Job 3:1

I had an hour and a half for this one and here were the instructions:

Find any verse in the Bible that has a 3:1 designation (Gen 3:1, Psalms 3:1, Heb. 3:1, etc.), then find a Bible translation of the verse and then write an essay about what that verse means, including the paragraph it sits in if you need the context. A good resource for the selection would be www.biblegateway.com to see the verses available to you and the different versions of them.

I will place a high premium on "story." Think of a story or illustration for the passage from your own life, from experience, etc. If it helps the essay, use the verse in context. In every case, the verse stater a new chapter and presumable a new paragraph, so make some logical assumptions about what constitutes the context and go from there.

You must e-mail me the assignment, between 300 and 600 words by 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

I am grading your ability to be spontaneous and creative under deadline here. Enjoy the assignment and we'll go over them in class next week.

What do you do when life goes bad? You begin to ask questions, “Why me God? Why did You let this happen to me?” We aren’t the first ones to do this and we won’t be the last. “At last Job spoke, and he cursed the day of his birth.” It seems this is a bit of an extreme example; Job had lost everything, but is it OK to be angry with God?

Yes it is. Sometimes life sucks, actually most of the time it does. But does that mean that God has abandoned us? No it does not. God never promised that we would be perfectly happy or that life would be prefect, or even close. The only thing that God promised is that He would never give us more than we could handle. In Romans 5:3, Paul tells us we are to “rejoice in our sufferings.”

This idea has been discussed for a long time and as much as it is pounded into our heads we can’t seem to remember it. We hear it in everything from the poem, “Footprints in the Sand,” to the song, “Held” by Natalie Grant. But we still want to be happy and we feel that it is God’s responsibility to be our “genie in a bottle.” All we should have to do is say “I wish” and it will happen.

We want to hide from all the pain and suffering of the world, live in our suburban homes, and go to church in our nice buildings and when something goes wrong our faith shakes. “Why isn’t God taking care of me?” We ask. But God is taking care of us He is always there to “carry us.”

I know that I am guilty of this in my personal life, just like everyone else is and I haven’t even been put through hell like Job was. A few weeks ago I had one of the worst weeks I’ve had in a while. My grandmother was getting nauseous on a daily basis and the doctors couldn’t figure out why. My grandfather was in the hospital, again. My dad couldn’t find a job and if he didn’t get one soon he was going to have to go to New Orleans to work. And my girlfriend and I were struggling through issues of trust.

And what did I do through all this; I struggled with my faith. Was God really there? Did He care? Of course he did. My grandmother has another doctor’s appointment in a week and the medicine is helping. My grandfather is out of the hospital and at home. My dad got the job and loves it. And my relationship with my girlfriend is stronger than ever. God carried me through, so why didn’t I trust him?

I’m not saying that it’s not OK to ask God why. God blesses Job even after he spends days asking God why. Job 42:12 says that “the last part of Job’s life [was blessed] even more than the first part.” Therefore, it is clear that God expects us to question him. But God isn’t there to fill your amazon.com wish list. He is your father and he is there to do what is best for you. We just have to trust Him and let Him have control.

Alex's Short Journey

WARNING: This post contains a graphic description of partial birth abortion. Read at your own risk.

I wrote this as a persuasive essay in the summer between my Junior and Senior years of high school for a English Writing class at the junior college.

Tim and Jill are at a party. It is Friday night, June 13. They have had a little too much to drink. They go into a back room to "talk" and one thing leads to another. In a moment of passion have they made a mistake that can't be undone, or is it something a simple doctor's visit can fix?

It is not June 16 and there is a tiny ball, Alex, in Jill's uterus. Next on June 19 there is an amniotic sac that appears around the ball to protect it. On July 3 Alex begins to become a more recognizable shape. Also, the heart begins to beat. It is now July 4, Alex's first Independence Day. Alex begins to develop arms, grooves for eyes, and a small mouth opening. But outside Alex's world, Jill isn't celebrating. She is torn about what to do. Should she terminate the pregnancy? She knows she isn't ready to be a mom. She doesn't know what to do.

