• Blagojevich trial starts this week

• Guns ablazin’

• Polar plunge

• The Yule Blog

• How to blog a state fair

• Family loses two children in camping accident

• CWLP plant explosion

• The early bird gets the $15 DVD player

• Collision with train leaves teenager dead

• Homeless man beaten to death outside library

• Broken life: Jerry Gaston’s story

• Mystery snake invades Lake Springfield

• 3-year-old badly beaten on Father’s Day

• Broken life: Part 2

• Boy’s pool stolen from his backyard

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich goes on trial this week on federal corruption charges. I will be dusting off a news quiz from late in 2009 that we will run at SJ-R.com occasionally during the trial. When it ran the first time, we didn’t have the interactive quiz feature on the site that we have now, so it was quite “print-tastic.” I’ll update some of the questions, but for now, here’s a taste of what you’ll find at the online quiz later this week. (I’ll post a link once it’s up and running.)

Which is not a quote from the Second City show, “Rod Blagojevich, Superstar!”

A. “Who cares if I was taped?”

B. “Blagojevich, Superstar! Are you as nuts as we think you are?”

C. “I was the greatest Serbian politician the world has ever seen — outside Serbia.”

D. “Have you seen Springfield? It’s a (filthy hole).”

(Answer: A)

What code name did state troopers guarding the Blagojevich family give Rod’s hairbrush?

A. “The cattle prod”

B. “The iron maiden”

C. “The football”

D. “Old sparky”

(Answer: C)

If you enjoy news quizzes and would like to read some more of my quiz-writing work, click here. I’ve written all but two (May 15-21 and Black History Month).

After the city of Springfield hosted a gun buyback program in 2007, I started pestering the folks at the police department about following along to watch the guns get destroyed. After months of documenting, processing and background-checking all the guns, they finally invited me observe the process of getting rid of the more than 500 guns and other evidence.

This story was a ball to report. The officers on the police department’s evidence destruction team were fun and knowledgeable. Watching them go through all sorts of old evidence was interesting, but getting to go inside a Bartonville foundry to watch the guns as they were dumped into the white-hot flames of a furnace was a sight to behold.

Hundreds of city buyback guns fed to foundry’s furnace / Old paperwork and evidence, illegal drugs also destroyed
May 27, 2008

The idea of a gun buyback, during which Springfield residents could turn over their unwanted weapons to police, no questions asked, seemed like a good one last fall.

The offer turned out to be far more popular — and expensive — than expected. And it culminated last week when nearly 500 buyback guns — plus a variety of drugs, paperwork and other no longer needed crime evidence — went into a 3,000-degree furnace at the Keystone Steel and Wire foundry in Bartonville.

When the buyback was envisioned, the idea was to get guns off the street, cut down on [...] Read the rest of this entry »

I covered the local polar plunge in 2008 and shot video of the frigid fun. You’ll notice there was snow on the ground. This was a fun event to video and write about. I think this is my favorite video of the ones I’ve shot and edited.

I blogged Black Friday shopping in November 2008. I’m not sure who was up in the middle of the night reading about all the shoppers standing out in the freezing cold in anticipation of rock-bottom prices on DVDs and toys, but the blog was a hit the next morning once people got up.

You can read my black Friday blogging here.

Throughout the holiday season we posted various seasonal news items, videos, links, recipes and other tidbits at the Yule Blog. We also posted on the blog a fun little idea I came up with and executed with the help of photographer T.J. Salsman. The idea was to solicit from readers messages they might want Santa Claus to recite to their children on video. We dubbed the project “Santa Shout-outs.”

We asked parents to submit their children’s names, ages, hometowns and an item they had on their wish list for Christmas. We had dozens of replies — so many we had to break the video into three segments to make it easier for parents to find their child’s shout-out.

The response from parents was fantastic. Many wrote us to say their children were amazed or speechless when they watched the video and heard Santa with a personalized greeting for them.

Go here to watch the shout-outs, as well as an interview with Santa in The State Journal-Register press room.

I’ll admit it: I’m a state fair junkie. I love the state fair.

It’s a good thing, because that’s where I spent about two weeks straight in August 2008. I was the “fair reporter.” Each morning I donned a backpack with a laptop computer, a point-and-shoot camera, sunglasses and a good pair of sneakers and drove to the city’s north end to cover the fair. I stayed on the grounds until 5 or 6 p.m. each night, filing updates to the blog and rewriting blog entries for use in the newspaper.

