Home Care In Elsinore, UT

While denying wrongdoing, the Utah-based faith settled its part of the California case for $1 million.

| Updated: April 28, 2023, 9:42 p.m.

Riverside, Calif. • A woman who was molested for years by her stepfather has been awarded $2.28 billion by a California jury in a lawsuit that also implicated her mother and the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in which both parents were active, her attorneys announced.

The panel in Riverside County Superior Court awarded damages Tuesday to a woman described in court papers only as Jane Doe, who said she was sexually assaulted by her stepfather from age 5 until she was 14, according to an announcement by the law firm of Gary A. Dordick.

The lawsuit alleged that beginning in the 1980s, the stepfather sexually abused the girl. The assaults took place at their Lake Elsinore home and at events, meetings, and property of the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the lawsuit said.

“These ongoing acts of abuse brought plaintiff to the brink of suicide,” according to the lawsuit.

In addition to the stepfather, the negligence and sexual abuse suit also named the Utah-based church and the woman’s mother. It alleged that the woman repeatedly told Latter-day Saint officials, including local lay bishops, about the sexual abuse but that they failed to report it to law enforcement in violation of church policy and also used “intimidation and shaming tactics” to keep her from telling anyone outside the church.

The Associated Press is not naming the stepfather or the mother to shield the identity of the victim. An email to the stepfather’s attorney seeking comment was not returned.

The stepfather was arrested in 1997 after Jane Doe told her high school basketball coach about the abuse, the suit said. He pleaded guilty to committing lewd acts with a child under age 14 and spent three years in state prison, according to the lawsuit.

While denying wrongdoing, the church settled its part of the lawsuit for $1 million in December, and the woman’s mother settled for $200,000 in February, according to the woman’s lawyers.

The stepfather failed to appear at trial on the first day of jury selection and withdrew his answer to the lawsuit rather than face a warrant for his arrest, and “accordingly, his attorney was not able to participate in the trial,” the law firm said in an email.

The jury awarded the woman $836 million in damages and $1.44 billion in punitive damages, according to the Los Angeles Times, a largely symbolic move and unlikely ever to be fully paid, since the stepfather was the only remaining defendant.

Moody graduate — and former Texas Longhorn — Michael Cantu made his minor league debut this week after the San Diego Padres assigned him to Advanced-A Lake Elsinore of the California League.

Cantu hit a home run May 28 in his debut with the Storm and is batting .333 (2-6) with one RBI in two games.

The catcher signed with the Padres organization in 2017 after leaving the Longhorns after his junior season and played in the Arizona Rookie League last summer.

Three current Moody alumni are playing in minor league baseball and Luis Flores plays for Sultanes de Monterey in Mexico.

More:These professional baseball players have ties to the Corpus Christi area

MLB

Cliff Pennington, Carroll, Cincinnati Reds

.138 BA, 4-29, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB

Rob Zastryzny, Calallen, Chicago Cubs

0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K, 1 BB

Anthony Banda, Sinton, Tampa Bay Rays (current)

1-0, 3.68 ERA, 14.2 IP, 12 H, 10 K, 3 BB

INTERNATIONAL

Logan Verrett, Calallen, NC Dinos (Changwon, Korea, KBO)

2-5, 6.49 ERA, 43.0 IP, 56 H, 36 K, 19 BB

Luis Flores, Moody, Sultanes de Monterey (Mexican League)

.167 BA, 7-42, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 0 SB

MINOR LEAGUES

Anthony Banda, Sinton, Durham Bulls (AAA), Tampa Bay

4-3, 3.64 ERA, 42.0 IP, 43 H, 49 K, 18 BB

Jacob Dorris, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Fresno Grizzlies (AAA), Houston

2-0, 8.22 ERA, 15.1 IP, 18 H, 13 K, 10 BB

Cliff Pennington, Carroll, Round Rock Express (AAA), Texas (current)

.250, 10-40, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB

Rob Zastryzny, Calallen, Iowa Cubs (AAA), Chicago (current)

2-1, 4.56 ERA, 23.2 IP, 22 H, 21 K, 13 BB

Rudy Flores, Moody, Jackson Generals (AA), Arizona

.275 BA, 39-142, 7 HR, 25 RBI, 0 SB

Mike Franco, Moody, Montgomery Biscuits (AA), Tampa Bay

1-0, 2.16 ERA, 3-3 SV, 16.2 IP, 7 H, 20 K, 6 BB

Mike Franco, Moody, Durham Bulls (AAA), Tampa Bay (current)

