Cited: AP

Parents of 7 autistic students have agreed to a $5 million settlement of their federal lawsuit after accusing their teacher in a northeastern Pennsylvania classroom of abuse.

Former special education teacher, Susan Wzorek, pleaded no contest to reckless endangerment and spent six weeks in prison in 2005 after prosecutors alleged she subjected her students to a range of abuse, from hitting them, pulling their hair and stomping on their feet to strapping them to chairs with duct tape and bungee cords.

“Her teaching tools were fear, intimidation and physical assault,” said the plaintiffs’ attorney, Larry Moran.

The students were between 5 and 11 years old at the time of the abuse. Their families filed a federal lawsuit against Wzorek and her superiors, alleging they knew about the abuse but took steps to cover it up.

The settlement, which U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo approved the evening of May 27, does not require the defendants to admit wrongdoing.

Wzorek worked at Clarks Summit Elementary School in the Abington Heights School District but was employed by Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit 19, an education agency that provides services to public school districts in the area.

“We believe that the (education agency) acted promptly and appropriately under the circumstances. Nevertheless, settlement is best for all concerned,” said John Freund III, who represented some of the defendants.

Wzorek’s criminal attorney has said she never intentionally harmed any student and alleged that she was not provided with adequate training, guidance or support.

At issue was Wzorek’s conduct from 2001 to 2003, when, the suit said, she regularly used abusive and illegal techniques to discipline her students.

In one incident, Wzorek twice slapped a child across the face, giving her a fat lip, then told the girl’s mother that she had injured herself by falling, the suit alleged. Months later, when two teaching assistants confronted Wzorek about the abuse, Wzorek replied, “I know, but I don’t know how to stop,” according to the suit.

The assistants reported Wzorek to her bosses at Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit 19. But the officials conducted no meaningful investigation, failed to report the abuse to police, and merely shuttled the abusive teacher to a neighboring school district, the suit said.

The principal at Clarks Summit even accused the teaching assistants of “breaking a silent code,” similar to the code among police officers, the suit said.

Police began investigating after the parent of a 10-year-old boy reported that she believed her son had been the victim of physical abuse. Teaching aides later told investigators that Wzorek had dragged the boy across the room, pulled his hair and used duct tape to restrain him using a chair designed to provide muscular support for children with physical disabilities.

The chairs are not meant to be used to discipline students, and none of Wzorek’s students had a handicap that would have required their use, prosecutors said. Many of the children were nonverbal and used picture cards to communicate.

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Wzorek, who worked with disabled students for decades, was stripped of her state teaching certification following her arrest.

The suit named Wzorek; the school district; the education agency; Fred Rosetti, the agency’s executive director; and Clarence Lamanna, the agency’s director of special education.

Moran said the abuse had a devastating effect on the students, who in some cases might never develop proper communication and social skills.

“One of the real diabolical aspects of this case was (they) literally could not complain to anyone,” he said. “They are very badly scarred.”

A civil trial had been scheduled to begin last month in Scranton, but was put off when the parties agreed to settle. The settlement is the largest in Pennsylvania history related to special education programs and among the top five nationwide, Moran said

He said he hopes the case sends a signal that abuse of disabled children will not be tolerated and that “all educators have an important duty and responsibility to accommodate and properly educate all children, especially children with disabilities, and absolutely refrain from the use of illegal restraints and corporal punishment.”

The Government Accountability Office reported last year that it found hundreds of cases of abuse of special education students around the country stemming from the improper use of restraints and seclusion.

Trust funds will be set up for each child with the money from the settlement, less attorneys’ fees and court costs. According to Moran, the defendants’ insurance carrier will pay the full amount with individual amounts ranging from $400,000 to $1.25 million.

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My Take: What don’t understand is if the children were being abused wouldn’t they have fought not to go to school? I’ve been around some autistic kids and they can be very determined about some things. One of those things is wanting not to do something that causes them pain. They may not be able to speak, but it seems that the parents would notice something.

Some people cannot handle their children being autistic and require the assistance of Austin divorce attorneys. One thing and Austin family law attorney would suggest is counseling because both parents need to be concerned about the child and its care. It is because many autistic children require a lot of medical care. Getting that medical care can be difficult for any doctor and that is why they usually use a rapid test kit to take any studies they need. Most strep test kits do not require drug or diet restrictions which make it easier for the parent and the doctor.

