violations are committed - and even when they're acknowledged by appellate courts as in Kerry Max Cook's case - prosecutors still face no consequences. Edmonds' boss, Rob Kepple, told Minora he thinks the term prosecutorial misconduct is "used too broadly" to include mere mistakes. That may be true in some instances, but from an official perspective, Grits believes the State Bar in particular doesn't apply the term nearly often enough.
Texas bucks national trend on state-level use of wiretaps: Feds do 98% of them
In contrast, by Grits' count federal judges approved 104 wiretaps in Texas during calendar year 2011, of which 102 were narcotics cases and two related to "corruption." About four in 10 (41) federal wiretaps in Texas resulted in arrests, but several involved dozens of people. The largest, out of Texas' Northern District, resulted in 41 drug convictions. Motions to suppress wiretap evidence succeeded just six times and were denied 16 times.
In all, federal authorities arrested 411 people in Texas in 2011 based on wiretaps resulting in 164 convictions, including 29 arrests and 21 convictions in corruption cases. (Data compiled from these tables, pp. 90-99, large pdf.)
I'm not sure why Texas judges are bucking the national trend of approving more wiretaps than the feds, but by these data the feds in Texas are making up quite a bit of the difference, particularly in the Western District on narcotics cases.
RELATED: Via TDCAA, see "A primer on wiretaps, pen registers and trap and trace devices," which provides a bit of additional process detail regarding state-level wiretaps. "Each of Texas’ nine judicial regions has a designated district court judge authorized to sign interception orders. Statutorily, our ability to seek a wiretap is limited to the offenses of capital murder, murder, child pornography, and felony drug offenses other than possession of marijuana," wrote Fort Bend ADA Jeff Strange in 2009.
The TDCAA article also give some interesting background on pen registers and trap and trace devices, use of which is not documented in the US Courts wiretap report:
A pen register or trap and trace device, unlike a wiretap, does not require a finding of probable cause. The application must simply state under oath that the installation and use of the device will likely produce information material to an ongoing investigation. The application must further identify the telephone subscriber and the relevant phone number and carrier. The application may be reviewed by a district court judge in the jurisdiction of the requesting agency, the location of the device, telephone subscriber, or communications carrier.
Should a pen register or trap and trace appear to be useful in an ongoing investigation, it is a good idea to seek the assistance of a local Texas Ranger or DPS investigator. Any peace officer may apply for a pen register, but the application must be filed by the appropriate elected prosecutor unless the requesting peace officer is employed by the Texas Department of Public Safety or is “commissioned by the department.”
Not only does a pen register show outgoing and incoming phone numbers, but if tracking a cellular phone, it also identifies the cellular antenna and sector that the cell phone is using at the beginning and end of the call. Thus, a pen register has some utility tracking people, usually people with warrants for their arrest. A pen register is also a good source of investigative intelligence. If a known suspect and his phone are identified, a pen register can provide the identities of potential co-conspirators. After a completed crime, if a known suspect is on the run, a pen register helps identify potential destinations, allowing police to prepare a warm welcome for the wayward crook.
Like wiretaps, pen registers and trap and trace devices can be installed on an emergency basis, again, allowing officers to obtain verbal authorization and file the appropriate application within 48 hours.
Snitching here, there and yon
First, the New York Times Magazine ran an item last week titled "A Snitch's Dilemma," also publishing an interview with the reporter who wrote the extensive story. The feature focused on Alex White, an informant, drug dealer and hustler in Atlanta who outed several crooked cops (three went to prison) in order to protect himself after a drug raid on the wrong house resulted in police shooting a 92-year old woman named Kathryn Johnston, after which police planted marijuana in her house. Radley Balko, who followed the case closely when it happened, has a good discussion of new revelations in the article. See additional, recent coverage of the case from the Tallahassee Democrat.
