Mention of Aherns in
Newspaper Stories of 2003

Nathan Ahern, son of Daniel and Lucille Ahern of Keene, has been named to the Dean's List at Maine College of Art in Portland, Maine. He is a 1999 graduate of Keene High School. Ahern is majoring in painting with a second major in Humanities. Four of his art works have been chosen for an exhibit at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport, Maine. The exhibit, which opens March 1 and continues through April 8, showcases promising young artists and is titled "The Next Generation III". — The Keene Sentinel January, 2003

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While conducting research for his family tree Tom Wynn, of Stockton, found the deeds for an ancestor's home at the Department of Land and Water Conservation office in Sydney. His uncle, Owen Ahern, apparently lived in a house on the corner of Sunderland St and Newbottle Rd, Mayfield. Tom said Newbottle Rd was now called Rawson St. He also found out the other side of the highway, now Maitland Rd was called 'Monkwearmouth'. It was a subdivision of Mayfield. — Newcastle Morning Herald 10 January 2003

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Tried in vain to save brother in house blaze By Eamonn Lacey A man who did everything he could to save his brother in a fire that engulfed their isolated cottage made a frantic barefoot dash running three quarters of a mile up a boreen to raise the alarm. Seventy one year old Danny Ahearne died in the fire at Donegal, Clerihan, outside Clonmel, while his younger brother Tom, after attempting to save his brother, escaped from the house through a window to alert neighbours. The tragedy cast a gloom over the Clerihan and the Poulmucka and New Inn areas where Danny was a well known and popular character. The fire broke out in the cottage at approximately 1.15am last Thursday morning as Danny and Tom were in the house. Tom managed to get out a window of the cottage and in his bare feet ran up a boreen to the nearest house, three quarters of a mile away to raise the alarm. “Tom knocked on my window. He was in a terrible state. He tried everything he could to save Danny but was beaten back by the flames all the time,” said their nearest neighbour Dinny O'Donnell. “I was woken by this bang on the window. Tom stood in my kitchen. He was very frightened. The house came in on top of him. He was very lucky to escape alive. He ran up the boreen in his bare feet and we rang the guards,” said Dinny. “Tom was in a desparate state. I wanted him to stay with me but the medical people who came to the scene insisted he went to the hospital because he had smoke in his lungs,” said Dinny. Fire brigade units from Cashel and Cahir attended the scene as did gardaí from Cahir. Tom, who was hospitalised aftert the incident, is now staying with friends. The deceased, a former agricultural contractor, had been out for a few drinks that night and had been dropped home by a neighbour. The two brothers lived in the cottage all their lives. Fr. Pat Burns, of New Inn said the tragedy had cast a gloom over the community. The community had been saddened by the death of a local man in such tragic circumstances. The deceased was buried following a funeral mass last Sunday morning in New Inn. At the funeral a house band from Moloney's public house in Poulmucka paid a musical tribute to the deceased. Danny Ahearne enjoyed the bands music every Sunday night in his local pub and his friends in the pub bid him an emotional farewell. — The Nationalist 25 January 2003

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How Rt. 28 baby began life in fast lane Dr. Ayman Hamed did not expect to deliver his son inside his beloved sports car in the thick of crawling traffic and swirling snow on one of the coldest days of the year. But his wife, Irene, could wait no longer, even though their low-slung sports car—a 1993 Mazda MX3—was stuck at a red light on Route 28 south at the 31st Street Bridge. "I saw the traffic and the light and I said, 'We're not making it. I can't help it. It's time,' " Irene Ahearn, 37, recalled yesterday at a bedside news conference in her room at Mercy Hospital. On the way to the hospital Thursday afternoon, Hamed, 37, of Shaler, told his wife, "Don't push." "That's easy for you to say," she replied. The couple, who have been married since 1996 and have two daughters, have some experience with childbirth labor. When Hamed realized his wife was 7 centimeters dilated, he called 911 on his cell phone at 5:53 p.m. "I was very nervous because that's my baby. And it was so cold," Hamed told a crowd of reporters at the hospital. Judy Blahut, the dispatcher who took Hamed's call, said he sounded excited and a bit panicky. Blahut dispatched paramedics to the intersection and urged Ahearn to breathe between contractions. Then, Blahut asked Hamed to see if the baby's head was visible. Hamed left the driver's seat and stood by his wife, who reclined in the passenger seat. The baby's head appeared. "I turned the head to the right. Then the right shoulder came out," Hamed recalled. By 6:05 p.m., Hamed said, "I had the baby in my hands. I started to scream. Once I had the baby in my hands, I couldn't find any space" to lay him down, the doctor said. Hamed recalled that when he spent two months as an intern delivering babies in Egypt, he always handed them to a nurse. But there were no nurses standing by in the right lane on Route 28 on Thursday night. Blahut, who was still on the phone, suggested that Hamed place the baby on his wife's abdomen. Soon afterward, Ahearn reached behind her for a bag packed with baby clothes and covered her child, whom they named Billal. The baby did not seem as active as most newborns, Ahearn said, and the couple was worried about hypothermia. The temperature at 6 p.m. Thursday was a frosty 10 degrees, with a wind chill factor of 9 below zero. "[Hamed] was running around like a chicken," Ahearn said, recalling her husband's concern. Ahearn, who hardly noticed the frigid weather during the delivery, said her toes started to get cold. Paramedics soon arrived and cut the umbilical cord while she was still in the couple's car, then drove her to Mercy Hospital. Her husband followed. Hamed, an American citizen who hails from Alexandria, Egypt, is chief resident of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Mercy. Thursday was bittersweet for him. A few hours before his son was born, his maternal grandmother was buried in Egypt. She had died at the age of 99 of pneumonia. The couple's frantic evening began at 5:15. Ahearn was in bed with her two daughters, Nadia, 6, and Amy, 4, when her water broke. She telephoned her husband at the hospital and he drove about 40 minutes to the couple's home in Shaler. "Five minutes from the house, she started to scream. The contractions were fast," Hamed said. Billal slept through yesterday's news conference, oblivious to the media questions and cameras. Billal, arriving one day before his due date, weighed in at 7 pounds 12 ounces and is 19 1/2 inches long. "He's been really a good baby," Ahearn said. Hamed hugged Blahut, the dispatcher, as she left the hospital yesterday and thanked her for her help. As he showed reporters the black roadster that served as a mobile labor suite, Hamed mused that he may keep the car so son Billal can drive it when he turns 16. His son, Hamed explained, was named after "the first black Muslim slave to be freed. His job was to call people to prayer." Amid the frantic, tense moments and the flood of attention that has followed, Billal's parents are just grateful their son arrived safely and healthy into the world. "It was very risky ... I think God blessed us," Hamed said. — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 25 January 2003

