Being a reporter is as much a diagnosis as a job description. - Anna Quindlen

Portfolio

2010-04-08T21:02:00.001-07:00

Hello all,
I have been busy with work and have neglected to post clips for too long. Here's a chance to catch up on some of my best work at the Record Searchlight.

An in-depth series on a megachurch with controversial ministries and connections:

1. Bethel’s prosperity
2. Bethel’s healing ministries
3. Bethel’s signs and wonders

The stories collectively generated more than 35,000 unique visits in less than a week. I captured and edited video for the second and third stories. I received the Record Searchlight’s January 2010 Watchdog Award for these stories.

Watchdog stories on a local water district board run amok:

1. Board member quits, applies for manager job
2. Down to two, Mountain Gate district board at a standstill
3. Legal questions asked of former board member
4. DA investigating Mountain Gate District

I received the Record Searchlight’s December 2009 Watchdog Award for these stories.

Data-driven reporting:

1. Redding woman mourns grandmother's death on Shasta County's deadliest road

I wrote this story and compiled a database on fatal car accidents in Shasta County. I received the Record Searchlight’s February 2010 Data Award for this story.

Breaking news stories:

1. Wildfire in Lewiston threatens homes

For the wildfire story I took video and photos on my cell phone to send back to the office. We had video and photos posted online before the local news competition was even on the scene.

Features:
1. Shasta County teen birth rates hits four-year high
2. Teen mom tells her story

I wrote this Sunday-spread package just two months after starting at the Record Searchlight. I was given the Record Searchlight June 2009 Best Story Award for the spread.

Stories from the cops beat

2009-08-17T20:33:00.000-07:00

I had an incredibly challenging week working the cops shift. I wrote about a 14-year-old kid who died, which was hard emotionally, and covered my first fire, which was hard physically and mentally. But overall, it was a pretty awesome week. I really enjoyed the challenges.

Palo Cedro boy identified in car wreck

Evacuation orders remain in effect

Former Montgomery Creek teacher arrested in drug bust

Blaze grows to at least 1,200 acres

Evacuations lifted for Fawn Lodge Road in Coffin Fire

County officials say juvenile hall replacement long overdue

Redding police sergeant injured in crash

Coffin Fire suspect charged with two felonies

Resting up before working the cops beat

2009-08-09T20:03:00.000-07:00

I'm on the cops beat this next week. The fire season has really picked up so I expect to be busy. Read my story below published on today's front page about the forest fires:

Residents express relief as fires near containment

Another story from today, watch the video these kids are cute:

Sister, brother duo help animals with lemonade stand

Other stories from last week:

Redding faces almost $4 million in cuts; county uncertain

Domestic violence shelters slammed by budget cuts

For first time, voters will chose Anderson fire board

More disabled Shasta County Residents will lose home helpers

Mountain Gate board outlines plans for new manager

Jesus Culture wants to heal Redding residents

Still writing...

2009-07-29T14:14:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a bit since I last posted so here are some catch-up links:

From today:
County supervisors cut tourism funding

Redding firm wins $1.5 million design contract for juvenile hall

From Tuesday:
Anderson/Corning city attorney retirement will be discussed tonight

From Saturday
Central Valley student sues over chemical burns

From last Friday:
Mountain Gate services district seeks to replace fired manager

Last Monday:
Budget cuts could eliminate vital services for elderly and disabled

Study: Sierra Pacific's power plant would have 'significant effects'

Other stories:
Kitten thrown from pickup window still without a home

Mountain Gate Community Services District manager fired

Playing catch-up

2009-07-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

I've been really busy since I got back from a long Fourth of July weekend in Washington. Here are my most recent stories:

New program proposed to advocate for Shasta County foster children

State cuts could eliminate north state drug agents

Choosing site for new courthouse could be years away

Gymnasts bounce, spin and finish with medals

40 attend Shasta College event to start medical careers

Shasta County property values down more than $1 billion

This week's articles

2009-07-03T18:39:00.000-07:00

Biggest stories:

County contractor ordered to repay state almost $200,000

Victim says homophobia still a major problem in the north state

IOUs could force shutdown of some county program within weeks

And:

Shasta County hoping for more stimulus dollars

Cottonwood family devastated by fire

Milestone

2009-06-30T20:37:00.000-07:00

I got my first Sunday spread this past weekend! Read the articles that graced the front page below:

Shasta County teen birth rate hits four year high

Redding teen mother tells her story

Also, on today's front page:

Cottonwood family devastated by fire

New site

2009-06-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

Redding.com launched its new Web site on Wednesday. There's been some mixed feedback but I like the new layout.

