Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A)
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Dec 22 2017 01:48 pm
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2095, for Friday, December 22, 2017
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2095, with a release date of
Friday, December 22, 2017, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. A ham radio operator's killer gets prison.
Hams in Hong Kong mark an important anniversary - and Dayton
Hamvention's getting a whole lot more space. All this and more, as
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2095 comes your way right now.
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BILLBOARD CART
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PRISON FOR ILLINOIS HAM'S KILLER
JIM/ANCHOR: Our top story this week brings a conclusion to a gruesome
case, the killing of an amateur radio operator more than two years ago
in rural Illinois. The killer has been sentenced, as we hear from Paul
Braun, WD9GCO.
PAUL: The man who killed amateur radio operator Henry Murphy, WB9TFX,
of Rockford, Illinois, after robbing him, shooting his golden retriever,
and setting his home on fire in 2015, has been sentenced to 90 years in
prison.
Delano Foreman was convicted this past summer of fatally shooting Henry
Murphy, a 67-year-old Army veteran. He also shot and killed the ham
radio operator's dog, Shelby.
According to the Rockford Register Star, Delano Foreman's attorney had
urged Circuit Judge Ronald White to impose the minimum sentence of 20
years. The attorney, Erin Hannigan, asked the court to consider
Foreman's difficult upbringing, with a drug-addicted mother, and a
father in prison.
The judge, however, said the killing reflected [quote] "a complete
disregard for human life." [endquote]
The attorney plans to file a motion for the sentence to be reconsidered.
According to the Rockford Star Register, prosecutors had requested a
100-year prison sentence for the killer, saying he had a criminal record
dating to 1996 in juvenile court, and had been a gang member since the
age of 10.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO.
(ASSOCIATED PRESS, ROCKFORD STAR REGISTER)
**
HAMVENTION'S NEW HOME GETTING AN OVERHAUL
JIM/ANCHOR: May will be here before you know it, and that means
Hamvention 2018. It looks like Ohio's Greene County Fairgrounds will
be providing hams with a whole lot more space, as we hear from Neil
Rapp, WB9VPG.
NEIL: There is some building-up, and some rearranging planned for the
Greene County Fairgrounds in Ohio, and much of it is being done with
Hamvention 2018 in mind. The fairgounds, which made its debut in May
as the new home of Hamvention, is getting a new Expo Center.
Hamvention organizers announced on Wednesday, Dec. 20, that construction
will begin soon, and the project is moving forward with the goal of
accommodating Hamvention 2018 this spring. Hamvention will also gain use
of another building that is being vacated by longterm tenant Fairgrounds
Furniture.
The furniture store, which lost its lease in August, had been a fixture
on the site, and did business there for more than 40 years. Owner
Melissa Smith told the Dayton Daily News that a major liquidation sale
was under way. At the time, the fairgrounds board of directors elected
to end the store's lease, board president Jerry Liming was quoted in
news reports as saying that negotiations to relocate the store to
accommodate Hamvention had been unsuccessful. The store has until April
to vacate.
No details about the additional square footage available to Hamvention
were given at the time this news was released, but Hamvention organizers
said they were assured that the additional floorspace will exceed the
area of the tents that housed activities this past spring.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Neil Rapp, WB9VPG.
(DAYTON HAMVENTION, DAYTON DAILY NEWS)
**
SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE IN HONG KONG
JIM/ANCHOR: If you happen to be DXing, and you hear a call sign with
the prefix VR20, listen up! Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, explains:
JEREMY'S REPORT: The call sign prefix VR20, is an important one for
hams in Hong Kong: it marks the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return
to China.
On July 1, 1997, Britain ended its rule in Hong Kong, and the former
crown colony was reunified with the mainland. The British had acquired
Hong Kong from China in 1842, at the conclusion of the first Opium War.
By 1949, the island became a sanctuary for refugees fleeing communist
rule. In 1984, after years of discussion, Britain and China finally came
to terms with the fact, that at some point, Hong Kong should be handed
back. That became a reality in 1997.
So, naturally the hams in Hong Kong are marking this important
anniversary. They're able to use the new prefix on a purely voluntary
basis, through the 30th of June 2018. Be listening!
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH.
