Washington

Family mourns loved ones who died in suspected arson

Published

2 years ago

October 9, 2024

Family mourns loved ones who died in suspected arson

Flowers and tears from friends and neighbors overwhelmed by the tragedy at the home on 23rd Street Southeast Sunday morning.

Margaret McKinnon, an 84-year-old retired nurse who worked at Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital for more than 25 years, and her son, 64-year-old Ronald McKinnon, were trapped on an upper floor, overcome by heavy smoke and were unable to escape.

Margaret’s McKinnon’s daughter, Reece, is still processing shock and grief at what happened to her mother and brother.

“A neighbor gave me a call at 5:55 that morning saying, ‘Reese, get over here.’”

Because 56-year-old Robert Simpson, the man in custody for setting the fire, is still going through the judicial process, she’s not comfortable with her face on camera, but she wants to talk about her family and the generations of love held in the walls of this home.

“My mom, she’s always been a strong person,” she said. “Everybody knew her. Everybody loved her.”

She says her brother, Ronald, spent his days caring for their mother.

“Everybody knew our family and especially him,” she said. “He made sure he was known to everyone. So that’s just who he was, a friendly person that got along with everyone.”

She says she does not know much about the third victim, Jessica Cunningham.

Court proceedings revealed Cunningham had relationship problems with the suspect and police had been called to the home four times for small fires and broken windows.

Reece expressed compassion at the fact that Cunningham had been preceded in death by her two little daughters, who also tragically died by arson back in 2016, a fire set by Cunningham’s own mother.

She says she’s grateful for the strength of her own family as they struggle with the unthinkable.

“The support for family, it’s important to me and me being strong, just going to struggle to go on with this situation,” she said.

Funeral services for Margaret and Ronald McKinnon are currently being planned by the family.

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Washington

Divorces granted July 2-8 in Washington, Benton counties | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Published

2 hours ago

July 12, 2026

Press Room

Divorces granted July 2-8 in Washington, Benton counties | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

The following divorces granted were recorded July 2-8 in the Benton and Washington county clerks’ offices:

BENTON COUNTY

25-1094. Heather Jones v. Michael Mazzarisi

25-1993. Sarah Waddle v. Brandon Waddle

26-46. Samantha Hines v. Garrett Hines

26-266. Donna Boyd v. Russell Boyd

26-329. Tara Whitwam v. Brett Whitwam

26-354. April Timboe v. Matthew Timboe

26-397. Troy Hull v. Kaley McManamon

26-419. Mark Hagel v. Michelle Hagel

26-437. Deborah Luper v. Donald Luper

26-470. Amanda Russell v. Christopher Russell

26-561. Audrey Mosher v. Dustin Mosher

26-562. Jacob King v. Ashley King

26-649. Chris Edwards v. Sara Edwards

26-664. David Carpenter v. Hannah Holtrey

26-774. Lauren Armfield v. Alexander Armfield

26-775. Sandra Saldana v. Luis Saldana

26-785. Maritza Campos v. Luis De Los Santos

26-798. Darell Shepard v. Rachel Lipscomb

26-802. Jeffery Nicholas v. Tracy Nicholas

26-809. Alicia Moreland v. Travis Moreland

26-814. Mellisa Dugger v. Matthew Crowne

26-817. Sabra Utting v. Derek Utting

26-825. Laura Wortman v. Brian Wortman

26-827. Laura Dean v. Seth Dean

26-845. William Austen v. Krystal Austen

26-846. Janine Robin v. Henry Robin

WASHINGTON COUNTY

24-472. Breayonda Bendickson v. Zackery Thompson

25-1333. Joshua Stephens v. Tiffany Pershall

25-1475. Jacqueline Lybrand v. Zachary Lybrand

25-1720. Jennifer McMahon v. Timothy McMahon

26-10. Janiky Rosario Madera v. Angel Ortiz Fuentes

26-225. Carol Kaufman v. Charles Axtell

26-268. Elizabeth Lasiter v. Prashanth Kumaresan

26-367. Shawn Harp v. Angela Harp

26-414. Patricia Johnson v. Robert Pritchard

26-518. Francisco Ramirez v. Nicole Franz

26-633. Debra Andrews v. Randy Brown

26-695. Jorge Azahares v. Dianelis Rodriguez

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Washington

Hulking four-star Arizona OL commits to Cal over Washington football

Published

13 hours ago

July 11, 2026

Press Room

Hulking four-star Arizona OL commits to Cal over Washington football

The Washington Huskies saw one of their most hotly contested offensive line targets in the 2027 class go elsewhere on Saturday afternoon when four-star offensive lineman DaJohn Yarborough announced his pledge to the California Golden Bears