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Larson/Ahearn WEST BROOKFIELD—Robert E. and Karen S. Button of 250 Wigwam Road and J. David Larson of 310 North Main St., North Brookfield, announce the engagement of their daughter, Beth A Larson, to Scott K. Ahearn. Miss Larson is a graduate of North Brookfield High School, Nichols College, Dudley, and is pursuing a master's degree in education from Anna Maria College, Paxton. She is a behavioral therapist employed by HMEA, Hudson. Mr. Ahearn, the son of Mark and Cynthia Ahearn of 132 Marshall St., Paxton, is a graduate of Wachusett Regional High School, Holden, and the University of New Hampshire in Durham. He is a nuclear medicine technologist employed by Jefferson X-Ray, Hartford. A June wedding is planned. — Worcester Telegram & Gazette 26 January 2003

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BIRTHDAYS WORCESTER—Eileen A. (Ahearn) Eckland of University Commons Nursing Care Center, 378 Plantation St., celebrated her 105th birthday Friday. Mrs. Eckland was born Feb. 7, 1898, in Milford. She has five children, 22 grandchildren, 41 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. Mrs. Eckland is a retired school teacher from Worcester Public Schools. Her husband is the late William B. Eckland. — Worcester Telegram & Gazette 9 February 2003

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Priest Robbed At Church A priest was robbed at gunpoint yesterday in the rectory of St. Teresa of Avila Roman Catholic Church in Prospect Heights, the police said. About 11 a.m., a man who seemed to be in his 20's knocked on the door of the rectory, at 563 Sterling Place, and insisted on talking to a priest, the police said. The priest asked the man to come back later. When the man returned, he had a companion and a handgun, Detective Kevin Czartoryski said. The man, who was allowed inside while his companion waited outside, pulled a gun on the Rev. Thomas Ahern, robbing him of $160 from the church's petty cash box before escaping. The priest was not hurt, the police said. — New York Times 21 February 2003

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LOCAL GIRLS RECEIVE PRESENTATIONS Congratulations to Julie Ann Torpey and Tracey Gallagher, who received achievement awards for their county football with Waterford Ladies at the medal presentation last Friday night. Both girls also received their Senior League and championship camogie medals, as well as intermediate football medals for 2001. Other girls from Kill that received medals were Sinead Crowley, Eileen Kirwan, Karen Lannon, Emma Gallagher, Rachel Ahern, Caroline Ahern, Julie May Keane, Lorena Mooney, Evelyn Mooney. Congratulations to all the girls from St. Anne�s on all their achievements. Continued success to you in 2003. — Waterford News & Star 28 February 2003

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Pupils play in 'Oz' LEOMINSTER—Several weeks ago, pupils in Tina Lelli's and Barbara Ahearn's third grade at Johnny Appleseed Elementary School started off on a journey down the yellow brick road. It took more than just a few clicks of their heels to get them to where they were going. "The children, their parents and the staff worked very hard on this production of `The Wizard of Oz,' '' Mrs. Lelli said. Mrs. Lelli said she and Mrs. Ahearn decided earlier this year to stage "The Wizard of Oz.'' The teachers tied the production to the curriculum. "It really became a schoolwide event,'' Mrs. Lelli said. "We had assistance from the music teacher, the art teachers, parents and other students at the school. We also had two students from Leominster High School who are volunteering their time at the school to help us out with the production.'' Two performances were at the school, mainly for the other students and the staff. Two other performances were away from the school. The children were bused to two assisted-living facilities, Leominster Crossings and Manor on the Hill, to perform the show for the residents. "We have an administrator from Leominster Crossings on our school improvement council, so when she heard we were doing this show—and wanted to perform for the seniors—she suggested we do it at Leominster Crossings,'' Mrs. Lelli said. "Mrs. Ahearn has been involved with other projects at Manor on the Hill, so we contacted them and they told us they would love to have the children come by,'' Mrs. Lelli said. At both locations, she said, the children were well-received. "It really meant a lot to the children to be able to perform this show for members of the public,'' she said. "Having the chance to perform it for seniors in the community made it all that more special.'' The two teachers are not planning any more musical productions on this scale for the remainder of the school year. However, next year there might be another production. "It worked out so well, we are considering it,'' Mrs. Lelli said. — Worcester Telegram & Gazette 19 March 2003

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[New Jersey] State Assemblyman Matthew Ahearn intends to seek re-election from the district, but he recently switched from the Democratic Party to the Green Party, narrowing his chances. The Republican candidates at this point are Bergen County Freeholder Louis Tedesco and Ed Trawinski, a former mayor of Fairlawn. — New York Times 23 March 2003

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Study to explore Outer Cape WELLFLEET—Trying to measure the essence of the Outer Cape, a place where relations between natives and wash-ashores are sometimes tense and the "traditional way of life" seemingly erodes with each passing tide, is an ambitious endeavor. But that's precisely what a team of University of Massachusetts at Amherst researchers hope to accomplish by studying "the character of the Outer Cape's landscape and way of life." The yearlong study is a joint initiative by UMass and the National Park Service, and will seek to identify the unique nature of the Outer Cape, including its natural assets and the denizens who call the place home. An introductory public workshop will take place at 5 p.m. Friday at Wellfleet Library. The team of professors and graduate students who will conduct the research, assisted by Cape Cod National Seashore officials, will be on hand to explain the project and solicit public input. Another public workshop, at which maps, drawings, photographs and other findings will be presented, is scheduled for 5 p.m. May 9 at the library. The study is an outgrowth of the Seashore's 1998 General Management Plan, according to the Seashore's cultural resources program manager, Bill Burke, who will serve as the local liaison and provide assistance to the team. The study will serve as a valuable management tool, he said, helping to guide future projects and initiatives at the Seashore. "Discussion about 'character' and 'way of life' were central to our General Management Plan process," said Seashore superintendent Maria Burks, adding that she hoped the study would "be part of a productive and ongoing dialogue that will lead to collaborative efforts to preserve and foster the special nature of the place where we live." The scope of the project, and the methodology of the researchers, will be explained at this week's meeting, said Jack Ahern, chairman of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at UMass. Ahern, who's also a professor in the department, will conduct one graduate-level course, or "studio," and Ethan Carr, a UMass landscape architecture professor, will lead another. Ahern said Wellfleet was chosen because it represents an Outer Cape town in transition, yet it still retains many historic attributes, such as its strong fishing culture. Though the town is home to fishermen and shellfishermen, it also has become a seasonal destination for wealthy out-of-towners, many of whom have purchased homes there. He said the team, which consists of 28 graduate students and three professors, including himself, will make at least three site visits to various Outer Cape venues. A final report will be issued in the fall, and a national workshop will be held in spring of 2004, featuring participants from other coastal communities. The cost of the joint study is around $60,000. — Cape Cod Times 7 April 2003