Also, earlier this year the Miami New Times ran a three part feature (here, here, and here) about Bosco Enriquez, a former juvenile gang member whose cooperation with police resulted in his being beaten with baseball bats and later raped while in federal custody before being deported. Opined the reporter, "I have spent the past two months combing through mountains of dusty court files that document Enriquez's case, as well as the personnel file of Serralta, the officer who recruited the boy. The result is an outrage. Local educators and police, as well as federal immigration authorities, failed this kid. Cops both in Miami and across the nation need more oversight when they use children to snitch. The current system stinks."
Commenting on Enriquez's story, Prof. Natapoff wrote, "Juvenile informants often incur terrible risks with little or no protection from the legal system. For an indepth look at the phenomenon, see Andrea Dennis, "Collateral Damage? Juvenile Snitches in America's Wars on Drugs, Crime and Gangs," 46 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 1145 (2009)."
Natapoff also recently pointed out another academic article focused on a watered-down reform law in Florida, dubbed Rachel's law after a murdered informant, arguing that the central provisions eliminated before passage gutted the heart of the much-ballyhooed reform measure. "The Boston College Journal of Law & Social Justice has published this note, Toward Efficiency and Equity in Law Enforcement: 'Rachel's Law' and the Protection of Drug Informants. It focuses on an important provision in Rachel's Law that was eliminated, that would have required police to provide potential informants with counsel." See earlier Grits coverage of the measure.
5 Temmuz 2012 Perşembe
Everything You Want to Know About Silhouette Artists
Silhouette art is not old-fashioned, it appears to be as trendy as ever. Yet, great silhouette artists are hard to find, and there are only a handful of excellent cut-paper profilists in the world today. The world’s best silhouette artists can be found easily on the internet, by googling the word silhouette artist. The first 8 names listed from the only 20 or so real silhouette artists in existence today, most likely are each an accomplished silhouette artist, in varying ability.
In home decorating, you see life-sized silhouettes of all colors, themed into the décor, stamped out on canvas. The clever decorator will just send in profile photos and find a company on the internet, that can turn this into a large framed art piece. But is this a real silhouette? According to America’s premier silhouette artists, Cindi Harwood Rose and Kathryn Flocken, it is not. Cindi Rose, a high quality silhouette artist for 40 years says, “While these computer stamped silhouettes from photos may add a personal touch to a room, they should not be confused with the artwork of silhouette hand-cutting from life, an art difficult to master.” Kathryn Flocken, writes, in her book, Silhouettes Rediscovering The Lost Art,” In the modern age of photography, film and digital art, silhouette portraiture and design is fast becoming a lost art.”
Silhouette artist Cindi Harwood’s sister, Holly, a natural artist, and former professional silhouettest says, “It is rare to find a real silhouette artist, who can observe someone, and capture their likeness, without sketching, or using a shadow, just with paper, scissors, and talent. My family inherited their art talent from our mother, a profile artist and architectural designer.” Kathryn Flocken’s mother was also an artist, and she, Cindi, and Holly all cut silhouettes for Disney. An amazing fact is that hand-cut silhouettes were the first animation. The first cartoons were silhouettes and were done from many popular stories, “Jack and The Beanstalk, Snow-White, Cinderella were all silhouetted by Lotte Reiniger, in the 1930’s, Cindi Rose, explains. Disney has had a long relationship with real silhouette artists, and often that is the only place one can find one. A silhouette artist, can improve their natural art abilities, after first drawing portraits from life. These skills can’t be taught, they are developed from innate art talents. Most silhouette artists began cutting and drawing portraits as children, and cutting silhouettes after seeing someone do it, without taking a lesson in the art. There are no lessons. The art just can’t be taught.
“ Tracing a subject’s profile from a wall, and sketching it, then cutting the shape out of black craft paper, school-teacher-style is not an art, it is the ugly stepsister, without the grace and intricacy or introspection that a real silhouette artist can apply to someone’s profile paper interpretation. The work is distorted, like a shadow, and the image is less than who the person is, “ says C. H. Rose. A real silhouette shows more than the person, it goes into the psyche of the individual, and it speaks volumes.
