"Walking to Find a Cure" and "Vigil To Remember UConn Student" page 4, The Chronicle, 10/17/16.

1. 4 the Chronicle, Willimantic, Conn., Monday, October 17, 2016
(Continued from Page 1)
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Reuters
EAST OF MOSUL/BAGHDAD — Iraqi government
forces launched a U.S.-backed offensive today to drive
Islamic State from the northern city of Mosul, a high-
stakes battle to retake the militants’ last major stronghold
in the country.
Two years after the jihadists seized the city of 1.5 mil-
lion people and declared a caliphate from there encom-
passing tracts of Iraq and Syria, a force of some 30,000
Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces and Sunni tribal
fighters began to advance.
Helicopters released flares and explosions could be
heard on the city’s eastern front, where Reuters watched
Kurdish fighters move forward to take outlying villages.
A U.S.-led air campaign has helped drive Islamic State
from much of the territory it held but 4,000 to 8,000
fighters are thought to remain in Mosul.
Residents contacted by phone dismissed reports on
Arabic television channels of an exodus by the jihadists,
who have a history of using human shields and have
threatened to unleash chemical weapons.
“Daesh are using motorcycles for their patrols to evade
air detection, with pillion passengers using binoculars to
check out buildings and streets,” said Abu Maher, using
an Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
He and others contacted were preparing makeshift
defenses and had been stockpiling food in anticipation
of the assault, which officials say could take weeks or
even months. The residents withheld their full names for
security reasons and Reuters was not able to verify their
accounts independently.
The United States predicted Islamic State would suffer
“a lasting defeat” as Iraqi forces mounted their biggest
operation in Iraq since the 2003 invasion that toppled
Saddam Hussein.
But the offensive, which has assumed considerable
importance for President Barack Obama as his term
draws to a close, is fraught with risks.
These include sectarian conflict between Mosul’s main-
ly Sunni population and advancing Shi’ite forces, and the
potential for up to a million people to flee Mosul, multi-
plying a refugee crisis in the region and across Europe.
“We set up a fortified room in the house by putting
sandbags to block the only window and we removed
everything dangerous or flammable,” Abu Maher said.
“I spent almost all my money on buying food, baby milk
and anything we might need.”
Qatar-based al-Jazeera television aired video of what
it said was a bombardment of Mosul that started after a
speech by Prime Minister Haider Abadi, showing rockets
and bursts of tracer bullets across the night sky and loud
sounds of gunfire.
“I announce today the start of the heroic operations to
free you from the terror and oppression of Daesh,” Abadi
said on state TV.
“We will meet soon on the ground in Mosul to cel-
ebrate liberation and your salvation,” he said, surrounded
by commanders of the armed forces.
The commander of the coalition, U.S. Lt. Gen. Stephen
Townsend, said the operation to take Iraq’s second largest
city would likely continue for weeks, “possibly longer.”
If Mosul falls, Raqqa in Syria will be Islamic State’s
last city stronghold.
“This is a decisive moment in the campaign to deliver
ISIL a lasting defeat,” U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter
said in a statement, using another acronym for Islamic
State.
“We are confident our Iraqi partners will prevail
against our common enemy and free Mosul and the rest
of Iraq from ISIL’s hatred and brutality.”
Islamic State has been retreating since the end of last
year in Iraq, where it is battling U.S-backed government
and Kurdish forces as well as Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi’ite
militias.
But in a blow to the anti-IS campaign, last week the
jihadists crushed a planned rebellion within its ranks in
Mosul intended to ease the recapture of the city.
The Iraqi Kurdish military command said 4,000
Peshmerga were taking part in an operation to clear sev-
eral villages held by Islamic State to the east of Mosul,
in an attack coordinated with a push by Iraqi army units
from the southern front.
The Iraqi army media office said advancing troops
destroyed a number of Islamic State defense lines and
strikes by Iraqi and coalition jets hit militant positions.
A column of black smoke was rising from one IS posi-
tion on the eastern front, a Reuters correspondent said,
apparently from burning oil being used to block the path
of the Kurds and obstruct the jets’ view.
“We are the real Muslims, Daesh are not Muslims, no
religion does what they did,” said a young Kurdish fight-
er in battle dress as he scanned the plain east of Mosul
from his position on the heights of Mount Zertik.
As he spoke a Humvee drove by with the word Rojava,
or Syria’s Kurdistan, painted on the protection plate of
the machine gun turret.
“This is all Kurdistan,” Maj. Shiban Saleh, one of the
fighters on board, said. “When we’re done here, we will
chase them to Raqqa or wherever they go,” he said.
