Guilty plea garnered in embezzlement case

A Jefferson County woman has admitted to embezzling from the Boy Scouts, a wrestling club and the bank where she worked.

U.S. Atty. Eric Melgren announced Friday that 39-year-old Rhonda Baker of Meriden had pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of embezzlement.

Baker admitted in her plea that while working as head teller at Countryside Bank in Meriden in 2001 and 2002, she fraudulently transferred more than $20,000 into her personal checking and savings accounts or her parents’ accounts. Her duties at the bank included reconciling ATM withdrawals and deposits with the bank’s general ledger account.

A bank investigation also found that she used her role as treasurer of a Boy Scout troop and a local wrestling club to misdirect money from the groups’ checking accounts into her personal accounts.

She transferred more than $2,000 from the Boy Scout account and more than $1,600 from the wrestling club.

Baker will be sentenced on Oct. 17 and faces up to 30 years in prison.

Traffic

Three vehicles involved in accident on Iowa

Three vehicles collided in a bizarre crash Sunday afternoon in the 2500 block of Iowa Street.

No one was transported by ambulance to a hospital, but one man was treated by Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical for a medical problem, Lawrence Police said.

A pregnant woman was taken in a private vehicle to be checked by doctors, police said.

The accident occurred when a Mazda that was southbound on Iowa crossed the center line and struck a Ford Ranger pickup truck that was stopped in traffic while northbound on Iowa, police said. The collision pushed the Ranger onto the hood of a Chrysler Sebring convertible.

The driver of the Mazda was experiencing low blood sugar problems when the accident occurred, police said.

Ottawa

Habitat to put car up for grabs at event

A Chrysler PT Cruiser Convertible will be the big prize in early August at a charity golf tournament in Ottawa to benefit Habitat for Humanity of Franklin County.

Golfers will be eligible to win the car if they sink a tee shot for a hole-in-one during the tournament on Aug. 13 at the Ottawa Country Club. The top three teams in all three flights will receive awards. Teams may register for an early bird fee of $225 by the end of today. Otherwise, the fee is $260, which includes breakfast, lunch, green’s fees, golf cart, T-shirts and door prizes.

Proceeds will support construction of two new homes in the 800 block of South Pecan Street for two families selected by Habitat for Humanity.

The group hopes to raise $20,000 from the event, said organizer Jason Camis.

“We have both families picked out for the homes, and they are both really excited about it,” Camis said.

For a registration form or more information, contact Camis at 785-242-1411.