LEAD WRITING EXERCISES
EXERCISE 1
Using the facts below, answer the following questions,
then write a lead paragraph that answers these questions:
WHAT HAPPENED?
WHO DID IT HAPPEN TO?
WHERE DID IT HAPPEN?
WHEN DID IT HAPPEN
WHY DID IT HAPPEN
1. About 10 last night the Champaign Fire Department
dispatched a truck to the residence of Elizabeth Klinski,
age 67, on Daniel Street.
2. She had attended a concert at the Krannert Center for
the Performing Arts and returned to her home around 10.
3. She found smoke pouring from a kitchen window and
called the fire department.
4. Damage was estimated at $15,000.
5. Firefighters said the fire started in the kitchen, probably
from a short in the kitchen range.
6. Mrs. Klinski’s pet cat, Butterball, was found dead in the
living room.
7. Firefighters arrived at 10:14 and had the fire out by
10:25.
8. Mrs. Klinski’s husband Tom died 14 years ago. She lives
alone.
9. She has lived in Champaign for 46 years.
10. She is retired from the Champaign library system,
where she had served as head librarian.
11. Her three children are grown and live out of town.
12. She is an avid reader of English classic novels. She
particularly enjoys Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle
and Robert Louis Stevenson.
EXERCISE 2: Write a hard-news lede of 25 words or less
using these facts:
1. The Champaign City Council met Tuesday night at its
usual place, the city hall at Neil and University downtown.
2. Among the items on the agenda was a proposal to
increase property taxes.
3. The resolution called for the city to receive $5,229,000
from property taxes in the next fiscal year.
4. That’s an increase of $248,000 or about 4.8 percent.
5. The increase was approved by a 9-0 vote.
6. The new tax rate will cost the owner of a home valued
at $75,000 about $345.
Exercise 3: Using the facts below, write a hard-news lede
of 25 words or less.
1. The two candidates for mayor of Champaign debated
last night at Central High School.
2. The debate was sponsored by the League of Women
Voters. About 245 people attended. Three-hundred people
had been expected.
3. Republican candidate Mack Abraham said he would try
to accomplish three things if elected: (1) He would add
new businesses to Marketplace Mall; (2) He would crack
down on drinking by university students in Campustown;
(3) he would streamline council meetings.
4. Democratic candidate Maya Evans, the incumbent,
accused Abraham of trying to give something to everyone.
She said she had learned that Abraham’s largest
contributor was a major backer of Marketplace Mall.
5. Abraham said he had not received any money from
anyone connected with the mall.
6. Questioned from the audience, Abraham said he would
make public the names of donors only by the dates
required by law, and not before.
7. League of Women Voters President Sally Harm thanked
the candidates for a good debate and said she thought the
evening was a success.
Exercise 4: Using the facts below,write a hard-news lede
of 25 words or less.
1. James A. Thatcher, a correspondent for a group of
English newspapers who is based in Washington, D.C., will
speak Thursday night at 7:30 in the Illini Union, Room D.
2. His topic will be “The Bush Legacy.”
3. Thatcher is on a speaking tour of the United States in
connection with the recent publication of his book, “The
Unjust Society.”
4. The book is a strong condemnation of the presidency of
George W. Bush for what he says is Bush’s “turning over
the country to the acquisitive, the greedy and the
plutocrats of wealth.” He said Bush’s presidency had
launched “an era of greed.”
5. The talk is sponsored by the Political Affairs Society, a
university organization that sponsors monthly talks at the
union. Admisssion is free.
Exercise 5
From the following information, write a short news story.
At the end of story, note any questions or additional
information that you think is needed to complete your
reporting.
Urbana police were called to the corner of Cunningham and
University at 11:25 a.m. Monday to investigate a twovehicle accident. After arriving, they called for an
emergency rescue team because two people were injured.
Two people were believed dead. Witnesses told police that
a truck in which the injured persons were riding was
heading west on University. The truck failed to stop when
the light turned red and starting sliding because of the
snowy conditions. The truck hit a car broadside. The car
rolled over three times and came to rest against a light
pole.
At the hospital, two people were pronounced dead of
injuries sustained in the accident. They were identified as
James and Martha Westhaver. He was 55; she was 54.
James Westhaver was the president of Busey Bank, the
largest locally owned bank in Central Illinois.