Among the sights I saw at the fair: former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his family prior to his indictment; a senior spelling bee I thought would never end; several carnival rides you will never, ever, catch me on; an auctioneer contest; and a record-setting crowd.

The name of our blog was “In All Fairness.” You can check it out here. (By the way, other reporters contributed to the blog on weekends and at night.)

The camping accident that killed two young Springfield children in July 2008 is by far the most tragic, emotion-filled story I’ve ever covered. It took all I had to report on this accident, primarily because my two boys were the same ages as the Stuebs children.

I wrote a series of stories about what happened — straight-line winds knocked over a tree onto the Stuebs family’s camping tents, killing two of their children — and cried my way through all of them. As a result of the news coverage, people from all over began donating money and having fund-raisers to help the family with medical bills. The response was overwhelming.

I think everyone was shocked by what happened to the family and realized the same thing could happen to any of us and our loved ones at any time. There wasn’t much else people could do to help in this terribly helpless situation, so they prayed and donated whatever they could, hoping it might help ease the parents’ pain.

Family in shock waits to see if daughter will live / Funeral plans for son on hold while parents try to cope
July 23, 2008

Four-year-old Dustin Stuebs loved his new Spiderman shoes, riding his bicycle and going to school on the bus. He had reached the age where his personality was taking shape, family members said Tuesday.

The Springfield preschooler’s life [...] Read the rest of this entry »

I will never let my good friend and colleague Amanda Reavy forget how I filled in for her the night of Nov. 10, 2007.

It started out as a routine night in the newsroom. Mike Kienzler, who was the dayside Metro editor, was filling in for someone as well.

The first sign something was up: the lights flickered. Then came the 911 dispatcher’s voice over the police scanner — there’d been reports of an explosion at the City Water, Light and Power plant. I packed up my stuff and sped over to Stevenson Drive, calling my husband at home to tell him what was being reported and urging him to get out candles and matches just in case.

The first thing I saw near the power plant was lots of flashing emergency vehicle lights. But the thing I’ll always remember most vividly was what I heard. It sounded like a huge, loud jet engine was whining over the plant.

No one was injured in the explosion, thank goodness.

Explosion at CWLP / No injuries reported, but damage appears severe
Nov. 11, 2007

City Water, Light and Power’s main power plant was severely damaged Saturday night by a series of explosions and a spectacular fire.

The blast - one large explosion followed by about a dozen smaller ones - occurred about 6:50 p.m. No one was injured, and the oil- and wind-fed fire was extinguished by 10 p.m.

“There is a lot of [...] Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve done two stints as The State Journal-Register’s morning-after-Thanksgiving Black Friday reporter, and they probably won’t be the last time you’ll find me shivering in front of Best Buy or Toys R Us, talking to bargain-driven shoppers Thanksgiving night.

I have to admit, though, it’s a pretty fun assignment. Photographer T.J. Salsman photographed the fun and he produced this great video. It’s one of my all-time favorites at the paper.

Early Birds / Some deal-seekers stake out stores overnight to get goods
Nov. 24, 2007

Little can come between a serious bargain hunter and the come-hither allure of a $200 desktop computer, an $800 big-screen high-definition television or a $15 DVD player - not a shower of icy snow, sub-freezing temperatures or even long lines.

Let the seduction begin.

Springfield stores were flooded as early as 4 a.m. Friday, as day-after-Thanksgiving holiday shoppers began their search for reduced-price televisions, computers, game systems and other items.

Many shoppers lined up Thursday afternoon and earlier. Some skipped Thanksgiving dinner with family for the chance to land $2 DVD movies and board games for Christmas gifts.

Those waiting in line chatted with each other, made new friends, plotted their in-store strategies, played board games, ordered pizza, drank coffee, talked on their cell phones and shivered in the chilly November darkness.

Like most years, near chaos was narrowly averted after Johnny-come-lately “line jumpers” did what they do best - cut in line.

Some shoppers walked out of [...] Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t believe the family of this Girard teenager ever got the answers they were searching for about how this crash happened. The mother wore her son’s class ring on her finger as she took me and photographer Shannon Kirshner to the crash site in October 2007. I’ll never know how she managed to keep herself together.