The white lines are cut-out, and the more interior details, the better the artist, in most accounts.
Emma Ruterford in The Art of the Shadow quotes the globe’s foremost silhouette artist in history as Monsieur Augustin Edourt as stating that silhouette artistry done freehand, “was a sophisticated portrait so accurate it could be used for scientific purposes.” To learn more about a current silhouette artist and compare their different skills, Google silhouette artist, and compare, you can also watch videos on You Tube of the various silhouettests of this decade, as well as the fabulous silhouette animations of Lotte Reiniger.
Symphonic Silhouettes for the Symphony League!
Symphonic Silhouettes for the Symphony League!
Around 50 lovely young ladies entered the world of volunteerism to support their local symphony, and to escorted with their proud fathers at a black-tie event. Silhouettes by Cindi was honored to do hand-cut profile portraits of over 250 philanthropists
at Beaumont’s exquisite Symphony Belle Ball. This classical league raises more money than any other symphony league. It was a marriage, classical silhouettes matched with timeless classical music.
Silhouette Artist Cindi Rose
Cindi Harwoood Rose is a psychic silhouette artist who by sight goes into the fourth dimension and hand-cuts a profile of individuals, healing them, and making them look like themselves, while she captures their spirit, and can guide them and inspire them while she works, as the gift of this art is G-d given.
Not only does Cindi Rose have the world speed record, in hand-cutting profiles from French silhouette paper, she is the only artist in the world that has the antique, authentic paper which is over 50 years old. Cindi Rose donates proceeds to the Rose Ribbon Foundation (501) ( c ) (3) soon to be Holly Rose Ribbon Foundation in honor and memory of her sister, Holly Harwood Skolkin, who died a week ago from a 15 year struggle with breast cancer, which went to her liver. With Holly’s love, and support while alive, they created the cancer foundation to offer wholeness of spirit and body to others with critical opportunities of all sexes, ages including wigs, eyebrows, breast reconstructed, support groups, recipes, plus the idea of giving blessings. Cindi and her husband, Dr. Franklin Rose, a reconstructive and plastic surgeon, started the foundation 7 years ago, while Holly was alive. Cindi has been doing “Silhouettes for Survivors” and was made an American Hero for that from American Profile Magazine. She goes to stores and boutiques, and they set up silhouette days, and the money goes to the foundation. A former Walt Disney artist, and fine art honor graduate, Cindi has been drawing portraits since 8 years old and began cutting silhouettes for Disneyland at 16, without a lesson. There are no lessons for the real silhouette art, which is carving a profile from sight in a minute from black paper, in miniature, without a sketch or light, freehand. Cindi Rose, the world’s best silhouette artist also holds the world speed record—144 people in one hour. The Guild of Papercutters ranks Cindi Harwood Rose as the world’s premier silhouette artist. She has done silhouettes over 40 years, her sister Holly could do silhouettes, their mother was a fine artists, architect, and papercutter, and the artwork just came to Cindi, while working as a teen drawing portraits at Disneyland.
Silhouette Artist Holly Harwood Skolkin Passes Away
Holly Harwood Skolkin passed away peacefully at home on February 10, 2012 surrounded by her family. Holly was born in Houston on June 22, 1952, to Doris Zellda and Earl Isadore Harwood. She had a happy childhood with sisters and best friends, Bonny and Cindi.At the University of Texas, Holly was an active member in Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority where she made many lifelong friends. She became a skilled silhouette artist, cutting freehand facial profile likenesses of people from Houston to Disneyland.
Following graduation in 1974 with a degree in photojournalism, she began a distinguished career in medical photography. Holly worked in the Ophthalmology Department at the University of Texas-Houston, Baylor College of Medicine, and Emory University where she produced world class fluorescein angiograms and ophthalmic ultrasounds. She served on the National Board of The Society of Retinal Angiographers.
After the birth of her children, her professional career was subrogated to raising Dayna and Emory, the joys of her life. She shared with them her love of Judaism, ethnic foods, movies, and family vacations. She adored her many nieces and nephews. Her guiding message, a variation on the Beatles lyric, was "in the end the love you make should be more than the love you take".