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DEFIBRILLATOR DONATED Westwood—The Fire Department now has two new defibrillators, thanks to some local residents and the Lions Club. Carol Ahearn and Barbara Holdridge, both of Church Street, recently took up a collection to purchase a memorial bench at the Fisher School in honor of a late neighbor, Richard Revenger. The donations came pouring in, and quickly the duo discovered they had collected more than enough to get the bench. The leftover money was used to purchase a heart defibrillator for the Fire Department. That, too, was donated in Revenger's name. The Westwood Lions Club also donated a defibrillator to the department, which now has seven of the $2,500 machines. — The Boston Globe 10 April 2003

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In the Military Marine Corps Reserve Maj. Neil C. Ahearn was recently called to active duty for the war in Iraq. Ahearn is the son of Elanor R. and Melbert J. Ahearn of Plymouth. Ahearn is a 1985 graduate of Weymouth South High School. — The Patriot Ledger 15 April 2003

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Iraqi cells disgorge dark secrets BAGHDAD, IRAQ—At the infamous Abu Ghareb prison on the outskirts of Baghdad, the relatives of missing Iraqis comb through the detritus, hunting for clues to the fate of their relatives and best friends. Beside a photo laboratory inside the prison grounds, film of guards interrogating prisoners and torturing them, and pictures of doctors operating on them are strewn helter-skelter over a warehouse floor. Across the city, outside the Iraqi military's notorious Kadamiya Prison, scores of relatives plead with US soldiers on tanks to let them search for loved ones they insist must surely be hidden inside. . . .  A US Marine Corps major, John Secass, insists, however, that his men have still found no secret passageways at Kadamiya, a facility for political and religious prisoners with a 5000-inmate capacity. "I can tell you we are looking, but we have come up entirely empty so far," he says, standing with a platoon of fighters behind a barbed-wire fence in a palm grove. Likewise, at the city's main presidential palace complex, across the Tigris River from the Palestine Hotel, Army Lt. Christian Laughlin from Richmond, Va., said that a special team of scouts from the Army's 3rd Division were hunting the grounds for underground passageways. He said that, thus far, the US forces had found only military bunkers. Fellow soldiers displayed an extraordinary Iraqi arms cache Tuesday, including a gold-plated Heckler-Koch machine gun discovered in a presidential palace. In addition, US Army Capt. Jim Ahearn displayed 20 custom-made briefcases. Each concealed a Heckler-Koch submachine-gun capable of being fired by a secret trigger on the outside handle of the case. "You see, you just walk with this thing down a busy street in a business suit swinging the briefcase in your hand and squeeze the trigger," he said. "This is a gun used for one thing and one thing only—terror." — Christian Science Monitor 17 April 2003

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Staying off the laugh track I agree with what Matthew Gilbert wrote about TV laugh tracks (Living/Arts, April 24). I'm old enough to remember when Uncle Miltie, Sid Caesar, Jack Benny, Red Skelton, and Jackie Gleason were on TV, live and funny. I won't waste my time with a show that has canned laughs. One of my favorite movies is ''My Favorite Year.'' I like the line in which Peter O'Toole finds out the show is live and says that he is not an actor, he is a movie star. Dennis J. Ahern Acton, MA — The Boston Globe 4 May 2003

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Teenager pleads guilty to assault charges An 18 year-old man who was convicted in April of the manslaughter of Brian Mulvaney today pleaded guilty to charges arising from two other assaults he carried out on the same night. Last month a jury convicted Stephen Aherne of the manslaughter of 19 year-old Mr Mulvaney, who died after being chased and beaten to death after a party in Templeogue in Dublin on March 11, 2000. Another man, Brian Willoughby was jailed for life for his murder and a third man, Neal Barbour was acquitted. At the Central Criminal Court today Aherne formerly of Willington Crescent, Templeogue and with an address at College Farm Park, Newbridge, Co Kildare pleaded guilty to two crimes committed in the hours before the fatal encounter with Mr. Mulvaney. He first pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Matthew O'Dowd at Templeogue Road, Terenure on March 11, 2000. He also pleaded guilty to a second assault in which he produced a drinking glass in a manner likely to intimidate Karl Dunne at Templeogue Road, Templeogue Village on 11 March 2000. During last month's trial it emerged that both Aherne and Neal Barbour had pint glasses with them when they left a 21st birthday party in Terenure to walk home together. Mr. Barbour told gardaí that Aherne suggested "it's fun to walk home when you�re locked". Before he met up with Brian Willoughby at the Orwell Shopping Centre and joined in the fatal assault on Brian Mulvaney, Aherne was involved in the assaults on Mr. O'Dowd and Mr. Dunne on the Templeogue Road. One of the men was injured when a glass was used on him. Brian Mulvaney died later that night after being chased and dragged to the ground by his attackers, one of whom danced on his head. He knew none of the three men who were involved in the incident. Mr. Justice Barry White remanded Aherne in custody while victim impact reports are prepared in relation to the assaults on Mr. O'Dowd and Mr. Dunne. Mr. Justice White will sentence Aherne on both charges and for the manslaughter charge on October 13. Neal Barbour is also due to face a number of [charges] in June 2004 in relation to the alleged assaults on night of March 11, 2000. — BreakingNews.ie 26 May 2003

