Police Chief Martin Brody, in light of the recent alleged shark attacks, has announced the capture and death of a shark in the waters one mile south-southwest of the town of Amity.
The shark was identified by Matt Hooper, a marine biologist from the Woods Hole, Mass., Oceanographic Institute, as being a nurse shark, one of the most dangerous sharks to humans known to exist.
The town has decided to immediately reopen the beaches it had closed for 24 hours yesterday in light of the shark’s capture.
The Police Chief, however, has said that no autopsy will be performed on the shark to see if it has indeed ingested any parts from a human, saying that they will do so out of respect for Alex Kintner, one of the victims identified.
The Police Chief said not to be alarmed by the presence of shark spotters from numerous government agencies such as the Coast Guard, the Marine Patrol, the Massachusetts State Police, the U.S. Navy, Homeland Security, the FBI and local municipal and county police.
Police Chief Brody was asked if he thought there might be more than one shark, but he said that these types of measures have been implemented so that the beachgoers would be at ease.
Police Chief Brody stressed that the appearance of another shark wasn’t going to happen and that people shouldn’t let anything stop them from seeing Amity’s beaches.
When asked if there was any sort of contingency plan or if they were going to enlist the help of local fisherman Ben Quint, who had offered to rid the town of the shark for $10,000, Police Chief Brody said that there had been thoughts to the matter but nothing definitive.
The beach was full this afternoon, but everyone was afraid to go in until a man took his wife and children in to the water.
Once everyone saw it was safe, Amity’s beaches were in full swing like they always were on the 4th of July.
Soon, however, people began screaming and before anyone knew what truly was going on, there was a chaotic mad rush for the sand from the water and lifeguards were whistling and talking through megaphones to get everyone out of the water.
However, once everyone was out, the shark fin that rose above the water and initially scared everyone off was discovered to be two children with a cardboard fin and snorkels- a hoax.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Amity Town Meeting
In light of the recent alleged shark attacks in the waters near Amity, the town has decided to close the town's beaches for 24 hours during the 4th of July holiday.
Recently Alex Kintner was found dead with signs that indicated it was a shark attack. A young woman, Wendy Watson, was also found dead in such a way that Amity Police Chief Martin Brody thought the deaths clearly were linked.
Alex Kintner's mother has offered a reward of $3,000 to anyone who can bring the shark to justice.
The town held a meeting to discuss the closure the evening of July 3.
After some talking about adding extra deputies to help guard the beach and getting oceanographic specialists to investigate the situation, a town member spoke up and simply asked, "Will the beaches be closed?"
After some hesitation and clear reluctance, Police Chief Brody simply said, "Yes, we are."
However, Mayor Bob Farley spoke up directly after, saying it was only going to be a closure for a duration of 24 hours.
Police Chief Brody's shock at the statement, of which he said he never agreed too, was drowned out by the upset talking of the townsfolk.
This arguing and bickering between the townsfolk only lasted briefly until a man in the back of the room scratched his fingernails on a chalkboard, silencing the previously upset townsfolk with the loud screeching.
Ben Quint, a local fisherman, said he would rid the town of Amity of it's problems.
"I'll catch this bird for you," Quint said. "But it ain't gonna be easy."
In response to the apparent power struggle between the Mayor and the Police Chief, Quint said that he wanted to dispose of the shark himself, saying that "there's just too many captains on this island."
The townspeople around Quint remained shocked and silent as he asked for $10,000 to cure the town's pressing problem.
"If you want to stay alive, then ante up," Quint said. "If you want to play it cheap, be on welfare the whole winter."
As Quint stood up to leave he said, "For that you get the head, the tail, the whole damn thing."
Recently Alex Kintner was found dead with signs that indicated it was a shark attack. A young woman, Wendy Watson, was also found dead in such a way that Amity Police Chief Martin Brody thought the deaths clearly were linked.
Alex Kintner's mother has offered a reward of $3,000 to anyone who can bring the shark to justice.
The town held a meeting to discuss the closure the evening of July 3.
After some talking about adding extra deputies to help guard the beach and getting oceanographic specialists to investigate the situation, a town member spoke up and simply asked, "Will the beaches be closed?"
After some hesitation and clear reluctance, Police Chief Brody simply said, "Yes, we are."
However, Mayor Bob Farley spoke up directly after, saying it was only going to be a closure for a duration of 24 hours.
Police Chief Brody's shock at the statement, of which he said he never agreed too, was drowned out by the upset talking of the townsfolk.