Injured were James West, 43, and Samuel Blackwater, 36,
both city employees in the Urbana parks and recreation
department. West suffered a broken leg and a possible
concussion; Blackwater had two broken arms and a broken
nose. Police ticketed West for driving too fast for road
conditions. Assistant State’s Attorney Madelyn Cochran
said she would investigate before determining whether
involuntary manslaughter charges should be lodged
against West.
A bank official said Westhaver had been employed at the
bank for 29 years. He was named president on Jan. 1,
1997. He was also chairman of the Champaign County
United Way this year. Martha Westhaver hosted a talk
show on WCIA-TV. Funeral arrangements are incomplete.
Car Crash
Spencer Platt/Getty Images News/Getty Images
It's 10:30 p.m. You're on the graveyard shift again at the Centerville Gazette and hear some chatter on the
police scanner about a car crash out on Highway 32, a road that runs through a rural area of town. It
sounds like a big crash so you head to the scene.
Shooting
Peopleimages/DigitalVision/Getty ImagesYou're on the graveyard shift at the Centerville Gazette. You
phone the cops to see if anything's going on. Lt. Jane Ortlieb of the Centerville Police Department tells you
there was a shooting tonight at the Fandango Bar & Grill on Wilson Street in the Grungeville section of the
city.
Shooting Follow-up 1
Hill Street Studios/Matthew Palmer/Blend Images/Getty Images
You're back at the Centerville Gazette. It's the day after the shooting outside the Fandango Bar & Grill on
Wilson Street in the Grungeville section of the city. You phone the cops to see if they have anything new
on the case. Lt. Jane Ortlieb tells you that early this morning they arrested an ex-con named Frederick
Johnson, 32, in connection with the shooting.
Shooting Follow-up 2
VisitBritain/Britain on View/Getty Images
It's the day after police arrested Frederick Johnson in connection with the shooting death of Peter
Wickham. You call Lt. Jane Ortlieb of the Centerville police department and she tells you that cops are
having a perp walk today to take Johnson to the Centerville District Courthouse for his arraignment. She
says to be outside the courthouse at 10 a.m. sharp.
House Fire
WIN-Initiative/Getty ImagesIt's early Tuesday morning at the Centerville Gazette. Making your usual
phone checks, you get word from the fire department about a house fire early this morning. Deputy Fire
Marshal Larry Johnson tells you the blaze was in a row house in the Cedar Glen section of the city.
School Board
Frederick Bass/Getty ImagesYou’re covering a 7 p.m. meeting of the Centerville School Board. The
meeting is being held in the auditorium of Centerville High School. The board begins with discussion of
ongoing cleanup at McKinley Elementary School; school had experienced water damage during heavy
rains and flooding two weeks ago in the city’s Parksburg section, near the Root River.
Plane Crash
Paul A. Souders/Corbis Documentary/Getty ImagesIt’s 9:30 p.m. You're on the night shift at the
Centerville Gazette. You hear some chatter on the police scanner and call the cops. Lt. Jack Feldman says
he’s not sure yet what’s happening but he thinks a plane crashed near the local airport. Centerville Airport
is a small facility used mostly by private pilots flying single-engine craft. Your editor tells you to get over
there as fast as you can.
Obituary
RubberBall Productions/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
You're on the day shift at the Centerville Gazette. The city editor gives you some information on a teacher
who has died and tells you to bang out an obit. Here's the information: Evelyn Jackson, a retired teacher,
died yesterday at the Good Samaritan Nursing Home, where she'd lived the past five years. She was 79
and died of natural causes. Jackson had worked for 43 years as an English teacher at Centerville High
School before retiring in her late 60s. She taught classes in composition and American literature and
poetry.
CEO Speech
Yuri_Arcurs/DigitalVision/Getty Images
The Centerville Chamber of Commerce is holding its monthly luncheon at the Hotel Luxe. An audience of
about 100, mostly local business men and women, is in attendance. The guest speaker today is Alex
Weddell, CEO of Weddell Widgets, a local, family-owned manufacturing firm and one of the city’s largest
companies.
Soccer Game
Photo and Co/Taxi/Getty ImagesYou're a sportswriter for the Centerville Gazette. You’re covering a soccer
game between the Centerville Community College Eagles and the Ipswich Community College Spartans.
The game is for the state collegiate conference title.