It is July 8 now. Alex's head begins to grow quickly, and there is a tongue and mouth. On July 14, one month into the pregnancy, Alex develops hands. Then on the 17th elbows, wrists, and fingers appear. Then the legs begin to appear; first the thigh then the knee, and finally the foot. Next on the 24th the bones start forming. Also the nose and eyelids appear. Finally on the 30th the arms and legs become well defined. Jill is still struggling outside. She has talked to Tim, and they have decided to try and keep the baby. They have begun to make preparations for the newcomer.

It is now August 5 and Alex's torso begins to lengthen. On August 12 Alex is now called a fetus. All of the major systems are formed, but they must develop. On September 2 Alex grows his first hairs. And Jill and Tim are now able to see that it is a boy. Alex's movement is now noticeable. He can blink and hear Jill and Tim's voices. His strength begins to increase, and he can make sucking motions. Things are going great for Alex, but not for Jill and Tim. They are still very young, in their early twenties. They have very little money, and the medical bill are beginning to stack up. They begin to fight

On October 14 Alex begins to sleep and wake regularly. His brain wave patterns show that he is processing what he hears and sees. At this point, the stress of finances, as well as responsibility, has ended Jill and Tim's relationship. On October 23 Alex and Jill go to the doctor. But this time it is a different doctor. The doctor talks about something called D&X (Dilation and Extraction) or partial-birth abortion and tells Jill to come back on November 4 for the procedure.

On November 4 Alex's eyes open. It is also the day of the procedure. Jill arrives and is put in a room. As Alex is dosing off to sleep something unusual happens, he sees a lot of light. The doctor, using forceps, turns Alex around and pulls him out feet first. He delivers all of Alex except his head. As Alex is being pulled out his hands and legs move. He is very much alive. Next Alex feels a sharp pain in his neck as the doctor stabs the scissors into Alex's neck at the bottom of his skull. Then the doctor spreads the scissors open ripping the hole wide open. Next he uses a suction catheter and sucks Alex's brains out causing his skull to collapse. He dies now after only twenty-six weeks. As his skull collapses he is slides out now, completely delivered. He was killed before even given a chance to live and make a difference.

A Tale of Two Churches

This is just a little personal rant into one of my pet peeves.

On Friday in our Group Communications class we had a guest speaker who I believe was from Quail Springs church of Christ. He was there to talk about small group communication and what creates the communication gaps. These gaps, he said are caused by cultural differences.

He illustrated his point with an excerpt about two "churches" from The Shaping of Things to Come by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch. The stories both took place in countries of "Western culture" but there are still cultural differences between that of the U.S. and the rest of the "West." Here are the excerpts:

Recently it was reported that a congregation in a small ural town in Australia had taken an innovative step towards approaching its community. A Melbourne newspaper announce, 'Patrons of the Hamilton Hotel will soon be offered a spirit of a different kind. In an unusual conversion, the town's Baptist congregation--who are teetotalers--have taken over one of the six pubs.' The Hamilton community watched in amazement as the pub, located on the main street opposite the post office, was bought by the Baptists and renovated into a church and conference center. Its front bar was turned into a recreation area for young people and its dance area was rebuilt into a chapel and meeting room. The bar was transformed into a coffee bar, the old pub now becoming and alcohol-free building.

On the other side of the planet, in the English town of Bradford, another pub has been transformed by Christians. The Cock & Bottle is a yellow, two-story English pub at the the bottom of the street on the corner of Bradford's inner ring road. Two years ago it was rented by the Bradford Christian Pub Consortium. Bradford is a hardscrabble working-class town. It has been noted in recent times for its racial conflict and street violence. But the Cock & Bottle represents a place of sanctuary and solace. Malcolm Willis has been employed by the consortium to manage the pub and he and his wife live upstairs above the bar... The Willises and their staff (all Christians) have set about creating a loving, welcoming environment, where locals are cared for, listened to, and ministered to, says Willis. "Initially, many won't accept talking about Jesus. Maybe after you've listened to them ten or twenty times--which can be exhausting--they might say, 'Can you pray for me?' And then see things happen."

