Ryan's Blog

“This was an honest mistake” US embassy spokeswoman Rebecca Thompson. “The US treasures its close relationship and close partnership with the Philippians.” This is ironic because if they really treasured their close relationship, they would have taken the time to see how it was supposed to be.

Nigeria Flood

Authorities from Nigeria have opened tow swollen dams in the country’s north part.  This release of water has caused the rural state of Jigawa to become flooded.  Jigawa is home to four million people and half have been affected by this flood.

This is a very sad story.  It is unimaginable to think of all the destruction that this flood has caused.  There are now so many people who have had their lives affected.  Farm lands and homes have just been washed away.

This was a very well written article.  The article covered the main flood, but also gave us an interesting back story in the region of Nigera and the rainfall.

There was a armed robbery last night at BJ’s drug.  The owner Barney Joseph said that two men came into the store dressed in ski masks around 8:30 p.m. Barney was held up at gunpoint while the second robber stole the cash.  The whole robbery was over in less than a minute, with the robbers leaving in a running car out front.

After looking through police reports, police found out that Barney had a father killed while being held up at the same store almost 25 years ago.  When police questioned to why he did not resist, he replied “I’d rather part with my money than my life.”

A fire broke out last night  killing 15 horses.

At 4 am in Suffolk Downs Race Track in Boston, a fire broke out in a barn that was holding 25 horses. Of the 25 horses, ten were able to escape.  What remains of the barn is several rows of charred wooden supports.

Arson is the leading cause of the fire so far.  Dan Bucci, the assistant store manager of the track says “It could have been of an incendiary nature because it started in the middle of the barn.”

Texas man abducts boy

This is an article that I read online.  It is about a 20 year old man named Michael Palacios who is being re- acquainted with his mother Dee Ann Adams after 17 years.  He is has been away from his mother  because Palacio’s father Stephen Palacios Jr. abducted him when he was three.  Stephen received visitation of Michael when the couple divorced.  This however did not appear to be enough for the Stephen who abducted Michael and basically disappeared with him.

How Michael finally returned to his mother first started when Stephen ran across a news article.  The article was about a boy that was allegedly abducted by his father in 1993.  It turned out that Michael was in fact the boy.  What followed next was Michael persuading his father to turn himself in.

This article has a nice ending to it.  This also is not a story that you read about everyday.  Its one of those stories focusing on something that just does not happen.  These type of abduction stories usually end in death.  This story is defiantly news worry.  It does however leave out alot of information.  What happened to the father? Where were the two living?  Did the boy ever ask questions about his past?

The article was done very well though.  At the end you feel bad for the mother who has lost 17 years with her son.  This I believe was the main point that the author wanted to drive home.

Sioux City man dies in crash. The crash occurred at 11 a.m yesterday 2 miles east of Sioux City.  Man was killed after colliding with another driver.  He is survived by his wife  who was along in the car along and is in “fair” condition.  The other driver  is in “critical” condition.

Fire Fighter Breaks Leg After Fall From Tree.

Reports from a local fire station have found that fire fighter Bob Harwood suffered a fall while retrieving a cat from a tree in the neighborhood of  102 11th Ave.  As Bob was climbing 50 feet up the oak tree he suddenly fell the last 15 feet when a dead limb broke.

Bob suffered a broken left leg and is doing “just fine” at St. Lukes Hospital.The calico cat belonging to Suzanne and Samantha the twins of Charlie and Kim Decker is doing fine also after landing on top of Bob.

Disgruntled Students Wreak Havoc For East High Principle

Ten upperclassmen have been suspended for one week at East High.  According to the students, they were protesting the Monday suspension of five of their other classmates.  The five students were caught smoking marijuana in the school parking lot.  In addition to the suspensions, the fire alarm sounded three times last Wednesday, and there was a food fight that closed the cafeteria on Tuesday.

Principle Laura Vibelius had this to say in response to the general unrest. “Not so much unrest because of the suspensions, but because of summer vacations being so near.” Laura also stated that she sees no continuation of these “incidents” in the near future.

Gasoline Truck Floods Two Blocks

A report from the police claims that a Texaco gasoline truck has caused gas to flood the sewer lines for two blocks.  The truck reportedly overturned on the outskirts of town around 48th street and Correctionville Road.  The gas also reached the streets and ditches causing cars to be rerouted through side streets.

The gas flood was serious for two hours, and due to the sewer-line gas, four families evacuated until gas flushed away.  Fire Chief Charles Hochandel said, “The firemen followed catastrophe and hazmat procedures set up before hand for just an occurrence.”