Writing Complete News Stories
INSTRUCTIONS: Write complete news stories based on the
following information. Critically examine the information’s
language and organization, improving it whenever
possible. To provide a pleasing change of pace, if there is
quoted material in the information provided, use some
quotations in your stories. Go beyond the superficial;
unless your instructor tells you otherwise, assume that
you have enough space to report every important and
interesting detail. Correct any errors you may find in
grammar, spelling, punctuation and AP style. Refer to the
directory in your textbook for the proper spelling of
names.
1. There’s a totally new idea starting to be implemented
in your city. Some call it "a pilot program." Others call
it "a satellite school." Your School Board likes the idea
because it saves the board money. Businesses like it
because it helps them attract and retain good
employees. There was a meeting of your citys School
Board last night. Greg Hubbard, superintendent of
your citys school system, recommended the idea, and
the School Board then proceeded to vote 6-1 in favor
of trying the new idea. Whats the idea? Its to mix
companies and classrooms. Recently, plans were
announced to construct a major new General Electric
manufacturing plant in your city. The plant will
employ a total of more than 600 employees, many of
them women who will work on assembly lines, helping
make small appliances for the new General Electric
plant. To attract and retain qualified women, many of
whom have young children, the plant wants a school
to be located on its premises. It offered to provide,
free of charge, free space: to construct a separate
building on its premises with 3 rooms built according
to the School Boards specifications. Its the wave of
the future, Hubbard told the School Board last night.
Its a win-win situation, he added. He explained that it
is a good employee benefit, and it helps ease
crowding in the districts schools if some students go
elsewhere. The details are being negotiated. To start
with at first, the school will have three rooms and
serve about 60 kindergarten and first-grade children
of employees. The school district will equip the
classrooms and pay the salaries of a teacher and a
teachers aide for each classroom. At this point in time
there are only approximately 20 school districts in the
entire country trying the idea. Students will eat in the
factorys employee cafeteria and play on a playground
also provided by the new factory. Parents will provide
transportation to and from the facility. Equipping each
classroom will cost in the neighborhood of
approximately $10,000. The price is about the same
as for a regular classroom. Hubbard said if the
program is successful, it will expand to other
companies. A company will have to supply a minimum
of 20 children to justify the cost of the program which
could, if successful, serve young students in 2nd and
possibly 3rd grades as well. The program is thought to
attract and retain more employees-to reduce the rate
of attrition, thus saving companies the cost of training
new employees. That is especially important in
industries with many low-paying positions in which
there is often a high turnover. Its also a solution to
working parents who feel there is never enough time
to spend with their children. Hubbard said one of the
nice things is that many will have the opportunity to
ride to and from work and also have lunch with their
children.
2. They’re all heroes, but no one knows exactly how
many of them there are, nor all their identities. They
were shopping late yesterday evening at the Colonial
Mall in your city. The mall closes at 10 p.m., and it was
about 9:50 pm when the incident occurred. There was
a serious incident: a robbery. Among the other stores
in the mall is a jewelry store: Elaine’s Jewelry. An
unidentified man walked into the store and, before
anyone could respond, pulled out a hammer, smashed
two display cases, and then proceeded to scoop up
with his hands handfuls of jewelry, mostly watches
and rings. Elaine Benchfield is the owner of the store,
and also its manager, and she was present at the time
and began screaming quite loudly. People heard her
screams, saw the man flee, and, according to
witnesses, 8 or 10 people began pursuing the man
through the mall. As the chase proceeded, the posse
grew in number. "Things like that just make me mad,"
explained Keith Holland, one of the shoppers who
witnessed the crime and joined the posse. The chase
ended in one of the shopping malls parking lots. Once
outside in the parking lot, even more people started
joining the posse, yelling at and chasing the man. Asa
Smythe, a jogger who says he jogs a distance of 20
miles a week, said he knew the man might out-sprint
him for a short distance, but that he also knew he was
going to follow the man to hell if he had to. "He
couldn’t lose me, no way he could lose me," Smythe
said. Smythe is a former high school football player
and Marine. He succeeded in catching up with and
tackling the man. More shoppers, an estimated 15 or
20 by police, then surrounded the man, holding him
there in the parking lot until police reached the scene.