This arguing and bickering between the townsfolk only lasted briefly until a man in the back of the room scratched his fingernails on a chalkboard, silencing the previously upset townsfolk with the loud screeching.
Ben Quint, a local fisherman, said he would rid the town of Amity of it's problems.
"I'll catch this bird for you," Quint said. "But it ain't gonna be easy."
In response to the apparent power struggle between the Mayor and the Police Chief, Quint said that he wanted to dispose of the shark himself, saying that "there's just too many captains on this island."
The townspeople around Quint remained shocked and silent as he asked for $10,000 to cure the town's pressing problem.
"If you want to stay alive, then ante up," Quint said. "If you want to play it cheap, be on welfare the whole winter."
As Quint stood up to leave he said, "For that you get the head, the tail, the whole damn thing."
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Week 9 Reading Blog
Monday:
Today had some fairly interesting stuff, including a lot on international issues. There was Pakistan, in which President Obama’s forthcomings, while thanked publicly, isn’t really something that Pakistan is going to come around to, and it was interesting to hear about that. There was also not one but two articles on North Korea, both of which tend to scare me a bit. I don’t really feel comfortable that we have nuclear weapons, but the article says that terrorists have now obtained them there, and it’s a bit troubling to hear that.
Tuesday:
Today there was some interesting things, but also some things that were quite troubling. First there was a very large earthquake in Italy, in which at least 150 people have died. Things like that, well, you just don’t like hearing about, though I know no one does. Then, there are reasons for hope domestically, with a high approval rating for Obama already in the country and a recent poll that finds that things might be getting better in the economy. Things like an earthquake sometimes just can’t be stopped, but it’s nice to see the things domestically that we can control get better.
Wednesday:
Today, there were some things that really troubled me. While it was good to see that gay and bisexual people have begun to be more open in their home country of Iraq, it is horrible to hear that they have also been killed because of these things. I understand that these types of prejudices probably will never die, but it’s still hard to fathom that these types of things are happening in this high quantities. As for the cultural forbearing to be more open, that’s all well and good- cultural things are something I can’t control and have accepted for being what they are. But murdering like this- it’s hard to turn a blind eye.
Thursday:
Oh, that human body, does it ever cease to amaze? There has been recent research that suggests that there are different types of fat in the body that actually BURNS calories, and quite a bit. It’s not quite to the level where your own fat works itself off (though that would be awesome), but it definitely doesn’t hurt the mindset. There were also some interesting stories about what Obama is doing for illegal aliens, trying to make an orderly system for them and there was also an interesting story about exiles from Cuba wanting to increase U.S.-Cuban relations. Isn’t it about time something is worked out?
Today had some fairly interesting stuff, including a lot on international issues. There was Pakistan, in which President Obama’s forthcomings, while thanked publicly, isn’t really something that Pakistan is going to come around to, and it was interesting to hear about that. There was also not one but two articles on North Korea, both of which tend to scare me a bit. I don’t really feel comfortable that we have nuclear weapons, but the article says that terrorists have now obtained them there, and it’s a bit troubling to hear that.
Tuesday:
Today there was some interesting things, but also some things that were quite troubling. First there was a very large earthquake in Italy, in which at least 150 people have died. Things like that, well, you just don’t like hearing about, though I know no one does. Then, there are reasons for hope domestically, with a high approval rating for Obama already in the country and a recent poll that finds that things might be getting better in the economy. Things like an earthquake sometimes just can’t be stopped, but it’s nice to see the things domestically that we can control get better.
Wednesday:
Today, there were some things that really troubled me. While it was good to see that gay and bisexual people have begun to be more open in their home country of Iraq, it is horrible to hear that they have also been killed because of these things. I understand that these types of prejudices probably will never die, but it’s still hard to fathom that these types of things are happening in this high quantities. As for the cultural forbearing to be more open, that’s all well and good- cultural things are something I can’t control and have accepted for being what they are. But murdering like this- it’s hard to turn a blind eye.
Thursday:
Oh, that human body, does it ever cease to amaze? There has been recent research that suggests that there are different types of fat in the body that actually BURNS calories, and quite a bit. It’s not quite to the level where your own fat works itself off (though that would be awesome), but it definitely doesn’t hurt the mindset. There were also some interesting stories about what Obama is doing for illegal aliens, trying to make an orderly system for them and there was also an interesting story about exiles from Cuba wanting to increase U.S.-Cuban relations. Isn’t it about time something is worked out?
