Free Republic

From the Winona Daily News: When Winona Bishop Bernard Harrington talks about Kathy Redig, he speaks of her great heart. He regards her as a “great Christian person.” Harrington praises her work as a chaplain at Community Memorial Hospital.And when he thinks of her upcoming ordination in the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement — a largely excommunicated group of women ordaining other women to the priesthood — his mood changes. He calls the situation “very, very sad.” And pauses momentarily. “She has chosen to make this decision, and I have to respond,” Harrington said. “My responsibility is as a shepherd...

Police in Winona say a smelly spill caused at least five traffic accidents. A truck spilled a load of apparent chicken renderings while traveling on a street Thursday. The contents covered an eight-block area and ended up on - or inside - many vehicles parked along the street. The slippery pavement caused at least four rear-end collisions between vehicles unable to stop at intersections. A moped also tipped over because of the road conditions. No injuries are reported. Police are trying to locate the truck. Deputy Winona Police Chief Paul Bostrack says it's believed the truck may have been hauling...

WINONA, Minn. -- After all the radio interviews, after all the newspaper stories and television stories and hundreds and hundreds of e-mails, Carrie Rethlefsen ended her lesson in free speech and democracy today by doing a simple thing: She walked into school with her "I [heart] My Vagina" T-shirt's message in plain sight. About 40 classmates had walked in just seconds before after turning their T-shirts inside out. And, minutes later, she emerged with another lesson learned. The administrators at Winona Senior High School mean what they say. They sent her home for the day. "I'm happy," said Rethlefsen, 18....

Two Winona High School students have found themselves in hot water with school officials. Why? Because after Carrie Rethlefsen attended a performance of the play "The Vagina Monologues" last month, she and Emily Nixon wore buttons to school that read: "I [heart] My Vagina." School leaders said that the pin is inappropriate and that the discomfort it causes trumps the girls' right to free speech. The girls disagree. And despite repeated threats of suspension and expulsion, Rethlefsen has continued to wear her button. The girls have won support from other students and community members. More than 100 students have ordered...

Homeowner's Elaborate Rigging Busts Kerry Sign Thief POSTED: 9:22 am EDT October 27, 2004 WINONA, Minn. -- A Minnesota man has come up with an elaborate way to catch the people stealing John Kerry campaign signs from his yard. And it almost worked the other day. Rick Carpenter screwed his 2-by-4-foot Kerry sign to the wall of his house and coated it with Vaseline. His wife, Veronica, chipped in by running fishing line from the sign into the house and tying it to wind chimes. The chimes sounded about 1 a.m. Saturday. Carpenter said he was out the door so...

AP Special Correspondent   (enlarge photo) Actress Winona Ryder appears at Beverly Hills Superior Court April 7, 2003 in Beverly Hills, Calif. for a progress report following her conviction for shoplifting from Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills. Ryder was commended by a judge Monday, Dec.15, 2003, for abiding by the rules of her probation in a shoplifting case. (AP Photo/Mel Bouzad, Pool) BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Actress Winona Ryder was commended by a judge Monday for abiding by the rules of her probation in a shoplifting case.Ryder's lawyer, Shepard Kopp, said outside court that the judge plans to review...

<p>In the latest example of art imitating life, a group of high school students has created a musical based on Winona Ryder's shoplifting trial.</p> <p>Point Loma High School's Sticky Fingers: A Tale of Saks, Lies and Videotape satirizes the trial last fall in which the Oscar-nominated actress was convicted of taking about $6,000 worth of items from Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills.</p>

With the governor and Republicans allied, his fellow Democrats in the Legislature force a showdown over what is cut and what is spared. SACRAMENTO -- Democrats in the Legislature are set up for a showdown with Gov. Gray Davis next week as they prepare to pass budget measures the governor warned against: a hike in the car tax, cuts in prison spending and deferral of education spending. Davis is finding that the biggest obstacle to his budget plan so far is not the opposition Republicans, but members of his own party who complain that the cuts in his plan...

GIRLS GONE WILD by Rick Kisonak (12/18/2002) "I called my other personality Celestia. I believed I was from another planet. I could see into the future. I could heal people. I was, in my mind, learning it from God." Anne Heche - September 2001 Maybe it's an undetected side effect of Botox. Maybe it's something in designer bottled water. Perhaps it's the L.A. air. Who can say? All I know is that something is affecting high profile female showbiz personalities, turning them into out of control, occasionally dangerous wackjobs and nothing is being done to stop it. Mariah Scary...sorry, I...

Heroin will kill Winona Drugs claims ... Winona with her lawyer yesterdayFrom EVA SIMPSONin Los Angeles MOVIE star Winona Ryder is a heroin user who could overdose and die, a shock police report claimed last night. A detective warned the judge at Winona’s shoplifting hearing that if the actress didn’t get help she could be found dead “with a needle in her arm”. The file was released as Winona, 31, appeared for sentence. She was let off jail, but was given probation and community service. She was also ordered to undergo drug and psychological counselling. The 28-page probation report...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.(AP) - In a three-year span Winona Ryder filled 37 prescriptions from 20 doctors under a half-dozen aliases, according to a probation report that concluded the actress is apparently addicted to pain killers. The report was released Friday after Ryder received a probationary sentence for stealing and vandalizing merchandise at a Saks Fifth Avenue store in December 2001. It paints a picture of the actress "doctor shopping" to obtain prescription medicines.

Winona .. Girl INCARCERATED ... or Not?

Prosecutors want a Los Angeles judge to sentence Winona Ryder to three years probation, direct the actress to pay fines and restitution in excess of $25,000, and order her to cooperate with probation officials in developing "a plan for both drug and psychiatric counseling," according to a new Los Angeles Superior Court filing. The below sentencing memorandum, filed yesterday (12/2) by deputy district attorney Ann Rundle, also asks Judge Elden Fox (who is scheduled to sentence Ryder this Friday) to order the actress to serve 480 hours of community service and to cease using aliases, specifically the handle "Emily Thompson."...

Newsweek: The District Attorney's Office Has Evidence That Purportedly Shows Previous Shoplifting Incidents by Ryder, Newsweek Has Learned -- Jokes on SNL in Poor Taste; 'Nobody Is Going to Write a Script for Them If They Get Caught Shoplifting' Says Top Star Story Filed: Sunday, June 09, 2002 10:07 AM EST NEW YORK, Jun 09, 2002 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The district attorney's office in Los Angeles has evidence that purportedly shows Dec. 12 wasn't actress Winona Ryder's first shoplifting incident (though she's never been charged before), Newsweek has learned. Ryder was arrested on Dec. 12 at an L.A....

According to those who have seen the whole tape, it looks like all they have is Yves Saint Laurent hats disappearing in the dressing room.I assume they were found on her person later.