The speaker went on to ask us which approach we were more comfortable with, to which most of the class answered the first one. Then he asked us which one we thought would be more successful. It was unanimous, the second one would be.

We need to be more willing to get outside of our comfort zones and "go into all the world" (Matt. 28:19) to reach people. Recreation centers and "Christian hangouts" are great, but they don't reach people. We have to go to where the people are and bring them to Christ. Very rarely is someone saved because they wonder into a church building during a Sunday morning service.

Jesus lived this principle and we should follow his example. He walked with sinners. He ate with sinners. He died with sinners.

The Greatest Movie of all Times

This is an assignment for my Introduction to Mass Communication class. It was a quick write that I did in about an hour. The assignment was to write a story about what we thought the greatest movie of all times was. I chose to write about "Life is Beautiful".

I think the best movie of all times is Life is Beautiful which is exactly what this movie is, beautiful. The movie is a story of how one man gives everything in order to hold his family together during the Holocaust and bringing them through a concentration camp. The movie has many different aspects that make it a great movie.

The first thing that makes this movie a great movie is its main topic, which is the Holocaust. However the story of the Holocaust is told from the perspective of one family. This angle gives the story a more humanized feeling. It also makes it more impactful and makes the audience more able to relate to the events of the Holocaust.

Even though the topic of the movie is a very serious one the director, Roberto Benigni who also co-wrote and played the lead role in the movie, manages to work in some comic relief in the movie. In fact, the first half of the movie is spent setting up the family of the Orefices. During this half Guido meets and makes Dora fall in love with him.

However during this half there are clear anti-Semitic tensions. There are acts of vandalism towards Jews and even one scene where Guido pretends to be an anti-Semitic representative of the ministry of education. Although this scene is a very comedic it is still an indication of the events to come.

Even though the main theme of the movie is the events of the Holocaust there is also a sub-plot about how Guido works to take care of his family while in the concentration camp during the second half of the movie. This again makes the movie very relateable to viewers.

Another thing that makes this movie great is its structure. The movie has a five year flash forward in the middle and is narrated by Giosué Orefice as an adult. There is also a large amount of irony that makes the story interesting.

These elements that humanize the story make the events of the Holocaust more real to the viewer. Although the story is not actually a true story all the events in the movie are very believable and could have happened and might have.

The balance of this movie is what I believe makes it so great and powerful. This movie will make you cry and cry from laughing.

The Forming of a Family

This is another assignment for my feature writing class. This time we were assigned a micro-history, which is basically a look into a small event in an ordinary person's life. We were assigned "Mrs. Kelly's Monster," by Jon Franklin, to get a better idea of what the assignment is. This story has not been graded so it has not been corrected yet.

To write the story I interviewed one of our professors of education about the adoption of his bi-racial children.

Feb. 7, 2007 - Dr. Darin Martin and his wife Jill prayed, “‘Lord, if it's your will, let it happen. We're just going to let it go. And if it's not your will, it won't happen.’” They had a new concern with the adoption that they were attempting. The baby was bi-racial.

The Martins had found out that they were subfurtle, along with about 27 million other couples in the United States. So, during late winter of 1997, they decided that adoption would be the best solution for them.

The Martins contacted Christian Services in Edmond to begin the adoption process. They went through an orientation where they talked to a birth mother, went through home studies, interviews, background checks, and filled out paper work until they were finally ready.

Two months later, a college friend in Atlanta, Lance Boyd, called and left an exciting message on their answering machine. Boyd was a minister at a church and he had overheard a message from an adoption agency saying that they had a bi-racial baby who was due in a couple of months and the mother wanted to put it up for adoption.

The baby was of African-American and Caucasian descent.

“We were just very prayerful about it. 'Do we want to bring a bi-racial baby into our home? Is that going to be OK?’” said Martin.

Over the next few months the Martins worked their way to the top of the list. And one week before the due date they headed to Georgia in a blue Nissan Centra.

On Nov. 18, 1997, the Martins received a call from the doctor at around 5 p.m. saying that the baby had been born, but they would have to wait a day to see the baby for some legal proceedings to take place.

