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Page 1B Sanger sinks Springtown in bi-district game, 31-21
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Volume 51, Number 31
$1 Springtown, Texas 76082
Johnson sentenced for more than 15 years Springtown case of attack on gay man drew national attention By Natalie Gentry Brice Johnson, 20, of Springtown, was sentenced on Monday in federal court to more than 15 years in federal prison for the 2013 kidnapping of a gay man after inviting the victim to his home and brutally assaulting him. During the plea process, Johnson admitted to that he invited Aaron Keahey – the victim – to his house on Sept. 2 after meeting him through the social cell phone application MeetMe.com. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, within a few minutes after Keahey arrived at the house, Johnson severely beat him and bound Keahey’s wrists with electrical cord. Keahey spent the next 10 days at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospi-
tal Fort Worth, suffering from multiple skull and facial fractures. Johnson was arrested a few days later. In his first interview, Johnson told Springtown police that he found Keahey beaten and in the trunk of his own car. In another interview with SPD, Johnson, who is not gay, admitted that he had invited Keahey over to his home. Johnson admitted that he participated in sexual communication on the MeetMe.com website, but said he didn’t think it was “for real.” According to a federal criminal complaint filed in the chase, during a recorded jail call Johnson told family members: “I invited this guy over,
right, at first it was basically like a joke that went too far and too wrong.” FBI agents – who joined the investigation once it was deemed a possible hate crime – discovered that Johnson had saved Keahey’s phone number in his cellphone under an anti-gay slur name. The hate crime charges were later dropped. During the plea hearing on June 20, Johnson admitted that he held and confined the victim against his will in order to conceal the violent assault and to removing Keahey’s severely injured body from the home where Johnson was staying. Johnson was sentenced to 183 Brice Johnson months in the federal penitentiary.
Photo courtesy of the Parker County Jail
I am Iron Man Springtown man creates functional and artistic metalwork pieces by Natalie Gentry A burning forge heats raw metal red-hot. The bang of a hammer hitting metal rings out. Slowly it is transformed into art by the hands of Springtown resident Melvin Maley.
Melvin Maley enjoys the challenge of creating art out of metal like this tree and the surrounding cattails. Photo by Natalie Gentry
Going (really) old school SHS AP students earn Ivy League shirts for top scores By Natalie Gentry The Advanced Placement (AP) World History course at Springtown High School (SHS) is the first AP course students encounter. By taking this college prep class, these students have the opportunity to earn college credit. “It is a difficult subject to master since it covers the history of everything.” said AP World History instructor David Lamb. In order to keep students motivated, Lamb, this year’s Excellence in Education recipient, offers Ivy League college shirts as incentives for the top performers in the class. “I started this last year to reward the top students for their efforts,” Lamb said. “I try to encourage students to look outside the box as far as schools are concerned; there are so many great universities beyond the typical.” Lamb also emphasizes that online
Hearing the call “I always wanted to be an artist,” Maley said. “I’ve always been able to see the finished pieces, I just needed to learn the skill.” Maley – owner of Forged By Fire: Artistry in Motion – has been creating artistic metalwork pieces for almost 23 years.
“I remember my grandpa made a Lazy Susan for his bolts and washers,” Maley said. “Watching him make it really inspired me to create.” Meeting the mentor “Then when I was working construction in Kansas City, I saw some work by Amir Rajovnik, and knew that’s what I needed to do,” Maley said. “I met the man and told him I knew I could do it if given a chance.” Rajovnik gave him that chance. “He taught me a lot about design and detail,” Maley said. “He showed PLEASE SEE ARTISTIC, PAGE 2A.
Jay Bird Lane Wreck
courses now make it possible to attend these schools without having to travel hundreds of miles away. In fact, Lamb recently took a few Harvard classes online. Recognition for hard work “This year my thought was to recognize them early and use the college shirts as a stimulus for even greater effort,” Lamb continued. “I picked the Ivy League because it is the top academic conference and added the Pacific 12 Conference because it is the next best academic conference – Southern California, Stanford, UCLA, California, and Washington Universities are all elite institutions,” he continued. “I have also included Rice University, the Ivy League school in Texas.” Other than Rice, Lamb avoided Texas colleges because he didn’t want any focus upon local rivalries.
The first group of AP students to receive Ivy League shirts includes (l-r): Conner Kelley, Channae Pitt-Richardson, Brittany Barry, Glandia Macias, Sophia Kelley, Amber Bredehoft, AP World history teacher David Lamb, Nancy Martinez, Garrison Trichel, and Jesse Springfield.
A Parker County ESD 1 fire engine was involved in an accident with a passenger vehicle while responding to a medical call Tuesday, Nov. 18 around 7:45 a.m. at Hwy. 199 and Jay Bird Lane. Two persons were transported from the scene to area emergency rooms. The accident is under investigation. Personnel on scene theorized that the blinding east sun could have been a factor.
Photos by Mark K. Campbell
Photo courtesy of SISD
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