Newborn baby found alive

This news article come out of Manila, Philippines.  According to the article, security at the Manila airport had found a baby boy wrapped in tissue paper and inside a garbage bag.  The baby came on a flight from Bahrain.  There are authorities working to track down the mother who gave birth while on the plane.  Staff at the airport was able to clean and nurse the baby, and turned him over to social workers.  It is thought that the baby is of Filipino background. This is leading investigators to believing that the mother is working in the Middle East to Escape poverty .

This is a article that is very hard to swallow for many people especially parents of children.  It is newsworthy because the article contains a story that is very sensitive to people.  Along with that, there is the unlawfulness from the woman who left her child.  According to the article, charges will be placed if the woman is found.  All these parts make this a very strong news article.

I dont find much missing with this article.  The article covered every part of the news story nicely. The reader even received a brief history of Filipino workers.

I personally would have dug a bit deeper into Filipino culture to try and receive more clarity as to why this woman abandoned her child if this is in fact the reasoning behind this act.

Olsen Stadium

Ryan Tellinghuisen

Olsen Stadium, originally called Roberts Stadium until 2005, has been around since 1940.  It is the site for all the Mustang home games including soccer, track and field, and football.  In 2005, along with a name change came a renovation to install a new field, lights, track, and parking lot.  It is here that I chose to observe.

I am sitting on the front row of bleachers on the visitor’s side of Olsen Stadium.  There are little gusts of wind felt on my arms as I start to take in the stadium’s surroundings.  I can smell the aroma of the outdoors and green grass in my nostrils.  The bleachers begin to feel cool through my shorts as I sit.  I look to my left down the individual bleachers to see the sun flickering off of them.  I look down on the floor below me and notice that the ground is unclean.  There is also a pattern of ware from where feet have been for many a game.  Underneath the bleachers rests dried out sunflower seeds from games past.  The seeds are mixed in with more dirt and lawn creating a darker complexion on the ground.  As I look on, I notice the walls on the base of the bleachers.  The paint is sprinkled with age at spots throughout the wall.  There are also spots on the wall that appear different.  These spots are chipped and have a lighter shade of maroon.

I look on around the field.  I notice the raised hills with grass.  The grass is dull in areas, and coated a light brown in certain spots.  The grass is short and does not move in the light crisp wind.  I look down the hill and notice a man and boy riding their bikes between where I am sitting and the chain link fence bordering the track.  They pause a few feet in front of me to lean against the chain link, and take a breather from pedaling.  Both have their bikes stopped to admire the track team as they make a turn.  Man and boy each have sweat dripping from their brows, a sign of the distance they have traveled together.  The boy is enjoying this time; it is evident in a smile that he emits.  The man seems all in taking a big breath and using the chain as a crutch to keep him level.  I too follow their gaze and notice the track team coming in for another lap.  The runners are all breathing heavily as they pass, most wearing as little as possible as they continue on down the track.  There is a sense of determination in the runners, fueled by coaches yelling encouragement as their runners rush past them.

My eyes now move to the field where I see football practice in full swing.  The players are in separate groups throughout the field executing different drill assignments according to the stern instruction of the coaches watching closely.  The field is a warm inviting green, with white markers and two maroon end zones.  The field is all artificial making it more appealing to the eye.  It looks soft while also being quite uniform, almost as if it was just rolled out.  I can hear the crack of pads smashing together as I sit and observe.  Every so often a whistle is heard and the sound of a play shortly following.

My mind comes back to the bleachers.  Even though they are not filled at this moment, there is the expectation of full crowds to watch an event on the field.  The stadium is quite for now.  The energy in the stands is dormant waiting for a spark of feet to bring it to life.

This is an article that i found online.  It is about ground zero, and the plans for the site including the city blocks neighboring the site both future and present.  It is an interesting article that i would definitely consider to be news worthy.  The article deals with one of the most historical events in American history.  The article tells of how most people view ground zero as being very sacred.  The article also mentions how September Eleven affected everyone, and that everyone has a stake in the land.  This now sacred land used to be filled with people and business now it has been fenced off only allowing workers and family of victims.  The article continues by saying that now there is alot of unrest among americans who see the land in different ways.  A subject in particular, is the plan to build a cultural center and mosque blocks from ground zero. The article ends by saying that admit all this anger, there is still plan for the memorial pools pools to be built in the ground zero site.

I believe that the article did a nice job of covering all the different angles, while making sure to keep a focus on ground zero.  I would however change the ending.  The article seemed to just mention that there are still plans to have memorial pools built.  What are people’s reactions to this?

9 years gone, everyone’s a ground zero stakeholder – Yahoo! News