The Martins drove to the hospital on the 20th to pick up their new little girl, Amelia Ann Martin.

“She was the only baby in the nursery, at the time, that we saw. She was getting a bath and just screaming like crazy, hating that. It was just such a special moment because you know you're leaving the hospital with a baby that day,” said Martin. “The nurse even gave us a few tips on how to give her a bath while she still had part of her umbilical cord attached.”

Then, in another unexpected turn of events, Jill became pregnant and had a baby one year and two months later.

“That was the biggest surprise of all this stuff,” said Martin. “I was just awestruck. I could not believe it because we already had a baby now. Here we are going to have two babies.”

The Martins named the new arrival Hallie Margret.

About five years later in August 2003, the Martins found themselves in Montgomery, Ala. waiting in the social worker’s office to meet Quinton Scott, this time with two excited girls looking on anxiously.

A few days earlier, Dr. Martin had received a fax while at work. The fax explained that a baby had been born in Tuscaloosa, Ala on July 30, 2003. It was healthy. Jill, Amelia, and Hallie were in Chicago at the time visiting some friends.

“I called Jill in Chicago and I think my words were, 'Jill, I've found the perfect baby for us,’” said Martin.

But there was one problem; the Martins didn’t know from where the money was going to come.
The Martins prayed, “‘Lord, if it is your will for us to adopt, we just ask that you find a way for it to happen.’”

God provided for them through a great aunt who had bought a bond for them which had matured to around $10,000, just the right amount for an adoption.

So, Martin and his mother made the drive to Birmingham, Ala where they picked up the girls from the airport and traveled on to Montgomery. The family only had to stay there a night or two before they got to meet the new boy.

On Aug. 18 the social worker carried Quin out to them. He was born six weeks premature and even though he was already a little over a week old he was only about five or six pounds.

Two months earlier, the Martins had again begun the process of adoption, this time requesting a bi-racial baby.

Now Quin is 3-years-old and is looked out for by his 8 and 9-year-old sisters and of course his parents.

Martin said, “We pray for wisdom and guidance in raising them.”

The Forming of a Family - Notes

These are the notes for my story. I don't know if they'll make a lot of sense to anyone, but here they are if you are interested. Errors and all.

• My wife and I are "sub-fertile"
• We're open to adoption
• Living in bartlesville
• Winter/spring 97
• Christain services of Ok
• Carter
• Went to orientation meeting whole day learning about process
• Talking to birth mother
• Homestudies - interview
• Background check
• Published self through self net
• Complete paperwork
• 2 months
• Phone call from college friends
• Lance Boyd in atlanta
• Just overheard message on church answer mashine
• Mother delivering in a couple of months
• Had received letter
• Called home left message
• When played message said, "Wow! But there was something we hadn't thought about, the baby was bi-racial."
• Aa/ca
• Didn't think about races when filled out paper work
• 2 or 3 in line
• "We were just very prayerful about. 'Do we want to bring a bi-racial baby into our home? Is that going to be ok?' […] Basicly our prayer was, 'Lord if it's your will let it happen. We're just going to let it go. And if it's not your will it won't happen'"
• Over the course of 2 months took top spot
• Didn't feel any reason we should pursue it
• 1 week before birth we headed out for Georgia in a blue Nissan Centra
• Stayed in jill's parents in ark
• Nash brother
• Ge nov 17 stayed with boyd's wife's parents home
• On 18 got call from dr
• 5 pm baby born
• Legal proceeding had to take first
• Picked up baby on 20
• "He was the only baby in the nursery at the time, that we saw. He was getting a bath and just screaming like crazy, hating that. It was just such a special moment because you know you're leaving the hospital with a baby that day."
• "The nurse even showed us, gave us a few tips on how to give her a bath while she still had part of her umbilical cord attached. I was nervous driving back through Atlanta traffic"
• Interlock Tory decree forced to stay in Ark for a while
• Finalized 2 years later
• Amelia Ann Martin
• Struggled with names
• Ann wife's and mother's middle name
• Every once in awhile get a double take
• "It's been great"
• 1 year 2 months later Jill had baby
• "That was the biggest surprise of all this stuff"
• "I was just awestruck. I could not believe it, because we already had a baby now, here we are, going to have 2 babies"
• "been a blessing"
• Hallie Margret
• Saved money first time 10 - 12 thousand
• 4 or 5 year decided to adopt again through CS
• Told them this time we wanted to adopt bi-racial
• Wasn't within 2 month had all paper work done
• Aug 2003 got a fax at work
• 1 week before school started
• Baby had already been born
• Tuscaloosa, AL
• Healthy
• Mother had previously placed baby wanted to place this one
• Jill and kids in Chicago visiting friends
• "I called Jill in Chicago and I think my words were, 'Jill, I've found the perfect baby for us.'"
• Martin and mom drove to Montgomery, Al
• Jill and girls flew to Birmingham, al
• Only there 1 night maybe 2
• 6 week premature
• Just now 5 or 6 pound
• Had a few health issues related to being premature, but grew out
• Since we requested bi-racial it was easier to place
• Went smother 2nd time
• Girls watch out for Quin
• Quinton Scott Martin
• "Every once in awhile it is something that you think about, but we've never had any negative, it's all been positive"
• 9, 8, 3
• Now home schooled
• When time for Quin started praying, 'Lord if it is your will for us to adopt we just ask that you find a way for it to happen'
• Great Aunt Helen bought bonds for nieces and nephews
• Gave it to them about 10,000
• "We pray for wisdom and guidance in raising them."
• Willing for children to have contact with birth parents
• Will be supportive for children's contact with birth parents
• "We feel like we're done right now"
• "The girls were old enough to be in on the excitement."

