Thursday, August 20, 2009

My Last Stories (this summer anyway!)

My last stories were part of a sunday package, with at the Times means long term stories you work on about a particular subject.

For my sunday package, me and the other intern worked on a back to school themed package.

Even though that was my last project this summer, they said I could do Correspondent work for them, which I'm really interested in! So hopefully this isn't the last time I'll be in print at the Carroll County Times!

They also had a really nice going away party for us, where they got us an ice cream cake and gave us a bunch of CCT parting gifts and a card. They are so wonderful!

Read my stories:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/08/16/news/sunday_centerpieces/960_back_to_school_4.txt


http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/08/16/news/sunday_centerpieces/960_back_to_school_2.txtes.com/articles/2009/08/16/news/sunday_centerpieces/960_back_to_school_2.txt

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Fair Food




Photo by Ken Koons

Hello adorable baby!

For this article, I had to investigate the food at the Carroll County 4-H and FFA Fair. It was hard to know where to focus- the outside stands or the inside dining area. I chose a little of both, for a full spectrum of coverage.

Many journalists like to concentrate on just one thing. When you give me a topic, however, I like to cover my bases. This can be a problem because my story lacks focus, but it does give readers a much better idea of the event. After reading my article, people know about how it feels to be there rather than about one aspect of that experience. I pride myself in that, but I don't know if it is regarded as a good thing. Maybe for small, commuity papers. Well, at least I tell the truth in my writing.

Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/07/29/news/local_news/3_4h_fair_food.txt

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Remembering Katie Bossler

This was an extremely difficult story to write. I'm a little bit upset with the editors, because I think they tried to beef up my story but they made an error and added redundancy, in my opinion. I guess I'm touchy about this story, in particular, because I wanted it to be perfect. It's so horrifying.

Because it was a story of remembrance, I didn't add in some interesting parts. The mother said in the interview that she hopes the public gets angry because he's out of jail and the bail was very low ($20,000 for drunk driving and killing a teenager). She said he didn't even know he hit anyone, just thought he hit a car. This other woman I interviewed, the North Carroll teacher, said her husband died when a 17-year-old ran the double yellow line on a curve, while texting, and struck her husband. She said with vehicular crimes like these, people essentially only receive a slap on the wrist. After killing someone. How crazy.

How many people have to die before we learn not to drink and drive or text and drive?

Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/07/23/news/local_news/2_teen_killed.txt

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

My Day in Court

Today was really cool, and an appreciated change of pace. Ryan Marshall, the writer who covers criminal cases in Carroll County, took me and Rachel (the other intern) to court to watch the trials today.

I've never been to court, but I know a little bit about it since I'm a poli sci major. I feel like Ryan's job would be really great- it would be mixing my two favorite things!

Some of the cases we heard were boring, but some were really serious. There were a lot of people brought in wearing handcuffs and chains on their feet. This one man was circled by police officers- apparently they thought he could be a very big threat.

I feel like the judges are very burnt out. I read that was a huge issue when it comes to that profession. One judge read his decision while rubbing his face and sighing in an annoyed fashion. The same judge also mocked a lawyer once- he said "There may be a dilemma", because the other lawyer was downstairs handling a domestic violence case that was taking longer than expected. So the judge was like "Oh, is there a dilemma?" in a snarky way, then when he got the explanation he was just like "OK, lets take a long recess." People who were waiting for their trial were PISSED!

One of the interesting cases, though it was simple, was this man was driving and pulled over for his middle break light being out. While stopped for that, he was charged with another crime (possession or something). His lawyer fought that he shouldn't have been stopped in the first place because the law says you only need 2 brake lights. The prosecution said you need all three if the car has all three. The judge decided that was crap, so he threw out the charges because the man shouldn't have been stopped in the first place. Crazy!

The domestic violence case was sad, because the man seems crazy but the woman still loves him. Apparently he shot a gun near her in their home. We missed the teary witness account, but the judge let him off easy with reckless indangerment charges and charges for shooting a gun within city limits. I hope those people go their separate ways.