Here are a few stories:

Clinics await results of suit to save Medi-Cal

Supervisors balk at cost increases

Parolee arrested after CHP chase

One arrested, two at large in pot raid near Shingletown

Some of today's stories from the cops beat

2009-06-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

I'm doing the cops beat this week which means I'm the one who runs out on the scene when something interesting comes across the scanner, updates the Web, receives faxes from law enforcement, etc. Some interesting items came through today:

Vehicle theft suspect found hiding in fountain

Whiskey, camping with minors doesn't mix well for Weed man

Suspected stick-wielding assailant at large

Man lifted to Mercy Medical after bee causes accident

Some of last week's articles

2009-06-21T15:47:00.000-07:00

Expanded clinic opens in face of state budget cuts

Viral meningitis breaks out in Shasta County

This article was interesting to write. I got to look up the offender's court files and piece together details about the crime we hadn't covered during the trial.
Previous offender bilked nutrition program

The only non-AP stories on the front page...

2009-06-15T21:21:00.000-07:00

Were mine :-)

Shasta District Fair ready to roll Wednesday

Kids ready for fair's junior livestock auction

I went to a media luncheon today for the district fair and won a $75 spa gift certificate...which I gave to advertising to raffle out to the office. Darn journalistic ethics lol

Stories, stories, stories

2009-06-11T20:00:00.000-07:00

Host families sought for exchange students

Revamped MLK Canter and programs approved

Knighton Road retail center moves forward

Stories:

2009-06-09T19:26:00.000-07:00

The Web site's top story right now:

Supervisors refuse to yield on sheriff's budget cuts

And the update to the kitten story:

Rescued kitten now in foster home

Some of this week's stories

2009-06-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

This story so far has gotten me a phone call about every 15 minutes all day:

No room at north state shelters for rescued kitten

Shasta County Public Defender, assistant district attorney appointed

More cuts expected in seniors' programs

Relay for Life brings in less cash but participation stays strong

Finally a happy story

2009-05-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

Redding cancer survivor will join others in Relay for Life

And bad news from yesterday's paper:

Governor's proposal would eliminate health care for thousands of north state children

Challenges

2009-05-27T18:54:00.000-07:00

I had to tell a caller today that it is not my job to write a story on what the definition of marriage should be, but that it is my job to present both sides objectively. I hope I did.

Gay marriage issue isn't settled, both sides claim

I also got to meet Meg Whitman yesterday, which was neat. I remember John McCain tossing her name around during the presidential election.

Candidate for governor visits Redding

Interesting story

2009-05-25T15:35:00.000-07:00

Tehama County man summoned to serve on Shasta County jury

More bad news, written by me

2009-05-23T10:48:00.001-07:00

We got a press release from the sheriff's office at 4:56 p.m. on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend and I scrambled to find people to talk to. Luckily the seventh person I called answered the phone. :-)

Shasta County sheriff lays off 25 employees

Two articles from today

2009-05-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

Following election, sheriff plans more layoffs

Open campsites may be scarce this holiday weekend

Special election coverage

2009-05-20T19:15:00.000-07:00

Voters reject five out of six measures

Dog shooting

2009-05-16T12:12:00.000-07:00

Neighbors upset after dog shot near bus stop

I did a lot of research for this story and talked to many neighbors, police and the man who owned the goat that was killed. I also made efforts to locate the gunman. I wish there had been more room for me to keep the many details that were cut during final edits.

Two more front-pagers

2009-05-15T18:06:00.000-07:00

But what I'm really excited about is an article coming out this weekend!