Advanced Obiturary - Maya Angelou

This was my first assignment for my feature writing class this semester. It was an an advanced obituary on author, entertainer and civil rights activist Maya Angelou. She is still alive, but the premise of the advanced obit is to have obituaries done, at least in part, before a person dies. This is usually done with very famous people. For example when Gerald Ford died recently all the news stations and papers were able to quickly put out extensive obituary information, because they had a large amount of it already done.

This story has already been graded so I've made a few corrections, but let me know what you think.

Jan. 31, 2007 - "Love is that condition in the human spirit so profound that it allows me to survive, and better than that, to thrive with passion, compassion, and style,” said Maya Angelou, and that is exactly how she lived her life.

Angelou was a poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer, and director.

Angelou has impacted all generations. She starred in many movies and plays in her early life, making her a household name. She has managed to hold onto that position even now, with her name being listed among many other influential people in “La Vie Boheme,” a song from the popular musical Rent.

“Angelou has inspired generations of readers and writers with her powerful words,” said Terry O'Neal, poet and children’s book author, when describing Angelou as her inspiration.

Angelou died of a heart attack yesterday at the age of 78.

According to her official website, Angelou was born on April 4, 1928 as Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Mo. She was educated in public schools in Stamps, Ark. and San Francisco, Calif.

Angelou suffered a trying childhood. At the age of 3 she and her brother were sent by train alone to live in Arkansas. While living with her grandmother, she was active in a wide variety of dance classes including tap, jazz, and salsa.

After living with her grandmother for 4 years the children were returned to their mother’s custody. At age 8 Angelou admitted that her mother’s boyfriend had abused her sexually. When her uncle heard this he beat the man to death. This experience traumatized Angelou and she became mute.

Angelou lived without speaking for another five years until her mother sent her and her brother to live with their grandmother. At age 13 she began to speak again. She credited this change to Mrs. Flower, a friend in Stamps.

In 1940, Angelou and her brother went under the custody of their father until Angelou ran away from home. She spent a short time living in a junk yard with many other homeless children until she returned to her mother’s custody.

At age 16, Angelou became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Guy Johnson. In order to support herself and her new son, Angelou began singing at a famous night club in San Francisco called “hungry i.” Angelou sang in a Caribbean accent and eventually released an album titled Miss Calypso.

Angelou has written many best selling books including the autobiographies I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and A Song Flung Up to Heaven.