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Reading Blog Week 8
Monday:
Today, I thought there were some interesting things in the paper. Really, I thought the most interesting thing was that the chairman of G.M. has reportedly resigned from his position. It says that it was kind of expected, but really I’m quite surprised. It just seems that maybe, to me, he didn’t really need to lose his job. It’s a top to bottom thing, not just him. Though, at the same time, I can’t feel too sympathetic- he has A LOT more money than I do and he has mismanaged a company, though it might not be all his fault. I don’t know, I’m undecided on this one.
Tuesday:
Quite surprisingly, I’m quite enticed by the newspaper today. A couple good stories right on the first page, including a stirring picture that I feel is quite powerful. A Pakistani man is being brought away, staring right into the camera when no one else is. Eerily provocative. Also, there was a good story on people being admitted to colleges if they are able to pay in full for tuition and room/board, and not have to take out loans. This is kind of disturbing. I do get it, I get it completely. Colleges want to make money and they want the best for their students- they don’t want them to default on their loans while they are trying to get through life. Still, I feel it’s terrible. I know several people who deserve to be in college but can’t because of monetary concerns, and its only going to increase with this development. It really is too bad.
Wednesday:
After 2 days of good stuff in the paper, I think that today was a little lackluster. Still good stuff, but a little lacking from the past 2 days. I thought that the best story was how 3rd party groups have been reselling tickets, marking up their prices significantly. I just feel it is good because of how much I think it affects my life. I spent a ton of time waiting for Red Sox tickets online, only to be out of luck after waiting several hours. Then, I go directly onto StubHub and find there are tickets already for sale. Disgusting. People are trying to turn a profit on things that are for the people. I do get that you can make a lot of money doing this, but I do also like how the NY Times has paid attention to this.
Thursday:
Yeesh. Can I get some good stories here? Something interesting? Jeeze, 3 days in a row where there is at least something interesting going on here, but goodness, nothing at all today. Come on NY Times, give me something to go with here!
Today, I thought there were some interesting things in the paper. Really, I thought the most interesting thing was that the chairman of G.M. has reportedly resigned from his position. It says that it was kind of expected, but really I’m quite surprised. It just seems that maybe, to me, he didn’t really need to lose his job. It’s a top to bottom thing, not just him. Though, at the same time, I can’t feel too sympathetic- he has A LOT more money than I do and he has mismanaged a company, though it might not be all his fault. I don’t know, I’m undecided on this one.
Tuesday:
Quite surprisingly, I’m quite enticed by the newspaper today. A couple good stories right on the first page, including a stirring picture that I feel is quite powerful. A Pakistani man is being brought away, staring right into the camera when no one else is. Eerily provocative. Also, there was a good story on people being admitted to colleges if they are able to pay in full for tuition and room/board, and not have to take out loans. This is kind of disturbing. I do get it, I get it completely. Colleges want to make money and they want the best for their students- they don’t want them to default on their loans while they are trying to get through life. Still, I feel it’s terrible. I know several people who deserve to be in college but can’t because of monetary concerns, and its only going to increase with this development. It really is too bad.
Wednesday:
After 2 days of good stuff in the paper, I think that today was a little lackluster. Still good stuff, but a little lacking from the past 2 days. I thought that the best story was how 3rd party groups have been reselling tickets, marking up their prices significantly. I just feel it is good because of how much I think it affects my life. I spent a ton of time waiting for Red Sox tickets online, only to be out of luck after waiting several hours. Then, I go directly onto StubHub and find there are tickets already for sale. Disgusting. People are trying to turn a profit on things that are for the people. I do get that you can make a lot of money doing this, but I do also like how the NY Times has paid attention to this.
Thursday:
Yeesh. Can I get some good stories here? Something interesting? Jeeze, 3 days in a row where there is at least something interesting going on here, but goodness, nothing at all today. Come on NY Times, give me something to go with here!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Profile:Duane Erickson
Kids were tackling each other mercilessly, taking each other out and screaming with elation as they had finally done it, they had won. The pile was growing and growing as more kids reached the pitcher’s mound, celebrating with their teammates.
And at the bottom of the pile was a 63 year old man with a prosthetic hip.
As a new youth baseball season is about to begin in Nashua, NH, Duane Erickson is about to begin his 26th season helping out the youth community.
A local business owner, Erickson has been involved in the community for most of his life, though he wasn’t even born in New England. Part of a struggling farming family in Illinois, Erickson worked to make ends meet for his family and maintain his elite grades in high school, all the while becoming a budding local baseball star.
