Huffman Calls For Action in Akron

By Carl Ereth and Roger Derhammer

Regina Huffman, residential services director for the Achievement Center is participating in an accessibility lawsuit. As many of you may know, Regina uses a wheelchair. She is also a member of NAPH, which stands for the National Alliance for the Physically Handicapped. She and some of the other members of NAPH are suing the city of Akron Ohio, for not making the city’s curb cuts accessible enough.

Regina and the others think that many of the current curb cuts are either too steep or too high. The problem not only affects people with strollers too.

According to the group, Akron has been ignoring ADA laws stating that cities have to have accessible curb cuts. There have been similar lawsuits filed in other cities around Ohio recently. This is a civil lawsuit, which means the group doesn’t want any money but they want to the city to follow the ADA regulations.

We admire Regina for doing this and will let you know what happens.

North American Buffalo

By: Seth C.E. Hofer III

North American buffalo cam from Siberia. Once they were here, they grew more accustomed to the environment. They grew more agile and grew smaller. Early in history, Native Americans hunted the buffalo for food. They killed only what they could eat and didn’t let any other part of the animal go to waste either, even the bones.

White men then settled in the west and brought guns. The population also declined because the whites feared American Indians. Settlers realized that Native Americans relied on the animals for survival, so people figured that if there weren’t any more buffaloes, there wouldn’t be any more Indians either. Some times buffalo hunting was seen as a good thing to do. In fact, Congressman James Throckmorton said, "…it would be a great step in civilization of the Indians and the preservation of peace on the border if there was not a buffalo in existence."

The hunting of buffalo almost wiped them out. Ulysses S. Grant, however, came to the rescue. He founded Yellowstone Valley of Montana to protect wildlife. At that time, there was only 23 wild bison, or buffalo in the area. Congress passed a law imprisoning poachers in 1894. Twelve years after Grant formed the Yellowstone Valley; some other researchers brought some buffaloes from zoos in the East in hopes that they could help the population grow as well.

Then, in 1905, Dr. William Hornaday sent a dozen bison from his zoo to a new 8,000-acre reserve in Kansas established to restore a buffalo herd. President Theodore Roosevelt, Hornaday, and others founded the American Buffalo Society, which spearheaded efforts to recreate more wild herds. President Roosevelt loved to hunt, but he also was a naturalist and he saved animals.

Since that time, the number of wild bison has grown to over 200,000. Over the last few years, wolves have been moved into Yellowstone National Park as a natural way of controlling the buffalo population. Farmers that live in the area are upset because they say that the wolves kill their livestock. Farmers are also upset because studies have shown that bison can carry bacteria know to cause miscarriages in cattle. The government is allowing bison to be shot when they wander too far off their designated areas of Yellowstone National Park. In response, some American Indian groups have offered to move the animals onto their reservations. I think the farmers should just try to leave them alone because no matter what happens, not everyone is going to be happy. Isn’t it funny how Native Americans who once relied on the buffalo for survival are now trying to repay the favor?

Jesse James: America’s Robbin’ Hood

By: Seth CE Hofer III

Jesse James was born in Kearney, Missouri on Sept. 5^th 1847. His father was the Rev. Robert James, a Baptist minister. Jesse James learned about the Bible from his Dad’s influence. However, Jesse and his older brother Frank James were soldiers in the Civil War. Some say that during the Civil War Frank and Jesse were treated badly by the union soldiers and that is what inspired them to enter a life of crime. Even today, some veterans commit crimes because they can’t handle stress and their emotional problems.

Within a year after the Civil War, Frank and Jesse are believed to have pulled off the first bank robbery held in daylight. They apparently made off with $60,000 from a bank that was near their home. For the next 15 years, Frank and Jesse James put together several bands of criminals. Many of their gang members were killed on these crime sprees or were captured and put in jail. That’s why they always had to make up new gangs. They met some men called the Younger Brothers, and asked them to join.

The group robbed banks from Iowa to Alabama during the next few years and began robbing trains in 1873. They then held up stagecoaches, stores, and individuals. The gang robbed a bank in Northfield, Minnesota on Sept. 7^th 1876. The bank robbery was a disaster. Only the James brothers escaped death or capture.

Even though Jesse could be a ruthless outlaw, he was also a good family man. Some people think that he might have even stolen from the rich to give to the poor. Jesse married his own first cousin to listen named Zerelda. They had two children a boy named Jesse Edwards, and a girl named Mary. Frank James also married. In 1881, Missouri Governor Thomas T. Creighton offered a $10,000 reward for Jesse’s capture, dead or alive. Jesse moved to St. Joseph, Missouri, with his family in the fall to hideout.

On Christmas Eve, Jesse moved his family into a small house on top of a huge hill overlooking St. Joseph. Living under an assumed name, Howard, Jesse rented a house from a city councilman for fourteen dollars. During the winter of 1882, Jesse tried to buy a small farm. But in April he was short of cash. So he asked Bob and Charlie Ford to help him rob a bank in Nebraska. Charlie Ford knew about the big reward placed on James’s head. He shot and killed the legendary outlaw while Jesse was leaning on a chair trying to hang a picture!

If Frank could have seen the man that killed Jesse, he probably would have killed him. To lots of historians, they feel that he wasn’t killed that day. I choose to believe that Jesse wasn’t killed that day either. I’d like to think that Jesse and his whole family had the shooting set up so he could pretend to be dead and just live another life.

THE WINDFALL ROCK IS HERE TO SERVE YOU!

PLEASE SEND YOUR STORY IDEAS, QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS TO:

Seth Hofer- hofer_seth@hotmail.com

Mike Coombes – Coombes_mike@hotmail.com

Carl Ereth – carl555@hotmail.com

Roger Derhammer – roger2436@hotmail.com

IF YOU PREFER THE OLD FASHIONED WAY, YOU CAN WRITE TO:

The Windfall Rock
4691 Windfall Road
Medina, Ohio 44256