Earliest Memory

Thinking back into the early years of my life, one particular memory stands out among the rest. When I was in kindergarten I was in the morning class, which meant I would be home just in time for lunch. My mother was a stay at home mom at the time, and she would always greet me when I got off the bus with lunch ready for me. Most days it would be my favorite, which was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a glass of milk. Immediately after I ate, my mom would let me relax by watching my favorite movie, “The Princess Bride.” This movie has continued to be one of my favorites into adulthood, having a special place in my heart because we go way back! I watched it so much as a child, I can practically recite it from beginning to end. Although the majority of the movie was too adult for me to understand as a child, the overall theme of true love will conquer all has been a strong moral for me. It is amazing how some specific things can trigger your memory such as certain smells or sights. Even pieces of music or film are able to do this. Any time I watch this movie it brings me back to a time of innocence, before the worries of bills, work, or deadlines. It’s important to remember these things to hold onto your youth and embrace your inner child.

DiCesari accused the commissioners of shortchanging the county.

With the county’s budget at $127 million, can one assume there would be plenty of money for equipment and personnel? The answer is no, in fact, it is causing much debate over how this money should be spent.

The meeting Thursday night between the county sheriff and county commissioners was anything but calm. Sheriff DiCesari wants available money to go towards new vehicles for the Police Department. In addition, he believes the county can hire five more deputies.

“It is getting too costly to maintain the older vehicles.” He said. “Commissioners eliminated the equipment budgets for my department this year, and now I can’t buy anything. My deputies can’t keep driving these old vehicles.”

Commission president Anne Chen suggested to DiCesari deputies not to drive their cruisers home everyday because it would make more cars available and preserve mileage. DiCesari had no trouble with a rebuttal, stating the fact that deputies drive their cruisers home and parking them in their neighborhood was a deterrent to crime.
“You are putting the lives of the people of this county in jeopardy.” He said.
The commissioners voted 5-2 against the sheriff’s request.

The argument continued to be heated when immigrants became a topic of issue. There were statements thrown around about them being the problem for law enforcement, schools and healthcare

Commissioner Anita Shenuski said, “They take away jobs from decent people and work for next to nothing. If something gets stolen, you can be it is one of them that’s taken it.”

President Chen denied that immigrants are the problem, bringing up the point that they are hardworking people that add to our economy and are tax paying citizens.

Minneapolis Cops Get Guide to Policy Violation Penalties

Effective October 1 Minneapolis Police officers will have new guidelines for discipline if they violate any policies. It took the past year for Police Officers Federation to develop the discipline matrix. An email sent to officers said the new matrix will encourage respect and trust among department employees and the community. The matrix may be made public but the Federation has not made a decision of that yet.

My First Day at ARCC

It is hard to believe that my first day at ARCC was six years ago. I cannot say I remember the first day with perfect detail, but I do remember a lot of emotion that went along with the rite of passage. I started the day focused on what to wear thinking, “How do college student dress?” I can’t remember what I wore but I know for certain that I was overdressed. I had gone on campus prior to the first day to map out where classes would be so that I would not be late to class or worst case scenario, get lost. That alone was the only shred of confidence that I had that morning. When I got on campus, everyone seemed to know exactly what they were doing and where they were going. I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb. With my stomach in knots, I took a deep breathe and tried to relax as I entered my first and most dreaded class, which was math. I really lucked out with that class because I had an amazing teacher. Sitting through the class was very unnerving and the day continued with my only worry being about the next class. As the semester went on I got into the swing of things, I even started wearing pajamas to class. I decided to join the Creative Writing Club and that was where I made most of my college friends and had a sense of belonging. College is such an extreme change after high school, and a first realization of adulthood. The first few days of course are overwhelming and stressful, but that comes with any major change in life.

Last Thing Mother Does is Save Her Child

Stacey Morgan, 33, was hit by a car Thursday morning while pushing her newborn baby in a stroller. In the last few moments before she was struck, she pushed away the stroller in attempt to save her child. The driver was an eleventh grader who recently received his license. Reports show he was not speeding or under the influence, but investigators think he was either talking on his cell phone or texting. Stacey Morgan died shortly after the incident from massive head trauma.