Lone Stranger, Sidekick revealed

Cuts will reduce oversight of nursing homes, assisted living facilities

I wish that as journalists we could educate the public about the news process. So many people don't realize that news articles are, as Brad Howard put it, the words that fill the space around ads. Reporters don't get very much say in how long an article will run, unless it's a special project and editors are given advanced notice. Our articles have to fit within the space leftover once the ads are placed. Along with that -- news articles are not advertisements and should not be treated or intended as such in my opinion.

Also, with the staff cuts at newsrooms across the nation, the manpower simply isn't there to cover every event, meeting, band performance etc. I got yelled at today over the phone by a woman because I wrote the story about the Lone Stranger being identified and not about the kiddie parade, which her daughter's band was in.

I'm getting used to writing two to three stories a day and am feeling much more confident about my work performance.

Two front page articles today!

2009-05-13T12:46:00.000-07:00

Shasta County sheriff may have to cut a fifth of staff

Spring rains may boost north state water allocations

Yesterday I wrote this article and took video for one of the Rodeo Week events. It was really fun: Lone Stranger and Sidekick strike again

Property tax woes

2009-05-08T21:07:00.000-07:00

No help available for north state homeowners struggling to pay property taxes

My story on Medi-Cal cuts is the second most e-mailed and second most commented story on www.redding.com, the Record Searchlight site.

First county meeting, first feature

2009-05-06T21:02:00.000-07:00

County supervisors cut vacation buy-backs

Redding ALS patient hopes new machine will help

Two articles on two of California's special election initiatives

2009-05-02T18:58:00.000-07:00

Prop 1D would tap First 5 Funds

Prop 1E would reallocate mental health money

My first trial story!

2009-04-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

The courts reporter had the day off so I got to step in and try my hand at court reporting. It was really interesting and I'd like to do it more often!

Former Haven CEO takes witness stand in his own defense

Petrified stump stirs up sadness for donor

2009-04-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

Turtle Bay stumped

New story

2009-04-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

This one was interesting to write. It was fun to run around to all the different agencies and piece together the puzzle, though the topic was disturbing.

Sex offender charged with possession of buckets of porn

Front page story

2009-04-23T21:32:00.000-07:00

Lassen park will get $15.7 million in stimulus money

First Record-Searchlight article published today

2009-04-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

Fair board rolls back new parking fee

My first A-1 story gets published tomorrow! So far I'm really enjoying Redding and working at the Record-Searchlight. I hope I catch on quickly but there is so much to learn in a new city.

Most recent BBJ article

2009-04-08T10:11:00.000-07:00

Local Authors

I was offered a reporting job at the Record-Searchlight in Redding, Calif. and start on April 20! I'm very excited and honored to have this opportunity to get out there and put my skills to the test.

Links to articles I have written since my internship

2009-03-23T17:26:00.000-07:00

From The Bellingham Business Journal where I interned from January until March 2009:

February Business Births

To Change a Village

March Business Births

From Klipsun Magazine, a Western Washington University publication:

Fighting H8

Second Obama article

2008-08-29T21:14:00.001-07:00

'We still have a dream'

Today was my last day at the Press. It was such a great experience and I learned so much. I can't imagine a better way to start my professional career as a reporter.

First story on Obama and DNC

2008-08-27T22:53:00.000-07:00

All eyes on Denver

Two front-pagers in one day!

2008-08-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

Maple Leaf turns colors at last

I'd like to comment that I do have her on my recorder stating that "something as simple as a DUI can send you back and you lose your whole life."

Cd'A hits the lanes

My last day is Friday, I can't believe I'm almost done...

Front pager

2008-08-23T20:48:00.000-07:00

I have to

Article and column

2008-08-20T22:30:00.000-07:00

Idaho housing starts

Column printed on Saturday:

Move brings life lessons
By AMANDA WINTERS

I’ve learned many things since moving to Coeur d’Alene this June. I’ve learned that I bounce around like popcorn every time I hear a gun go off. I’ve learned new terminology like “Idabillie” and “Calibagger.” I’ve learned to never leave my iPod on the passenger seat of my car on a hot day (it died). But the most important thing I’ve learned stems from a late-afternoon drive my boyfriend and I took last Friday.

We decided to take the White Pines Scenic Byway and loop back to Coeur d’Alene. The weather was pleasant, warm and mostly sunny, but after we drove through St. Maries it all changed.