With all of these elements combined, Erickson earned a scholarship to play at Arizona, where he played for 4 years against the likes of Reggie Jackson. What he takes from it though isn’t the plays he made or the line drives that he hit, but rather the meaningful lessons that he learned in such an environment.
“To play on such a high level was one thing,” Erickson said, “but to learn what I did through the process was quite another.”
Erickson has devoted himself to the youth of Nashua not to just teach them how to field a ground ball, but rather to want to field the ground ball, to want to put in the effort required to do it.
“It’s one thing to teach a young player how to hit, but it’s another thing to have the player desire to learn how to hit, to get into the meat and potatoes of it and to put in the time and effort to accomplish it. If you do this, you begin to see them not only change as a ballplayer, but as a person too.”
Erickson recently struggled for his life, spending a significant stay in the hospital after internal hemorrhaging forced him to the emergency room. This, he says, helped him realize that, perhaps, his time may be running short and that it is his responsibility to help kids any way he can.
“Coming out of it, I just realized that maybe God was saying, ‘Don’t let up, you’ve got some time. Use it.’ From then on, I felt it’s been kind of my duty to help out. I feel that’s a responsibility for everyone, to help when there’s an opportunity.”
Erickson works mainly behind the scenes and fails to garner the credit he deserves, all the while refusing to take any sort of monetary profit from it.
“I’ll tell ya why I don’t take the money. What if a kid doesn’t have any money to give? Does it make him any less deserving to play ball? Does it make him any less deserving to learn? No.
“If you’re doing the right thing, I think, then money shouldn’t matter on either end. It’s hard to say something like this while businesses, including mine, are going through the struggles that they are, but the reward for me, knowing that when my time is done I will have helped even just one kid, that’ll be enough.”
And at the bottom of the pile was a 63 year old man with a prosthetic hip.
As a new youth baseball season is about to begin in Nashua, NH, Duane Erickson is about to begin his 26th season helping out the youth community.
A local business owner, Erickson has been involved in the community for most of his life, though he wasn’t even born in New England. Part of a struggling farming family in Illinois, Erickson worked to make ends meet for his family and maintain his elite grades in high school, all the while becoming a budding local baseball star.
With all of these elements combined, Erickson earned a scholarship to play at Arizona, where he played for 4 years against the likes of Reggie Jackson. What he takes from it though isn’t the plays he made or the line drives that he hit, but rather the meaningful lessons that he learned in such an environment.
“To play on such a high level was one thing,” Erickson said, “but to learn what I did through the process was quite another.”
Erickson has devoted himself to the youth of Nashua not to just teach them how to field a ground ball, but rather to want to field the ground ball, to want to put in the effort required to do it.
“It’s one thing to teach a young player how to hit, but it’s another thing to have the player desire to learn how to hit, to get into the meat and potatoes of it and to put in the time and effort to accomplish it. If you do this, you begin to see them not only change as a ballplayer, but as a person too.”
Erickson recently struggled for his life, spending a significant stay in the hospital after internal hemorrhaging forced him to the emergency room. This, he says, helped him realize that, perhaps, his time may be running short and that it is his responsibility to help kids any way he can.
“Coming out of it, I just realized that maybe God was saying, ‘Don’t let up, you’ve got some time. Use it.’ From then on, I felt it’s been kind of my duty to help out. I feel that’s a responsibility for everyone, to help when there’s an opportunity.”
Erickson works mainly behind the scenes and fails to garner the credit he deserves, all the while refusing to take any sort of monetary profit from it.
“I’ll tell ya why I don’t take the money. What if a kid doesn’t have any money to give? Does it make him any less deserving to play ball? Does it make him any less deserving to learn? No.
“If you’re doing the right thing, I think, then money shouldn’t matter on either end. It’s hard to say something like this while businesses, including mine, are going through the struggles that they are, but the reward for me, knowing that when my time is done I will have helped even just one kid, that’ll be enough.”