0-0, 2.70 ERA, 10.0 IP, 8 H, 11 K, 6 BB

Wyatt Mathisen, Calallen, Altoona Curve (AA), Pittsburgh

.385 BA, 10-26, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 SB

Wyatt Mathisen, Calallen, Indianapolis Indians (AAA), Pittsburgh (current)

.341 BA, 15-44, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB

Tyler Neslony, Calallen, Mississippi Braves (AA), Atlanta

.266 BA, 50-188, 0 HR, 27 RBI, 4 SB

Jose Trevino, John Paul II, Frisco RoughRiders (AA), Texas

.261 BA, 37-142, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 0 SB

Lucas Humpal, Flour Bluff, Frederick Keys (A), Baltimore (current)

1-6, 5.97 ERA, 37.2 IP, 51 H, 29 K, 10 BB

Lucas Humpal, Flour Bluff, Bowie Baysox (AA), Baltimore

0-0, 13.50 ERA, 3.1 IP, 8 H, 1 K, 1 BB

Michael Cantu, Moody, Lake Elsinore Storm (A), San Diego

.333 BA, 2-6, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB

Trevor Foss, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Somerset Patriots, Atlantic League

1-2, 5.12 ERA, 19.1 IP, 22 H, 16 K, 7 BB

Courtney Hawkins, Carroll, Birmingham Barons, (AA), Chicago White Sox

.120 BA, 3-25, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB

Courtney Hawkins, Carroll, Sugar Land Skeeters, Atlantic League (current)

.235 BA, 27-115, 8 HR, 30 RBI, 0 SB

Despite hitting as high as .317 in the low minors while displaying a knack for drawing a base on balls, Joe Urso sensed the numbers game would keep him from climbing the ladder in the Angels’ system.

That is why he met with Ken Forsch, the former 114-game winner and then the organization’s director of player development, to tell him that instead of drawing the short straw and perhaps being released, he would spend yet another season at Class A Lake Elsinore.

Typically, a player in his mid-20s toiling at Class A might best consider another mode of employment. That is what Urso had in mind, but still wanting to be very much a part of the game. He told Forsch that he did not mind returning to the California League affiliate where he could serve as an unofficial player-coach in 1996.

The plan worked. For one, Urso was able to remain in the Southern California town learning the coaching ropes while being close to the woman, Julie, who would become his wife. The change in job description also launched him on a path that has led to a remarkable collegiate coaching career at the University of Tampa.

“I could see that the numbers were beginning to build up against me, that I could be one of the next guys released,” said Urso, who hit .282 in 484 minor league games, all but 12 spread among three Class A affiliates. “So, I told Ken Forsch what I wanted to do. It was an easy move for him to allow me the opportunity go down (to Lake Elsinore from Double A Midland where he completed the previous season) instead of releasing me.”

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ByAmy DaniseEditor

ByAmy DaniseEditor

A full-time coaching position opened in 1997, a season he spent with manager Tom Kotchman at Class A Boise. The following year, Urso was back in Lake Elsinore serving as the hitting coach. Then, in 1999, he became a 28-year-old manager when he took over the Angels’ rookie-level club in Butte, Mont. Before the short-season Pioneer League schedule began, he spent three months running extended spring training in Arizona. That went on for two years.

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It was his year coaching with Kotchman, who served as the Tampa Bay area scout in 1992 when he recommended the Angels select Urso, which they did in the 49th round, that really made an impression.

“I learned so much being around him in the clubhouse and his desire to win every game,” he said of the now 68-year-old Kotchman, who is managing Boston’s Florida Complex League team and closing in on 2,000 career minor league wins. “For him to show up every day with that expectation to win was a great lesson. I also learned how to manage a bullpen, which has been our biggest thing at (UT).”

The opportunity to take his baseball career back to the University of Tampa, his alma mater, and in the city where he was born and raised, arrived in late 2000 after the previous manager, former UT player Terry Rupp, departed to take over at Maryland. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up, and one Urso thought would offer a stable lifestyle.

“We thought (UT) would be a better family job than the grind of the minor leagues,” said Urso, at the time a father to an infant, J.D., who is currently a senior shortstop at with the Spartans. “Back in those days when somebody was coaching professionally, if you did not have a big-league name, you have to be like Joe Maddon and coach in the minors 20-plus years to get your opportunity. The game has definitely changed since then, but I didn’t think that would be the best way to raise a family. I thought (UT) would be the best family job and, wow, was I right.”

Urso has led the program to the NCAA Division-II tournament all 22 seasons he has been at the helm, with five national championships. He has won more than 900 games and, at 52, seems as driven as ever to keep the good times rolling.