Suddenly the sky looked angry and ugly. Wind started to pick up and that’s when it started: My first major lightning storm.

As a native of northwest Washington, I’ve seen lightning storms before, but nothing like that. Ours consist of 30 minutes of rain, loud thunder and an occasional strike of lightning.

We continued toward the storm. Since the wind was blowing strong, I thought we could drive through the storm easily and avoid it following us if we were to turn around. I thought wrong.

At one point, it occurred to us that the car was made out of metal, which is a conductor of electricity, and maybe we shouldn’t be in it. I later read an online article by Air Force Meteorologist William P. Roeder, that metal cars are actually safe to be in as long as you keep the windows rolled up and don’t mess with electronic equipment.

We didn’t know that, so we pulled off the road in the middle of an empty field with a lonely tree standing nearby. I later read, in the same article, that empty fields and lonely trees are to be avoided at all costs.

After the rain started pouring down on us, we pressed on. As we drove, I could see the air turn blue with the electricity of the lightning strikes.

Nearing Potlatch, I thought it was over. There hadn’t been lightning for a few miles and the rain stopped. Once we started up U.S. 95 it began again. Lightning was everywhere, constantly. I’d never seen anything like it before. It was exhilarating and terrifying.

Then we almost ran out of gas. The National Ag Safety Database states gas lines should be avoided during a lightning storm. Again, we had no idea so he filled up the car in Plummer as I stood outside and took video of the storm.

North of Plummer the rain started. It was so heavy the road wasn’t visible at times, and the lightning was blinding on top of that so driving was nearly impossible. I finally put my face in my hands, unable to watch anymore.

We made it home safe at last, I rushed into the house, straight to my computer, where I looked up lightning safety. Then I learned I had done everything wrong and was continuing to disobey the rules by being on the computer (during a lightning storm all electronics should be unplugged).

From that experience, I learned to always check the weather before going out and to do the opposite of what I did if I ever again find myself trapped in a never-ending lightning storm.

Two new articles

2008-08-18T13:31:00.000-07:00

One-man mansion

In pursuit of organic farming

In reference to the comment made by Rachael Jensen stating that they were not going to house teenage foster kids but were instead going to organize a program for low-income high school juniors, I understood from the interview that they intended to do both.

Another first

2008-08-14T19:59:00.000-07:00

Friends, family say goodbye to Felton

This was the first funeral I've ever covered and the first article I've written about somebody who died. I know what a sympathetic and sentimental person I am, which made me worry about whether or not I'd be able to hold up. There were moments (specifically during the soundslide show, those always get me) where I teared up and had to remind myself to be professional. I really wanted the article to portray the love and respect these people had for Felton, and to make him feel real. So many times I've read articles about people who had died and found them to be flat and lifeless.

I was extremely surprised and pleased when the managing editor came to my desk today and told me he thought I did an excellent job on the article. Not only that, but he said that if they had a need for another reporter when I graduate, he would be happy to hire me. I think that was one of the biggest compliments I've ever received.

Challenging article

2008-08-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

For these military recruiters, it really is about family

This article was difficult to write because I was unsure what angle to take and didn't have a large amount of concise, direct quotes. It was good practice in carving a story.

New spot-news article

2008-08-08T13:11:00.001-07:00

Cleaning up their image

Suicide in Idaho

2008-08-07T20:16:00.000-07:00

This story was challenging in that there were so many numbers involved. I had to try and find a way to make it so people's eyes wouldn't glaze over after the first sentence.

I had to largely go off a press release because so many people were on vacation and couldn't be reached for information. I don't like going off press releases because I feel like as a reporter I should be doing my own leg work. Anyway, here it is.

Groups work to reduce suicide

New front page story

2008-08-01T22:23:00.000-07:00

In the bag?

Fun feature

2008-07-30T19:40:00.000-07:00

Kids behind the camera

Check out the video that goes with this as well. You can find it on the main CDA Press Web site.

Article on a different subject

2008-07-29T17:13:00.000-07:00

This story was pretty interesting and I learned quite a bit from it. There might be follow-up stories later this summer on Chinese tourism.

