“Judge says he's hopeful jail sentence will help teen stay out of ... - Grand Rapids Press” plus 2 more

Judge says he's hopeful jail sentence will help teen stay out of ... - Grand Rapids Press
Monitoring Devices Remind Teens to Buckle Up - PR Inside
Oshkosh Defense to Demonstrate Advanced Unmanned Ground Vehicle ... - Black Anthem

Judge says he's hopeful jail sentence will help teen stay out of ... - Grand Rapids Press

Posted: 31 Aug 2009 03:11 PM PDT

by LaNia Coleman | The Bay City Times

There's still hope for a Flint teen doing time for participating in the theft of more than $87,000 worth of vehicles, a Bay County judge says.

Monday, Circuit Judge Kenneth M. Schmidt sentenced Joshua W. Burton to 210 days in jail, with credit for 117 days already served, for two counts of unlawfully driving away an automobile.

The judge alluded to Burton's record which was clear save for one misdemeanor.

"So this was your first time in jail," Schmidt said. "How did you like it?"

"I don't like it at all, sir," said Burton, 18.

"I believe there is still hope for you and I'd like to give you a shot rather than send you to prison," said Schmidt, who also ordered the teen to obtain a general equivalency diploma and serve three years of probation.

If Burton does not successfully complete probation, he will return to jail for another 120 days, Schmidt said.

Burton, 18, also must help his co-defendants pay $18,000 restitution to Bay Auto Auction.

Prosecutors charged the teen with six counts of auto theft in the March 3 break-in at the Portsmouth Township auction site, 573 S. Tuscola.

Prosecutors agreed not to pursue four of the counts as part of a plea deal. Burton pleaded guilty to the remaining two in June.

Investigators claim Burton participated in the thefts of a van, two trucks, six ATVs and a dirt bike.

Intruders cut a lock to get access to the yard where they found the keys in the trucks, authorities have said. The culprits loaded the ATVs onto the trucks and drove off.

Bay County sheriff's deputies recovered a Kawasaki on M-15 near German where it fell off one of the trucks.

Flint police recovered two of the four-wheelers and a dirt bike in an abandoned garage hours after the break-in, detectives have said.

One of Burton's co-defendants, his 19-year-old brother Jonathan W. Burton, had the same plea deal but failed to show up for an Aug. 4 hearing. Authorities have issued a warrant for his arrest.

Another defendant is a minor whom authorities have not named.

Other suspects are facing charges in Genesee County.

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Monitoring Devices Remind Teens to Buckle Up - PR Inside

Posted: 31 Aug 2009 08:09 AM PDT

2009-08-31 17:04:04 -

When most people get in the car the logical response is to start the engine and put on their safety belt; however many teens are not using that logic and are forgetting to buckle up according to a study done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). In fact, almost half of 16- and 17-year-old drivers killed in crashes

– roughly 2,500 teens – in 2007 were unbelted.

Monitoring devices could help encourage teens to take this important step, the researchers found.

While 94 percent of teens involved in the study used safety belts already, the remaining teens buckled up when the monitoring devices continued to buzz or make other sounds. Similar results were found by the researchers in 2006 among drivers of all ages using belt reminders that chime or buzz.

IIHS says that the reminders are a necessary tool in reminding all drivers, not only teens, to buckle up. The noises encourage drivers to comply with safety belt laws and give an incentive since fastening a seat belt is the quickest way to make the noise stop.

For the past 23 years, GEICO has held a national art and design contest for students to get across the message that seat belts save lives. The next GEICO competition kicks off Sept. 1. Through traditional poster art, graphic design and video submissions, students are encouraged to creatively show the importance of how safety belts save lives. Rules and information can be found on www.geicosafetybeltart.com : .

For information on GEICO's teen safe driving program, please visit www.geico.com/information/safety/auto/safety-library/ : .

GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) – as part of Berkshire Hathaway – is the third-largest private passenger auto insurer : in the United States*. GEICO provides auto insurance coverage : for 9 million policyholders and insures more than 16 million vehicles.

In addition to auto insurance, GEICO offers customers insurance products : for their motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), boats, homes, apartments and mobile homes. Commercial auto insurance and personal umbrella protection and life insurance are also available.

As a member of the Berkshire Hathaway group of companies, GEICO is rated A++ for financial strength by A.M. Best Company and ranks at the top of several national customer satisfaction surveys. For more information, go to www.geico.com : .

*A.M. Best 2008 market share data

GEICO Communications301-986-3271

Oshkosh Defense to Demonstrate Advanced Unmanned Ground Vehicle ... - Black Anthem

Posted: 30 Aug 2009 04:52 PM PDT

Blackanthem Military News
OSHKOSH, Wis. - Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK), will demonstrate the latest in unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) technology at the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) and Fort Hood III Corps Robotics Rodeo, today through Sept. 3, in Fort Hood, Texas.

