HYATTSVILLE, Md. — The parents of a 7-year-old first grader with autism are demanding answers from Prince George’s County Public Schools after their son suffered a severe leg fracture while at school — an injury no one has been able to explain.

Daevian Donaldson, a student at Felegy Elementary School in Hyattsville, is recovering from surgery after his femur was snapped and displaced during class last Friday, according to his parents, Daechele Kaufman and Anthony Donaldson.

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Kaufman said the day began normally as she dropped Daevian and his twin brother off for first grade. Around 9 a.m., she received an alarming phone call from the school.

“They just said he was on the floor screaming and didn’t want anyone to touch him,” Kaufman said.

She rushed to the school and found her son with obvious trauma to his leg. Neither staff nor Daevian — who communicates differently because he is on the autism spectrum — could explain how the injury occurred, she said.

Doctors later confirmed the severity of the injury through X-rays.

“When I saw the X-ray and one of the nurses said he was going to need surgery, all these wheels started turning,” Kaufman said.

The parents said they later learned Daevian’s regular teacher was attending a meeting at the time, and the special-needs classroom was being supervised by a substitute. They said no clear explanation has been provided for how a child could suffer such a serious injury without staff noticing what happened.

“It’s definitely neglect,” Kaufman said. “You can’t turn away and come back and say, ‘Oh, you fell,’ for a major injury like that. That’s not acceptable.”

After the family raised concerns publicly, Prince George’s County Public Schools issued a statement saying the district is investigating the incident and has placed the staff member involved on administrative leave.

Anthony Donaldson said that response does not go far enough.

“It needs to be more than one person on administrative leave,” he said. “Several people need to be evaluated on how they’re trained, or they need to be fired.”

Daevian is continuing to recover after surgery but is still experiencing pain, his parents said. As the interview concluded, the 7-year-old quietly asked for his medication.

The family said they want accountability — and assurances that other children, especially those with special needs, will be kept safe.

• A former federal attorney was arrested and charged with arson for two fires in Jackson, Mississippi.
• The fires damaged a building and a dumpster at the Yana Club of Mississippi, a recovery community nonprofit.
• The suspect, George McDowell Yoder III, has a history of previous arrests and was suspended from practicing law in 2022.

A former federal attorney was arrested and charged with arson after a building and dumpster were set on fire Friday, Feb. 27, in the Fondren area of Jackson, authorities said.

Jackson Fire Department Chief of Investigations Charles Felton said firefighters responded around 12 a.m. Friday in reference to a reported building fire and dumpster fire at Yana Club of Mississippi located at 555 Hartsfield Street.

Felton said fire crews arrived and found two separate fires in the Fondren neighborhood that caused damage to the Yana Club and the dumpster.

No injuries were reported.

After the fires were extinguished, a fire investigator was called to the scene. Investigators spoke with Capitol Police, who had a suspect detained.

Felton said the Jackson Fire Department Arson Division arrested George McDowell Yoder III, a former federal attorney, and charged him with first-degree arson of Yana Club and third-degree arson of the dumpster.

In 2021, WDAM TV reported Yoder had been a special assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi from 2009 to 2011. Yoder also ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for the Mississippi Court of Appeals in 2016.

According to a 2023 article by the Laurel Leader Call, Yoder was arrested in 2021 for residential burglary and faced multiple charges from 2021 to 2023. Yoder was also arrested in 2023 for arson charges, the outlet reported.

Documents from the Supreme Court of Mississippi also indicate that Yoder was admitted to the practice of law in the state in 1999 but later suspended in 2022 from practicing law for three years.

Court records show Yoder was found to be accepting fees from clients, abandoning them and then failing to deposit their retainers into a trust account. Yoder “commingled” his personal money with those of his clients and performed little to no work on a Madison County criminal case he was hired to resolve.

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Jackson fire officials also said that a fire did not occur Friday morning at The Pig & Pint, a barbecue business located next to Yana Club.

Yana Club of Mississippi, a nonprofit organization, is described via their Facebook page as a “recovery community” that serves individuals seeking help with addictions.

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) — Bourbon is more than a business for Jesse Carpenter — it’s a tribute to the city that shaped him.

“This is Durham. This is where I’m from. This is where I grew up,” said Carpenter, Chief Product Officer of Old Hillside Bourbon.

The company he co-founded with childhood friends takes its name and identity from one of Durham’s most iconic institutions-Hillside High School, one of the oldest historically Black high schools in the nation.

“We graduated Class of 1993 from Hillside High School,” Carpenter said. “Concord and Lawson Street. It’s the old Hillside.”

The idea took root during the pandemic when Carpenter proposed starting a bourbon company to those same friends.

“I had an idea to start a bourbon company, and they were on board,” he said. “Friends from 30 years ago, and now we’re doing this business together. It’s awesome.”

From 300 Cases to 10,000

What began as a pandemic-era idea has evolved into a rapidly growing business.

In its inaugural year, Old Hillside distributed 300 cases; this year, the company anticipates 10,000. The bourbon also earned Best in Show at the 2023 TAG Global Spirits Awards, impressing even the most discerning craft bourbon critics.

“Let me focus on the aroma — layers of oak, vanilla,” one reviewer commented on the Bourbon Banter YouTube channel, concluding with, “I think it’s a great taste.”

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A Bottle Full of Stories

Beyond its flavor, Old Hillside stands out for the history embedded in its label. Each vintage pays homage to a chapter of Black American history that might otherwise remain overlooked.

The inaugural bottle features a photo of the old Hillside High building, symbolizing the school’s deep community ties. A second flavor pays tribute to the African American jockeys who dominated the Kentucky Derby before the Jim Crow era effectively pushed them out of the sport. The company’s latest release honors the Harlem Hellfighters, the renowned all-Black military unit that served with distinction in World War I.

It’s a storytelling approach that Carpenter and his team are actively working to spread across North Carolina. Brand ambassadors Corey Carpenter and Amire Schealey are on the front lines of that effort.

“More bars and restaurants — tackling different markets,” said Corey Carpenter. Schealey added that the team is “setting up tastings at different ABC boards to build up our brand and presence around the state of North Carolina.”

Like many acclaimed bourbons, Old Hillside is distilled and bottled in Kentucky. But its founders are quick to point out where its true spirit comes from.

“Old Hillside is a lifestyle,” Jesse Carpenter said. “Not just a school-friendship and camaraderie. That’s what we do.”

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