Jeanne Marie Hackema, 68, was arrested Thursday and charged Friday. She has since been released.

The victim of the alleged assault is a 55-year-old woman who no longer lives at the facility, which is housed in a bungalow at 115th Street and 9th Avenue.

The woman filed the complaint in May 2009 and left the facility two months later, said Acting Staff Sgt. Roxanne McKean.

“We are very gratified to know she has been charged and held accountable. The main issue is when you’re vulnerable, you can’t complain, your families can’t complain, because they need 24-hour care,” she said.

In 2004, the Elder Advocates of Alberta filed a complaint about the Open Arms care home alleging overcrowding, insufficient food, delays in helping with bathroom needs and a lack of trained staff.

According to Alberta Seniors and Community Supports, a separate complaint was filed against the care home in February, but has since been resolved. The department would not release further information, citing privacy concerns.

McKean said the alleged victim was in the care home because of a brain injury. Brain injuries can affect memory, mental focus and a variety of emotional, intellectual and physical attributes.

Police laid a “global” assault charge in the case, which means they believe more than one assault may have occurred during a set period.

McKean said officers are looking for other potential victims, but do not have any other suspects.

MidCentral District Health Board began a three-day audit of Rose A Lea Rest Home in Palmerston North on Friday after complaints about the restraint and care of 103-year-old Myra Letts.

The rest home was so squalid that it would have taken days to clean, an investigating official says.

There are also allegations that the woman had bed sores on her knees and buttocks, and unchanged bandages were left covered in faeces. Mrs Letts died on Monday from problems believed to be unrelated to her treatment.

However, her daughter, Bev Stone, told Radio New Zealand this morning that the care provided to her mother had been exemplary and “if she hadn’t been there we would have lost her … five years ago.”

Bev’s son Stuart Stone told Radio New Zealand that he had worked at the home. There was never any cause for concern over the standard of care that was provided there, he said.

He admitted he was not happy about the crude measure used to keep his grandmother’s leg straight, but said the rest home workers thought they were doing the right thing.

The inspection of the rest home was spurred by a complaint from Julie Ireland, a 21-year veteran of the aged-care industry.

“This style of approach to a problem in healthcare appears to be a huge display of double standards. There are numerous instances of very poor care that come to light, many of them within DHB-owned institutions such as public hospitals, mental health services and community care.”

NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS INCREASING

Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Rae Lamb says she has seen a “significant increase” in rest home and aged care complaints.

There were 137 complaints about rest homes in the 2008-09 year – 25 were formally investigated.

However, over the past year, complaints jumped a further 5 per cent, which Ms Lamb attributed in part to an increase in media coverage of high profile cases.

In July, Mafoufoga Misiagi, 61, was convicted of common assault on a rest home resident after taping the elderly woman’s mouth shut to keep her quiet.

Health Ministry spokeswoman Rose Wall said 16 complaints alleging physical, verbal or sexual abuse of rest home residents had been received by the ministry since January 2008. Five complaints were substantiated.

Two providers “have been served cessation or closure notices since October 2004″ [when the requirement to be certified came into force]. “A number of other service providers have closed voluntarily while under investigation by the ministry.”

But now that the worst appears over in the local residential market, I was totally unprepared to hear from people who are angry that the home sector is doing better.

That’s right. Some North Texans are getting absolutely livid over articles that say that home prices are firming and sales have picked up.

When reports come out that the U.S. economy is improving, I often see the same measure of vitriol in our reader comments. But who would expect venomous rants about home prices edging up after more two years of declines?
Home sales prices have been flat or slightly higher in each of the last four months, statistics from the Multiple Listing Service show. And local home sales were up a whopping 11 percent in October from a year earlier. This week the National Association of Realtors reported that quarterly home prices in North Texas rose slightly for the first time since late 2007.

Oh, there’s still some bad news. Foreclosures continue at record levels in the D-FW area. And the number of people who are behind on their loans is still going up. But that has more to do with yesterday’s housing market – bad mortgages made or home buys done a couple of years ago.

What really matters now is where the home market is going next month and next year. But analysts doubt that the recent gains mean that our housing market is headed back to the good old days.

“We need to start thinking in terms of how to define recovery and what a good market will look like,” said Dr. James Gaines, an economist for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. “Does it mean that we return to the heights of the 2005-2007 period or something else?”

So the Carpathian Dental Associates in Johnson City came up with a sweet deal to encourage kids to keep the cavities away.

Sunday, they offered a dollar per pound of candy turned in at their offices.

The candy that was collected will be sent to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan along with thank you notes from the children.

“We’re always hearing complaints from the parents ‘we pay all the money to have the kids’ teeth fixed and now they’re going to eat all this candy for Halloween.’ So it’s kind of a win-win situation: they keep some of the candy, they give some of it to the troops, and they’re getting some dollars,” said Dr. Hayes Aronson.

Along with the cash, each child took home a glowing toothbrush and some healthy snacks.

The next-door neighbor of Jennifer Lee Jones, 28, waited for her to get home to her unit at the Overlook Apartments on Avenida Venusto, then followed her through the front door and killed her quickly, according to prosecutors.