The people stood in a circle around the man,
threatening him, but also applauding and shaking
hands among themselves, proud of their
accomplishment. The suspect has since then been
identified by police officers as Todd Burns, age 23, of
1502 Matador Dr., Apt. 302. He has been charged with
grand theft and is being held on $25,000 bond at the
county jail. Police officer Barbara Keith-Fowler, the
first officer to reach the scene, said she thinks Burnes
was happy to see her. Burnes was not armed, and was
apparently frightened, police said, by the crowd. At
one point in the chase he threw them the bag of loot,
apparently hoping they would stop following him. A
bystander retrieved the bag and returned it to
Blancfield, who said it contained everything stolen
from her store. A grateful Blanchfeld then proceeded
to tell you, when you called her on the phone, that the
people who helped her were a super bunch of people
and made her feel wonderful. Blanchfeld added that
she thinks "people responded as they did because
they are sick and tired of people getting ripped off."
3. Its a most unusual controversy. It involves an act at a
circus the Shriners in your city put on to raise money
for their charitable activities. In addition, the
Shriners, who put the circus on every year at this time
in your city, invite free of charge hundreds of the citys
ill, mentally handicapped and needy children. One of
everyones favorite acts involves six cats that look like
rather typical household pets. The circus opened last
Friday, with shows to continue every nite at 8 p.m.
this week through this coming Saturday evening.
There will also be a show at 2 pm Saturday afternoon.
After seeing the first shows last weekend, some
people began to complain about an act put on by
Sandra Kidder of Farmers Branch, Texas, a suburb of
Dallas. Kidder travels from city to city with the circus
and explains that she enjoys traveling and loves her
animals, all cats. The cats dive through flaming hoops,
and thats what people have complained about. Her
cats do it for love, Kidder said when you interviewed
her today. They’ll do anything for her, she said,
because she loves them and they love her. Someone,
however, filed a complaint with the citys Humane
Society. The complaint charges that Kidder terrifies
and starves her cats, endangering their lives to get
them to do the trick. Annette Daigle, who filed the
complaint, resides in her home at 431 E. Central Blvd.
Her complaint states that the cats are forced to
perform highly unnatural behaviors for them-that the
last thing a cat wants to do is go near fire. Diagle said
she is not the only one concerned about the cats
welfare but that other people who also feel the way
she does that the cats are being starved, terrorized,
endangered, and abused don’t want to get involved in
the controversy. Kidder responded to you that she
feeds her cats one good meal a day at the end of their
performance. She couldn’t do it sooner, she said,
because, if they had just eaten, her cats would fall
asleep in the middle of their act. Kidder then went on
to add that she would never do anything to hurt or
endanger her cats. In addition to jumping through
flaming hoops, her cats during each act also leap from
stool to stool; jump high in the air; stand on their hind
legs; stand on their front legs; sit on their haunches in
the begging position like dogs; and walk across a
stretched wire, like tight-rope walkers. She calls them
her "fabulous flying felines." They’re professionals,
she concluded. Finally, in addition, Kidder added that
its easier for her cats to jump through the flaming
rings than to master many of the other, simplerlooking tricks. They’re not scared of the flaming
hoops, she insists. They’re only scared if someone is
mean to them. They need to feel that you love them.
The hardest thing for them to learn to do is to stand
up on their hind legs. Its not natural for them, but
they’ll do it for her. She also further revealed that
they’re not special cats. Friends gave her some. She
picked up others at a pound. Renee Chung-Peters,
head of your citys Humane Society, said she is in the
process of investigating the complaint. Chung-Peters
said she will watch tonights show and hopes to
examine all the cats immediately after the show.
When you contacted Kidder, she said that she has no
objections to that.
4. An estimated 12,000 people in your city and
surrounding area will be affected by the news. A chain
of health spas called "Mr. Muscles" is closing. Its the
areas largest spa, with 6 clubs located throughout the
city. It closed without warning. The company is owned
by Mike Cantral of 410 South Street. Normally, the
spas open at 6 a.m. and, when people went to them
today, they found a simple notice taped to the doors
at all 6 saying, "Closed Until Further Notice." Cantral
was unavailable. His attorney, Jena Cruz, said the
company is bankrupt and she doesn’t expect it to
reopen. She said she will file a bankruptcy petition for
the spas in federal court, probably early next week.
Hundreds and hundreds of regular members showed
up at the clubs today and found the doors locked, the
lights out, and the equipment inside sitting unused.