She involved her family and friends in her many mitzvah projects, including The River and Aishel House, two organizations for which she was a founding board member. She treasured her extended family in Hadassah and at Congregation Beth Yeshurun.
Her spirituality and optimistic attitude helped her battle stage 4 breast cancer for nearly 15 years. She was a role model, companion, and confidante for numerous cancer patients and their loved ones. It was often a difficult journey, one that inspired the creation of the Rose Ribbon Foundation by sister, Cindi, and brother-in-law, Dr. Franklin Rose, in her honor.
She was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her husband, Mark, children, Dayna and Emory, and sisters, Bonny Cotlar and husband David, Cindi Rose and husband Franklin, and their children.
The family is most grateful to her many caregivers over the years, including doctors Richard Theriault, Gerry Cypress, and Rush Lynch, as well as Elena Velasquez and her friends in the Nursing Department at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital. Those who wish to make a memorial contribution are encouraged to support the Aishel House, Rose Ribbon Foundation, Congregation Beth Yeshurun, Friends of Nursing at St. Lukes.
Rest peacefully, our Holly Dolly, and know that we will miss you and the world is a better place because you were here.
To see the article on line, click here:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/houstonchronicle/obituary.aspx?n=holly-skolkin&pid=155830035&fhid=11226
Disney Silhouette Artist, Holly Harwood Rose passes away.
Disney Silhouette Artist, Holly Harwood Rose passes away.
Considered by many as one of the universe’s kindest people, and perhaps, highest evolved souls, former silhouette artist, Holly Harwood Skolkin passes peacefully. Holly, was the daughter of Doris and Earl Harwood, a fine artist, and attorney. Holly was always upbeat and precious, and very talented, in all arts. She is survived by her sister, Bonny Cotlar, an intellect and humanitarian, and Cindi Harwood Rose, an internationally acclaimed silhouette artist, who also worked for Disneyland and Disneyworld. Holly’s struggle with stage 4 cancer for over 15 years, inspired Holly, Cindi, and Cindi’s husband, Dr. Franklin Rose, a renowned plastic and reconstructive surgeon, to form The Rose Ribbon Foundation 501 ( c ) ( 3 ), a non-profit which provides free reconstruction to those uninsured and underinsured. Holly remarkably was able to help others throughout her cancer opportunity, giving blessings, and doing good deeds. She was also an accomplished photographer, who became a master at inner-eye photography and diagnosing disease. Some of her peers claim that Holly Harwood Skolkin was one of the first to detect AIDS in the eye, from photos she had taken. Her husband, Dr. Mark Skolkin, is a famed radiologist, who stood by her side throughout her long sickness. It was amazing how she would find pleasure in bringing food to those sick, when she was sick, or buying clothes for the poor, but not buying clothes for herself. More than 1,400 came to her funeral, and she was buried in 1 ½ days. She is survived by her beautiful children, Emory, who works in development at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital and Dayna, a nursing student at University of Texas in Austin. Holly was an incredible mother, friend, wife, and sister, great artist, award winning photographer, and ICON in the realm of giving to many causes. She especially loved the Aishel House which provides kosher meals, housing, transportation, and child care to critically sick families who come to Houston for its wonderful medical center, considered the best in the world. Another cause that Holly served on the board on is The River, which provides art, dance, and theatre lessons to children with challenges and disabilities, including Down Syndrome, loss of sight, CP, CF, hearing impaired.