Mourning ‘Munchy’ / Girard teen died when car he was driving was struck by train
Oct. 29, 2007

GIRARD - To his friends, Matt Munchalfen was “Munchy,” a shy, all-around good guy who had a secret crush on a popular schoolmate. To his neighbors, he was the dependable young man who showed up to cut their grass, rake their leaves and put up riprap at their lakeside homes.

His younger brother and sister could count on Matt for rides and advice. Matt’s father expected his son to take over the family electrical business. He already could fully wire a garage.

And Matt was his mother’s first-born child. Despite being a busy 19-year-old, he often stopped by her bedroom to chat whenever he returned home from a night out with his friends.

“I didn’t know how many people Matt touched, how many people he knew,” Joanne Munchalfen said last week. “This is something that hits close to home for all parents.”

Matt, a senior at Girard High School, died Oct. 13 when an Amtrak train struck his sport utility vehicle as he crossed a track on Greenridge Road two [...] Read the rest of this entry »

Lincoln Library, the public library in Springfield, became an unauthorized homeless shelter of sorts the summer of 2007. For some reason, numerous homeless people began spending their days and nights hanging around and sleeping on the sidewalks outside the library instead of at the shelters downtown.

Things came to a head one night in July, when one homeless man beat and stomped to death another homeless man outside the library. I learned that the victim, Timothy Ryan, hadn’t always been homeless and that he, in fact, had family here in the city.

I attended Tim’s funeral and remember looking at all the photographs of him as a child and a teenager, wondering how he got into the situation he was in and thinking about how difficult it must be for a parent to watch it happen.

Homeless man beaten at library / On life support; suspect in custody
July 28, 2007

A 45-year-old homeless man on Friday remained hospitalized in critical condition after having his head stomped on, allegedly by another homeless man, outside Lincoln Library Thursday night.

The victim was on life support at St. John’s Hospital, authorities said.

Robert B. Jones, 45, was arrested a short time after the attack.

He was charged with aggravated battery and is being held in the Sangamon County Jail on $200,000 bond.

The attack happened about 8:40 p.m. Thursday on the north side of the library, 326 S. Seventh St. Police have not said if they know what prompted the attack.

For more than a year, the library has been the [...] Read the rest of this entry »

Jerry Gaston became a quadriplegic after an unlicensed, uninsured driver fleeing from police crashed into the car Gaston was riding in and paralyzed him.

Gaston sued the driver and the city of Springfield in circuit court and won the largest verdict in Sangamon County history. The money should have been enough to take care of all his medical and personal needs for the rest of his life.

Gaston has never seen a penny and probably never will.

Of all the work I’ve done at The State Journal-Register, this is the story I’m most proud to have told. I wish I could have done more for Jerry and his family.

Photographer T.J. Salsman documented Jerry’s life in photos. This was my first attempt at narrative writing on a significant news story.

Broken life / Reckless driver forever changes Jerry Gaston’s world
Aug. 27, 2006

Jerry Gaston’s eyes flutter open about 4 a.m. most days.

He wishes he could sleep longer, but painful muscle spasms jar him awake. Four to five hours of sleep a night is all he can manage.

He can hear his fiancee, Minnie Blue-Bond - his wife for all intents and purposes - breathing heavily next to him. Occasionally, he hears one of the children stir in the next bedroom.

He can’t see out the window behind his head, but he can tell dawn is breaking from the way the hues in the room change and from the furious chirping of birds outside.

He orders his [...] Read the rest of this entry »

The things I learned about snakes living on the shores of Lake Springfield while reporting on this story make me want to, well, stay away from Lake Springfield.

This was a fun distraction from crime reporting. They never did find the monster snake.

Snake in the lake / Unusual sighting intrigues officials, experts
June 25, 2007

Rumor has it, there’s sssomething suspicious ssswimming in Lake Ssspringfield.

But experts don’t believe there’s any reason to be alarmed.

In April, a woman who lives near Lake Springfield snapped a very Loch Ness-quality photo of what appears to be a large, yellow-colored snake in the water near the rocky shoreline.

The photo shows the snake’s head sticking out of the water and its body beneath.