U.S. doors open to millions of Chinese tourists

Slowing down

2008-07-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

The city editor has been on vacation for the past week so assignments have slowed down. Here's my latest feature:

ATVs, trucks part of back country law

My favorite so far

2008-07-19T18:23:00.000-07:00

Team of Twelve

This has been my favorite story to write so far. Unfortunately they are getting a lot of flak on the comments for not adopting within the U.S. first. I regret leaving out the part where the mother told me they tried to adopt two children from the U.S. then lost them four months later. She said she couldn't emotionally handle going through that again, so they decided not to adopt from the U.S. again. The story was getting really long and I felt something had to go, so I cut that part out. Now I wish I hadn't. I don't think it's right for them to get comments like that when they're doing such an amazing thing, and I feel bad that it came from my story.

"Hot Flashes from Heaven"

2008-07-16T22:59:00.000-07:00

As printed in the Coeur d'Alene Press 7/16/08

By AMANDA WINTERS
Staff writer

WORLEY — Like all women do when they hit mid-life, Ronna Snyder went through “the change.” But unlike most, she kicked it off with a bottle of purple nail polish and a Harley-Davidson to match. She didn’t want to be June Cleaver anymore.

The Worley resident said she was feeling “old, frumpy and dumpy” when a voice in her soul told her to buy a bottle of purple nail polish at Wal-Mart several years ago.

“So I picked it up and was really embarrassed at the cash register - women my age don’t wear purple nail polish,” she said. “When I put it on I realized my mom would never wear this polish and a lot of my friends would never wear this polish. Then I thought, ‘I’m buying a purple bike.’”

The nail polish, bike and voice in her soul were the inspiration for her new book, “Hot Flashes From Heaven.” Snyder said the book is about what the brain goes through during menopause.

“ I just took notes of what I thought was an estrogen-deprived epiphany,” she said. “They would come like a hot flash from heaven.”

Snyder described her book as “inspiration for the hormonally challenged” and said it addresses the questions that arise in a woman’s mind during mid-life.

“Am I a mother anymore? Am I of value in the workplace? Who the heck is this man that I’m married to and do I even want to continue?” she said. “If women stop, slow down a little bit and listen, they’ll hear answers to those mid-life questions.”

One of those answers came that night at Wal-Mart, telling her to buy a purple Harley. Snyder said she had ridden on the back of her husband’s Harley for years and eventually he convinced her to buy a bike of her own.

“I was scared to death,” she said. “For a year I put 7,000 miles on it and hated every minute of it. But I decided to give it one more try and I bought a brand new bike all on my own.”

Snyder said the decision to buy a new bike was earth-shattering. She hadn’t made financial decisions like that in her marriage before. Her husband advised her to buy a black one, since it’d be easy to resell and he didn’t have a lot of faith she would want to keep it. But she did.

“There was something about that bike and the fact that I made that decision to buy the bike,” she said. “Mentally it connected. It wasn’t any easier to ride, but mentally I realized a lot of the stuff that goes on in my life is affected by my brain and if I can wrap my head around this maybe I can get a grip on this thing that I’m so scared about.”

After the voice in her soul told her to, Snyder traded the black bike in for a purple one and said everything exploded from there.

“I think (my children) were slightly horrified when I started wearing purple leather,” she said. “I had these Kiss rock star boots, purple python leather pants and purple boas. I was positively menopause gone mad for several years. I’ve kind of toned things down, but during those years they were a bit in shock.”

Niki Anderson, a fellow writer and friend of Snyder’s, said she encouraged Snyder to write the book and loves the finished product.

“It’s real,” Anderson said. “She doesn’t hide her faults or failures and she has so much good, wise advice to give.”

Snyder said putting her innermost thoughts and personal experiences on paper was a little creepy.

“But that’s also part of the change,” she said. “You’re tired of pretending and you know everyone else is likely pretending too, so some of us get a little ornery about pretending. We’ve lived long enough to know that life kinda sucks sometimes, so why candy coat it and pretend that it doesn’t when it kinda does? And it really, really does at mid-life for some women - so let’s talk about it.”

Each of the 20 chapters in her book has a side bar at the end with helpful tips for women on everything from battling depression to planning retirement. Snyder said her upfront approach in the book is to help women be proactive about their lives and encourage them to do something different and not be afraid.