"Maya Angelou is a natural writer with an inordinate sense of life,” said The Kirkus Reviews in a review of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Angelou’s official website says that she received a life time appointment as the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in 1981. And in January of 1993, Angelou became the second poet to read at a Presidential Inauguration.

Angelou was highly prized as an author and poet.

“Maya Angelou regards the world and herself with intelligence and wit,” said William McPherson of The Washington Post Book World in another review of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

In addition to being an actor, author, and civil rights activist, Angelou was also a mother who raised her son in an environment rich with African-American culture. Johnson described his childhood by saying, “The great thing about being the son of Maya Angelou is that I had the good fortune to grow up around some of the greatest black artists, dancers, singers, musicians, and actors of our time.”

Although Angelou was married three times throughout in her life, her closet relative is her son, Guy Johnson, who also became a poet.

A public viewing will be held in Angelou’s home town of St. Louis, Mo. on Friday starting at noon. The family will have a private service on Saturday.

Liberty Rd. Grass Fire

This is another story that I wrote for my local weekly paper. Click here for the images.

July 24, 2006 - Five Grayson County Volunteer fire departments battled a large grass fire northwest of Gordonville along Liberty Road Sunday afternoon. Witnesses reported seeing smoke around 3 p.m. High winds and hot conditions quickly spread the fire through the dry grass.

Fire officials said that the fire burned approximately 50 acres and threatened two homes. It also destroyed two out-buildings, however no one was injured.

The fire jumped Pine Loop Road but firefighters worked quickly in order to protect the residences there.

Officials said that the fire began when one of the property owners was mowing and his tractor caught fire.

Sherwood Shores Fire Department was the first to receive the call and they were quickly joined by the Collinsville, Gordonville, Sadler and Whitesboro fire departments.

It took fire fighters several hours to get control of the blaze.

Donnie Peel, Assistant Fire Chief at Gordonville, said that even though this was a significant grass fire, the total number for this season has been down. Peel sighted the fire in Callisburg during late December 2005 as the reason for this decline.

“People are just being safer,” said Peel.

Trans-Texas Corridor

This story was actually published in my local newspaper. It is nothing fancy, just a weekly paper. The story is about a road that was being proposed at the time, but I will not bore you with a lot of details, the story tell the facts. Click here to see the images that accopanied the story.

June 13, 2006 - The cafeteria of Woodbine Intermediate School was filled to capacity with those attending the informational meeting to learn more about the Trans-Texas Corridor Tuesday night. Also across the hall was overflow seating in the gym where attendees watched and listened on closed-circuit television.

Among the speakers were Amy Klein chair-person of Save Our County, Dr. Warren Mayberry of the Texas Farm Bureau, Matt Brockman and Trey Blocker representing Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, State Representative Rick Hardcastle and Independent candidate for governor Carole “Grandma” Strayhorn.

The Trans-Texas Corridor is a transportation system that will be 521 miles long with a width of four football-fields and will pass through western Grayson County. It will contain ten vehicle toll lanes and four train rails along with various electrical and utility lines.

The meeting was intended to address a great many concerns about the TTC, which included access to and across the corridor, loss of revenue from property taxes, and the use of the “quick take” rule.

The corridor will require 580,000 acres across Texas with 5,200 acres in Grayson County alone. All the land necessary for the construction of this system will be acquired through the use of eminent domain laws which allow land to be condemned for use that benefits the public.

Among those likely affected is Daniel Watkins a citizen of Collinsville who said, “My mom and dad, their children, their grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren [will be affected],” who all live in western Grayson County or eastern Cooke County and are in the path of the preferred route.

Klein began the meeting with a call to action saying, “Your job from here on out is to form your own opinion about whether you want to be in support of or in opposition to the Trans-Texas Corridor and what you want to do about that.”

Klein also encouraged attendees to contact their local, state and national officials and express their opinions and also to become educated on the issue. She then turned the stage over to Blocker and Mayberry who discussed the changes accomplished by House Bill 2702 in the most recent special session.