He said about 450 Syrian Peshmerga fighters were
involved in the offensive east of Mosul, which aims to
take back nine villages during the day.
Iraq launches
Mosul offensive
to drive out ISlistening to the speakers,” Williamson said, add-
ing, “it’s good for new cancer survivors to hear
from long-term survivors.”
Working at a table behind the baseball stadium
where purses and jewelry were for sale to ben-
efit the relay, cancer survivor Karen Madore of
Andover said she was diagnosed with lung cancer
in 2006 and became cancer free one year later.
“It’s nice to see all the survivors,” she said.
Five minutes before taking to the stage near the
stadium’s home plate for opening ceremonies,
Julie Kessler, a Mansfield resident who is a survi-
vor, walker and community manager for the New
England division of the American Cancer Society,
said “things are going great. It’s a beautiful sunny
day and everyone’s very excited about our 20th
anniversary.”
Linda McDonald, of Columbia, was getting
items ready for the silent auction, in what normal-
ly is the stadium’s visitor dugout area, alongside
two volunteers from ECSU.
Sylvia Darigis, an ECSU freshman fromVernon,
said “I wanted to get involved with the commu-
nity, we are putting everything (auction items)
into sets trying to display it nicely.”
“I never have done it before and I wanted to
accommodate my friend to see how we could help
out,” Sylvia Bousquet, an ECSU freshman, also
from Vernon, said.
During opening ceremonies, Kessler said “it
takes a lot of work, commitment and dedication
to do what we do today,” adding she is thankful to
ECSU for hosting the Relay for Life.
After opening ceremonies, Mansfield resident
Harry Tucker was seen sitting near the stage.
He said he was diagnosed with colon cancer
eight years ago and then diagnosed with prostate
cancer just recently.
While he won the fight with colon cancer, he is
undergoing radiation therapy for his prostate.
“I’ve been coming to (Windham) Relay for Life
since 2000. My wife (Norma Tucker) passed away
from colon cancer in 2009,” Harry Tucker said,
adding the community shows great interest in the
annual event.
To help people understand colon cancer, the
Hartford Hospital Auxiliary in Hartford, set up a
gigantic, walk-through inflatable imitation colon
with signs giving information about polyps and
cancer.
For some folks, attending Relay for Life of
Greater Windham County is more of a learning
experience.
Lee and Cathy Thompson, both of Southbridge,
Mass., who have been married for almost 40
years, said this was their second year at the event
as they hope to learn lessons to help their home-
town’s relay for life chapter.
“We go to different ones (Relay for Life events)
to get different ideas and this is our second year
here,” Lee Thompson said.
Cathy Thompson said she was diagnosed with
breast cancer in 2008, but was able to successfully
fight it later that year. However, she still relies on
help from her husband.
As a caregiver, Lee Thompson said, “I take care
of the medications and appointments and what-
ever else she needs. I do most of the shopping.”
Several tents surrounding the perimeter of the
outside of the stadium’s track were set up for
family, friends and organizations who took turns
walking the track to show their support for the
relay.
Chris Lataille-Santiago, event chairman, was
seen with other members of her relay team called
the “Willimantic Street Walkers.”
She has been involved with the relay for the
past 17 years. This year, the Street Walkers raised
$1,939, according to the Relay for Life website.
“We started walking down Main Street in
Willimantic. For a whole year, we went once
a week to make people aware of the American
Cancer Society services, such as wigs,” she said.
Around 1 p.m., Edgar Poudrier, 16, of Chaplin,
was assistingAbby Homen, 10, and Jayme Homen,
11, both of Mansfield, with setting up hundreds of
luminaries around the inner perimeter of the track
for the luminary event that evening.
Each luminary had the name of a survivor or
cancer victim.
All three are from the Natchaug River Young
Marines, a youth education and service program
geared toward helping boys and girls ages 8 to
18 from various towns throughout northeastern
Connecticut. It is based out of Harvard H. Ellis
Technical High School in Danielson.
Adult volunteers in the organization are former,
retired, active duty or reserve Marines.
“I will be here for the whole day,” Poudrier said,
after casually dancing to some Zumba music as he
went by the stage.
This was Poudrier’s first year helping relay,
while it was Abby’s second and Jayme’s third.
Unit Commander Joe Couture of Dayville, who
has been a leader of the Young Marines group for
nine years, said the unit assisted vendors with
set-up of their tents, participated in opening and
closing ceremonies, set up luminaries and are
involved with the Sunday morning cleanup.