The 6-foot-5, 340-pound product of Basha High School in Arizona, who is ranked as the nation’s No. 426 overall prospect and No. 25 interior offensive lineman by the 247Sports Composite, picked coach Tosh Lupoi and the Golden Bears out of a final four that also included Florida State, Mississippi State, and UW.

Although his junior year was cut short due to a fractured ankle, Fisch and offensive line coach Michael Switzer kept up a strong relationship with the hulking prospect, who has the size, physicality, and skill set the pair looks for from early contributors up front. However,

“The big man slides smoothly in pass protection and balances his weight well, always finding himself on the winning end of collisions with defenders,” Huskies Wire’s Alex Katson wrote in an evaluation of his film. “With such prototypical size and technique, Yarborough profiles as a player who could find himself in the NFL rather quickly with the right coaching staff during his time in college.”

As Washington continues to build up its offensive line for the rigors of the Big Ten, Yarborough would have been viewed as a promising building block alongside Freshman All-American John Mills, former five-star Kodi Greene, and former four-star Champ Taulealea, who should make up the core of Switzer’s unit in 2027.

While the Huskies had consistently been viewed among the top suitors for Yarborough’s services, but Lupoi’s staff has shown early that it can make a big impact quickly on recruits all over the West. Without Yarborough, Washington’s 2027 class consists of three offensive linemen: four-star interior prospect Gecova Doyal, four-star center Reis Russell, and three-star offensive tackle Tye Kennedy.

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Washington

Chisholm’s homer keys 3-run 9th as the Yankees rally past Washington 5-3 – WTOP News

Published

23 hours ago

July 11, 2026

Press Room

Chisholm’s homer keys 3-run 9th as the Yankees rally past Washington 5-3 – WTOP News

Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the New York Yankees over the Washington Nationals 5-3 on Friday night.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the New York Yankees over the Washington Nationals 5-3 on Friday night.

The Yankees and Nationals rank 1-2 in the major leagues in home runs, and all but one run in this game came via the long ball. Ben Rice hit his 29th of the season for the Yankees, and Jasson Domínguez and Austin Wells also went deep for New York.

Keibert Ruiz and James Wood homered on consecutive pitches in the seventh to give Washington a 3-2 lead, but in the ninth, the Nationals brought in left-hander Matt Krook — who had allowed 22 earned runs in 12 2/3 big league innings dating to 2023. Krook (0-1) yielded a one-out single by Domínguez, and Chisholm followed with his 13th homer.

Wells added a solo shot off Justin Lawrence to make it 5-3.

David Bednar (3-3) won in relief, working the final two innings. The Yankees remained four games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.

Rice homered in the first off Carson Palmquist, but the New York designated hitter fouled a pitch off his right leg in the fifth and was shaken up. He was able to stay in the game.

By that time, Domínguez had given the Yankees a 2-1 lead with a homer off Zack Littell (8-6) in the fourth.

The game was delayed two hours at the start, and a wet field might have prevented Washington from tying it in the sixth. New York starter Ryan Weathers allowed a one-out double to CJ Abrams. Then Jacob Young followed with a single. Abrams looked likely to score, but he slipped rounding third and had to stay there.

Fernando Cruz then replaced Weathers and struck out the next two hitters to strand both runners.

New York’s Paul Goldschmidt singled in the first to snap an 0-for-34 drought, and he also reached on an infield hit in the sixth.

Amed Rosario of the Yankees struck out in all three of his plate appearances and made two errors at third base before being lifted for a pinch-hitter.