The attack happened about 4:45 p.m. Thursday while Jones was on the phone with her mother who lives in Ohio. The mother heard a man’s voice, sounds of a struggle and her daughter screaming before the line went dead, police said
Richard Saldivar, 40, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Oct. 27 but prosecutors say Saldivar, who lived right across from Jones, saw her coming home and ran inside to get his knife.

He lived with his wife and children and had been given an eviction notice the day of the attack. Some neighbors who didn’t want to be identified said Saldivar was a very noisy neighbor, who often played loud music with his front door wide open.

Prosecutors wouldn’t reveal a motive at the arraignment but said the victim’s mother gave information to police that eventually led to Saldivar.

“They contacted him later that evening, he had fresh cuts and scratches on his arms consistent with the atta”Just a delightful young lady that always has a smile on her face,” said Ken Chernish.

Accoriding to prosecutors, the victim was an engineer who worked for a San Diego company called Solar Turbines. Saldivar is unemployed, the said.

Saldivar pleaded not guilty and his bail has been set at $2 million

Carrone is one of dozens in the River Walk community who found out they have tainted drywall. She’s expected to move back in January and is thrilled with the way her builder, Columbus, Ohio-based MI Homes, has handled the situation.

“They’ve been amazing,” Carrone said as she checked on the progress at her home Monday. “I’m living in a big, nice house while I wait, and I’ll have a brand new home when I come back.”
The state has received nearly 600 complaints from homeowners who fear they have the tainted drywall.

Meanwhile, The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is moving forward with plans to visit several sites in China where the imported drywall was manufactured. The agency has received 800 complaints about the product and is also conducting indoor air samples of homes in Florida and other states.

The toxic drywall emits a corrosive gas that damages appliances, gives off a rotten-egg stench. It was used in an estimated 100,000 houses nationwide built during the housing boom. The health effects of the drywall are still under investigation, but homeowners have complained of headaches, dry eyes, rashes and respiratory problems.

Agencies, including the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and state health departments are investigating.

The consumer product safety commission is expected to announce results soon of testing for radioactive phosphogypsum by the Florida health department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The toxic drywall has been found in 23 states, but the majority of complaints are from Florida. That’s partly because humidity brings out the corrosive gas faster, experts say.

The drywall was used because of a shortage during the aftermath of hurricanes. Builders typically use domestic drywall but turned to the imported drywall during the housing boom, mainly from 2004 through 2007.

Builders say they didn’t know about the bad drywall because subcontractors ordered it from distributors.

Fraudulent foreclosure “rescue” professionals use half truths and outright lies to sell services that promise relief and then fail to deliver. Their goal is to make a quick profit through fees or mortgage payments they collect from you, but do not pass on to the lender. Sometimes, they assume ownership of your property by deceiving you, the homeowner. Then, when it’s too late to save your home, they take the property or siphon off the equity. You’ve lost your home to foreclosure despite your best intentions.

If you think you may be facing foreclosure, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, wants you to know how to recognize a foreclosure rescue scam. And even if the foreclosure process has already begun, the FTC and its law enforcement partners want you to know that legitimate options are available to help you save your home. How the Scams Work

Foreclosure rescue firms use a variety of tactics to find homeowners in distress: Some sift through public foreclosure notices in newspapers and on the Internet or through public files at local government offices, and then send personalized letters to homeowners. Others take a broader approach through ads on the Internet, on television, or in the newspaper, posters on telephone poles, median strips and at bus stops, or flyers or business cards at your front door. The scam artists use simple and straight-forward messages, like:

“Stop Foreclosure Now!”

“We guarantee to stop your foreclosure.”

“Keep Your Home. We know your home is scheduled to be sold. No Problem!”

“We have special relationships within many banks that can speed up case approvals.”

“We Can Save Your Home. Guaranteed. Free Consultation”

“We stop foreclosures everyday. Our team of professionals can stop yours this week!”

Once they have your attention, they use a variety of tactics to get your money:

Bankruptcy Foreclosure

The scam artist may promise to negotiate with your lender or to get refinancing on your behalf if you pay a fee up front. Instead of contacting your lender or refinancing your loan, though, the scam artist pockets the fee and files a bankruptcy case in your name – sometimes without your knowledge.

A bankruptcy filing often stops a home foreclosure, but only temporarily. What’s more, the bankruptcy process is complicated, expensive, and unforgiving. For example, if you fail to attend the first meeting with the creditors, the bankruptcy judge will dismiss the case and the foreclosure proceedings will continue.

If this happens, you could lose the money you paid to the scam artist as well as your home. Worse yet, a bankruptcy stays on your credit report for 10 years, and can make it difficult to obtain credit, buy a home, get life insurance, or sometimes get a job.