Employees, estimated to total 180 in number, were
also surprised. They said they did not know the spas
were in trouble and had no inkling they were about to
close. Several said they are worried about whether or
not they will be paid for their work during the last two
weeks. They are paid every two weeks, and their
normal payday is tomorrow. Some members paid up
to $499 a year for use of the facilities. Some have paid
for 3 or 5-year memberships. An undetermined
number bought lifetime memberships for $3,999. The
clubs have been open for more than 15 years. The
state Department of Consumer Affairs is investigating
the closing. Kim Eng, director of the department, said
"I do not know if any members can get refunds on
their memberships but if the company goes bankrupt
that seems unlikely." Cruz said the clubs were losing a
total of $3,000 a week. She added that there is no
money left to return to members. The state attorneys
office is also investigating members complaints. The
company opened its first spa in 1981, then began an
aggressive expansion program. Atty. Cruz said, "The
company borrowed money to buy land for its spas and
to build the spas, each of which cost a total of well
over a million dollars to build and equip, and it has not
been selling enough new memberships in recent
months to make the payments on all its loans."
5. It was a dreadfully tragic incident and involved a 7year-old girl in your city: Tania Abondanzio, the
daughter of Anthony and Deborah Abbondanzia. The
girl was admitted to Mercy Hospital last Friday
morning. She was driven to the hospital by her
parents. She was operated on later that morning for a
tonsillectomy. She died Saturday morning. Hospital
officials investigating the death announced, during a
press conference this morning, that they have now
determined the apparent cause of death: that the girl
was given the wrong medication by a pediatric nurse.
They did not identify the nurse, saying only that she
has been suspended, pending completion of the
investigation. The girls parents were unavailable for
comment. Tania was a 2nd grade student at
Washington Elementary School. Her physician, Dr.
Priscilla Eisen, prescribed a half milligram of a pain
reliever, morphine sulphate, after surgery. Hospital
records show that, somehow, by mistake, the nurse
gave the girl a half milligram of hydromorphone, a
stronger pain reliever commonly known as Dilaudid.
The victim was given the drug at 2:30 p.m. Friday
afternoon and developed severe respiratory problems
at 2:40 p.m. She also complained of being hot and
went into an apparent seizure. An autopsy conducted
over the weekend to determine the cause of her
problems showed results, also announced during the
press conference today, that were consistent with the
hospitals report, police said. Police are treating the
death as accidental. After developing respiratory
problems, the girl was immediately transferred from
the medical facilitys pediatrics ward to the intensive
care ward and remained in a coma until Saturday
morning, when doctors pronounced her brain dead.
She was then taken off a respirator and died minutes
later at 9:40 a.m. Saturday morning. The nurse
involved in the unfortunate incident noticed she had
apparently administered the wrong drug during a
routine narcotics inventory when the shifts changed at
midnight Friday. She immediately and promptly
notified her supervisor. The two drugs are kept side
by side together in a locked cabinet. Hospital officials
said a dosage of a half-milligram of hydromorphone is
not normally considered to be lethal, not even for a
child. Dr. Irwin Greenhouse, hospital administrator,
said in a statement released to the press today that,
"Our sympathy goes out to the family, and we will
stay close to them to provide support." He declined to
comment further. Hydromorphone, a narcotic used to
treat pain, is six to seven times more potent than
morphine. Children sometimes are given a half
milligram of hydromorphone to control coughing, a
druggist you consulted said. The druggist added that
the dosage did not sound outrageous to her, but
rather sounded very reasonable, as a matter of fact.
The drug is generally used for pain relief after surgery
or as medication before an operation, the druggist
also informed you, asking that she not be identified by
name, a request that you agreed to honor.
6. A lone man robbed a bank in the city. He entered the
Security Federal Bank, 814 North Main Street, at
about 2:30 p.m. yesterday. Bank officials said he first
went into the bank with the excuse of obtaining
information about a loan, talked to a loan officer and
then left. When he returned a few minutes later, he
was brandishing a pistol and demanded money from
the banks tellers. Glady Anne Higginbotham, the
banks manager, said he forced two tellers to lie on the
floor. He then jumped behind a counter and scooped
up the money from five cash drawers. As the gunman
scooped up the money, he also scooped up a small
exploding device disguised to look like a packet of
money and stuffed it into his pockets along with the
rest of the cash. The device contains red dye and tear
gas and automatically explodes after a specified
amount of time. The length of time before the
explosion is determined by each individual bank using
the device. The device is activated when someone
walks out of a bank with it. As the gunman left the
bank, he ordered four customers to lie down on the
floor. Most of the customers were unaware of the
robbery until told to get down on the floor. Witnesses
believe the gunman sped away from the scene in a
pickup truck parked behind the building. Police say
they found a red stain in the rear parking lot and
surmise that the device exploded just as the robber
was getting into the truck. An eyewitness told police
he saw a late-model black pickup truck a few blocks
away with a red cloud coming out the window a few
moments after the robbery but was unable to get the
license number. Detective Myron A. Neeley said, "That
guy should be covered with red. The money, too. Just
look for a red man with red money. You can’t wash
that stuff off. It just has to wear off. It explodes all
over the place-in your clothes, in your hair, on your
hands, in your car. Its almost like getting in contact
with a skunk." An FBI agent on the scene added that
many banks now use the protective devices in an
effort to foil bank robbers and that the stain will
eventually wear off humans but stays on money
forever. He estimated that the man will be covered
with the red dye for at least the next two or three
days. The man was described as a white man. He is
between the ages of 25 and 30 years of age. He is
about 6 feet tall. He weighs about 180 pounds. He has
long blond hair. His attire includes wire-rimmed
sunglasses, a gold wedding ring, a blue plaid shirt,
blue jeans and brown sandals.