One story was really sad- it was about these two brothers who commited a chain of armed robberies in Carroll County. The case we saw was for the brother who drove the getaway car. His brother went into a bunch of shops and robbed them, but after about 4 robberies, still only got about $500 or less. From a couple of places they only made $30. They just had given up, I guess. They were super sloppy and now they were going to get like 20 or more years, and for what? Totally wasn't worth it. I think their mother turned them in. Apparently they were drug addicts, so that's probably why they did it.

One case was kind of funny. This man said he'd do his girlfriend's taxes. He got the money put right into his bank account, because he said it would be easier. Once he got the money, he lied to his girlfriend and said he didn't get it yet. She kept asking, but then he stopped answering her calls. So, she sued him for the money- the $100!! But he didn't get in trouble, really- probably mostly because he was already serving for another crime but out on work release. When will people learn.

Ryan showed us how he's allowed to look in case files and see what people plead, etc. He said not many cases have a jury- about one a year. We also learned how complicated it is when people commit crimes in more than one county or more than one state. Each state gives them different sentences and everything. One man wanted out because he committed a crime in MD, but then he committed one in NJ and they gave him a harsher sentence. He said that wasn't right because he committed the first one in MD so should be charged here, and said he'd be out by now if that had happened so he wanted out. The judge denied his request.

All in all, it was a good time, but it really makes me wonder how people could throw away their lives doing such stupid things. How depressing.

Oops


Photo by Ken Koons

So I had a very big day yesterday. After going to Chestertown to take care of some Elm duties and return some ILL thesis books, I came home and covered Reese Carnival.

I was going to get there early, but it started raining so I thought I'd wait it out a bit. The photographer, Ken Koons, went at about 630 so I followed shortly after. Amazingly, there were still a lot of people there.

So, since he got there before me, he scoped out a story. There was a person who brought her chocolate colored skunk.

What a great story! New, inventive, yay!

So, it ran today and was interesting, but I got a call from Chad Reese, President of the fire department saying, "So animal control is out here looking for the skunk because it's not allowed on carnival grounds. Do you have contact information for them?"

Oh no!

I feel horrible! I got them in trouble and the poor skunk had to go home. What a bummer, now my story is a lie because people can not see this skunk all week since my story brought the issue to light. I guess it's there fault for bringing it without permission, but I feel horrible.

Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/07/21/news/local_news/1_reese_carnival.txt

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Camp COPS


Photo by Kyle Nosal

I have a special connection to this story, since I used to go to Camp COPS when I was 12ish. My mom sent me to many local camps in an effort to get me out of my grandparents house (where I stayed most of my summers and picked up bad habits like watching tv constantly).

Well, looks like Camp COPS has become much more serious and structured. I went to it when it was a very new camp. It's a lot like the CSI camp I wrote about- it's an effort to bond youth and police officers.

Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/07/18/news/local_news/7_cops_camp.txt

Friday, July 17, 2009

Masterclass of Roots Music


Photo by Kyle Nosal. This is NOT a picture of Tim O'Brien, but instead a student in his class named Josh Henderson from N.C.

Tim O'Brien, who taught the Masterclass of Roots Music, is a big deal in the Folk world! He's a grammy winning artist and was in the band Hot Rize. By the way, roots music is classic american music and is mainly folksy-country-bluegrass. Anyway, Tim O'Brien was a very nice man and made me want to become more musical. I should, it seems like a fantastic stress reliever...
Well, I had a fun time chillin' in this class and it made me reconnect with my bluegrass roots.
Oh, yes, I have bluegrass roots.

Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/07/17/news/local_news/4_common_ground_obrien.txt

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Seussical!

I previewed a local show thats being performed this week, called "Seussical". It's a mixture of many popular Dr.Seuss books, all in one musical theater production.