“It has been an amazing run and you pinch yourself sometimes,” said the former Spartans second baseman, who won two national titles and was a career .332 hitter while once holding the NCAA Division-II career mark for runs scored with 258. “The pressure to keep on top is real and you want to be the best every year. It is not just conference titles we’re talking about. You’re talking about the goal of winning national titles every year. It is not easy. At times, we have made it look easy with the run we have had, but it is obviously not easy to keep a program on top this long. I am really proud of what we have been able to do.”

Much of that pride derives from the fact that no less than 74 players, including nine in 2010, have been drafted by major league teams on Urso’s watch. He gives much credit to pitching coach Sam Militello, a former Spartans teammate and Yankees pitcher who has been with Urso the entire time at the university.

“It’s been a heck of a relationship for us to stay together for 23 years,” said Militello, whose 182 strikeouts in 1990 remain a Division-II single-season record, and who was a coach in Cleveland’s system when he reunited with Urso. “You just don’t see that in college athletics at all. However, the dynamic we have is something that is really special. Joe gives me the opportunity to be like a head coach. He listens to what I have to say and we greatly respect each other. We have been together so long that we know what each other is thinking and we know what each other is going to do. We still having a lot of fun doing it, which is probably the most important ingredient in our relationship.”

Urso and Militello, who spent parts of two seasons (1992-93) pitching for the Yankees, were teammates under Lelo Prado. Prado, currently the deputy athletic director at USF, about 10 miles from UT, won two national titles during his seven years coaching the Spartans before moving on to Louisville and USF. As with Kotchman, valuable lessons in running a team were devoured.

“I learned the family part from him,” said Urso. “During my four years playing for him, he treated me like his own son. The family atmosphere that he created is something that I try to do. I point to that as one of the major reasons for our success here.”

That family atmosphere begins with an open door.

“Sam and I took what we learned playing and coaching in professional baseball and brought it to college,” said Urso, who praised his coach at Tampa’s Plant High School, Jeff Vardo, for instilling life lessons. “We are players’ coaches in that our offices are open to the student-athletes every day. Many of them come in to hang out and talk. I tell them that I am going to treat them like men and I am going to demand the same back. The players really appreciate that and they respond well to it.”

Nothing is more pleasing to Urso than when former players return to campus to catch a game or visit his home to catch up and reminisce about their time together.

“Even though I chase titles, what I enjoy most is that a lot of players come back, and many of them come back with their kids,” he said. “That gives me the biggest measure of satisfaction, when they come back and visit my home, or at the field when their kids run around after a game. When you are building relationships like that, that tells me that they believe this is their Spartan family. That means we have done our job as coaches. This has been a dream come true.”

Especially since that dream is playing out where Urso once starred.

“I am a UT lifer, basically,” he said. “This program means everything to me. I preach it to my players, the pride I have in putting on the University of Tampa uniform and not taking it for granted.”

A middle school student, 12, died after he collapsed while he ran in extreme heat during gym class on Tuesday as his family claimed he begged for water.

Yahshua Robinson, a student at Lake Middle School in Lake Elsinore, Calif., was allegedly forced to run when he wore the wrong clothes to gym class.

Yahshua had complained of feeling ill before he collapsed, students in the boy’s class told his aunt Amarna Plummer, according to NBC Los Angeles.

“He was reaching out to the teacher, saying he needed some water,” Plummer told the outlet of her nephew’s final minutes alive.

Temperatures in Lake Elsinore reached a high of 97 degrees, according to the Weather Channel.

While the boy ran with the intense California sun beating down on him, his aunt says, he told the teacher and fellow students he “couldn’t breathe” before becoming unresponsive.

Emergency responders rushed to Yahshua’s aid, transporting the boy about 10 miles from the school to Loma Linda University Medical Center – Murrieta, where he was pronounced dead at 12:55 p.m., the Riverside Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.

The 12-year-old’s grief-stricken family is demanding answers following the child’s death.

“Why would you have a child in his clothes — he didn’t dress out — running a field?” Plummer questioned.

The boy’s aunt revealed Yahshua’s mother is a gym teacher in a neighboring district — and that same day, warned school officials about the intense heat.

“She informs the administration, ‘Do not let any children go out today for PE.’ And what happened? She gets a call he passed out on the field,” Plummer told the outlet.

“This is terrible. It happened on somebody else’s watch,” Plummer shared, saying the family is devastated over the loss.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department confirmed it responded to the school after receiving a report of a minor needing medical aid and is investigating the death, according to a statement released by the department.