Exercise 3: Writing Basic News Leads
INSTRUCTIONS: Write only a lead for each of the following
stories. As always, correct errors in spelling, grammar,
punctuation and AP style if necessary. Consult the
directory in your textbook for the correct spelling of names
used in the scenarios.
1. There was an accident occurring in your city at 7:10 this
morning at the intersection of Post Road and Rollins Avenue.
Charles R. Lydon was driving north on Post Road and
proceeded to enter the intersection in his van at a speed
estimated at 40 mph. His van struck a fire engine
responding to an emergency call, with its lights and siren in
operation. Two firemen aboard the vehicle were
hospitalized; however, their condition is not known at this
point in time. Lyden was killed instantly in the serious and
tragic accident. Authorities have not yet determined who
was at fault. The truck was traveling an estimated 25 mph
and responding to a report of a store fire. However, it was a
false alarm. Lydons van was totally destroyed. Damage to
the truck was estimated at $50,000.
2. There was a report issued in Washington, D.C. today. It
came from the Highway Loss Data Institute, an affiliate of
the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. It shows that
there are advantages to driving big cars. A study by the
institute found that small two-door models and many small
or midsize sport or specialty cars have the worst injury and
repair records. Many of these small cars show injury claim
frequencies and repair losses at least 30 percent higher than
average, while many large cars, station wagons and vans
show 40 percent to 50 percent better-than-average claim
records. According to the analysis, a motorist in a four-door
Oldsmobile Delta 88, for example, is 41 percent less likely
than average to be hurt in an accident.
3. An article appeared today in the Journal of the American
Medical Association. The article concerns the dangers of hot
dogs. "If you were trying to design something that would be
perfect to block a childs airway, it would be a bite-size piece
of hot dog," says a researcher. He concluded that children
under 4 should "never be given a whole hot dog to eat," and
that hot dogs should never be cut crosswise. The hot dogs
are so dangerous that every five days, it is estimated,
someone, somewhere in the United States, chokes to death
on them. Other risky foods for young kids up to 9 years of
age include: candy, nuts, grapes, apples, carrots and
popcorn.
4. The family of Kristine Belcuore was grief-stricken. She was
51 years old and died of a heart attack last week. She left a
husband and four children. Because her death was so
sudden and unexpected, an autopsy had to be performed
before the funeral last Saturday. It was a big funeral,
costing more than $7,000. More than 100 friends and
relatives were in attendance. Today, the family received an
apologetic call from the county medical examiner. Mrs.
Belcuors body is still in the morgue. The body they buried
was that of a woman whose corpse had been unclaimed for
a month. The error was discovered after the medical
examiners office realized the month-old corpse had
disappeared. Someone probably misread an identifying tag,
they said. Also, the family never viewed the remains, they
kept the casket closed throughout the proceedings. A
relative said, "We went through all the pain and everything,
all over the wrong body, and now we have to go through it
again."
5. Its another statistical study, one that surprised researchers.
For years, researchers thought that advanced education
translated into greater marriage stability. Then they
discovered that marital disruption is greater among more
highly educated women than any other group (except those
who haven't graduated from high school). Now a sociologist
at The Ohio State University has conducted a new study
which explains some of the reasons why women with
graduate degrees are more likely to be graduated from their
marriages as well. The key fact seems to be timing. Women
who married early, before they began graduate school, are
more likely to have established traditional family roles which
they find difficult to change. When the wife goes back to
school and no longer wants to handle most of the
housework, it causes resentment on the part of the
husband. If the husband refuses to pitch in and do his share,
it creates tension. Such unhappiness on both sides often
leads to divorce. Indeed, a third of the women who began
graduate school after they were married ended up separated
or divorced. By comparison, only 15.6 percent of those who
married after they had finished an advanced degree ended
up divorced or separated. They seem more likely to find
husbands supportive of their educational goals.