This was a fun one to write. It was for the encore section (entertainment section) instead of news, so I wasn't quite used to the writing style, so I had to make some story edits. But its all good. Sometimes, especially in stories like this, I think I may write like I have a bias towards the organization. I make performances and events seem very must-see. Well, I'm a fairly optimistic person. I hope they break a leg!

Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/07/16/13104183.txt

Note- I now don't like covering entertainment events. I have been getting calls non-stop by grandma's who want to take their grandchildren to "my show." It's hard to explain that I am not involved with the production, I'm just a reporter for the Times! Aw well, it doesn't take me long to look up the showtimes online for them. It's pretty funny, really.

Surf and Turf Festival

This story made me really hungry for crabs. I still think I may go to this festival, it sounds delicious and lots of fun. The Carroll County Farm Museum is adorable. And it is one of the most read stories today on the website!

Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/07/16/news/local_news/4surf_and_turf.txt

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Hometown Hero Recognized for Saving Draft Horses


Photo submitted by Christine Hajek

I feel like I tend to have to interview very busy people. That can cause a bit of an issue when you're on deadline. This woman, Christine Hajek, saves horses and people on a daily basis. And lets just say when the story needed to come out, there were a lot of horses and people needing to be saved (lots of fires and starving horses).

So, I finally got in touch with her after much persistance, and I finally got her to submit a picture just two hours before deadline.

I really like people who are like this. Always busy and motivated and doing good things, but never complaining and wouldn't have it any other way. Makes me want to me more ambitious. Again. I've got to get on that.

Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/07/13/news/local_news/5_founder_hometown_heroes.txt

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Maryland Junior Miss Competition


Photo by Kyle Nosal
I enjoyed this story, because the Junior Miss participants were the most genuinely nice people I've probably ever spoken to. Cheri Poklemba, the chairwoman, said I had to put all Junior Miss sponsors at the end of my story, but that would be strange. That was the only really ridiculous demand I received. Usually there are a ton per story (it's amazing how people don't really understand newspaper policies).


Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/07/11/news/local_news/4_junior_miss.txt

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

My Job in Pictures

Hard at work at the carnival:

Talking to the nicest lady ever (Far left: Mrs. Lee). Note the blackberry hanging out of my pocket. It makes me look like I'm important.

Talking on the phone to Dylan, the photographer.
Talking to some bluegrass lovin' sisters from "the mountains", as they said, which is the Emmitsburg area.
Talking to Leonard Bower, carnival chairman for the fire department. I think I was asking him a real toughy.
------
Thanks, Kels! The picture of all the rifles wouldn't upload...how ironic.
Photos by Kelsey McDonald

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Fun at the Harney Carney



So, Kelsey and I had a really good time at the carnival! We ate delicious crabcakes and french fries. We got there early, so there wasn't much going on yet. (Just a disclaimer that I wasn't neglecting my job by eating the amazing food. And Kelsey, my friend who I drug along, was not a distraction but instead a great help.)

I ended up writing about the bluegrass band. People claimed seats early to watch them- the CB Pickers.

The only problem was I got the story in pretty late again. Dylan was business taking pictures of something else so he didn't get there until 8 p.m. Usually the story is due then, but I'm used to waiting for the photographer to see what he takes a picture of, just in case I should interview the people he may photograph.

It turned out that I didn't even really need to wait for him, he just took a general picture of people on a ride and of the band.

I rushed home (well, back to Kelsey's) and got my article in by 9:15 p.m. Pretty impressive, I think.

Kelsey took a thousand pictures, so I'll upload them when she gets them to me.

Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/07/07/news/local_news/1_harney_carnival.txt
Photo by Dylan Slagle

Monday, July 6, 2009

Harney Carney Tonight!

So, tonight I'll be heading out to Harney, a little town near Taneytown that's right on the mason-dixon line.