“In this difficult moment, we are deeply saddened to confirm the passing of one of our students due to a medical emergency on one of our LEUSD campuses,” a statement by the Lake Elsinore Unified School District read.

“Our hearts are with the family, friends, and our school community.”

The new school year had just begun on Aug. 9.

The Canyon Lake Middle School is about 70 miles outside Los Angeles.

In a GoFundMe page set up by Plummer, she writes that “the void Yahshua leaves behind is profound” after he collapsed in the “sweltering heat.”

“Janae & Eric Robinson [Yahshua’s parents] and their three other children are trying to come to terms with this devastating reality. The agony of losing a child is indescribable, and as we wait with heavy hearts for the autopsy results, we are reminded of the unpredictability of life,” the post read.

As the family waits to receive the autopsy report on Yahshua, US Environmental Protection Agency experts have shared the dangers of heat-related illness in children

Most children have a smaller body mass ratio to surface area and are at greater risk for heat-related death than adults.

Children are also more susceptible to dehydration than adults because fluids leave their bodies faster in heat and when exercising, the organization also shared in its June report.

Flushed skin, deep breathing, little or no sweating, dizziness, fatigue, headache, or loss of consciousness are all signs of heatstroke — and if a child is believed to be suffering from the heat-induced illness, they should be placed in a cool environment and medical attention should be sought.

Statesman Journal

The world of a cappella comes center stage March 25 at the Historic Elsinore Theatre when Varsity Vocals presents the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Northwest Semifinal.

Four quarter-finals feed this competition, said ICCA Northwest and Southwest Producer Lucy Jackson. “It’s all about bringing together a love of arts and the magic of human singing.”

Jackson said A cappella has grown massively thanks to TV shows like “Glee” and movies like “Pitch Perfect,” which is based off a book about the ICCA competition.

The first and second-place winners from each quarter-final in Oregon, Northern California, Utah and Washington are given 12 minutes to perform.

Each group has its own unique perspective, Jackson said. “They are smashing so much into 12 minutes trying to showcase their style, taste, soloists.”

The competitors include:

Mind the Gap: This University of Oregon co-ed a cappella group has participated in the ICCA Semifinals twice. The group took third last year in Deke Sharon's VoiceJam and first at last year's Seaside A Cappella Festival, as well as the Bend A Cappella Festival.

Outspoken: Oregon State University’s all-male group placed second at the quarterfinals in Oregon and second at last year’s ICCA Northwest Semifinal. The group is currently working on its fifth album.

VoiceLine: This all-male group from Utah Valley University is competing at ICCA for the first year. The nine-member group, which placed first at the quarterfinals in Utah, made it to the second round of the 10th season of "America’s Got Talent.”

Infrared: The 11-member mixed a cappella group from the University of Utah placed second at the quarterfinals in Utah.

Furmata A Cappella: A mixed a cappella group from the University of Washington that placed first in the quarterfinals in Washington.

Underground Sound A Cappella: This University of Puget Sound mixed a capella group placed second at the quarterfinals in Washington. Although it is the group's first time making it to the semifinal round, this group has been performing since 1997. The group has been featured on Acaville Radio.

The Liquid Hotplates: This mixed a cappella group from the University of California – Davis took first place at the quarterfinals in San Francisco. It’s the group’s first time making it to the semifinal round.

Stanford Mendicants: A 22-member Stanford University male a cappella group that placed second at the quarterfinal in San Francisco. This is its first time going to the semifinal round.

“Our shows are lively, fun and engaging. It’s a really fun family show,” Jackson said. “It’s not your typical music event.”

Elsinore Theater Executive Director Tom Fohn, who would eventually like to see a high school a cappella competition on the theater’s stage, is excited about hosting the ICCA competition.

“I love the rawness — the fact that the performers can’t hide instruments or processed sound — it’s natural, and it’s on them,” he said.

“Considering the acoustic excellence we have here — a theater designed for vaudeville — I can think of no better place to hold this contest,” Fohn said.

The top-placing group at this event will advance to The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Finals and perform April 22 at The Beacon Theatre in New York City.

Email [email protected], call 503-399-6671, or follow on Twitter @CarleeWrightSJ

MORE events:

The Naked Magicians coming to Elsinore March 23

Portland Taiko plays free concert March 24 at library

Yard, Garden & Home Show a one-stop shop March 17-19

International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Northwest Semifinal

When: 7 p.m. Saturday, March 25

Where: Historic Elsinore Theatre, 170 High St. SE

Cost: $25 to $35 or $20 to $30 for students. Tickets are available at the theater box office, elsinoretheatre.com and all Tickets West locations

Information: varsityvocals.com