The company will use Oshkosh military vehicles to demonstrate the Oshkosh TerraMax™ autonomous vehicle system and its capabilities, including robotic logistics convoy operations, advanced perception technology and human-assisted change detection, during two unique demonstrations.

"Oshkosh continues to embrace, develop and advance cutting edge autonomous technology for military applications," said Andy Hove, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice president and president, Defense. "We have some of the best minds in the industry working to apply autonomous technology to missions that will help our military customer."

Oshkosh Defense is an industry leader in the development of autonomous vehicle technology. The company has a history of teaming with technology experts to continue breaking new ground and as a result, the Oshkosh TerraMax autonomous vehicle system incorporates the latest in advanced robotic hardware and software components:

The Oshkosh Command Zone™ electronics system provides a drive-by-wire capability, which allows intelligent computer control of steering, acceleration, braking and transmission.

A new IBEO LUX laser scanner offers enhanced sensing capabilities as part of the light detection and ranging (LIDAR) system for 360-degree obstacle detection. The laser scanner's low-profile packaging reduces the visual signature of the sensors on the vehicle, allowing the vehicle to blend in more seamlessly within the military's fleets.

Oshkosh and the National Robotics Engineering Center of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University are working to improve the occupants' situational awareness by fusing scanning laser ranging technology with electro-optical vision to create an immersive 3D display of their surroundings. The Perception Capabilities Demonstrator technology system is also able to render imagery from a previously driven route alongside real-time data, allowing a human operator to analyze the scene for changes and quickly identify potential threats such as IEDs. Future developments of this emerging technology will focus on improved localization for autonomous operations in varied environments, including areas with little or no GPS coverage.

TORC Technologies has created a Route and Mission Development Tool (RMDT) that allows for offline development of missions using aerial imagery.

Oshkosh continues to refine and develop autonomous technologies to help the military achieve a future of unmanned logistics missions and improved situational awareness for vehicle occupants, in an effort to help save the lives of uniformed service members.

About Oshkosh Defense

Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation, is an industry-leading global designer and manufacturer of tactical military trucks and armored wheeled vehicles, delivering a full product line of conventional and hybrid vehicles, advanced armor options, proprietary suspensions and vehicles with payloads that can exceed 70 tons. Oshkosh Defense provides a global service and supply network including full life-cycle support and remanufacturing, and its vehicles are recognized the world over for superior performance, reliability and protection. For more information, visit www.oshkoshdefense.com.

About Oshkosh Corporation

Oshkosh Corporation is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of specialty access equipment, commercial, fire & emergency and military vehicles and vehicle bodies. Oshkosh Corp. manufactures, distributes and services products under the brands of Oshkosh®, JLG®, Pierce®, McNeilus®, Medtec®, Jerr-Dan®, BAI™, Oshkosh Specialty Vehicles, Frontline™, SMIT™, CON-E-CO®, London® and IMT®. Oshkosh products are valued worldwide in businesses where high quality, superior performance, rugged reliability and long-term value are paramount. For more information, log on to www.oshkoshcorporation.com.

®, ™ All brand names referred to in this news release are trademarks of Oshkosh Corporation or its subsidiary companies.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that the Company believes to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's future financial position, business strategy, targets, projected sales, costs, earnings, capital expenditures, debt levels and cash flows, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, words such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "should," "project" or "plan" or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company's control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include the consequences of financial leverage associated with the JLG acquisition, including the level of the Company's borrowing costs, the increased interest rates the Company would face if it experienced a deterioration or downgrade in credit agency ratings and the Company's ability to maintain compliance with its financial covenants under its credit agreement; the cyclical nature of the Company's access equipment, commercial and fire & emergency markets, especially during a global recession and credit crisis; the duration of the global recession, which could lead to additional impairment charges related to many of the Company's intangible assets; risks related to the required increase in the rate of production for the M-ATV and FMTV contracts, and the amount, if any, of additional orders for M-ATVs and/or FMTVs that the Company may receive; the expected level and timing of U.S. Department of Defense procurement of products and services and funding thereof; risks related to reductions in government expenditures and the uncertainty of government contracts; risks related to production delays as a result of the economy's impact on the Company's suppliers; the potential for commodity costs to rise sharply in a future economic recovery; risks associated with international operations and sales, including foreign currency fluctuations; risks related to the collectability of receivables during a recession, particularly for those businesses with exposure to construction markets; and the potential for increased costs relating to compliance with changes in laws and regulations. Additional information concerning these and other factors is contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company assumes no obligation, and disclaims any duty, to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.