Some people call Holly, “Holly Lama, Wholy Holly (for making ill people feel whole), Holly Dolly, a guru, a saint, a mensch, and a Tzadic. Her huge smile and bright eyes, and kind heart, shown even moments before she passed. Because of her legacy, and inspiration the Rose Ribbon Foundation will soon be called the Holly Rose Ribbon Foundation. Presently, it can be found at roseribbonfoundation.org and donations can be made on-line. Silhouettes can be ordered as donations by logging on to silhouettesbycindi.com to contribute towards Silhouettes for Survivors. For more information on Holly and Cindi, check out American Profile Magazine’s story on Cindi Harwood Rose’s silhouettes for cancer survivors. Holly Harwood Skolkin
was a hero, a humanitarian, and perhaps, the most loved human on earth. Her good deeds will live on forever, she is a silhouette of a lovely, kind, great human, some say one of the top 12 souls that walked the earth of this generation.
4 Temmuz 2012 Çarşamba
Remembering When...
Hi Cindi,
I just saw you photo on my aunt’s Facebook page (Betty Jukes) … then clicked through to your website. In the late 70s (maybe early 80s) I worked for your art business at AstroWorld. Perusing your website brought back memories of a fun summer during college when I worked two day jobs to earn extra spending money for the fall – then went to the fun summer job drawing portraits until park closing. That seems like so long ago, and yesterday – time is odd that way J
Living in Delaware with husband & daughter, enjoying life as a “big bank marketer” ... and just reaching out to say “hello”,
All the best,
Margaret (Jukes) Boone
Collars for a cause
Collars for a cause
Be sure to stop by Momentum tonight for the great charity “Collars for a cause”. My daughter, Erica Rose, and I created a few hand-jeweled pet collars to donate, and I donated a framed animal and pet silhouette, I handcut and framed. Diane Caplan Brown will love you to attend, check the invite out on Facebook. Pictured is Hampton and Shayna, and a Chinese cat silhouette papercutting, to show two art styles, one thousands of years old, another a few hundred years old, but both contemporary herilooms at any time or in any culture.
Silhouette Wedding Wonderful Review by Sue Anne McKinney
Silhouette Wedding Wonderful Review by Sue Anne McKinney
"Amazing" was the comment we heard over and over from our guests at our daughter's wedding last night. Cindi's talent is remarkable and we had guests that would not leave (even after bride and groom were gone!) until they had their silhouette done by Cindi. The catering staff and the venue staff all commented on the uniqueness of her talent and how well it went with a wedding reception. The portraits were beautiful and likenesses so accurate. Our guests and our daughter and son in law left with a special gift that will last a very long time. Thank you, Cindi!
Client Feedback from a Wedding
Client Feedback
Cindi was truly an amazing woman to work with. She flew from Houston to Denver to cut silhouettes at my wedding reception and it was truly the event of the night. All the guests loved her and thought that the idea of getting your silhouette cut was such a unique idea. The guests also loved sitting and chatting with her and she made the wedding such a wonderful experience. She is a true professional in how she handles herself and we are so lucky to have had her at our wedding! Our wedding silhouettes turned out beautifully and we hope Cindi all the best in the future. We even got to meet her husband and he was also very sweet. I would recommend Cindi to anybody!
Customer Ratings
On a scale of 1 to 5 (1=lowest, 5=highest), how would you rate Cindi Harwood Rose in terms of their professionalism? 5
On a scale of 1 to 5 (1=lowest, 5=highest), how would you rate Cindi Harwood Rose in terms of their overall talent? 5
On a scale of 1 to 5 (1=lowest, 5=highest), how accommodating was Cindi Harwood Rose in handling special requests for your event? 5
On a scale of 1 to 5 (1=lowest, 5=highest), how strongly would you recommend Cindi Harwood Rose to a friend? 5
Loving Silhouettes by Cindi Rose
Whether you are surprising a loved one with a silhouette fine art gift, or having an art expanding experience, Cindi Harwood Rose’s silhouette artistry can capture cherished events, and individual’s profile features and expressions, as shared in this customer review by Alexander Moore.Client Feedback
My fiance, my daughter, and I sat for silhouettes and I simply could not be more pleased with the experience. I thought I would feel a bit overwhelmed by her fame (she is the world's fastest, has done Queen Elizabeth, etc), but Cindi was entertaining and amiable, a joy to be around, and every bit as elegant and refined as I expected. My daughter learned a lot about art and poise from the experience. Her work is both classic and contemporary, like Cindi herself, actually. We'll cherish the gorgeous silhouettes for a long, long time, bargains at twice the price, and likely ask her to be a part of our wedding, too. Cindi was the perfect choice, hands down.