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South Boston Fred and Lee Ahern, both still active in community work of various kinds, celebrate a milestone this week. This Friday, May 9, 2003, the Aherns will awaken in their home on East Fifth Street as usual. Yet there will be difference - it will be the morning of their 55th Wedding Anniversary. Their full names are Frederick V. and Felicia A. (Mugica) Ahern, but everyone knows them as Fred and Lee. Their stories, which became one story on May 9, 1948, aren't the stuff of fiction or the movies. Even so, they are remarkable. The fact that they met at all could be considered a coincidence, but you know, some people think that coincidences are God's way of doing us favors anonymously. Lee's parents were immigrants. Her father came from the Basque region of Spain at the age of 19, and didn't know a word of English. He was a baker and eventually became the pastry chef at The Country Club in Brookline. Similarly, her mother immigrated (also at 19) from central Switzerland, where Schweizerdeutsche is spoken, a language not frequently encountered in America. They met when they were both working on the Cape. Lee was born on Joy Street on Beacon Hill. When she said this, Fred immediately chimed in, “But it was on the wrong side, you know”. The Mugica family then moved to Somerville when Lee was two years old, where she attended the Morse School and Somerville High. The Mugicas eventually ended up settling near Newton Center. Fred is a born-and-brought-up son of South Boston. He first saw the light of day on the third floor of the Bill and Rebecca (McCourt) Ahern home on L and Seventh - hospitals were generally not used for lying-in in those days. He went to Gate of Heaven School and then to South Boston High. He was a three-letter athlete in football, baseball, and track, and would have played other sports, except that the Depression had forced cutbacks in the hockey and basketball programs. After high school, it was still Depression times, so Fred worked in the boondocks of New Hampshire for the C.C.C. He then went to work for United Carr Fastener in Cambridge. He enlisted in the Coast Guard on December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor. For two years, he served on an icebreaker in the North Atlantic off of Greenland, rising to Machinists Mate, First Class. His ship was the “North Star”, which had been the ship Admiral Byrd used on his polar explorations. All three of the Ahern brothers saw active duty. Fred's brother Jack was lost in 1943 without a trace when his sub-chaser vanished in the Atlantic - its whereabouts are a mystery to this day. His other brother Bill was pulled from a torpedoed merchant ship, the “Edward Luckenback”, by a Southie boy named Charlie Waggett, who lived a block from the Ahern family before the war. Later in the war, Fred was assigned to a landing craft, an LCI-86, which saw duty during the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, and was then sent to Okinawa after Germany surrendered. When the war was over, Fred stayed in the Japan occupation forces in a mine demolition unit. After a final tour of duty, he was discharged from a lifeboat station in Rockport, and returned to United Carr Fastener. In the meantime, Lee had gone to work for General Electric Supply in their accounting office, first on Stuart Street and then out in Brighton. She and Fred were introduced by Lee's girl friends, some of whom came from South Boston. Eleven months later, they were married at Sacred Heart in Newton, which was a fairly short engagement for those times. When asked if it was love at first sight, Lee smiles and nods; Fred chimes in, “I had been all over the world - I knew what I wanted”. In their first year of marriage, they sublet a flat in Medford due to the veterans' housing shortage. Then they moved into Old Colony, where they spent 12 years. Fred joined the Fire Department, first on the harbor fireboat, then on Ladder 19 at K and Fourth Streets. He spent 33 years in the B.F.D. before retiring. Lee resumed work as a theater usher in 1959, and has worked at the Wilbur and the Wang ever since. Lee and Fred have four children. Kevin is a district sales manager in the steel industry and married a Michigan girl; Fred, Jr., played professional hockey, and most recently was the Director of the South Boston Resource Center; Karen (Connor) is the Deputy Budget Director for the City of Boston; and Nancy (Ingemi) is a special needs teacher in Arlington. In total, they have seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, with a fourth on the way some time in August. The Aherns like travel cruises, particularly to the Caribbean. They also attend musicals, with “Les Miserables” being a favorite. Lee is active at the Senior Center and in the Castle Island Association. Fred played a key role in the World War II Memorial project where brother Jack's name is inscribed, and he's a Past Commander of Fitzgerald VFW Post # 561. His next task will be decorating graves and squares for Memorial Day. Their advice for a long and happy marriage is simple but obviously effective: “Always do things together”, “Never go to bed mad”, and “Be rich in your kids, not in money”. There's no need to add anything more to that. — South Boston Online May 2003

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Why these tellers have storied careers  . . . Unlike those in the classes, Rick Ahern has been making things up as he goes along. You can often find storyteller Ahern in a bookstore on Santa Rosa's Fourth Street—plunking down story ideas into a laptop computer. At 52, he says he has been telling stories for years, but has only been making a go of it for the past four, telling stories at local festivals and as part of Culture Keepers, a Santa Rosa after-school storytelling program. He removes a tam-o'-shanter style-driving cap from inside a backpack and places it on his head. "This is a storytelling hat. Everyone knows that when the hat goes on, it's story time. And when it comes off, story time is over. Every culture has a different way of doing this," Ahern says. A native of Boston with a background in counseling, Ahern came to California in the mid-1980s to pursue a degree in environmental studies from Sonoma State University. He subsidizes his storytelling income today with occasional work as a substitute teacher in Sonoma County. Like many tellers, Ahern passes on stories that are generations old. But he also takes the time to chart out his own stories, and the contents vary from venue to venue. "I was always telling stories even when I worked as a counselor with kids," Ahern said. "I look at it as a way of teaching—that they understand. I remember as a kid hearing stories myself that had messages that got through to me. Stories like 'Stone Soup,' because I kind of grew up like that, (China's) 'The Story of Ping,' about a duck who is late and gets into all kinds of trouble trying to avoid punishment, which teaches that when you are in trouble you should take your medicine." A relative newcomer to the trade, Ahern recalled his first time onstage at a local storytelling festival. "I was sick because I had been bitten by a black widow spider," he said. "I went for it anyway because I didn't want to cancel my first gig. There was this old guy up in front. He told me he was sitting there because he was hard of hearing and didn't want to miss any of the show. I looked down in the middle of my performance and he was snoring." Ahern said he has had better luck at other venues, like the homeless shelter where he keeps worried children entertained several afternoons a week. "It's a tough gig trying to make them better listeners," Ahern said. "Their lives are kind of in chaos right now, so I try to slow it down for an hour. They have stories they try to share. They are great at it. It's like with the Culture Keepers thing—it's as important for me to tell them stories as it is for them to tell them. After all, they are the next generation of storytellers." — San Francisco Chronicle 6 June 2003

