-Stratcom  
A four-day vigil at the main gate of Offutt Air Force Base, near Omaha, commemorated the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The annual presence at the home of StratCom, the strategic nuclear command center, concluded August 9 when four participants from Des Moines crossed the line. Bill and Jean Basinger, Ed Bloomer and Fr. Frank Cordaro were arrested and later released with ban and bar letters. Bloomer and Cordaro acted in violation of earlier ban and bar letters, and have since been indicted for reentry trespass. Fr. Cordaro suffered a major heart attack September 21, so his and Bloomer's date in federal court has been postponed until January, 2002.

Ed Bloomer and Fr. Frank Cordaro were also arrested on August 15, along with Fran Fuller and Brian Terrell, at the Iowa State Fair. The four Catholic Workers were holding enlarged photos of Iraqi children suffering from the sanctions as they stood in front of the Iowa Air National Guard display. At their arraignment, Bloomer pled guilty and was sentenced to five hours community service. Cordaro, Fuller and Terrell initially pled not guilty, but in light of the events of September 11, chose not to continue the case in the courts. Each pled guilty on September 18 and was sentenced to 15 hours community service.

On October 16, Mark Kenney completed a six-month prison sentence for repeat trespass at Offutt Air Force Base, and was released from prison. Beginning August 29, Kenney had spent six days in "the hole" following his nonviolent witness to the Duluth Air Show. The Air Force Base is adjacent to the prison's walking track, so while the Blue Angels arched overhead in their grand finale, Kenney was visible to many civilians as he walked on the track, carrying his bible, a cross painted blood red, and wearing a T-shirt on which he'd written "STUDY WAR NO MORE."

For more information, contact the Des Moines Catholic Worker, POB 4551, Des Moines, IA 50306, (515)243-0765 web: www.no-nukes.org/dmcw.