Anderson, who lives in Spokane, said Snyder’s approach to menopause is optimistic and relatable for all women.

“She takes the age-old theme and changes it into the beginning of a new adventure,” she said.

Snyder said her own adventure consisted largely of redefining herself and realizing that there were things she couldn’t control. She realized her children were individuals and would disappoint her. She realized she would disappoint them as well. She let go of the fantasies she had created in her head about being a wife and mother, and searched for dreams instead.

Snyder encourages all women facing the challenges of mid-life to see a counselor and to quiet their lives.

“If you’re so busy you can’t even ask the questions that are unsettling your soul you certainly can’t hear the answers,” she said.

Snyder said she set aside this next year to travel and give speaking engagements on her book. For more information go to: www.ronnasnyder.com

Perfect Game

2008-07-15T13:05:00.000-07:00

As printed in the Coeur d’Alene Press 7/5/08

By AMANDA WINTERS
Staff Writer

“Davenport is perfect,” read the headline in a Georgia paper where Tom Davenport bowled his first perfect 300 game a decade ago. Since then, the Coeur d’Alene man has bowled two more 300’s, and in December set a new city record of 838 for a three game series with the Sundowners mixed league at the Sunset Bowling Center.

“After I threw the last ball in the third game, Dave Barnes comes up, shakes my hand and says ‘I think you just set a new city record.’” Davenport said.

The scores Davenport posted in the three games were 269, 300 and 269. Davenport said he didn’t know if he’d ever bowl an 800 game. He considers himself a late-blooming-bowler since he didn’t bowl very often, or seriously, until he was 23 years old. That’s when he moved to Atlanta, Ga., and met fellow Delta Airline employee, Roy Lefevre.

“Everyone always said, ‘Roy is a good bowler,’” Davenport said. “I always thought I was pretty good even though I’d never really seriously (bowled). So one day I challenged him and said I bet I could beat him. I was wrong.”

That day they went to a pro bowling shop and Davenport bought his first bowling ball. Since that moment, bowling has been one of Davenport’s biggest hobbies and passions, which he shares with his wife, Kristina, and their three children: Mikayla, 12, and 7-year-old twins Cody and Jackson.

“When I first met him I was like, ‘Oh my gosh you’re a bowler,’” Kristina said. “Now that I understand how hard it is to get a score like that it’s pretty impressive.”

In 2006, Davenport was on the team that won Idaho’s state bowling tournament. He considers that win the biggest accomplishment of his bowling career, a long shot from throwing the ball down the lane and hoping for the best as he did growing up.

“It’s tough for a group of five guys to all bowl well at the same time,” he said.

The men on that team are part of group of eight or 10 men Davenport said are not only his team mates but also some of his closest friends. He said the men comprising the Frame and Smetana Engineering team as well as the Durk Wholesale Lumber team are the reason he has continued bowling over the past five years since moving to Coeur d’Alene.

“In all the years I’ve been bowling, I haven’t been with a group of guys like this,” Davenport said. “We’re friends and teammates but above that there’s a place in my heart for all of them. I’ve learned more from bowling in the last four or five years than ever. I owe it to these guys. They have pushed me to the level I’m at.”

Jack Smetana, president of the Idaho State Bowling Association, is the team captain of the Frame and Smetana team. Smetana said that in its hay day bowling was a team sport. But often people see it as an individual sport.

“Tom is a great team player,” Smetana said. “Not a lot of teams feature good chemistry, but we do.”

Smetana said Davenport brings not only an advanced level of skill, but also an earnest desire to learn and understand the game. There are a number of small adjustments that a bowler must make in order to make the shot and Smetana said he has seen Davenport improve that part of his game tremendously over the past several years they’ve bowled together.

While Davenport has three bowling pin trophies for posting a 300, a plaque for the Most Outstanding Accomplishment for his 838 series, three rings from the United States Bowling Congress for 300 games and one from an 800 game, he still easily admits he sometimes bowls some lousy games.

“Last year I did shoot a 120-something and a couple 130-somethings,” he said. “A 500 series is not good - but it happens. That’s what keeps me coming back to the game every week: You don’t always bowl well and it’s a challenge.”

