5 Burning Questions

At the end of A Town Left to Die you wrote that many townspeople feel too much is being made of the deaths and illnesses. Is this the feeling of the younger generations of the Libby population or a group of townspeople who have accepted their fate?

Before reading your piece I never really thought about the economics or the illegal practices in honey producing. Where did you come up with the idea for Honey Laundering?

To follow-up in the future could you see any possible tariffs or trade repercussions for countries with illegal honey?

How long is the whole process of coming up with an idea, researching it and putting everything together?

Because of your accolades do you try and "out-do" yourself with every subsequent piece or do you take the same approach to each piece you do?

Trend Story

Pullman Assaults Down from 2007

2008 Totals Lowest in Three Years

Last April, Washington State University student Ian Wilds’ life changed forever.

The senior financing major and a group of friends were walking home from Stubblefields when a random assault landed Wilds in a coma.

“No one saw it coming,” Wilds said.  “Some guy hit me from behind, my head hit the pavement and I was knocked unconscious.”

Friends called 911 and an ambulance took Wilds to Pullman Regional Hospital.  When Wilds arrived, medical staff determined that the hospital lacked the proper equipment for severe head trauma injuries so doctors transferred him via airplane to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The doctors at Harborview put Wilds into a medically induced coma to prevent his brain from swelling after tests revealed he suffered a fractured skull and multiple brain contusions.  Wilds stayed in the hospital for more than a month as doctors monitored his brain activity.

Wilds case is one of many reported assault incidents that have occurred in Pullman over the past few years, with many of them happening on College Hill, said Pullman police officer Brandon Koe.

According to Pullman Police statistics, since 2003, there have been 745 reported assaults in Pullman, an average of 124 a year, and Koe attributes the assaults to a combination of college students drinking and losing control.

“I would estimate that 80 percent of crimes committed in Pullman are related to alcohol,” Koe said.  “Every weekend it seems like it’s the same thing, students drink too much and some of them end up getting into fights.”

To combat the problem with College Hill violence, in April 2008, Pullman City Council members passed Ordinance No. 08-6, which states anyone caught fighting, regardless of who is at fault, would receive a penalty of $250 for the first offense and $500 for repeat offenses.

In 2008, there were 115 reported assaults in Pullman, the lowest since 2005.  While the numbers are at their lowest in three years, only time will tell if the ordinance has had an impact on the violence on College Hill, Koe said.

“I do think the ordinance could be attributed to some of the decrease in fighting,” Koe said.  “But in reality if people want to fight, they’re going to fight.”

After a month in the hospital, Wilds was released to his parents’ home in Renton.  Although the healing process had begun, Wilds still took IV and pain medications.

Wilds estimates his medical bills are well over $100,000, but the biggest losses fail to compare to how his life changed in the past year.

“I played rugby for over six years and it was something I loved doing,” Wilds said.  “However with the injuries to my head, the doctors strongly advised me to never participate in rugby or any contact sports ever again.”

Even though Wilds was a victim of a random assault he said there is no fear of a related incident occurring again.

Almost a year after the incident, doctors performed an MRI on Wilds over the holiday break. The doctor's prognosis said everything looked normal and Wilds is expected to make a full recovery.

Hot Off the Wire 1-28-09

It looks like Pullman's Police Department is facing repercussions from our state's tough economic times.

The fraternity that was searched last week was suspended by its national chapter pending a review

Hot Off the Wire

Drug Raid at WSU Campus

I read this article in today's Evergreen and although the investigation is in the very early stages this is a story I'm going to keep my eyes on.

First Story Proposals

My first story proposal is to go on a ride-a-long with a police officer to see what the typical Friday night in Pullman is like. Ideally I want the piece to be centered on bar violence and what the Pullman police are doing to try and stop it, but if there is something else that arises I might end up changing my story.

The second story would center around DUI rate around Pullman and exactly how much of a problem it is around town. I'll also look at past instances involving people that have had DUIs and how their life has changed.

Beat Outline

This beat would be important to the local community because it focuses on the crime/criminal activity that takes place in a smaller, tight-knit community. Having lived in a small town prior to my time in Pullman I have an understanding that the community not only is interested in their town's well-being, but also they want to know of any crimes that could affect that well-being. With that being said, in Pullman, I would estimate over 70% of the crime would stem from activities from the college, from so called "out-of-towners". Historical topics on this subject stem from the riots back in the late 90's, drug busts, all of the various bar fights/assaults over the years, DUI's, and all of the hate crimes that took place last semester. It's hard to come up with upcoming issues because it's hard to predict crime, but maybe there's an underlying issue to look for whether it be crime rates are higher during specific weekends ie. Mom's/Dad's Weekend, football weekends, beginning/end of school...etc. I'll try to define the beat by trying to determine an underlying issue whether there is a specific reasoning for these crimes, whether it be related to alcohol or whatnot.

Three story ideas include
1) Looking at alcohol sales in Pullman from (bars, liquor store, grocery stores) and seeing if there is a correlation between high sale rates and high campus crime rates.
2) How the police are trying to crack down on Pullman crime rates such as implimenting more policies like the one about both parties being involved in fighting.
3) How WSU student conduct deals with student crimes/convictions.

Three crime related articles dealing with various crimes around WSU and two universities in Kansas

National Stalking Awareness Month

Hate Crimes at WSU

RCoape at Two Kansas Universities

The articles are significant because they represent crimes that are common place around colleges and could be said that these are topics I could possibly cover during my beat.  Although with my beat I would like to see what and if there are underlying factors for the crimes.

Three potential contacts regarding my story would be

Pullman Police Chief William "Ted" Weatherly 332-2521

Student Conduct Officer Elliott Flavors              335-4532

Sociology Associate Professor Lisa McIntyre     335-5705

The police chief is obvious because he will have knowledge about all of the going-ons in Pullman.  The student conduct officer would have knowledge on the the decisions/verdicts of anything involving student related crimes.

The sociology professor would be the one to help me determine the social aspects of why people commit crimes.