Customer Ratings
On a scale of 1 to 5 (1=lowest, 5=highest), how would you rate Cindi Harwood Rose in terms of their professionalism? 5
On a scale of 1 to 5 (1=lowest, 5=highest), how would you rate Cindi Harwood Rose in terms of their overall talent? 5
On a scale of 1 to 5 (1=lowest, 5=highest), how accommodating was Cindi Harwood Rose in handling special requests for your event? 5
On a scale of 1 to 5 (1=lowest, 5=highest), how strongly would you recommend Cindi Harwood Rose to a friend? 5
And finally, on a scale of 1 to 5 (1=lowest, 5=highest), how would you rate your overall satisfaction with Cindi Harwood Rose? 5
2 Temmuz 2012 Pazartesi
We Tree is Four Years Old
I started this blog as a conversation with myself since nobody around me wanted to talk genealogy with me. If you look at the majority of my posts, I still write that way. This is my outlet and I'm cool with that.
I also used this blog as a tool to publicize some of my more unusual surnames in an attempt to reach out to new cousins. I'm pleased to say that I've been rewarded 100 times over in this department. Sure I've received photos and records, but I've also met and corresponded with so many friendly cousins. This has been the best part of blogging.
What I didn't expect was to be part of a vast growth of genealogy blogging. I've met so many other genealogists this way and I love my blogger friends.
One of those friends even encouraged me to write a book on genealogy blogging so I did!
Thank you to my readers, those who comment and those who stop by quietly. I appreciate it.
Hmm...wonder how may genealogical discoveries I can make in another four years? Stick around and see...
Rollie Edward Scroggins, Jr. (28 Nov 1945 - 23 Dec 2011) [34435]
Chicago Suburban Beacon News, December 25, 2011 [Legacy]Rollie "Ed" Scroggins
Scroggins, Rollie E. "Ed" Age 66, of Aurora, passed away Friday, December 23, 2011 at his home. He was born November 28, 1945 in Aurora, IL. Ed was a member of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church and the Holy Name Society. He graduated from East Aurora High School. Ed retired from TBS Construction and was a member of Local 149. He enjoyed gardening, reading and cooking. He is survived by his wife Judith Scroggins [34469]; 2 sons Jaeson E. Scroggins [] and Jeffrey T. Scroggins []; 2 daughters Kristen [] (Drew) [] Phillips of WA and Lynn Vega [] of CO; 7 grandchildren; his brother Tom [34432] (Pat) [34467] Scroggins of IL; his sister Pat Scroggins [34436] of AZ and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Evelyn [34464] and Rollie [34381] Scroggins, Sr. and his sister Bonnie Donley [24442]. Funeral Mass will be held Wednesday, December 28, 2011 at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church at 10:00am. Fr. David Engbarth will officiate with interment at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Visitation will be Tuesday, December 27, 2011 from 4:00pm until 8:00pm at THE DALEIDEN MORTUARY, 220 N. Lake St., Aurora, 630-631-5500 or visit our new interactive website at www.daleidenmortuary.com where you can leave condolences for Ed's family. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Ed's memory to Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, Journey of Faith, St. Vincent DePaul or the . A special thank you to Rachael Gross, Kathy Hoffman and Seasons Hospice for all the care that was given to Rollie while he was in their care.
Published in Beacon News on December 25, 2011
Judith 'Mama Judi' Ann Moore (ca. 1941 - 27 Dec 2011) []
Orange Leader, The (TX) - December 28, 2011
Deceased Name: Judith "Mama Judi" Ann Moore
ORANGE — Judith "Mama Judi" Ann Moore, 70, of Mauriceville passed away on Tuesday, December 27, 2011.