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WORCESTER PROBATE COURT DIVORCES GRANTED Judge Joseph Lian Jr. Ahearn, Nelson: Nancy K. Ahearn from Scott E. Nelson, both of Milford, married in Vail, Colo., Dec. 31, 1985. — Worcester Telegram & Gazette 15 June 2003

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White stopped applying when he scored only 99 It wasn't that Gerard Ahern had his heart set on becoming a firefighter, but he knew it was a good job, a dependable job. That's why he kept taking the test. “My father always said, `If you don't go to college get a civil service job,'” Ahern said. “You won't get rich, but you won't go hungry.” Ahern, 39, spent the better part of two decades taking a slew of civil service tests. He took the firefighters exam between 1986 and 1998. He always scored well, but the court order mandating the hiring of one minority for every white hired was in effect. The only whites being hired were veterans, children of firefighters killed or disabled on duty, and those who scored a perfect 100. On his last shot, Ahern scored a 99. “After that I kind of threw in the towel,” he said. “I always knew if I didn't get a 100, nothing else was going to cut it.” Ahern moved on, literally and figuratively, from Dorchester to Rockland. Today, he has four kids and works two jobs. Is he angry that he never got his shot? “I understand the purpose” of the court-ordered affirmative action policy, he said. “There were wrongs done and they should be acknowledged and something should be done to correct that. But I always felt that it was being done on the backs of people who didn't do anything wrong.” But now, with a federal appeals court throwing out the hiring policy, Ahern intends to sue to get the Boston firefighter job denied him in 1998. “I'm just an average Joe who threw his hat in the ring and hoped to fall through the cracks,” Ahern said. “. . . I've always been up against [affirmative action] and it didn't come as a big surprise to me or a big letdown. That's just always been the way it was.” — The Boston Globe 16 June 2003

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Paxton chief asked to stop working details PAXTON—Police Chief Michael J. Ahearn has been asked by the Board of Selectmen to stop working paid details because of a "conflict of interest.'' "Under the terms of guidelines issued by the State Ethics Commission,'' the board wrote the chief, "a police chief working a privately paid detail is a conflict of interest because the chief of police is generally considered a 24-hour-a-day job.'' In response to a question, Selectman Frederick G. Goodrich last night said there have been several complaints and questions recently from the public about the chief doing paid details. Chief Ahearn was not available for comment. — Worcester Telegram & Gazette 17 June 2003

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Iraq's economy goes underground 'It's a free-for-all—almost anything goes' Early looting set precedent Indeed, while the U.S.-led coalition's aggressive attack plan to overthrow Saddam worked to near perfection, the Pentagon had no plan to deal with looting and thievery. "Looting wasn't taken into consideration. It never came in the order process (down from higher command) that it would be a major problem," says Maj. Gen. Buford Blount III, commander of the Army's Third Infantry Division, which spearheaded the Iraqi invasion. Looting of bombed-out state offices and ministries began before U.S. troops entered the country in March, Blount says. It was rampant even as intense battles between Iraqi and invading U.S. troops raged, says Capt. Jim Ahearn of the 10th Engineer Battalion's Bravo Company, one of the Army's lead elements into Baghdad. "It was bizarre. People were taking air conditioners and TVs while we were taking fire," Ahearn says. "The impression was we didn't do anything to prevent looting right off the bat. The truth is, we were still fighting a war. We secured as many sites as we could, but it seemed everyone in Baghdad was a looter. All authority was gone. That was the problem." Could coalition forces have done more early on to prevent looting and thievery? Making a rapid transition from fighting to security patrols would have proved difficult. "You can't ask people to get off their tanks and arrest looters, especially if people are still shooting at you," Blount says. The division had just 140 soldiers with specialized police training. Before the war, Baghdad's police force numbered 20,000. "Whether or not (looting) was something we should have thought of, I don't know," Blount says. "We were criticized for not shooting people. Hindsight is great. But we would have been dealing with a million looters. I don't know if we could have prevented it even if we had a plan." — USA Today 1 July 2003

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Bit of Bolivian history in small town Illinois pit stop yields sensational tales Dwight, Ill.—On the back roads of Illinois, where each town has a water tower and a church for every faith, there is only one Veronique Torresgoitia Ahern. She lives in the little town of Kewanee, population 12,944, with her doctor husband and their three children and runs an upscale Mexican restaurant that serves what the locals think is the tastiest food this side of Chicago. She was greeting customers at the restaurant, TQuilas, when members of the Winton Re-Run team stopped in town during their 3,720-mile journey across the United States in a horseless carriage. How the 45-year-old native of France ended up running a Mexican restaurant in an out-of-the-way town in the heartland of America is a story that would be in a book if only Ahern had the time to write it. She was born in Paris to a French mother and a Bolivian father. Her father, an economist named Hugo Torresgoitia, was lured back to Bolivia when she was 10 years old by then-Bolivian military president Juan Jose Torrez, who had selected him to be vice president, Ahern said. She said her family moved into her grandparents' house in Sucre, where her grandfather served on the Bolivian Supreme Court. One night in August 1971, while her father was away in La Paz, there was a knock at the door in the middle of the night. "It was my cousin, who said, 'You'd better get out of the house because there is going to be a coup,' and they were going to go after my father," Ahern said. Torresgoitia managed to escape to Chile before the fascists, led by Hugo Banzer, could seize him. Not knowing what to do, the family stayed put in the Sucre mansion, but trouble was brewing. Ahern said soldiers executed an entire family down the street because the father was a political figure connected to the previous government. "We were hiding university students and political activists in our house," she said. "Then one day our front door was left open, and soldiers marched in. My grandmother confronted the sergeant and said, 'I know you. I knew your mother. How dare you come into my house.' Then, she started hitting him with a cane." The sergeant was apologetic and left, she said, but warned the family to get out of town because others were out to get them. Ahern said the soldiers all knew her grandparents because their doors had always been open to everybody, and they were respected in the community. Ahern, her brother and mother then took a train to La Paz, intent on finding refuge in the French Embassy. She said she and her brother had to pretend not to know their mother out of fear that soldiers would recognize her. The idea was that if the mother were arrested, at least the children would escape. Sure enough, two military police officers boarded the train and were about to arrest Ahern's mother as the train arrived in La Paz. But miraculously a woman went into labor, and Ahern's mother volunteered to help with the delivery. When the police weren't looking, she jumped out of a train window and the whole family managed to escape to Chile. Ahern's father was close to Chilean President Salvador Allende and again had to flee on Sept. 11, 1973, when General Augusto Pinochet seized power and executed Allende. Ahern went back to France to go to medical school, and her parents moved to Mexico, where she met her husband, Michael Ahern, in 1983. Michael, a Mexican American doctor, finished his residency in Michigan and moved the family to Kewanee on the recommendation of another doctor who worked at the local hospital. "Fifteen years ago we moved to Kewanee and said we would only stay for two years," Ahern said. "I have always been around people who were in government, who were rich and snotty. But when I moved here I met all kinds of people—janitors, construction workers, people of all walks of life. I'm part of a theater group and I volunteer for everything. It is a peaceful life that you can't have in the city. I love it here." Ahern told her story over margaritas Saturday night at the bar of her restaurant, whose chef, Martin San Roman, is her brother-in-law. San Roman is also a five-diamond chef who studied in France. Satiated 1903 Winton crew members ambled out of TQuilas on Saturday night and collapsed at their motel. On Sunday, they arose, cranked up the Winton and motored 111 miles to the cozy town of Dwight, where a section of old Route 66 still remains, not far from a women's prison. — San Francisco Chronicle 14 July 2003