Medical supply companies provide this type of kits for doctors who have difficult patients. That is why many parents of autistic children will get a New Jersey doctor house call instead of going to the doctor’s office. Monmouth County NJ home medical care makes it easier on both the parent and the child.

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Cited: Reuters

Do you know who Megan Fox is? You should! Very few people knew she was two years ago. However, now that she has starred in “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” she is among the hottest actresses in Hollywood. Her sex appeal has one millions of fans to her. Many of her peers want to avoid the label of “sex symbol” because it might overshadow her talent. However, Fox deals differently since the “Transformers” sequel debuted last month.

She thinks being sexy has its advantages. It helped get Fox her start in 2007’s original, big-budget action flick “Transformers” from director Michael Bay, and that has led her to her other parts where she is now achieving what she set out to do in Hollywood — become a real actress.

“Women in movies, in general, are sexy — especially in Michael’s movies. And if you want to make movies that people want to see, that’s part of it. That’s part of the formula,” Fox told reporters at a recent news conference. Bay, who was sitting with her, chimed in: “It’s called summer fun. It’s a robot movie.”

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” is based on the popular toys and cartoons about shape-shifting cars which morph into “autobots” that fight alien “decepticons” who want to control Earth. In the 2007 movie, the decepticons got thrashed in the final battle. Now, they’re back to avenge their losses.

The effects-filled movies are aimed mostly at young men, and with that in mind Bay hired the attractive brunette from Tennessee to co-star as the movie’s main love interest, Mikaela Banes, who favors tight jeans and even tighter t-shirts.

OPENING SHOT, OPENING DOORS

Bay, ever willing to indulge fan tastes, has made sure Fox’s first appearance in “Revenge of the Fallen” has an impact. As Mikaela, the lanky actress is filmed from behind, sprawled on a motorcycle in hotpants and motorcycle boots.

“We got that first shot out of the way, just to get it out for the young boys…and moved on,” Bay said. Before 2007, most of Fox’s work had been small parts on TV and in movies, but fan buzz from the smash hit “Transformers” ($700 million global box office) catapulted her to stardom.

“The movie, its success and how well it was received has opened a lot of doors for me, career-wise,” Fox said. Fox wants to be more than just a pretty face in Hollywood’s next big action flick, and when “Transformers” “opened a lot of doors” for her, she took advantage.

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Now, to look that good Megan Fox must use the Alexander Technique classesin Manhattan. Either that or she does exercises with Pilates. Both of which can provide excellent exercise and relaxation. The Alexander Technique teaches you how to relax and use your body the way it should be and a Pilates fitness program with DVD can teach you how to do exercises, that are very similar, on a mat.

She will soon star opposite Oscar-nominees Josh Brolin and John Malkovich in sci-fi Western “Jonah Hex”, due to hit theaters later this year. In September, she headlines supernatural comedy “Jennifer’s Body”, penned by Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody (”Juno”).

“I’ve been able to be a part of films I don’t really feel like I deserve to have been a part of,” she said, in a nod to her lack of experience. But what Fox can’t quite get her head around, is the price of fame — constantly being hounded by paparazzi and press.

“Being photographed at Whole Foods, or like coming out of Rite-Aid with your shampoo bottles and stuff, that’s new to me,” Fox said.

Cast members, Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Isabel Lucas, Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel, Julie White, Kevin Dunn, Anthony Anderson and Matthew Marsden, were all seen at the event. They were joined by director Michael Bay, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, and screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, as well as Paramount Pictures toppers Brad Grey and Sumner Redstone.

The cast members were not the only Hollywood stars to be at the premiere actors Emile Hirsch and Brenda Song, TV personalities Kim Kardashian, Kristin Cavallari and Kendra Wilkinson and Travis Barker among others who went to to the premiere.

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My Take: It is always nice to see a rising new star take on the paparazzi. The paparazzi can drive you absolutely insane. If she can ride that roller coaster and still be herself, then she is a star in deed. I saw the first “Transformers” and enjoyed it very much. However, I have not had a chance to see the sequel.

I have found that many times sequels do not measure up to the original movie. The sequel, however, seems to be one of the rare ones. Everybody is talking about it and saying it is better than the first movie. With my finances being tagged I may not be able to go to the theater to see it. I will just wait and do a movie download.

I belong to one of those Internet companies where you can get downloads of movies from low fee. So when I am ready I will go to my free movie downloads and get the sequel. In fact, if I don’t have the patience to wait for the download, I may just watch online.

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