Rumors have been swirling about the photo and exactly what kind of serpent is pictured. Some have speculated it is a python, but most seem to believe it is some kind of water snake that lives in the lake.

No one else has seen the snake, or at least had the presence of mind to take a photo if they did. As a result, City Water, Light and Power officials have no way of determining if the snake is something one would expect to find in Lake Springfield, or if it is something that doesn’t belong there.

Even snake experts are puzzled, mainly because there are only two photographs and the quality of them is too poor to make a positive identification.

“It’s tough. I really can’t tell what it is,” said Chris Phillips, a snake expert with [...] Read the rest of this entry »

Three-year-old Cameron Cleeton had to be in a partial body cast after his mother’s boyfriend badly beat him on Father’s Day in June 2007. I was invited to Cameron’s grandmother’s home, where the boy was staying, to talk about how he was doing and how the family was coping. They mentioned how the Cameron had been looking forward to going to an upcoming monster truck rally in town but now they weren’t sure they would be able to go because of his injuries and mobility issues.

SJ-R readers came through again with offers of help, and the organizers of the monster truck rally arranged for Cameron to meet the driver of his favorite truck, “Grave Digger.”

Stepfather allegedly beats 3-year-old boy / Child undergoes surgery, has broken leg, cuts
June 19, 2007

A 3-year-old boy was hospitalized Sunday night with a broken leg, bruises and cuts after his stepfather allegedly beat him on Father’s Day.

The boy required surgery Monday, and his condition was unknown late in the day.

Jessie S. Fishburn, 20, of the 3200 block of East Enos Avenue was in Sangamon County Jail, charged with aggravated battery to a child. Bond was set Monday at $75,000.

The incident happened between 9:30 and 10 p.m. Sunday at the family’s mobile home on East Enos Avenue. Authorities were sent to St. John’s Hospital about 10 p.m. after emergency room workers notified them a boy there had injuries consistent with child abuse.

The boy suffered a [...] Read the rest of this entry »

Part 1 of the “Victim of circumstance” series was about Jerry’s life now, what unfolded the night of the crash and Derek Brown’s history as a reckless driver and his brushes with the law.

Part 2 examined the relationship between Jerry and his fiancee and caretaker, Minnie Blue Bond, as well as the legal battle, Jerry’s injuries and his prospects for the future.

Spinal cord injury leaves Gaston with few options
Aug. 28, 2006

Snap a pencil in half, and you’re left with two pieces of wood with a lead core running through the center. Firmly bind the two pieces back together, and there’s a good chance you can continue using the pencil with no trouble.

Now imagine your spinal column with the spinal cord running through the center - something like a pencil with a piece of licorice inside.

Had Jerry Gaston’s vertebrae simply fractured as a result of the crash in May 2002, he might have walked away. But in his case, three bones in his neck broke and dislocated from each other, stretching and pulling and putting pressure on his spinal cord.

Doctors rushed to stabilize the injury when Gaston got to the hospital. They used a device that applied traction and allowed them to realign the bone to prevent further damage to the cord. His surgeon, Dr. Stephen Pineda, then performed surgery to repair and stabilize the fracture with a series of plates, screws and rods.

Despite doctors’ [...] Read the rest of this entry »

Part of my job as police reporter for the SJ-R is to thumb through media copies of police reports each day, looking for serious and unusual crime. In July 2006 I found a theft report where the stolen item was a backyard swimming pool. I did a little investigating and learned the victim was a 9-year-old boy who’d saved up his money for months to buy that pool for him and his siblings to play in.

The story ran on a Saturday. I checked my work messages from home that morning, hoping that someone in town would want to help Marcus Fearson out by finding him a new pool. There were dozens of messages by day’s end. One man went to the store promptly at 9 a.m. and brought a brand new pool for Marcus and had already dropped it off.

The police, by the way, nabbed the thief three days later.

Nine months of saving thwarted / Thieves steal pool from 9-year-old
July 15, 2006

Nine-year-old Marcus Fearson saved his allowance for months to buy himself something special.

At first he had his eye on a video game system but, after talking it over with his mom, decided a swimming pool would be just the ticket - a little indulgence to help him, his brothers and his cousins wile away steamy summer afternoons.

So on July 3, Marcus and his mother, Tiffany Fearson, went to Kmart and bought a $120 metal-frame pool. It was [...] Read the rest of this entry »