Happy Thanksgiving
Richmond Free Press
VOL. 24 NO. 48
© 2015 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
www.richmondfreepress.com
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Inside: ‘What are you most grateful for this Thanksgiving?’ B3
NOVEMBER 25-28, 2015
Triple the blessings From intensive care unit to loving arms of thankful mother
Deidre Harris cuddles her 2-year-old triplets, from left, Koh’Co, Kali’Co and Keri’Co, as they prepare for Thanksgiving at their Henrico County home.
By Joey Matthews
Keri’Co, Kali’Co and Koh’Co Harris spent their first Thanksgiving in the intensive care unit at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital. The diminutive triplets were receiving life-nurturing aid from medical staff after their mother, Deidre Harris, delivered them two months prematurely by Cesarean section Oct. 21, 2013. She was 33 at the time and was suffering from health complications. Koh’Co was born first at 5:18 p.m. She weighed 2.14 pounds. Kali’Co followed a minute later, weighing 2.15 pounds. Keri’Co was the last of the triplets born, and weighed 3.04 pounds. Keri’Co and Kali’Co are identical; Koh’Co is a fraternal. Today, Ms. Harris and the children’s father, Jerry Robinson, have three very special little reasons to be grateful as they celebrate Thanksgiving together. Now 2, the triplets are healthy and weigh more than 20 pounds each. “I just thank God they were all born safely and are doing well,” Ms. Harris said last week during an interview at her Henrico County home that bustles with the activity of three lively youngsters and their older sister, Kennedi, an 11-year-old Wilder Middle School student. “We had a lot of people praying for us,” she said, referring to church supporters from Cedar Street Baptist Church of God and Bethlehem Baptist Church, both in the East End. Ms. Harris said she was discharged from the hospital two weeks after giving birth, once she regained much of her strength. She was assigned a privateduty nurse and began physical therapy. The triplets were sent home a few weeks later after doctors “saw excellent weight gain” and saw them gain strength, Ms. Harris said. The hospital provided the girls with occupational therapy, she said, which they continue today, in areas such as feeding, potty training and speech. Last year, the triplets spent Thanksgiving with their parents at the home of Ms. Harris’ mother, Terry Harris, in Henrico County. This year, Ms. Harris said she plans to go all out so the triplets can enjoy Thanksgiving at home with their father and Kennedi. She’s preparing fried turkey, macaroni and cheese, stuffing, collard greens, potato salad, ham and hot rolls. “This will be the first year they will have an understanding of what it is to be together as a family at home on Thanksgiving,” said Ms. Harris. “I want this to be a special day for all of us,” she added. The triplets each have their own unique personality, said Ms. Harris, who worked in exceptional education at Richmond Public Schools for 15 years before her family grew so large so fast. She now stays at Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
Please turn to A5
Armed guards in the Richmond Public Library? Frightening incidents spark the possibility
By Jeremy M. Lazarus Dr. Hammond
Hammond’s contract extended at vsu By Jeremy M. Lazaus
Dr. Pamela V. Hammond has agreed to spend an extra month as interim president of Virginia State University. The VSU Board of Visitors last week approved a one-month extension of Dr. Hammond’s contract that will keep her in place through Jan. 31. Her agreement to stay comes as the board and its search committee move closer to naming a permanent president. Dr. Hammond was hired from her post as provost of Hampton University to take over as interim president following the November 2014 resignation of Dr. Keith T. Miller, who was under fire from students and alumni. When Dr. Hammond officially took the helm Jan. 1, she was the first woman to fill the school’s top administrative post since its founding in 1882. Please turn to A5
Are armed security guards needed in Richmond’s public libraries? Two recent unsettling incidents at the North Avenue Branch have convinced Richmond City Councilman Chris A. Hilbert that having an unarmed security guard is not enough at that branch to ensure that people “have a sense of safety and are safe.” On Oct. 28, a man with a rifle slung over his shoulder and a long knife strapped
to his leg walked into the library as little children were engaged in a storytelling program, setting off alarms among the staff. Then on Nov. 19, a man who started singing loudly refused to leave the library and then threatened to kill everyone inside, creating a standoff with staff for about 10 minutes until police arrived. “There is a definite lack of security,” said Dianne Wilmore, the branch manager. “I don’t want to get shot and killed doing my job.”
While there is an unarmed security guard on the premises, the guard’s role is to call police if something serious happens. The guard is not authorized to physically engage an outof-control patron, said Clay Dishon, Richmond Public Library interim director. Mr. Hilbert said he understands the concern and is now pressing the board of the Richmond Public Library and the city administration to allow an armed security guard at the
North Side branch. The library board could take up the question when it meets Wednesday, Dec. 2. Mr. Dishon recognizes both incidents have been upsetting, particularly someone openly carrying a gun. “It is rather concerning that someone would feel the need to bring a hunting rifle into the library,” he said, even if it is legal to do so. Still he’s conflicted about whether an armed guard would
be the right solution. Incidents at the library branch are relatively rare. In the past 11 years, police records indicate only 16 people have been arrested on the grounds of the branch at 2901 North Ave., and most were arrested for drinking or trespassing in the parking lot, according to Richmond Police Capt. James O’Kleasky, commander of the Fourth Precinct that includes Please turn to A4
Chicago police officer charged with murder in death of black teen Reuters
A white Chicago policeman was charged Tuesday with murdering a black teenager, and authorities are hoping to stave off a fresh burst of the turmoil over race and police use of deadly force that has shaken the United States for more than a year. Officer Jason Van Dyke, 37, was denied bail at a hearing in Chicago’s main criminal courthouse hours after prosecutor Anita Alvarez announced charges of first-degree murder, or killing without lawful justification. If convicted, Officer Van Dyke could face 20 years to life in prison. At the brief court hearing, prosecutor Bill Delaney told Cook County Circuit Laquan McDonald Court Associate Judge Joseph Panarese that a video of the Oct. 20, 2014, shooting does not show Laquan McDonald, 17, who was armed with a knife, advancing on the Please turn to A4
James Haskins/Richmond Free Press
Are you ready for some football? Three-year-old Mikenzie “Button” Williams recruits game officials for cheering duty last Saturday during halftime of the exciting Richmond Parks and Recreation Pee Wee Football championship game. The Battery Park Vikings defeated the Hotchkiss Eagles 6-0 in overtime, clinching the title for 9- and 10-year-olds at City Stadium. Championship matches also were played in four other age groups. Officials learning new cheers are, from left, William Jessie, Ellery Lundy, Rudy Waddell and Jimmy Drayton. Please see story on A5.
Records show KKK spread across the U.S. like measles
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