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Pig protest heads for Sydney VICTORIAN animal rights activists were travelling to Sydney today to stage a protest over controversial farming practices at Australian piggeries. Members of the Ballarat Organisation for Animal Rights (BOAR) hope Tuesday's protest to ban sow stalls will influence a federal government review of the code of practice for pig farming. BOAR spokeswoman Pam Ahern said the group wanted to draw attention to what they claim is the appalling conditions sows are forced to endure in the cramped spaces. Edgar the Pig, who represented Babe and teamed up with actor James Cromwell at a protest in Melbourne in May, is travelling with the group. "Edgar is with us to show people just how his mother and sister can be treated without any consideration for their physical and mental needs," Ms Ahern told AAP. "Sow stalls are cruel and must be banned as they have been in the European Union, Florida and New Zealand." BOAR members are driving Edgar in a "pigmobile" to the steps of Sydney's Parliament House where he will join Animal Liberation NSW members for the protest on Tuesday at 10.30am (AEST). Ms Ahern said the cramped stalls caused sows to have skin, respiratory, heart and behavioural problems. It is estimated 60 per cent of Australia's commercial pigs are housed in such conditions, she said. — The Mercury 20 July 2003

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Police chief gives notice in Paxton — Board names acting replacement PAXTON—Police Chief Michael J. Ahearn has resigned, and Sgt. Robert B. DesRosiers has been named acting chief. The chief's resignation comes a month after the Board of Selectmen refused to reappoint him. Had he not resigned, he could have stayed on for a year under a state law requiring that chiefs be given 12 months' notice when not reappointed. Selectmen accepted Chief Ahearn's resignation last night, effective next Monday and named Sgt. DesRosiers acting chief just before going into executive session to discuss the police union contract. Seven police officers — Sgt. William F. Lang, and Patrolmen William P. Reilly, David S. Ahlin, Brian J. Boulette, David Keller, Patrick O'Donoghue and Mark S. Savasta — appeared at the meeting to support acting Chief DesRosiers. In an interview earlier in the day, Chief Ahearn declined to comment on the reasons for his resignation. His resignation letter said, "This was not an easy decision  . . .  I am confident that my new role will help me move toward some of the goals I have for my family and myself.'' "I could say some things,'' he said in the interview, "but what good would it do? I'm not going to say anything that would be disruptive (to the department). "I'm disappointed after 16 years. I've never worked outside of town.'' Before joining the force, Chief Ahearn worked on the farm that had been in the family for generations. It was sold and is now the site of Kettle Brook Golf Course. "I'm glad they are giving Bob (acting Chief DesRosiers) an opportunity,'' he said. The latter, a longtime member of the department, was named sergeant when Chief Ahearn was appointed after the shooting death in 1994 of Chief Robert B. Mortell. Chief Ahearn said the three were good friends and worked closely together. Chief Ahearn, who is 48 and has three children in college, said he does not know what his next move will be. "I'm still looking into it.'' Despite the circumstances, he said, "I feel very fortunate for the many people who have supported me  . . .  I've still got my family, my church and good friends.'' Selectmen, who declined to comment when they refused to reappoint the chief June 23, did so again last night, but there were two inferences about possible reasons. Selectman John F. Malone asked acting Chief DesRosiers, "You understand what went on?'' The response was in the affirmative. Asked later if that comment was relevant, the selectman said, "I don't think that was relevant.'' Selectman Frederick G. Goodrich requested the appointee "keep communications with the board.'' In response to a later question about its relevancy, he explained that "there were times when the board and Chief Ahearn did not agree and there was no communication  . . . '' — Worcester Telegram & Gazette 29 July 2003

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Waltham Priest Allegedly Hid Abuse A Middlesex Superior Court judge has taken under advisement several motions in a lawsuit that alleges a Waltham priest knew about and hid the sexual abuse of a 12-year-old boy at the hands of a fellow priest. Judge Julian T. Houston said yesterday in Middlesex Superior Court that the information presented by alleged victim Donald Smith's attorney, Mitchell Garabedian, will be reviewed. It was not known yesterday when a decision would be made. According to documents provided by Garabedian's office, the Rev. Joseph Fellin, a Stigmatine priest who currently resides at the St. Joseph's Hall on Lexington Street, knew and covered up the actions of a priest whom he supervised in the 1960s and 1970s. Smith alleges that the now-deceased Rev. Richard J. Ahern sexually assaulted and raped him several times, beginning in 1970. According to court records, Ahern was at that time affiliated with Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Pittsfield. Garabedian alleges that Fellin not only knew about the sexual contact, but actually walked in on one of the sexual encounters. "There was at least one incident in which Father Ahern masturbated plaintiff Donald Smith upstairs in the rectory of Our lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Pittsfield. Defendant Father Fellin entered the room during this abuse and witnessed Father Ahern's actions," a court transcript of Smith's testimony reads. According to Smith's accounts of the abuse, Ahern molested him and forced him to engage in both oral and anal sex acts. The civil case seeks to hold Fellin accountable for not reporting the actions of Ahern to the authorities. The suit states that Fellin should have known that the actions of Ahern would have a negative impact on the boy, and that as Ahern's supervisor, Fellin should not have transferred a sexual predator. Court documents state that Ahern was transferred from the Pittsfield church to a Lynn church, then transferred to an Agawam church before being enrolled in the House of Affirmation in Whitinsville. According to the court records, the final placement was a treatment facility for "problems to his conduct with children." Fellin's attorneys could not be reached for comment yesterday. [see also: Rev. Richard J. Ahern] — Newton Daily News Tribune 6 August 2003