Steve Damish
Overall, I think that, going forward, the biggest thing any of us can do is to just keep trying new and fresh ideas to help keep the newspaper remain as unique as it has been for years. And I think as a journalist student, now is the time to try and get these things going. As for my personal commitment, its hard to say. In these classes I can try and do new things so that when I get out of school I could bring something different to the table and help keep these newspapers going. However, its hard to ascertain whether I truly believe I will be in the industry going forward. Despite Mr. Damish's comments, which I did find to be quite valid, its still hard to have that as a career mindset going forward. However, I would say what Mr. Damish has done for me is that journalism still remains an option going forward, despite everyone's best attempt to tell me otherwise. I don't know what I would like to do going forward, but to hear him talk the way he did helps me keep a firm mindset that journalism will be there if I want it to be.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Reading Blog Week 7
Monday:
There were 2 stories in particular that I enjoyed in today’s paper. First there was the front page story of Mexican drug cartel violence pushing its way into America. Scary stuff. It’s not only that it’s spilling into the United States, but that it is such a big problem that it has been forced to spill into the United States. Though I think it’s a little ignorant to ask it to stop completely, I hope it does get curbed considerably. Also, there was a nice story hidden in the paper about the Pope visiting Africa and what it meant for the people there. For people that have extremely difficult lives, it’s nice to see that things like this are being done to help out.
Tuesday:
There were definitely some interesting things in today’s paper. For one, there was an article about how those AIG ceo’s were giving back that bonus money. Really, I’m proud of them for doing it. They didn’t have to, but they felt it was right, which is good. Perhaps it was because everyone was outraged, but still, it’s nice to see it. Also, there was truly troubling story on the front page, one about a young girl being strip-searched, seemingly needlessly. It is pretty gross and disturbing to think that this has happened in a public school and that it would even be considered. Hopefully it get’s the court ruling that it needs.
Wednesday:
I thoroughly enjoyed today’s paper, especially two stories on the front page that caught my attention. First there was the story about a New York school changing the grading system from A’s and B’s to a 1,2,3,4 system, something that I find a little odd. Instead of getting a D or an F, kids now get a 1, something that is classified as ‘not meeting New York State’s academic standards’. I’d kind of be insulted by that. I’d rather get a D knowing I tried than being told I just don’t meet standards with a 1. Also, I found the article about our next international challenge perhaps being in Mexico. If things continue to escalate as they have been, it would be quite an interesting development. I would be very interested to see where this one goes.
Thursday:
There really wasn’t a ton in today’s paper that really interested me too much. Not that it was bad, but I just am kind of sick of the same thread of stories being printed every, every day. However, there was an interesting little article about a bill that would repeal the death sentence in New Hampshire. It was passed, but people also say that it will be vetoed by the Governor. This interested me quite a bit. First, I didn’t even realize we had a death penalty or that someone had recently been sentenced. Also, it was interesting to me to see that it would be vetoed regardless of what the state senate voted for. Interesting stuff.
There were 2 stories in particular that I enjoyed in today’s paper. First there was the front page story of Mexican drug cartel violence pushing its way into America. Scary stuff. It’s not only that it’s spilling into the United States, but that it is such a big problem that it has been forced to spill into the United States. Though I think it’s a little ignorant to ask it to stop completely, I hope it does get curbed considerably. Also, there was a nice story hidden in the paper about the Pope visiting Africa and what it meant for the people there. For people that have extremely difficult lives, it’s nice to see that things like this are being done to help out.
Tuesday:
There were definitely some interesting things in today’s paper. For one, there was an article about how those AIG ceo’s were giving back that bonus money. Really, I’m proud of them for doing it. They didn’t have to, but they felt it was right, which is good. Perhaps it was because everyone was outraged, but still, it’s nice to see it. Also, there was truly troubling story on the front page, one about a young girl being strip-searched, seemingly needlessly. It is pretty gross and disturbing to think that this has happened in a public school and that it would even be considered. Hopefully it get’s the court ruling that it needs.
Wednesday:
I thoroughly enjoyed today’s paper, especially two stories on the front page that caught my attention. First there was the story about a New York school changing the grading system from A’s and B’s to a 1,2,3,4 system, something that I find a little odd. Instead of getting a D or an F, kids now get a 1, something that is classified as ‘not meeting New York State’s academic standards’. I’d kind of be insulted by that. I’d rather get a D knowing I tried than being told I just don’t meet standards with a 1. Also, I found the article about our next international challenge perhaps being in Mexico. If things continue to escalate as they have been, it would be quite an interesting development. I would be very interested to see where this one goes.
Thursday:
There really wasn’t a ton in today’s paper that really interested me too much. Not that it was bad, but I just am kind of sick of the same thread of stories being printed every, every day. However, there was an interesting little article about a bill that would repeal the death sentence in New Hampshire. It was passed, but people also say that it will be vetoed by the Governor. This interested me quite a bit. First, I didn’t even realize we had a death penalty or that someone had recently been sentenced. Also, it was interesting to me to see that it would be vetoed regardless of what the state senate voted for. Interesting stuff.
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