This is the second carnival I've been assigned to write about. This is because I'm a willing and eager intern, ready to help out in any way possible, which means endless carnival coverage. My second day, my co-worker said to me, "Well, I hope you like covering carnivals." haha. As you can see, the times writers are pretty burnt out by carnivals, which are a weekly occurrance in little old Carroll County.

Last year, the guy who wrote about this carnival wrote a small piece on how they served fried oreos and people liked them.

...

So, I'm nervous I'll have some trouble finding anything good. I already called and asked if I could talk to someone about the carnival, preferrably someone who was involved with organizing it, and she's like "Hm, I don't think there here. Not really sure when they'll be here. Food starts at 430, though."

So, my plan is to stalk the carnival grounds at 5 or 530, looking for someone who looks like they know what their talking about and also people who look like they're having a good time. This is a perfect story to prove myself- despite bad odds, I can find an angle! See, I am a reporter!

Fingers crossed.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Staying Healthy in the Heat


This story ran on the fourth of July and gave tips on how to prevent heat exhaustion and heat stroke while outside. We're almost getting to the point where heat-related deaths start occurring more frequently (though there have already been two) so we thought it would be good if people were aware of the facts.

As it turns out, the fourth wasn't too horribly hot, though it was a nice sunny day. But, as you see in my article, people still need to be aware of heat exhaustion even if its not super hot. I hope this story still helped someone out there!
Read my story:
Photo courtesy of Google Images

Friday, July 3, 2009

A New Look for Libraries


For this one, I traveled around to the newly renovated Westminster library and the newly built Finksburg library. I ran into some more Carroll County quotation hesitation, and I felt like I was weirdly stalking stay at home moms (and their children).

But everyone was nice and willing to help. The Westminster branch has received the biggest makeover- once a noisy, unruly hangout now seems to be a quieter, more open space. There are definitely more workers helping out patrons- shortly after I walked into the library, a man came over, introduced himself while shaking my hand, and asked if he could help me. I mean, it could have been because I was bugging unsuspecting patrons for their opinions on the new library look. We'll just say he was being super friendly, though.

Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/07/03/13060393.txt
Photo courtesy of Carroll County Public Schools

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Cash for Clunkers

I tried to report on this an unbiasly as possible, but I have developed some opinions I'd like to share.

First of all, the name doesn't make any sense. People don't get cash, they get money towards their new car, and its only a little bit. Plus the car can't be used, has to be brand new, so that's not very green. And their old car must be destroyed. Secondly, its full of fine print- and there is more to come! The environmental standards aren't even great and they don't have to improve their gas mileage very much. Essentially, it's another bill to draw the rich out from hiding and make them buy lots of new cars (since no one else can).

It was fun to report on, though. The details kept changing and there was hot debate! I love politics.

Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/07/01/news/local_news/4cash_for_clunkers.txt

Monday, June 29, 2009

Maryland Fire Queen

This girl was next to impossible to get in touch with. I started the story Thursday but then didn't finish it until Sunday, and it ran today.

The girl was very nice, though. Super busy! I don't see how she does all of those things. Makes me feel like I need to be more ambitious.



Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/06/29/news/local_news/newsstory5_manchester_maryland_fire_queen.txt
Photo courtesy of Erin Drumheller

A Story to Which I Contributed

I interviewed Sgt. Michael Blair for this story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/06/27/news/local_news/1_police_auxiliaries.txt

And here's the response I received:
Alisha:

After 43 years of working with news reporters, I had reservations about being on the "other end" of an interview. After reading the article that you contributed to in today's edition, my trepidations proved to be unfounded!

I was most impressed with your professionalism during the interview process, and after seeing the story in print, I was even more impressed with the accurate reproduction of our interview.

Keep up the great work. At a time when newspapers are not valued by a large portion of the population, you are an asset to the Carroll County Times and "media" in general!

In the future, any Opportunity which I have to work with you will be most welcome!

Thank You!

Sgt. Mike Blair
Sykesville Auxiliary Police

What a nice man! Police officers in this county are really great.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Junior CSI Camp

Middle Schoolers are so lucky. I wish I could partipate in a CSI camp!