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Showbiz bytes Irish boyband pin-up Nicky Byrne of Westlife broke teenage hearts today as he tied the knot with the daughter of Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern ahead of a lavish ceremony in France this weekend. Byrne, wearing jeans and a red baseball cap, married Georgina Ahern at a low-key ceremony in a registry office in Wicklow, south of Dublin, as more than 200 Westlife fans gathered in the street outside along with TV cameras. The pair are due to hold a church wedding in France on Saturday followed by a luxury reception at the historic Chateau D'Esclimont near Paris, but were required by French law to undergo a civil ceremony first. Television reports said Byrne and Ahern arrived and left the registry office separately in order to protect a reported $US1 million ($A1.55 million) deal with celebrity magazine Hello for exclusive photographs of Saturday's big day. The Irish prime minister's other daughter, journalism graduate Cecilia, also made headlines this year after securing a $US1 million ($A1.55 million) book deal for her first novel and a follow-up. — The Age [Australia] 6 August 2003

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Portsmouth police log Aug. 29 At 12:50 a.m., Kelly A. Ahern, 28, of 1050 Main St., Woburn, Mass., was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated. — Portsmouth Herald 2 September 2003

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International Movement of Catholic Students Kevin Ahern of Valhalla, N.Y., a recent graduate of Fordham University, was elected Aug. 30 international president of the International Movement of Catholic Students of Pax Romana, an 80-year old movement of Catholic university students. Ahern is only the third American to hold the post. Ahern will serve a four-year term working from the group's Paris headquarters. The last four years, he has represented the group at the United Nations in New York. — National Catholic Reporter 12 September 2003

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WEDDINGS NORTH BROOKFIELD—Beth A. Larson and Scott K. Ahearn were married in First Congregational Church. The bride, the daughter of Robert E. and Karen S. Button of 250 Wigwam Road, West Brookfield, and J. David Larson of North Main Street, is a graduate of North Brookfield High School, Nichols College, Dudley, and received a master's degree in education from Anna Maria College, Paxton. The bridegroom, the son of Mark G. and Cynthia L. Ahearn of 132 Marshall St., Paxton, is a graduate of Wachusett Regional High School, Holden, and the University of New Hampshire in Durham. He is a nuclear medicine technologist at Jefferson X-Ray Group, Hartford. The couple took a trip to Australia and New Zealand and are living in North Brookfield. — Worcester Telegram & Gazette 28 September 2003

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Chip bag killer jailed for life A teenager who stabbed a woman to death after she told him to pick up a chip wrapper he had discarded was jailed for life yesterday. Stuart Aherne, 19, attacked Jean Ryder, 45, as she waited at a bus stop in Wythenshawe, Manchester, after visiting her mother in February. He was found guilty of murder at Manchester crown court after the jury deliberated for two days. Witnesses heard Mrs. Ryder calmly telling Aherne to pick up the litter, before he shouted at her: "You fucking pick it up." She bent over and placed the chip wrapper in a bin, then he stabbed her in the back. A neighbour found Mrs. Ryder on the pavement but by the time she reached hospital she was beyond help. Aherne was also convicted of wounding with intent after he attacked a 15-year-old boy in a park a week before he killed Mrs. Ryder. Mukhtar Hussain, prosecuting, said Aherne had been arrested after he confessed to a friend. He said he had tried to shake Mrs. Ryder to see if she was conscious, but he panicked and ran off. He threw the knife into woods near his girlfriend's house and told police he did not know why he had stabbed her. Aherne was arrested in April but denied murder. Detective Superintendent Vincent Petrykowski, who led the murder investigation, said: "There is no doubt in my mind that Aherne would have struck again." — Manchester Guardian 17 October 2003

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Stephen Aherne (19), with an address in Newbridge, Co. Kildare, was sentenced to ten years in prison following his conviction earlier this year of the manslaughter of Brian Mulvaney (19) in Templeogue. He was given a three-year concurrent sentence for two separate assaults on other people prior to the fatal incident. Aherne was aged just 15 at the time when, along with Brian Willoughby (24) who was convicted of murder, he was involved in what Justice Barry White referred to as a “senseless and violent” attack. The court heard that prior to the assault Aherne had drunk 10 pints of beer and a sambuca in the CYM club in Terenure. — The Irish Emigrant 19 October 2003