#6 – WAL-MART
Shopping at a Wal-Mart is bad enough so can you even imagine having to live next door to one? To hell with the convenience, what about the glare of the parking lot lights in your bedroom window? The endless stream of delivery trucks backing into the loading docks. The teenage employees hiding behind your fence smoking weed or swapping spit during their breaks. Even worse they are now open 24-hours a day and encouraging people to use the parking lot as an RV campground. You couldn’t even have fun people watching, unless you enjoy watching poor, fat, overweight people.
#5 – WARREN JEFFS
Living next to this santimonious religious nutbar pedophile would be a real treat and put a whole new meaning to the term “lock up your daughters”. You would have one of his brain-dead followers knocking on your door every day telling you they held the only true path to your salvation. Plus when they ask if you want to buy any cookies the parents would push their 8-year old daughter in front of you and introduce her as ‘Cookie’. Be warned that when your 50-year old neighbour asks how your wifes pregnancy is coming along and what her due date is he isn’t being friendly, he is planning his wedding day.
#4 – MEXICO
Your neighbours are crawling over or under your fence and sneaking into your home every time you turn your back, and sometimes even when you don’t. You go to work one day to find out they took your job, so you manage to find another job and go to work one day to find out they took the whole factory and moved it into their yard. Half of your TV channels are suddenly speaking a language you don’t understand, your politicans are pandering to them in order to get their vote, there are hundreds of thousands of ‘visitors’ in your home, and you still can’t find a decent burrito anywhere.
#3 – OSAMA BIN LADEN
The worst thing about living next to Osama would have to be that you are probably living in a cave somewhere in the mountains of Pakistan. Instead of a cup of sugar he is always coming over to borrow your video camera or a roll of toilet paper.
#2 – SUMGAYIT, AZERBAIJAN
“Worlds Worst Polluted Places” for 2007 by The Blacksmith Institute. This home of over 40 Soviet-era factories was the industrial center for the manufacturing of pesticides, chlorine, detergents, and plenty of other noxious garbage. Today it is a cesspool of untreated sewage, mercury contamination, and some of the highest rates of cancer and birth defects anywhere in the world. And if you think that is bad, most of the factories have closed, so you can’t even get a decent job in this town.
#1 – THE DEATH STAR
Seriously, can you even imagine a worse neighbour? Not only can the Death Star blow up your house, but it can blow up your whole planet when you forget to return that 30′ ladder or fail to pledge allegiance to the Emperor. Even worse, if you move it can follow you anywhere in the galaxy. Don’t even get me started about the parking problems you would experience when the entire Imperial fleet shows up for some big meeting. To make matters worse you’ve got those peksy Rebels launching suicide attacks against the thing every couple weeks, so its only a matter of time before you have an X-Wing fighter or some other piece of random space debris crashing into your living room. Then when the damn thing is finally blown up they start rebuilding it but never finish the job, turning your street into a permanent construction zone, and you don’t even dare to ask to see the permit.

Originally a Spanish colony, Honduras received nominal independence in 1821, but has struggled with oligarchic rule since then. President Manuel Zelaya was removed from office several days ago by the Honduran Supreme Court and Congress.

Someone from his own party was named as interim president, and a new election was promised for this coming fall. Zelaya was arrested by the nation’s military at his home, and put on a plane for Costa Rica.Zelaya is part of a small group of Central and South American leaders, each originally legitimately elected, but who, having tasted power, don’t want to give it up. In effect, they really want to return to the old politics of the dictators who ruled in the previous world of Hispanic-American politics.

Hugo Chavez of Venezuela is the most notorious of this group, which also includes Evo Morales of Bolivia and Fidel Castro of Cuba (who has been the communist dictator of Cuba for 50 years).

It was no surprise then that Chavez and his cohorts came immediately to the defense of Zelaya, and it was not unexpected that the Organization of American States and the United Nations, both left-dominated organizations, would join in an effort to overturn the actions of the Honduran Congress and Supreme Court.The problem for the new American president, however, is that the U.S. is the leading advocate and protector of democracies, large and small, in the world. Now he has sent a very contradictory message to the region and the international community.

Acting President Roberto Micheletti of Honduras is a man who shows no signs of seeking or keeping political power. He’s even a member of the ousted president’s own party. An interesting development here is that the military cooperated with Honduran democratic institutions, and have not attempted to take power for themselves (as has happened in this region so often in the past).

Maybe lower house payments, and not just for those already in default.

“All of us are paying a price for this home mortgage crisis,” Obama said Wednesday in announcing the program during a ceremony at a Phoenix-area high school.

The housing industry has been devastated by the nation’s recession. Construction of homes and applications for future projects both plunged to record lows in January as all parts of the country showed big declines in building activity. Analysts hope that boosts from government programs, including steps to stem foreclosures, will help stop the slide.

Headlining Obama’s efforts is the $75 billion Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, which will provide a set of incentives to lenders to cut monthly mortgage payments to sustainable levels.
Refinance, even if you’re ‘underwater’
Mortgage rates at near-record lows could make payments more manageable for homeowners trapped by falling prices. Though many of these owners are current on their payments, plummeting prices have kept them underwater. Homeowners whose mortgages were bought or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac typically need equity of at least 20% to refinance. Obama’s program would change that requirement, allowing even those who owe up to 105% of their home’s value to refinance.