I reported on their class and their final exam, which they investigated three crime scenes. So cute. I was a bit of a failure, though, because I didn't write my article in a timely fashion. I went down there at 4, was done at 615, got home a little before 7, then should have had my article written by 8. Instead, I got home and typed an interview for my co-worker. I should have done that after I wrote my story. Then, I didn't send my story in until 9:15, and I don't think my editor was too happy with me. I've got to work on making deadlines.

Here is a picture of me, writing about what the CSI camp was doing:
Photo courtesy of Sykesville Police Department
I didn't think the administrative assistant for the Sykesville Police Department was actually going to take a picture, but then I received an e-mail with an album of the kids looking at the mock crime scenes and to my surprise, I was in a picture in the album.

Here are the kids at work:
Photo courtesy of Sykesville Police Department
Photo by Dylan Slagle
Read my story:

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Carroll County Sheriff's Office Website

They added some sweet crime reporting things to the CC Sheriff's office website. I'm on the cop beat, it seems. Tomorrow I'm writing about a CSI class for Middle Schoolers that is taught by cops.

Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/06/23/news/local_news/2sheriffswebsite.txt

A response...

So, I got an email about the Road-eo story. I've gotten some email and phone call responses that have been positive, but I've never gotten anything like this.
See, in the actual paper, there was a picture of two men laughing about the competition below the picture you see with the story in this blog. The two men were Chris and Tim. Here is the email I received after the story came out.

Hi I am writing on behalf of my Mother & myself. The C.C. rodeo with the picture of Chris laughing made us SICK. 5 years ago he cut a tree limb that fell on my Brother and KILLED him. Now Chris can laugh but he took that away from us, we don't laugh anymore. He tore our world apart. My Mom said that if you need t out his picture in the paper please put a PAPER BAG on his head so we don't have to look at it. It is very hard to see his face, to us it's like 5 years all over again, everyday. We just had to let you know how we felt.
Thank-you
Doris and Deanna

That's so sad, they are just so hurt. I almost feel bad for Chris because it sounds like it was an accident. Wow, what a complicated situation. I didn't even take the picture...

Oh, the dangers of reporting.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Watch out this year for Mosquitoes!

So with all the rain we've been getting, chances are the mosquito population is going to be worse than in previous years. So load up on the bug spray!

Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/06/20/news/local_news/3_mosquito_population.txt

Friday, June 19, 2009

Carroll County Busts out the Snowplows in June



So the people who drive around the snowplows during the winter and those who work for the Carroll County Government's Risk Management division got to practice and show off their skills in a friendly way.
They had to do a lot- back up the dump truck snow plow into tight spaces, get within 12 inches of signs, put their tires between tennis balls, plow cones (simulated snow) between narrow cones (simulated parked cars). And some of these people were not even roads workers, but maybe just people who work in shops that hardly practice! But they did all have commerical vehicle licenses.
They also had a backhoe competition (which you see in the picture above) and a sobriety driving course.
It was cute- a lot of their families came out and were really supportive. It was seriously the nicest competition I've ever seen. I think everyone was just happy to get a sunny day off of work!
This was fun for me because I also got to shoot video for it, and interviewing was easy because they were so nice.

Read my story:
www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/06/19/news/local_news/2carroll_county_roadeo.txt
Photo by Kyle Nosal

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

No Fireworks?

Well, they're safe this year. But this story really bugged the Carroll County Born-and-Raised child inside of me!
So I just always assumed the fireworks at the Carroll County Farm Museum were just a given, but apparently they struggle to raise the funds each year (read more in the link below). I know this is a hard economic time, but we need entertainment and tradition to stay to keep morale high. I just can't imagine not having the fireworks one year. My brother, who his autistic, would probably die from shock and disappointment.
I know it's more important for someone to eat and have a home then to go to the fireworks show in July, but people going out as a community to celebrate our history is a very important thing, also. We cannot forget our past.
Lets hope it can continue.

Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/06/14/news/local_news/4fireworks_show_carroll_county.txt

Mrs. Tweedle's Retirement


I really enjoyed this story. She's been teaching for 40 years in the Carroll County School Systems (at every level, from Elementary, to High School, to Middle- which is where she is now)and she was a really nice person. She said she thought she recognized me, haha. I guess someone she taught one of those years probably looked like me. It was very difficult to keep the story to about 8-10 inches like my editor wanted-she had a lot of say that was interesting and worthwhile. I hope Mrs. Tweedle has a happy retirement!

Read my story:
Photo by Dylan Slagle

Friday, June 12, 2009

Elder Abuse Video

I swear, this story got sent back to me 8 times. I don't know what made it so tricky...
I worked on that for like a week. That's crazy!
It's a really important topic and I'm glad to be covering things that matter. I feel like I have a special olympics/elder concentration here at the paper... haha.

Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/06/12/news/local_news/3_elder_abuse_612.txt

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Analog to Digital TV Transition

This is kind of sad because I feel like its really unfair to poor people. The coupon doesn't cover the entire cost of the box, and definitely not the antenna...
But people need tv for local news! No one has radio anymore.
The day it came out I had this poor old man call me up and ask me about the coupons. I gave him the number and I was sad because the coupons won't come for 9 days and the switch is friday. Also, its really hard for old people to install things like that. So sad, I hope the help number I gave him is useful.

Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/06/11/news/local_news/3digital_tv_transition.txt

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Taneytown Carnival

So, I thought I pretty much had off monday! I mean, I go straight to the carnival, and carnivals don't really start until like 9 pm, right?
Wrong.
I was laying by the pool when I got a call.
"Hey Alisha, its Wayne (my boss). Here's the people you have to call, do that soon, then go there before 5 to get an angle, and get it to us by 8pm. Okay, thanks."
!!
Taneytown is not just around the corner, first of all. It's like half and hour away. So I got that call at about 2:30pm, and I was shocked. I should have assumed the article would need to be in tomorrow but that's crazy!
Then, I learned the rides don't even start until 7. What was I supposed to do until 7? How do I write my story in 20 minutes or less, after interviews and the drive home?
So, needless to say, I called the people he told me back then I called him back.
He said I didn't need to get there so early, then, and I could email it by 9. I hate to be crazy, but I am not yet THAT good at writing stories!
I did end up writing it by 830, and it needed little editing (yay!) but it had me very worried. But I had a delicious crabcake, so that's all that really matters.


Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/06/09/news/local_news/1taneytowncarnival.txt
Photo by Ken Koons