These changes included conservation easements, taxes, diminished access for property owners whose property is split by the corridor, utility of the roads that already exist and will be cut-off by the corridor, the use of quick take eminent domain law, transportation of groundwater and access to the corridor for emergency vehicles.

Next Brockman spoke, again encouraging attendees to communicate their opinions to their state and local officials by saying, “The letters make a difference.”

Finally Hardcastle took the stage again encouraging citizens to write their officials. He was also quick to point out that, “There are no ‘devils’ in TxDOT at the local level and they’re only doing what the legislation tells them to.”

After the speakers answered a few questions, Strayhorn was invited to speak. She was welcomed with booming applause. She encouraged those in the audience to stand up for their beliefs saying, “TxDOT will not do whatever the hell they want to do.”

A public hearing has been scheduled by TxDOT on July 10 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Sherman Municipal Ballroom, 405 N. Rusk St. Attendees will be able to get more information about the preferred route.

Idabel Shooting

This was the first real story of any consequence that I wrote and that was about a year ago. It was for my media writing class. We had a mock news conference so all material is imagined. But here it is:

Small town charm turned to shock Tuesday evening as news that two high school students had been shot and killed spread through the town of Idabel, Okla.

The victims, Randy Carter, 16 and Jenifer Rollings, 15 were pronounced dead at the scene. Allan Jennings, 15 was arrested 45 minutes later at his residence three blocks away. Both the victims and the suspect were students at Idabel High School

Idabel Police Chief Johnnie Smithe said the shooting occurred at the Rollings’ residence at 325 Bubble Gum Way at 6:30 p.m. Although there was no evidence of forced entry there were signs of a struggle in the kitchen where the victims were found. No one else was home at the time.

Smithe said they have not determined the number of shots that were fired but they did recover a .38-caliber revolver which they believe is the weapon used in connection with the deaths. Forensic tests are still being performed to confirm this.

Neighbor Mark Woolfe; said he placed the 911 call after hearing the gun shots and seeing Jennings exiting the Rollings’ residence. He could not recall if he saw Jennings carrying a gun.

Woolfe said that earlier Tuesday Carter and Jennings had an altercation after school during which Jennings threatened Carter. Although the police were called to the scene no arrests were made. He also said Jennings had been previously arrested for possession of marijuana.

Woolfe was unsure if the suspect had been using drugs at the time of the murder. Police did perform a drug test after the arrest but would not disclose the results.

Jennings is being held in the McCurtain County Jail on two counts of first-degree murder. His bond has been set at $1 million. Police declined to comment on a possible motive.

The victims were involved in a social relationship at the time of their death according to their Principal Elize Whittingdon. She would not comment on the extent of that relationship. She also said that Rollings and Jennings had been previously involved in a romantic relationship which had been ended by Miss Rollings.

“Everyone at Idabel High School is saddened by this tragic news. Randy and Jenifer were well-loved, popular students who will be sorely missed,” Whittingdon said.

Whittingdon also said the victims were both very involved in their school. Carter was a star running back with some indications that he would be heavily recruited by scouts of the University of Oklahoma. Rollings also hoped to attend OU where she wanted to play basketball. She was also captain of the Idabel varsity cheer leading squad.

“She loved to dance and we all had high hopes for her,” said her mother. Meg Rollings.

Whittingdon said that school counselors are available to the students and the school will have a lenient attendance policy over the next few days. A date for the memorial has not been set but Whittingdon says the school will also be understanding for students desiring to attend these services.

Idabel is a small town of almost 7,000 people about 250 miles Southeast of Oklahoma City.

“It’s always shocking when it happens but I’m sure the community will pull together like it always does,” Smithe said.

According to Smithe, Idabel has several murders a year but they are usually drug and crime related.

First Post

Well I guess I should explain what I am trying to do with this first. I am a journalism student in my junior year and am very unsure about my choice of careers so I thought, what better way to get some feedback than to put them on the web. So please post and post often.

Over the next few days I am going to post some of my previous work and then I'll post more as I get more done. Some of it has been published and some of it is just homework for my classes, but I want feedback so please comment honestly, but try to keep it constructive.