6. The Department of Justice, as it often does, conducted a
crime-related survey. It questioned long-term prisoners. It
found that new laws limiting the ownership of guns do not
discourage handgun ownership by career criminals. The
report concludes, however, that even though curbs on
legitimate retail sales of guns have failed to attain the goal
of keeping weapons out of the hands of criminals, the laws
still may serve other useful functions. The report explains
that criminals get their weapons most often by theft or
under-the-counter deals. The department surveyed 1,874
men serving time for felonies in 11 state prisons and found
that 75 percent said they would expect little or no trouble if
they tried to get a handgun after their release from prison.
Fifty-seven percent had owned a handgun at the time of
their arrest. Thirty-two percent of their guns had been
stolen, 26 percent acquired in black market deals, and
others received as gifts from family and friends. Only 21
percent had been bought through legitimate retail outlets.
7. Thomas C. Ahl appeared in Circuit Court today. He pleaded
guilty last week to robbing and murdering two restaurant
employees. In return for pleading guilty prosecutors
promised not to seek the death penalty. He was sentenced
today. Ahl is 24 years old, and the judge sentenced him to
two life terms, plus 300 years. It is the longest sentence
ever given anyone in your state. Ahl will be 89 before he can
be considered for parole. The judge explained that Ahl had a
long history of violence and brutality, and that the public
deserved to be protected from him. There had been no
reason for him to shotgun the two employees to death. Ahl
himself admitted that they had not resisted him in any way.
8. The International Standardization Organization, which is
composed of acoustics experts, today opened its annual
convention. The convention is meeting in Geneva,
Switzerland. Delegates from 51 countries are attending the
convention, which will continue through Sunday. An annual
report issued by the organization warned that noise levels in
the world are rising by one decibel a year. If the increase
continues, the report warned, "everyone living in cities could
be stone deaf by the year 2020." The report also said that
long-term exposure to a noise level of 100 decibels can
cause deafness, yet a riveting gun reaches a level of 130
decibels and a jet aircraft 150.
9. A 19-year-old shoplifting suspect died last Saturday. Police
identified him as Timothy Milan. He lived at 1112 Huron
Avenue and was employed as a cook at a restaurant in the
city. A guard at Panzer's Department Store told police he
saw Milan stuff 2 sweaters down his pants legs, then walk
past a checkout line and out of the department store. The
guard then began to chase Milan, who ran, and 3 bystanders
joined in the pursuit. They caught up with Milan, and, when
he resisted, one of the bystanders applied a headlock to
him. A police officer who arrived at the scene reported that
Milan collapsed as he put handcuffs on him. An autopsy
conducted to determine the cause of death revealed that
Milan died due to a lack of oxygen to the brain. Police today
said they do not plan to charge anyone involved in the case
with a crime because it "was a case of excusable homicide."
The police said the bystanders did not mean to injure Milan
or to kill him, but that he was fighting violently—punching
and kicking at his captors and even trying to bite them—and
that they were simply trying to restrain him and trying to
help capture a suspected criminal, "which is just being a
good citizen."
10.
Several English teachers at your citys junior and senior
high schools require their students to read the controversial
book, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." The book was
written by Mark Twain. Critics, including some parents, said
last week that the book should be banned from all schools in
the city because it is racist. After considering their
complaints and discussing them with his staff, the
superintendent of schools, Gary Hubbard, announced today
that teachers will be allowed to require reading the book in
high school English classes but not in any junior high school
classes. Furthermore, the superintendent said that it will be
the responsibility of the high school teachers who assign the
book to assist students in understanding the historical
setting of the book, the characters being depicted and the
social context, including the prejudices which existed at the
time depicted in the book. Although the book can no longer
be used in any junior high school classes, the school
superintendent said it will remain available in junior and
senior high school libraries for students who want to read it
voluntarily. The book describes the adventures of runaway
Huck Finn and a fugitive slave named Jim as they float on a
raft down the Mississippi River.