She was a native of El Dorado, Arkansas; to parents Louise ( Scroggins ) and Stewart Moore. She had lived in the Orange area for the last 10 years, come from Linden, Texas. She was a member of Cowboy Church. She enjoyed the outdoors, working in her garden and taking care of her animals. She was a loving mother, sister, grandmother, great grandmother and friend who will be missed dearly.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Moore.
She is survived by her life partner, Marc Stelly of Mauriceville, daughter, Staci Viator and husband, Jerry of Mauriceville, Mitzi Arey and husband, Garrett of Mauriceville, Shauntel Elmer and husband, Chris of Maurice, LA; sons, Darrell Marks and wife, Lisa of Mauriceville, Steve Marks and wife, Mary of Dayton; brother, Bill Moore of Sheveport, LA; 13 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren.
A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, December 29, 2011 at 6 pm at Dorman Funeral Home, with a visitation from 4 pm until service time. You may visit www.dormanfuneralhome.com and sign the guess book.
Orange Leader, The (TX)
Date: December 28, 2011
Author: Dorman
Record Number: 979991665987f27579e916a76091e90eea0
Copyright 2011, The Orange Leader / Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. (CNHI). All Rights Reserved.
Scroggins, Euelle D. 'Pete' (ca. 1927 - 30 Dec 2011) [tba]
Euelle D. "PETE" Scroggins, Published in Houston Chronicle on January 5, 2012 {Legacy]EUELLE "PETE" SCROGGINS (1927 - 2011)
Euelle D. "PETE" Scroggins of Thorsby, AL passed on Dec. 30, 2011 at age 84. Loving husband to Margaret Goo-Scroggins of Hilo, HI and dedicated father, he is survived by his beloved wife of 51 years, daughter Suzie, sons Mark & Scott, grandson Marcus, Sons-in-law Glenn, Chris & Carlos and beloved Chihuahua Timmy.
Retired SIU Seafarer, caring husband, father, grandfather and friend he fought valiantly to the end. We were blessed to have been at his bedside holding his hands and praying over him as he passed away peacefully to be with God.
Services are on Sat. Jan. 7, 2012 at Corpus Christi Catholic Church 9900 Stella Link Houston, TX. The Rosary will be said at 1:15 p.m. & Mass at 2:00 p.m.
Published in Houston Chronicle on January 5, 2012
Scroggin, Eddie 'E.S.', Jr (22 May 1919 - 10 Jan 2012) [49765]
Scroggin, Eddie 'E.S.', Jr, , Record added: Jan 10, 2012, Find A Grave Memorial# 83240776Eddie "E.S." Scroggin, Jr
Birth: May 22, 1919
Center Ridge
Conway County
Arkansas, USA
Death: Jan. 10, 2012
Little Rock
Pulaski County
Arkansas, USA
Eddie "E.S." Scroggin Jr of Little Rock was born May 22, 1919 in Center Ridge Arkansas to parents Eddie S. Scroggin Sr. and Jewell Dickson Scroggin and passed away on January 10th, 2012 in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is preceded in death by his parents and his wife of 70 years Geneva Scroggin with whom he has been reunited; his son Dwayne Scroggin; grandson David Lynn Scroggin and granddaughter Sara Alysha Wilson and a brother Donald Freeman and a sister Lucille Roy
Mr. Scroggin was a veteran of WWll and was a HAM Radio Operator, WN5QAT, which was his favorite pass time. He was also a member of Park Hill Baptist Church.
He leaves to cherish his memory his children David Scroggin of Hot Springs Village; his daughter Deanne Hooker and her husband Mark of Maumelle 8 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren.
The family will receive friends for a Life Celebration from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM on Friday, January 13th, 2012 at Griffin Leggett Rest Hills Funeral Home, 7724 Landers Road in North Little Rock
Burial:
Unknown
Created by: KL
Record added: Jan 10, 2012
Find A Grave Memorial# 83240776
1 Temmuz 2012 Pazar
Arizona ruling leaves Texas lawmakers little leeway on police enforcing immigration law
Several state lawmakers are expected to revive the push for a bill similar to Arizona's "show me your papers" law, even though justices said in the Arizona ruling that officers couldn't arrest people on suspicion of immigration crimes. Last year's efforts to pass such a bill in Austin failed.