“It’s nice that they support the community and
those that went through the pain and suffering
with cancer, which is what Relay for Life is all
about,” Couture said.
To donate to the Relay for Life of Greater
Windham County chapter, visit http://
main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/
RFLCY17NE?pg=entry&fr_id=75592 or contact
Julie Kessler at (203) 379-4881 or julie.kessler@
cancer.org.
Al Malpa
Members of the Windham High School cheerleading squad, left, and members of the
Natchaug River Young Marines, right, get ready to begin the walk during the Relay For
Life of Greater Windham County at the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball
stadium in Mansfield on Saturday.
a married woman and bragged in vul-
gar terms how his celebrity allowed
him to kiss and grope women without
permission.
The accusations overshadowed
what might otherwise have been
a difficult week for Clinton. Her
campaign manager’s e-mail account
was apparently hacked and thou-
sands of his e-mails were released
by WikiLeaks. U.S. officials say the
Russian government sanctioned the
electronic break-in.
The e-mails have been trickling out
for two weeks. Included in the hacked
e-mails were undisputed comments
that Clinton made to banks and big
business in a 2014 speech. In those
comments, Clinton said she sup-
ports open trade and open borders,
and takes a conciliatory approach to
Wall Street, both positions she later
backed away from.
Since that release, waves of other
e-mails have been released, among
which were some that suggested
Clinton had inappropriately received
questions in advance of a debate
with Bernie Sanders during the
Democratic primaries.
Without Trump’s own woes, the
Clinton e-mails may well have
become the central issue in the cam-
paign. Yet with just over three weeks
to go until the Nov. 8 election, Trump
does not have much time to turn the
race around.
According to the project, Trump
trails by double-digits among women
and all minority groups. Among
black voters he trails by nearly 70
points. To a large extent his support
is almost entirely dependent on white
voters. And while Trump’s support
among white men is strong, among
white women his lead is negligible.
Report: Clinton favored to win Electoral College
(Continued from Page 1)
Reuters
A defamation lawsuit against Roll-
ing Stone magazine over its debunked
story of a University of Virginia gang
rape was set to start in federal court
today.
University administrator Nicole
Eramo is seeking a total of $7.85
million in damages over the 2014
story which described the assault of a
freshman woman during a fraternity
party in 2012.
In her lawsuit, Eramo said she
was cast as the “chief villain of the
story.”
The article, “A Rape on Campus,”
caused an uproar over the issue of
sexual violence in U.S. colleges, but
Rolling Stone retracted it in April
2015 when discrepancies surfaced.
Eramo, the former associate dean
on sexual violence issues, filed
suit against Rolling Stone, reporter
Sabrina Rubin Erdely and publisher
Wenner Media in 2015.
InherlawsuitfiledinCharlottesville
federal court, Eramo claimed Rolling
Stone falsely portrayed her as callous
and indifferent to the allegations of
gang rape. The woman at the center
of the story is named only as “Jackie”
in the story and court papers.
Lawyers for Rolling Stone have
argued Eramo’s attorneys must prove
Erdely and the magazine’s editors
acted with “actual malice” — mean-
ing reckless disregard for the truth
— when they published the claims
against Eramo.
Rolling Stone lawyers have said
that up until the magazine’s publi-
cation of an editor’s note about the
story’s inconsistencies, it had full
confidence in Jackie and the story.
Rolling Stone commissioned a
review by Columbia University that
criticized the publication for report-
ing and editing lapses.
A New York judge dismissed a
federal defamation lawsuit in June
that was brought by members of the
University of Virginia fraternity, Phi
Kappa Psi, against Wenner Media,
Rolling Stone and Erdely.
The fraternity has also sued Rolling
Stone over the story.
Lawsuit over debunked Rolling Stone story goes to trial
Walking to
find a cure
raised.”
The press release states food ser-
vice workers in Unite Here Local 217
are facing “attacks” on their income
security and benefits.
“I was able to buy a home because
of the stability of my good union job,
a dream I never thought I’d see come
true,” Sue Walling, a food service
worker at Eastern, said in a press
release.
“With what the company is asking
us to pay for health insurance, I’d
need a second job just to keep up
with my mortgage payments.”
In addition to a representative
from the union, a representative at
Chartwells could not be reached for
comment this morning.
According to a press release, Chart-
wells is a subsidiary of Compass
Group, the largest food service cor-
poration in the world.
commander at the time and has since
been placed on administrative desk
duty and will not be responding to
calls during the investigation, said
UConn spokesman Stephanie Reitz.