Sunday, June 7, 2009

D-Day Expose

So I've ran into the major difficulties of writing with a strict deadline...
The D-Day article came together, but it definitely could have been better. I should have gotten started earlier! It was my fault.
So I called the VFW's in the county on Thursday, but I only could get in touch with one, who promised me there would be plenty of WWII veterans to interview.
The others, I assumed, I could stop by and find someone...
I was mostly wrong.
I called two veterans on the phone before I left to travel the county, one of which was nice and talked a lot about his experiences. The other man, however, kept screaming at me, yelling, "What do you want me to say?"
Both of them didn't storm the beaches of Normandy, but still had amazing stories. One, the man who talked a lot, was a messanger and dodged shells to stay alive while running notes back and forth between troops. He once almost was injured by scrap metal to the head but luckily was wearing a helmet at the time. He was also in the Battle of the Bulge.
The man who was more hesitate to talk, and I learned later was in his mid 90's, said "I was in the battle of the bulge, some other battles, than I came home." I also got out of him that he was injured during the battle of the bulge- a bullet wounded his leg and hurt a major nerve- and was treated for frozen hands and feet.
This is where journalism gets dangerous- it's important for people to know what happened and remember, but it is hard to interview those people, who many times don't want to relive those horrible memories, and make them tell you there story.
So I then went to the VFW in Westminster, where I found a veteran who served in the Pacific. He was also kind of agressive, but luckily his wife was also there to help with the interview. And also I'm thrilled I'm less than two months from being 21 but I still can't sit at a bar. (Instead, this old man and his wife had to get up and move because of my age.)
An actual D-Day survivor was at the bar, but he refused to talk to me. Thus more of the dilemma.
After not being able to snap a picture of the veteran, I went on to the VFW in Taneytown. It took me forever to get there because of construction and it was in the middle of NOWHERE, (more so than is typical for Carroll County) and it was closed. Sigh.
Then, from there, I went to the VFW in Mt. Airy. This is the man who told me there would be WWII veterans there. I went in and found out he was confused-there were only two men there, and one was a Korean War Veteran and the other was a Vietnam Veteran. I interviewed them and put them into my article, but their quotes got cut. That's probably because they said that the veterans they knew, like their dads, had a lot of problems. I guess that may not be appropriate in a remembrance article.
The Vietnam Veteran said I should go to the American Legion, but the people there said the only veteran they knew wasn't there.
"They're all dying off," the man said.
After that, I traveled back to the office to find an email from my boss, sent around the time I left, saying he received a call and found the perfect veteran for me to talk to. This man said he's in a nursing home, but he would go with me. I TRAVELED FOR NOTHING AND I HAD THE PERFECT STORY RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE!
I knew I should have connected my Carroll County Times email address with my blackberry, too. I'M SO STUPID.
So I call this man, and he tells me all about this guy. Apparently, he was one of the elite men who wore a ranger outfit and climbed the cliffs of Normandy (while being shot down at my german soldiers) on D-Day. He was one of the few survivors. He also had other stories, but was very hard of hearing, etc.
So, then this man kept saying, "I wish you would have called earlier. It's just too late for me now."
I felt sick to my stomach. How did I miss this!
I didn't give up yet, though! I called the nursing home and asked if I would be able to speak with him even without his friend, and they told me he was sleeping so no, but I would also need someone to help with translation since he was so hard of hearing. So, it was a no go. I just wanted to die.
But, as you can see, the article happpened and it was nice, I think. I should have done a lot of things differently, but now I know!
Tomorrow, I go to the carnival in Taneytown. Trying to drag a friend along, but in Carroll County, you're pretty carnival-ed out by my age (there's one every week in a different town in CC).

Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/06/06/news/local_news/6_vets_remember_dday.txt

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Quick Updates...

I'm covering D-Day for the 65th anniversairy this saturday, after I get finished my article about an elder abuse awareness campaign being shown at movie theaters. They finally published the boring fire truck story, and I had to report about this poor old man has to close down his lcoal 75 year old business because of all his debt. Lousy Economy :(. And continuing with my Special Olympics coverage, I taped and wrote about the torch run that the police do every year in order to raise money for the Special Olympics. It's super nice of them, and it was weird chasing the police through Westminster! haha nice change of pace

Read my stories:
www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/06/03/news/local_news/5carroll_gardens_closing.txt
Photo by Ken Koons
www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/06/04/news/local_news/7reese_fire_company_truck.txt
Photo by Dylan Slagle
www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/06/04/news/local_news/5special_olympics_torch_run.txt
Photo by Ken Koons
When I filmed the video for this (which you can see if you click on the link above), I was attacked by a spider in the middle of someones lawn. NO WORRIES, THOUGH! I stayed still as to not mess up the footage. And it wasn't poisonous, because I'm still alive. Phew.

Monday, June 1, 2009

I have to write about cars?!