The most challenging league he’s ever participated in was a Wednesday night merchant league last season, September - June, where they changed the oil pattern on the lane every six weeks.

“If you miss too far to the right, that ball might go into the gutter,” he said. “It humbles me because I’m used to averaging 200, but in that Wednesday night league I averaged 193.”

Davenport said he’s not concerned about wear-and-tear on his shoulders, but has in the past had concerns about his fingers. Up until last August, Davenport was an airplane mechanic and would sometimes slip with a wrench while working around pieces of sharp metal - running the risk of breaking a finger.

“It concerned me sometimes when I would slip off,” he said, flexing his fingers and exhaling with relief. “Then you think, ‘Yeah, I can still bowl.’”

Davenport knows his passion for bowling is something not everyone can understand. People who don’t know very much about the game often find it boring, like his wife did before she learned how much goes into the game.

“It’s a sport,” he said. “I don’t care what anybody says.”

Davenport said his future with bowling lies with the leagues he has stuck with for the past five years, and hopes one day they can make it to the top 100 in the national tournament this February, where approximately 16,000 teams compete. Last year the team made it to the top 300.

“I can’t imagine bowling on a team without any of them, I really can’t,” Davenport said.

The headline from his first 300 game remains in his “bowling drawer.” A reminder, he said, of one of the few times in his life he was perfect.

New article

2008-07-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

Feature on a local hair stylist, ran front page.

A Cut Above

First City Council meeting

2008-07-09T09:32:00.001-07:00

Hearing Addresses Hayden Canyon (front page)

I actually had a pretty strong personal opinion on this issue, so balance was extremely important to me. Let me know if you can see my opinion in the piece, I need to avoid that at all costs.

New article

2008-07-05T17:12:00.000-07:00

Justice on Two Wheels

It gets me every time

2008-07-03T20:34:00.000-07:00

I just watched the Lara Logan video clip where she defends journalists in Iraq. It's so inspiring to see someone so passionate, and a small blond woman at that. Often when I tell people I'd like to be an overseas correspondent they look at me like I'm crazy or ask me why. People like that make me doubt myself. But when I see women like Lara Logan doing their job in the face of such opposition and not giving up it inspires me to stick with it.

Here are the links of biggest stories I've written so far (almost two weeks) at the Press, copy and paste them in your browser if you'd like to read them:

Locals Celebrate Ruling (front page!)

Here Comes The Sun (front page!)

Wake-up Call (front page!)

I also wrote a story on a local man who organized an effort to send 350 kites to children in Iraq. Unfortunately it's no longer on the Web site. I received a call from a woman who told me how much she appreciated the story and said she called the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and Seattle Times trying to get them to run it. While I'm sure that's a long shot, it's encouraging to know people enjoy my stories that much.

I have more stories that will be running this weekend, along with several more next week. I'll update my blog with links and tidbits about what I'm up to a few times a week so check back in whenever you'd like!

Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive and helpful to me! I don't think I could have come this far and still wanted to continue with out all of you.

Being a reporter is as much a diagnosis as a job description. - Anna Quindlen

Portfolio

Stories from the cops beat

Resting up before working the cops beat

Still writing...

Playing catch-up

This week's articles

Milestone

New site

Some of today's stories from the cops beat

Some of last week's articles

The only non-AP stories on the front page...

Stories, stories, stories

Stories:

Some of this week's stories

Finally a happy story

Challenges

Interesting story

More bad news, written by me

Two articles from today

Special election coverage

Dog shooting

Two more front-pagers

Two front page articles today!

Property tax woes

Top article in today's issue

First county meeting, first feature

Two articles on two of California's special election initiatives

My first trial story!

Petrified stump stirs up sadness for donor

New story

Front page story

First Record-Searchlight article published today

Most recent BBJ article

Links to articles I have written since my internship

Second Obama article

First story on Obama and DNC

Two front-pagers in one day!

Front pager

Article and column

Two new articles

Another first

Challenging article

New spot-news article

Suicide in Idaho

New front page story

Fun feature

Article on a different subject

Slowing down

My favorite so far

"Hot Flashes from Heaven"

Perfect Game

New article

First City Council meeting

New article

It gets me every time