Bay 7 is located in the back of
the UConn Fire Department building
facing the parking services building
and is not located in the bay area seen
from North Eagleville Road.
The UConn Public Safety Complex,
where the fire department’s vehicles
are housed, is located at 126 North
Eagleville Road.
According to Pally’s Facebook
page, whose status has been changed
to be a remembrance page, she was a
2015 graduate of Hall High School in
West Hartford, a resident assistant at
UConn and was working as a hostess
at A’vert Brassiere, a French cuisine
restaurant in West Hartford.
A message left for Hall High
School Principal Dan Zittoun was
not returned this morning, but the
school is expected to provide coun-
seling services to students affected
by Pally’s death.
“W-Ha,” an online news website
that covers West Hartford, reports
Pally won an AP Scholar Award in
2015 while she was attending Hall
High School.
A Sittercity webpage that Pally
created states she was EMT-certified
with training in first aid and CPR,
was bilingual, speaking both English
and Spanish, and loved to babysit
children.
Reitz said this morning Pally was a
UConn sophomore majoring in allied
health, which is a major encompass-
ing a variety of health-care fields.
A UConn Daily Campus article
states Pally was pursuing a career in
nursing.
Additionally, Reitz said Pally was a
member of the UConn Delta Gamma
sorority and was “very involved
in community services,” including
community outreach and Special
Olympics.
A statement from the UConn Alpha
Sigs Sorority Twitter page stated “our
thoughts and prayers are with the
Pally family and with the sisters of
UConn Delta Gamma.”
UConn President Susan Herbst on
Sunday called the accident a “heart-
breaking and tragic loss.”
“Every student is precious to us
and this is a heartbreaking and tragic
loss,” Herbst said in a written state-
ment. “Our deepest sympathies go
out to her family, friends and all
those whose lives she touched. We
know that words cannot begin to
express their grief.”
At the request of UConn police and
the Tolland County State’s Attorney’s
office, the state police’s Collision
Analysis and Reconstruction Squad
was requested to take over the acci-
dent investigation.
Reitz said the state police will be
the primary agency regarding the
release of information on the acci-
dent investigation.
“UConn will do everything it can to
assist,” Reitz said.
Reitz said UConn will also offer
members of the student body help in
coping with the tragedy.
“UConn is encouraging students to
utilize assistance available through
its Counseling & Mental Health Ser-
vices and for faculty and staff to
reach out to the Employee Assistance
Program if they seek support,” Reitz
said in a statement.
Anyone who witnessed the colli-
sion or has knowledge of the Pally’s
activities prior to the incident is asked
to contact Trooper Mark DiCocco of
the accident investigation squad at
(203) 630-8079 or mark.dicocco@
ct.gov.
DiCocco did not return a message
left this morning regarding the inves-
tigation.
This tragedy occurred five years
after UConn student David Plamon-
don was tragically hit and killed in
2011 by a bus on Alumni Drive.
Plamondon was crossing the street
and was hit by a UConn bus driven
by Lukasz Gilewski, who was sen-
tenced to six months of jail time and
two years of probation as part of a
plea deal.
Nine years ago, UConn freshman
Carlee Wines was struck and killed
by Anthony Alvino — a non-UConn
student traveling with his girlfriend,
who was attending UConn — as
she attempted to cross a street on-
campus.
Alvino was sentenced to 37 months
in jail in 2008.
(Continued from Page 1)
Vigil to remember UConn student
ASHFORD — A Sunday police
stop of a Hampton man yielded 336
packaged bags of suspected heroin, 8
grams of unpackaged “raw” heroin,
18 grams of suspected Fentanyl and
a small amount of marijuana.
John Grooms, 29, of 19 Parker
Road, Hampton, was subsequently
arrested for use of drug parapher-
nalia, illegal sale of controlled sub-
stance and illegal possession of a
narcotic and was issued a $100,000 surety bond.
He is due in Danielson Superior Court on Nov. 11,
according to state police.
His arrest came after the vehicle he was riding in was
pulled over by police around 4:48 p.m. Sunday after offi-
cers observed the vehicle perform several traffic viola-
tions as they were patrolling Route 44 in Willington.
Troopers stopped the driver, who was not identified in
a police report, on Varga Road near Cushman Road in
nearby Ashford after he failed to stop at a stop sign.
Occupants refused to allow officers to search the vehi-
cle so a police K-9 responded and located the narcotics
in the vehicle.
(Continued from Page 1)
Food workers protest contract on Eastern campus
Grooms
Hampton man arrested on
drug charges in Ashford