That's what went through my head when I got my assignment today- I had to write about the local repercussions of the GM bankruptcy. And it's due by deadline again TODAY!
Ugh.
I ended up being in the office until 7pm- I was the last one there! I know my supervisor probably hates me because he has to stay later because of me often. Today, he had to read it and edit from home. I'm such a pain.
It was good to write that, though, because it definitely got me out of my comfort zone. I had to do a lot of background research and it was torn apart in the editing process, and for good reason. Even after the research, I still had no idea what I was talking about!
First, I had to call a lot of car salesman, and despite the economy, apparently they're doing better than ever! Can I call bullshit?
Then, my supervisor made me go to the car dealerships and ask customers really awkward questions, like "Aren't you afraid the warranty will be void if you buy this GM product?" Uh, I'm sure the salesmen loved me after that. Despite not wanting to do it, I made myself do it and felt accomplished afterward, but I couldn't even use the quotes I got!
The people I interviewed refused to give me their last name, so we couldn't use it. Thanks a lot, Lloyd and Kay.
But mostly what I learned is that we'll learn more later. Though people know this is going to be bad, no one had yet felt how bad it will be. I talked to a representative from Roscoe Bartlett's office and she said he's protesting the government involvement in the closing of car dealerships along with the Maryland Automobile Association. Apparently, the people who are responsible for making those decisions were Obama appointed and have no automobile background, besides probably driving their porches. She said Bartlett doesn't support the government running small businesses (it's too socialist) and it's going to result in 150,000 lost jobs in the nation. PLUS, she said, it will not help GM but instead directly result in losses for them because dealerships make up 90% of GM's revenue stream so if you take away dealerships, you obviously take away profits. All of that does make sense, but what else are they supposed to do? I asked her what other solutions she had, and she went quiet. I guess we're in the age of politics where we can disagree with everyone else, but the discussion ends there. That doesn't seem very useful.
But all in all, we have to realize that in these hard economic times, things are pretty much lose lose. And, I'm afraid, it's going to get worse.

Read my story:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/06/02/12959160.txt

Friday, May 29, 2009

I love it!

Imagine having a job where you're always on the go. That is what it is like as an intern at the Carroll County Times. I'm always doing something different and interesting everyday. Not only am I gaining invaluable professional skills, but I get to hear about all the local gossip and get to meet and talk to interesting people everyday. I always like to be on the go, so it is nice I'm hardly ever in the office. When I am, however, the people are wonderful.
I'm just lucky to have a job this summer. Thank you, Eric Mills! And Richard Harwood for establishing The Richard L. Harwood Fellowship in Journalism.
It's a surprising internship environment. I came in prepared to get people's coffee and instead they treat me like any other reporter. I have a desk, a personal extension, and a computer with my name programmed in as the owner. I'm even labeled as a reporter in "falcon," they're online submission database.
And believe it or not, my quick on-the-scene reporting already earned me a front page story!
Ok, so it's a smalltown local paper that mostly covers suburban and rural news, but still!
At first, I think they wanted me to feel out the waters. I wrote a story about a fire truck being for sale. Writing it was as bad as it sounds and I was nervous I was going to keep getting the "doesn't really matter" articles. It was so boring, it hasn't even been run yet.
After that, though, they just let me go at more interesting things! My front page article was about the special olympics preliminary game that was held at Francis Scott Key High School in Carroll County. That was tough, because I went out that morning for the event and then had to write the article for the paper the next day, AND I had to go to a doctors appointment during the day. I'm working on making appropriate deadline, which is 3pm for the first read through, but it can be difficult when you're used to a weekly paper like The Elm.
I also wrote about a community outreach program that was at the Westminster Rescue Mission that gave out over 7,000 pounds of food to hungry people. Good, good stuff.
Now, I'm working on an article about mosquitoes (they're supposed to be worse this year because of the rain), and elder abuse awareness clip that is being shown in the Town Mall of Westminster movie theater, and a local youth event.
I can't wait to see what next week brings!

Read my stories:
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/05/29/news/local_news/1special_olympics_francis_scott_key.txt


http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/05/29/news/local_news/6westminster_rescue_mission.txt
Photo by Kyle Nosal