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Jones responds to Chobani lawsuit ALEX RIGGINS

ariggins@magicvalley.com

‘YES, ALZ…’ Improv artists share tools to communicate with Alzheimer’s patients Now showing...

HEATHER KENNISON

hkennison@magicvalley.com

JEROME — To the casual listener, 74-year-old Kathy Neff ’s conversation sounds like a radio that’s being tuned in to different channels.

Between bouts of laughter, siting on her husband’s lap and holding a stuffed yellow duck, Kathy speaks in a series disjointed sentences and topics: “…Oh that’s wonderful.” “…Do we have a house?” “…I didn’t even get our things.” “….Don’t you go out and then try and…?”

The question trails off, but Kathy’s daughter Katie interjects: “Yes, you do.”

Katie Neff and her husband, Steve Kaminski, have been learning to communicate with Neff ’s mother since she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2004.

But the two Jerome-based improv artists were well-suited to the task. Now, they’re sharing their knowledge of improv to help others get better communication with Alzheimer’s patients.

With help from videographer and executive producer Kevin Bradshaw, they compiled the first ever video submission for Art & Soul of the Magic Valley.

“This video hopefully will bring a lot of positivity to a negative subject,” Kaminski said.

To watch “Yes, Alz...” during Art & Soul of the Magic Valley, visit Quale’s Electronics, 1730 Kimberly Road, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday or 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Voting ends Saturday, but showings will continue through May 6.

After that, the video will be available online at neffinskiarts.com and 3starproduction.com.

DREW NASH PHOTOS, TIMES-NEWS

Top: Kathy Neff plays with her stuffed duck as her daughter Katie Neff looks on Monday afternoon at Creekside Residential Care Center in Jerome. Above: Katie Neff, center, talks about her mother’s Alzheimers Disease and why she helped produce a video about it for Art and Soul Monday afternoon at Creekside Residential Care Center in Jerome.

The 13-minute piece titled “Yes, Alz…” can be viewed now through May 6 at Quale’s Electronics, 1730 Kimberly Road.

Voting for Art & Soul, however, ends Saturday.

In the video, Neff and Kaminski discuss four of the basic rules of improv, and how they believe those should be applied in interactions with Alzheimer’s patients.

“This is a tool to communicate with anyone,” Neff said. “But especially if you’re just finding out Alzheimer’s or dementia could

“It’s sort of a therapy for both sides. Helping both sides understand each other better and work with each other better.”

touch your life, this could be a Steve Kaminski helpful tool.”

Neff ’s mother stars in the production, which also high- ing mom as happy as possible. lights Creekside Residential Care Improvisational theater, comCenter in Jerome — the assisted monly known as “improv,” is a living facility where Kathy lives. form of entertainment where much of a scene is unscripted.

But there are rules and guideRules of improv Neff and Kaminski are perhaps lines that can help keep the scene best known around the Magic moving.

Valley for their comedy perforThe same rules, they say, can mances, particularly in The Or- aid conversations with people pheum Theatre’s All Star Improv who have dementia.

Comedy Show. But in Jerome, they apply their talents to keepPlease see ALZHEIMER’S, Page A5

TF man acquitted in shooting ALEX RIGGINS

ariggins@magicvalley.com

SHOSHONE — A Twin Falls man acquitted on two attempted murder charges in Lincoln County feels like he has a second lease on life, his attorney said Tuesday.

A jury on Monday acquitted Antonio “Buji” Jacob Gallegos, 22, after more than three days of testimony and arguments and more than six hours of deliberation.

Gallegos, who is serving prison

time for unrelated felony burglary and eluding convictions in Twin Falls and Jerome, was charged with shooting 30-yearold Francisco Javier Bravo-Martinez last January and leaving him in the desert south of Shoshone to die. Prosecutors said Gallegos fired two shots that wounded Bravo-Martinez before David Gonzales Ceballos, 25, fired three execution-style shots from close range.

Bravo-Martinez survived the

shooting. Ceballos pleaded guilty earlier this year to attempted murder and was sentenced to 16 to 30 years in prison.

Gallegos opted to take his case to trial, and it paid off Monday.

“The defense was essentially that my client was misidentified, despite the fact the victim and DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS two other witnesses placed him there,” defense attorney Jeremy Antonio Jacob Gallegos listens during a preliminary hearing Pittard told the Times-News.

July 11 at the Lincoln County Please see GALLEGOS, Page A5 Courthouse in Shoshone.

 If you do one thing: Arts on Tour will feature “Ole” with music and comedy at

7:30 p.m. at the College of Southern Idaho Fine Arts Auditorium in Twin Falls.

Tickets: $24 adults and $10 students, at the CSI box office or 208-732-6288.

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TWIN FALLS — Alex Jones, founder of the far-right website InfoWars and one of the country’s more well-known conspiracy theorists, doubled down after Chobani filed a lawsuit Monday against Jones and two of his companies for making “false and defamatory” accusations.