I-790 Crash Leaves 2 Dead and Highway Closure

Interstate 790 is closed due to disaster striking early this morning with a chain reaction crash killing two drivers and leaving 20 injured.

While at the scene, Fire Chief Tony Sullivan reports that of the 20 serious injuries, four are life threatening. Two of those injuries were rushed by helicopter from Memorial Hospital to the trauma center in Statesville, 50 miles away. All five of the fire department’s ambulances were on the scene, along with ambulances from four nearby cities.

The accident started with two tractor trailers colliding with each other around 6:45 a.m. According to Sgt. Albert Wei, a total of four tractor trailers and 14 cars were involved after the initial crash. One of the tractor trailers was hauling diesel fuel.

“We are very lucky that it didn’t roll over or dump any fuel or catch fire,” said Wei.

The scene of the accident is causing an uneasy feeling for the officers and emergency workers. When he arrived, Sullivan stated the scene looked like something from a war zone. In his 18 years at the fire department, he had never seen anything like this.

Sgt. Wei has closed both north and southbound lanes and is not sure when they will reopen. He is urging drivers to take an alternate route on I-690, east of the city. This has created quite a mess for rush hour traffic, causing delays up to three hours.

A Fine Officer Lost

Officer Richard Critten was responding to a domestic disturbance, which became deadly. There had been several occasions of disturbance at Aspen Village of No St. Paul, due to a man authorities knew only too well, Devon Dockery. When Critten arrived at the scene, things became heated quickly, starting with a struggle that ended with gunfire. Officer Critten, 57, is the first No St. Paul police officer to die in the line of duty.

*Side Note*
I chose this story because I live right across the street from Aspen Village. When I went outside on September 7th, the entire street was lined with police cars and ambulances. When talking with people who gathered around the scene of the crime, the story of what had happened varied from person to person. I made a mental note of how journalism really is about finding the facts of an event and making sure they story is right. I'm posting pictures that I took of the scene.

Panera Bread

My favorite place is a soup and sandwich restaurant called Panera. Not only has Panera been my top spot for a quick bite and delicious cup of coffee, I now spend hours typing away on my laptop while enjoying their food. I have spent a lot of time at Panera the past few weeks because it is a great spot to relax and work on my homework.

I keep going back to Panera because they are fast and consistent. I can always count on their coffee to be fresh, hot, and decadent. I enjoy being able to walk into a restaurant, order food, and be eating within five minutes of sitting down. The majority of the staff are very friendly. In fact, most of the early morning staff see my face and instantly reach for a coffee cup.

Unfortunately, there have been a few occasions when I have had issues with the service. I remember standing in line for over ten minutes one morning because one person was on the register, several people in line, and employees were just standing around not paying any attention. That situation was the most irritating because it left me with the impression that the staff could not care less about their on the go customers. I did not return to that location for a long time in lieu of that incident.

I think because of the fact that I worked in the food industry for several years, it is really important to see customer service at it's best. Over the years, Panera has maintained their efficiency and friendliness. Those key elements keep me coming back for their delicious food and coffee.

The Do's & Don'ts of Leads

Leads are rather overwhelming because there is a lot to remember when it comes to do’s and don’ts. The most important thing to remember while writing them is to be as specific and to the point as possible. It is easy to exaggerate on a subject, especially when you are trying to entice a reader. That is why it is so important to be concise and keep your lead to only one sentence or two. Also, be sure to use strong active verbs to paint a mental picture in your readers mind.

There are a few things to avoid while writing leads. Stay away from stating the obvious because you run the risk of sounding cliche or even dull. Be sure to stay away from lists for this same reason, in addition to your reader losing interest because you are giving away so much information. Also try not to mislead your readers, you are setting the tone for the story which needs to be based on accurate and truthful information.