My Earliest Memory

My earliest memory is from when I was about 5 years old. I have 8 siblings and I am the second youngest of the group, so some of my older brothers were starting college when I was still young. My oldest brother Josh left for his first year of college and was staying in the dorms there when I was only about 4 or 5. Sometime around Thanksgiving, after he had been at school for around 3 months, my brother came back for the weekend and the holiday. I remember hearing my mom talking to someone in the door way so I ran over to see who it was. But when I got there I didn't recognize this weird guy standing beside my mom at all. I remember tugging on my mom's pants leg and asking, "Who's the new guy?". My mom and brother started laughing and my mom tried to remind me that my brother Josh had gone away for a while and now he was back. My family still laugh at me to this day about the event.

Story 2

A raging debate took place between the Sheriff and the Commissioner at the county commissioners meeting on Thursday afternoon.

The leading agenda of the meeting held by county commissioners was the request made by Sheriff Gus Dicersari for additional funds to purchase eight new cruisers and hire five additional deputies. The sheriff argued that the county has unfairly “shortchanged” the sheriff’s department, claiming that it was endangering the lives of his deputies. Commission President Anne Chenn responded by informing Sheriff Dicersari that the county currently does not have enough funds available to make such purchases.

Sheriff Dicersari responded by making the statement that, “We never had problems until we began letting migrants come to this country to work. They are a problem for our law enforcement, our schools and our healthcare system.” Fellow commission members Anita Shenuski and Raymond Laybourne supported the sheriff by stating that the county should be spending more money on the sheriff’s department than programs for migrant workers. Chenn quickly denied Sheriff Dicersari’s accusations saying that, “Those people who come here to work are decent, hardworking people being employed at jobs that local residents don’t want to do. They add a great deal to the local economy and they pay taxes. You are being a hypocrite when you try to blame those people for everything.”

Chenn said that the reason for the county’s shortage of money is because of the increased cost for health care for employees and also because of the higher fuel costs. The county’s budget remains at $127 million after the county had spent $30 million on building a new prison needed to relieve overcrowding. Chen continued to explain that the county was unable to pay the $580,000 that the new vehicles and additional deputies would cost. An alternative cost-saving measure suggested by Chen was to remove the privilege of deputies driving cruisers home at the end of the day to preserve mileage. The commissioners meeting came to an end when members voted 5-2 against the sheriff’s request.

Murder caught on tape

The beating and murder of a 16-year-old boy was recorded on camera and three teenagers are now being charged with first degree felony murder. Derrion Albert was attacked and viciously punched, kicked, and hit with two-by-four wooden planks by several boys, ending the young boy’s life. -CNN.com

My first day at ARCC

My first day at ARCC was full of nervousness and new experiences. My first day was last year at the start of the spring semester. I was 16 years old and I was just starting my first semester as a PSEO student. I was homeschooled all my life prior to attending ARCC, so I was probably more nervous than normal. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I knew it was going to be different than anything I had ever done before.

I arrived a few minutes early just in case I had trouble finding my classes, but I wasn't quite expecting it to take as long as it did. I kept getting mixed up about the room numbers so I ended up walking into class a few minutes late. I didn't know anyone; I felt kind of out of place at first.

The first thing we did in all my classes was as a class we went over the syllabus. To be honest, the syllabus slightly scared me because it seemed to make all my classes sound really hard. I felt a little uncomfortable during my entire first day, but I suppose it was only because I was so nervous. As my first couple weeks went by I gradually was able to get into the flow of things and my nervousness seemed to diminish more and more.

Bedtimes for children are not only beneficial to their parents.

Studies show that creating and enforcing bedtimes for children can have both long and short term, positive repercussions in health and cognitive development. Researchers have found that children who have not had set bedtimes in the past often have improved moods after beginning more regular sleeping times. -CNN.com

Deadly crash shuts down Interstate 790

Two lives were lost and 20 injured after a chain reaction crash that occurred on Interstate 790 early this morning involving four tractor trailers and 14 cars.

Among the 20 people hospitalized, four were seriously injured; two of the most severely injured had to be air lifted by a helicopter to Memorial Hospital. Fire chief Tony Sullivan indicated that among the injuries there were some which were life threatening. Two people driving cars did not survive the crash.

The chain reaction crash began when two tractor trailers collided, ultimately involving 14 cars and two more tractor trailers. “When I arrived at the crash scene it looked like something from a war zone,” stated Sullivan. He acknowledged that the crash was worse than anything he had seen in his 18 and a half years with the fire department. Although the accident is still under investigation, the city’s police department says they believe the crash occurred at 6:45 a.m.

Sullivan described how his firefighters had to cut the roofs off three of the cars to free the occupants trapped inside. According to Sgt. Albert Wei of the police department, “The police officers on the scene were having trouble figuring out which people were from which vehicles and discerning drivers from passengers.”

Wei confirmed that the crash happened on the northbound lanes of the interstate that runs along the western edge of the city, forcing authorities to close the entire highway. The interstate was still closed at 10 a.m. which created trouble for the usual rush hour traffic that was forced to take Interstate 690 on the eastern side of the city. At last report, Wei said he did not know when the interstate would reopen.

A 12 year old dies during childbirth

A Yemeni child bride, age 12, and her baby died during a painful childbirth. The Yemeni parliament is now seeking to raise the minimum marriage age to 17, but proponents of Islamic law are resisting the measure. -CNN

Applebees

The last restaurant I visited was Applebees about a week ago. I love Applebees because, not only is it a nice place to go for a sit-down meal, it also is a fun place to get something small and hang out with friends. The Applebees near me has a new deal where after nine o'clock all of their appetizers are half the original price. This new deal makes it a popular place to hang out with friends and split an appetizer. I really enjoy their food and I love going there for half off appetizers with my friends.

The "dos and don'ts" of leads

Before this class I did not know very much about writing leads, but already I have learned many things involving the “do’s and don’ts”. I have learned a lot about how important it is to be detailed when writing a lead and making sure you don’t add extra information that is not needed. I also have realized the importance of including the unusual part of the story in the lead and keeping it interesting. I have learned that it is better to try writing from a positive standpoint instead of a negative one. An additional point brought to my attention was the increased effectiveness of a lead when strong and descriptive verbs are used rather than more passive, softer ones.