Early Tuesday, about 12 hours after the suit was filed in Twin Falls County District Court, Jones posted a 17-minute anti-Islamic tirade on his Youtube channel calling Chobani “Islamist owned and backed” and claiming that owner Hamdi Ulukaya “infiltrated” the United States “with the clear backing of Turkey.”

During the video, which had been viewed more than 45,000 times as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jones asks his viewers to support him in the lawsuit against Chobani by buying unregulated, InfoWars-branded “nutraceuticals and supplements.”

Chobani’s lawsuit involves a Youtube video published April 11 in which two InfoWars personalities falsely linked Chobani to the assault of a 5-year-old girl at the Fawnbrook Apartments in Twin Falls.

County Prosecutor Grant Loebs said there’s no connection between the yogurt factory, which employs some refugees, and the assault, for which three refugee boys pleaded guilty earlier this month in a sealed juvenile case.

The InfoWars Youtube video was titled “MSM (mainstream media) Covers for Globalist’s Refugee Import Program After Child Rape Case” and was shared

by Jones and his outlets on Twitter with the message: “Idaho Yogurt Maker Caught Importing Migrant Rapists.”

Please see CHOBANI, Page A5

6 face-off in Cassia school board race LAURIE WELCH

lwelch@magicvalley.com

BURLEY — Six candidates running for seats on Cassia County School District’s board faced off Tuesday answering questions from the community on issues regarding the construction bond shortage, accountability and how they would make sure district stakeholders’ voices are heard in the future.

Incumbent in Zone 3 Linda Petersen is challenged by Darin Moon.

“How dare” the board pass a bond when there wasn’t enough money to finish projects, Moon said. He stressed that in order to effectively lead, the public has to trust the person. The way to make community members feel a vested interest in the school district is through leadership, Moon said.

All of the board members are people of integrity and they Please see FORUM, Page A5

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facebook.com/thetimesnews

twitter.com@twinfallstn

NEWS

Times-News

Wednesday, April 26, 2017 | A5

Alzheimer’s

LAURIE WELCH, TIMES-NEWS

Cassia County School District patrons after the candidate forum Tuesday.

Forum From A1

never knowingly withheld any information from the public when the bond shortage was discovered, Petersen said. She said the school board held many meetings to make sure patrons were informed, but often those meetings were poorly attended.

Incumbent in Zone 4, Kathryn Millar, said her phone number is listed and she welcomes patrons who want to talk over issues with her. She said the board is doing the best it can with the money available.

Millar faces challengers Kristina Haymore, Robert Silcock and Bruce Thompson. Randy Winn also filed as a candidate in Zone 4 but withdrew from the race prior to the forum because of conflicts with his business.

Haymore said mistakes were made regarding the bond, but the district now has to look towards the future while making sure it does not happen again. As a board member, she said, she will make herself available to her constituents and she will be willing to listen.

Thompson and Silcock also said they would listen to patrons in the district.

Silcock said a major is-

sue with the bond shortfall is that no one stepped up to take responsibility for the mistakes, and he would not let that happen again.

The bond shortfall was because of poor planning, Thompson said, and it should have been studied more before it was passed.

Petersen said her greatest accomplishment on the board has been her support of increased safety at the schools and hiring outstanding administrators. She has degrees in education and in counseling.

Moon, a businessman, said public service runs in his family. He is passionate about education and he will bring experience and ideas to the table.

Education is important to Millar, she said, and she brings a valuable perspective as a mother to the position.

Thompson has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and taught special needs students in junior college.

He has also worked with large budgets.

Haymore has a degree in education and said she will also bring her perspective as a parent to the seat.

Silcock said he has owned several businesses in the community, and now that he has retired he has the time to devote to serving on the board.

Chobani From A1

Chobani’s lawsuit says the video “purports to describe Chobani’s practice of hiring refugees and an assault unrelated to Chobani” and claims the accusations made in the video are false and defamatory and have yet to be removed “despite multiple written demands.”

The video also repeats false claims linking the Chobani factory to a rise in tuberculosis cases in Twin Falls.

Jones began his response video by linking Chobani owner Ulukaya with George Soros, the liberal billionaire who’s become a favorite target for right-wing conspiracy sites.

Early in the video, it’s unclear if Jones is talking about Soros or Ulukaya when he said: “I’m not saying he consciously brought in people he thought were going to rape, but people he brought in and force-fed in America have now been implicated, indicted and have pled guilty to that.”

Later, Jones is clearly talking about Ulukaya when he says the Chobani founder “comes here with clear backing of the government of Turkey. Turkey (has) infiltrated us up one side and down the other.”

Jones goes on to say that tuberculosis cases are “skyrocketing” because of the “Islamist” Ulukaya — a claim made by Breitbart that’s since been refuted — and that Ulu-

JAY JANNER/AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN VIA AP, FILE

In this April 19 file photo, Alex Jones, a well-known Austin-based broadcaster and provocateur, arrives for a child custody trial at the Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse in Austin, Texas. kaya is “pushing for more un-vetted refugees.”

The video is not out of the norm for Jones, who pushes the conspiracies that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by the U.S. government and that the slaughter of 20 school children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut was faked.