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All Your Local Notes ARDAGH CARRICKERRY The following won in the Desmond Complex draw: Jack Ahern, Rooska East and Lorraine Madigan, Ballyegna each won €130. ATHEA ATHEA Community Council weekly lucky numbers draw was held at The Top of the Town Bar. Numbers drawn were 6, 17, 18 and 19 but there was no winner of the jackpot of €3,900. Lucky dip winners were €50 Eileen Horgan c/o The Gables Bar, €30 Etty Ahern, Upper Dirreen, €20 each, Liam O'Sullivan, Toureendonnell, Jim Ahern, Coole East, Patsy Lane, Kilmorna, Thomas Ryan, Killarney Road, Abbeyfeale. Sellers prize, Brouder's Shop, Colbert Street. Athea under-13 footballers played in the Peil na nOg competition last weekend in Askeaton where they lost the three matches in spite of playing well. Thanks were extended to Neilus Hunt, Denis Collins and Tommy Greaney who looked after the team on the day. Certificates and medals were presented to the beginners at Pairc na nGael on Sunday morning by members of Athea senior team Declan White, Pat Ahern and Tim Enright. Thanks were also extended to B McAuliffe, R. McAuliffe, M. McAuliffe, R. Ryan, R. Twomey, S. O'Shea and M. Dalton who helped with the coaching of the children. KILLEEDY THE recent card winners from the Ashford Tavern as follows: Jimmy and Timmy, Broadford, Willie O'Brien, Ballintubber and Jim O'Sullivan, Glenquin. Raffle winners: Tim Burke, Jim Aherne, Raheenagh and Jimmy O'Connor. Table prizes to Michael Flynn, Tullylease and Eileen Finnegan. Camogie club senior B final Killeedy 1-9, and Ballyagran 3-4, venue Ballingarry, referee Joe O'Donnell. Team: Helen Collins, Niamh O'Connell, Catherine Hayes, Karen O'Connell, Elaine Foley, Majella O'Sullivan, Jeanette Garvey, Deirdre Fitzpatrick, Michelle Casey, Dympna O'Brien, Marian O'Connell, Catriona Dore, Edwina Mullane, Noreen Barry, Marie Keating. Subs: Miriam Magner Flynn, Bridget Downes, Edwina Mullane, Valerie Cremins, Ide Ahern, Ciara Hennessy, Anita Mullane, Mairead Flynn. KILTEELY DROMKEEN THE GAA club congratulated Kilteely and Cloverfield schools for competing in the East Limerick primary schools finals last Wednesday. Kilteely school won their football final and Cloverfield were unlucky to loose out in their final. The Kilteely team lined out as follows: Darren Murphy, Denis O'Neill, David Murphy, Michael Ryan, Paudie Ahern, Darren Connery, Matthew Corbett, Christopher O'Dea, Dermot Hayes. Subs: Kieran Murphy, Ben Harte, Michael Murphy, Jade Connery. Special thanks to the teachers and to Mairead Murphy and Robert O'Dea for liasing for the GAA club in both schools. MITCHELSTOWN Pat Kavanagh v Rory McMahon, Michael Kiely, Francis McCarthy and Jim Walsh will play Eddie Nolan and John Flannery. Jim Moran and Ger Harte v John Aherne and Ian Nolan. AGM dates - Ladies Club agm - Friday Nov 21st., Mens Club Agm Sunday November 23rd. Parent Club AGM - Monday December 8th NEWCASTLE WEST Newcastle West Junior B Hurling team won the County Final at Dromcollogher on Sunday, defeating Granagh / Ballingarry the team that beat them in the West Final. The team was captained by Tony Ahern and sponsored by Joe Lee's Bar, Newcastle West. The game was a nailbiter up to the final whistle with only one point separating the teams. The final score was Newcastle West 0-8: Granagh / Ballingarry 0-7. — Limerick Leader 1 November 2003

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Unusual diet for Cork hens Two brothers who raise hens on a farm at Dungourney near Middleton and in East Waterford have hit on an unusual dietary feature for their charges. J.J. and Dan Ahern supply organic chicken to a number of retail outlets in the State and their fowl are fed on a mixture of grain and seaweed which is gathered from nearby beaches. A French breed, the Hubbards are bought in as day-old chicks from a breeder in Co. Tyrone and are kept inside for more than three weeks before being moved into specially designed houses which give them the freedom to come and go. — The Emigrant 2 November 2003

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LAST GOLF OUTING The last golf outing was to Gowran. Results are as follows: 1st, Nicholas Power, Mick Ahearn, Anton Lennon and Fergal Bolger; 2nd, Benny Flynn, Tom Kirwan, Michael Kavanagh and Monty Guiry; 3rd, Darren Power, Brendan Power, Tommy Walsh and Paul Flynn. — Waterford News & Star 5 December 2003

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Stevens County man admits killing wife A Stevens County man, faced with newly available DNA evidence, has pleaded guilty to killing his second wife 15 years ago in Southern California. Cordis J. Brooks, 48, faces a restitution hearing Dec. 15 in Torrance, Calif., before going to a California prison to serve a six- year sentence for voluntary manslaughter. Brooks had been charged with murder, but accepted a plea bargain Nov. 20 in Torrance Superior Court. The deal called for Brooks to tell authorities where he buried his wife, Joan S. Brooks, when he killed her in March 1988. A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said Brooks was unsuccessful in two attempts to find the grave. "We are still actively searching," said Detective Sgt. Steve Unglaub of the Torrance Police Department. "Finding the body is very important to the family." Searchers with cadaver dogs, radar equipment and all-terrain vehicles spent three days in mid-November searching the desert near Lancaster, Calif., and Edwards Air Force Base. Police said the effort was frustrated by topographical changes in the years since Brooks buried his 26-year-old wife in a shallow grave. For the plea bargain to stand, Brooks had to pass a lie-detector test showing he was truthful in his efforts to recover the body, Unglaub said. Brooks didn't say in court how he killed his wife, and Unglaub declined to comment on what police believe happened. Brooks came under suspicion immediately when his wife disappeared, but police didn't have enough evidence to charge him at the time. That changed when genetic testing, unavailable in 1988, confirmed that a stain in Joan Brooks' car was her blood. Torrance police spokesman Lt. Patrick Shortall said the DNA evidence led to other information that came together like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. The case was never closed, and was revived about two years ago. In addition to genetic tests, officers employed surveillance and wiretaps. Witnesses were re-interviewed, and new ones came forward, police said. Torrance detectives traveled to Stevens County for what the department said were "significant investigations" in cooperation with the Stevens County Sheriff's Office. Police believed Brooks moved to a rural home just south of Springdale, Wash., only a few months before sheriff's officers arrested him June 23 on a California murder warrant. Before that, he was believed to have been living in the Torrance area. According to the Daily Breeze newspaper of Torrance, one of the telephones tapped during the investigation belonged to Brooks' parents. They still lived next door to the house where Cordis and Joan Brooks lived at the time of the homicide. Officers wanted to make sure they could find Brooks in Stevens County, the newspaper reported. Shortall told The Spokesman-Review that police twice responded to complaints in 1987 that Brooks battered his wife, but she declined to press charges. At the time, California law didn't require police to pursue domestic-violence cases against the wishes of victims. When he was arrested, Brooks was living with his fourth wife and his 16-year-old daughter by Joan Brooks. The girl was 13 months old when her mother was killed. Brooks admitted to his third wife in a recorded telephone conversation that he had killed Joan Brooks, the Daily Breeze reported. Despite that evidence, Deputy District Attorney John Lewin, head of the district attorney's cold-case unit, said he couldn't prove Joan Brooks was murdered. Lewin said the evidence showed Cordis and Joan Brooks had a volatile relationship and had been arguing for several days about infidelity. Lewin said the couple threw things, broke dishes and engaged in mutual violence before Cordis Brooks killed his wife, the Torrance newspaper reported. The Daily Breeze said Joan Brooks' friends stated in court documents that her husband frequently beat her. One friend stated that she thought Cordis Brooks probably hid his wife's body in the desert, with which he was familiar because he was a former champion motorcycle racer. — The Spokesman Review 4 December 2003

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