"The 'stop and ask' measure is fair game in the next session," said Bill Miller, an Austin-based political consultant who works with both Republicans and Democrats. "It absolutely will be proposed in Texas."
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/06/25/4058166/texas-legislators-likely-to-address.html#storylink=cpyThe Dallas News offered a similar assessment ("Arizona ruling opens door for Texas lawmakers," June 26):
Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, said the ruling has underscored that Texas should have a law requiring police to check the immigration status of anyone legally detained.
“The fact is the Supreme Court upheld the most controversial factor,” she said, referring to a provision that forces police to ask those under arrest about immigration status if there is reason to suspect they are in the U.S. illegally.But Rep. Riddle significantly overstates the leeway granted in the SCOTUS ruling. The court did NOT say such inquiries were constitutional but instead declared that: "It was improper to enjoin §2(B) before the state courts had an opportunity to construe it and without some showing that §2(B)’s enforcement in fact conflicts with federal immigration law and its objectives." (Emphasis added.) In other words, that part of the law MIGHT be unconstitutional depending on how it is implemented, but until Arizona actually uses the statute and their state courts interpret its limitations, it's premature for SCOTUS to rule on the question. They didn't say the practice is okay, they said they weren't going to decide right now, which is quite a different thing.
So under what circumstances might such detentions be ruled unconsitutional? The court emphasized a point often lost in immigration debates: "As a general rule, it is not a crime for a removable alien to remain in the United States." Indeed, the court explicitly overturned authority under the Arizona law for "state and local officers to make warrantless arrests of certain aliens suspected of being removable," saying that portion of the statute "creates an obstacle to federal law." The Arizona statute, said the SCOTUS majority, "attempts to provide state officers with even greater arrest authority, which they could exercise with no instruction from the Federal Government. This is not the system Congress created." Instead, according to Justice Kennedy's opinion:
The federal scheme instructs when it is appropriate to arrest an alien during the removal process. The Attorney General in some circumstances will issue awarrant for trained federal immigration officers to execute. If no federal warrant has been issued, these officers have more limited authority. They may arrest an alien for being “in the United States inviolation of any [immigration] law or regulation,” for example, but only where the alien “is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained.”So Arizona police can ASK about immigration status, for now, but they cannot arrest someone solely because of it, even if they entered the country illegally, except under circumstances prescribed by the feds.
Indeed, the court said it's possible even inquiring about immigration status MAY be unconstitutional but that it was premature to rule on the issue. Wrote Justice Kennedy: "It is not clear at this stage and on this record that §2(B), in practice, will require state officers to delay the release of detainees for no reason other than to verify their immigration status. This would raise constitutional concerns. And it would disrupt the federal framework to put state officers in the position of holding aliens in custody for possible unlawful presence without federal direction and supervision."
So the court advised Arizona it would "raise constitutional concerns" if immigration checks "delay the release of detainees for no other reason than to verify their immigration status." But isn't that inevitable? Say I'm stopped on the street or at a traffic stop, an officer asks my immigration status, and I exercise my right to remain silent: Wouldn't verifying my immigration status by definition extend my detention longer than would otherwise be the case? Because the Arizona law hadn't yet taken effect, there were no facts before the court to say so, but there's little doubt those questions will be raised as soon as it's implemented. I have a hard time seeing how verifying immigration status wouldn't "delay the release of detainees." How could it not?
And if in most cases police can't arrest someone regardless of their immigration status, as Kennedy's opinion makes clear (since "it is not a crime for a removable alien to remain in the United States"), what will they do with information about immigration status after they inquire?
Given these open questions, Texas legislators would be wise to let Arizona's legislation play out in the federal courts before following their lead. The practical and constitutional questions around such a practice remain far from resolved.