Jones, a Texas native, is rarely apologetic about his controversial and often fabricated statements, though he did offer a correction and quasi-apology last month for InfoWars’ coverage of “PizzaGate,” a far-right conspiracy that accused Democratic officials of running a child sex-slave ring out of Washington D.C. pizza restaurant.

InfoWars removed several “PizzaGate” stories from its website last month, but Jones made clear Tuesday that for now, he plans no such measure for stories about Ulukaya and Chobani.

Finally, listen — with more than your ears. Some paFrom A1 tients have a difficult time remembering words, KaThe first rule is “Yes, minski said, so you have to and…” — this basically pick up on nonverbal cues. means you’re agreeing to whatever reality the other Living with person has created.

Alzheimer’s‌ “It doesn’t always mean saying yes,” Kaminski said.

Kathy Neff appeared un“You can say no, as long as concerned when visitors you’re going along with the entered her room Monday afternoon. She sat happily reality of that person.”

That can include redi- eating a frozen treat, laughrecting the conversation. So ing and chattering almost if Kathy wants to go to Sub- nonstop. way, for example, Neff could It was a good day for her reply, “Yes, and first we’re mother, Neff said. going to…” and change the “There was a while where there were lots of tears, lots topic.

A second rule: Don’t ask of crying,” she said. “… We questions. Many people with have stopped crying as much Alzheimer’s or other forms and started laughing a lot of dementia won’t be able to more.” answer you, and it places a At first, it was easy to try burden on them. to apply logic or an agenda So instead of asking, “Do to the situation. But as Neff’s you remember?” you could father, Ben Neff, discovered say, “A long time ago, there his wife’s mental deteriorawas…” tion, he realized he was going “It’s just like improv,” to have to adjust.

Kaminski said. “If you use “We’re not going to a statement instead of a change her,” he said. “The question, you’re helping the change comes from the carescene a lot better.” giver.”

Third: Go with the flow.

Alzheimer’s disease atDon’t go into the room with tacks the brain, and is the a preconceived notion of most common form of dewhat’s going to happen. mentia. The Alzheimer’s “We really do have to drop Association reports it is the our agenda,” Neff said. sixth leading cause of death It’s a practice with which in the U.S. More than 5 milCreekside Care Center is well lion Americans have it. acquainted. If a resident isn’t Its manifestation varies ready for a bath or a walk, from person to person, from staff can’t force it to happen. day to day and from moment “You have to be flexible,” to moment.

When Neff and Kaminski owner Diane Holley said.

“And our staff knows that shared their ideas about and understands that. If you improvisation with Kathy’s aren’t flexible, you run into caregivers, they agreed that a wall.” going along with that per-

Gallegos From A1

Pittard said his client didn’t match the original description of the first shooter and wasn’t implicated in the crime until several days after the first two suspects were arrested. Pittard also called several witnesses who said they were with Gallegos the weekend of the shooting at a days-long birthday party for Gallegos’ uncle.

So why would the victim and several witnesses accuse Gallegos in the shooting if he wasn’t there?

“It’s pretty clear these guys were strung up on methamphetamine,” Pittard said.

The defense attorney also pointed out that Bravo-Martinez’s story of what happened changed several times.

First, he said he was shot

by Erik Lopez, a 24-year-old Wendell man who testified for the state in exchange for immunity in the case; later, he said he was shot at a party and then dragged to the desert; finally, he told police he went to the desert with several other people and was shot and left to die.

The changing story probably made jurors sit back and wonder “what’s going on here?” Pittard said.

“I don’t know why they implicated my client,” Pittard said. “But the evidence showed that whatever happened was a lot more complicated than we’ll ever know. I think there was something more to it, but the only people who will really know what happened are the ones who were there.”

Even though he was ac-

DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS‌

Ben Neff talks about Alzheimers and why he helped produce a video about it for Art and Soul Monday afternoon at Creekside Residential Care Center in Jerome. son’s reality is an effective way to create better interactions and memories for years to come.

And there is no cure for Alzheimer’s.

“Whatever it is, you can’t fix it,” Holley said. “So why get somebody all upset?”

Neff and Kaminski had previously worked with Bradshaw on a film for the Twin Falls Sandwiches Film Festival. The topic of Alzheimer’s also struck the videographer’s interest because his own mother had it.

“This is really personal, but what other people ex-

perience,” Bradshaw said.

They began filming in February and March, just weeks before the Art & Soul deadline.

The techniques in the video, Kevin said, can work for people “who’ve already been dealing with (Alzheimer’s) and don’t realize they’re fighting it.”

For Kaminski, it’s about letting the other person direct the conversation.

“It’s sort of a therapy for both sides,” he said. “Helping both sides understand each other better and work with each other better.”

quitted, the charges should act as a wake-up call to Gallegos, his attorney said.

“If he hadn’t made the decisions to run with the wrong crowd prior to this,

maybe he wouldn’t be insinuated,” Pittard said. “I think he’s starting to realize that, and I hope he can learn from this instead of being bitter.”

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