I Love Lamp

Gavin Levely-Loose, 12, from Midland, sits at the snack bar at The ROCK youth center Friday night during the center's Halloween Bash for 6th-12th graders. Levely-Loose said he and his dad always come up with weird costumes and he wanted to be a lamp this year after looking through costume magazines for ideas. An electrician, his dad, Jason Kennedey, helped build the costume which has a light that is rigged to a battery that fits into a carrying bag. A student at Bullock Creek Middle School, Levely-Loose won their Halloween costume contest yesterday, a contest that had 160 entrants, he said. The youth center held the party beginning Friday afternoon until 10:30 p.m. Friday night.

Fall Above Midland: Outtake

Just a little outtake while the pilot and I were headed back to the airport after photographing an aerial for an illustration I am working on for Sunday's A1. I think I've done 2 illustrations in my life thus far and I hope it turns out.

H1N1

People waited in a line that wrapped around the Homer Township Public Safety Facility Tuesday afternoon so their children could receive vaccination at the H1N1 flu clinic set up by Midland County. People began arriving well before the 2 p.m., the start time for the free clinic that was scheduled to remain open until 6 p.m., or until they ran out of the roughly 1000 doses of the vaccine. The clinic's primary target were children between the ages of 6 months to 18 years who have chronic health conditions.

Friday night fooooooooootbaaaaaaaaaaaall

Last game of the regular season turned out to be the biggest rivalry around, Midland and H.H. Dow High School. With a large turnout from the community and some very enthusiastic students on either side, this particular matchup is always fun to shoot. Add a little rain and it's awesome. I got there early and hung out in the halls where both marching bands and cheerleaders were hanging out to stay out of the rain as long as possible before the game.

District Semifinal Soccer

H.H. Dow vs. Midland. Rivals.

Domestic Abuse

I've really been digging these Sunday stories we (at the newspaper) have been doing. The first one ran last Sunday about the Parson family trying to figure out a family budget. This Sunday will be a story of Donna Meister-Smith, a woman who was left paralyzed in 1987 after an ex-boyfriend assaulted her at a bar and followed her home to, as she put it, finish her off. Her five year-old daughter at the time found her lying in the yard unable to move, she said.

I'll post more photos once the story runs.

Donna Meister-Smith is helped to her wheelchair by her husband, Dennis Smith, after she took a ride on her four-wheeler with granddaughter Meya Luft, 4. Despite an assault in 1987 by an ex-boyfriend that left her paralyzed, she remains active and says she tries to keep a positive attitude. "If it wasn't for him I wouldn't be like this," she said of her husband's constant support. Donna, who still rides a motorcycle, hunts and has hand controls installed on all the cars so she can drive, says the worst part of being paralyzed from the waist down is having to be lifted into their truck and helped into her wheelchair from time to time. "The only disability people can have is having a bad attitude," she said. "I'm in good health even though I can't walk." Donna and Dennis have been married for 17 years. "Life doesn't end in a wheelchair. It's all with what you want to do with life."

Game 1 of division tournament

Pointless Perty Colors

Family budget

Bill and Penny Parsons sit at their kitchen table after Penny arrived home from work at the Arnold Center in Midland to discuss the progress of their van that Bill has been working on. About two months ago, the van had engine problems and stopped working. Through the West Midland Family Center, the Parsons acquired a replacement engine and Bill has been working to install it since. The Parsons currently have three children living at home and a daughter who recently moved out following her marriage. On a single income, the Parsons have turned to West Midland Family Center for help creating a family budget. "Every month we make a choice," Bill said. This month they are choosing to pay the electrical bill instead of the mortgage. Bill once worked at the Arnold Center along with his wife but left to get back into truck driving, a career change that ended when he decided to go back on anti-depressants, he said.

H.H. Dow Homecoming

Just a few favorites from shooting a local high school's homecoming parade and football game.

From Tully to Thompson

My sister got married and I was mainly there to party and have fun with friends and family, but I managed to snap a few frames here and there while fully enjoying the festivities.

Pro-Life advocate

Bob Dodick holds a rosary while he paces a grassy area outside the Saginaw based WomansChoice clinic. He and others speaking out against abortion during the 40 Days for Life campaign meet outside the clinic several times a week and for hours on the weekend. He says they are praying for the babies and the mothers who go to the clinic because he sees them both as victims.

Midland Night's Dream: New Posts

Please check out my other blog, Midland Night's Dream blog for new content.

Shelter From the Storm

Alyssa Keptner, 7, from Midland, runs for shelter as the rain picked up Sunday afternoon while visiting The Lavender Fleece Farm and Studio with her brothers David, 10, Steven, 12, and their friend Brandon Devericks, 13, along with her parents Paul and Doreen Keptner. As part of the fourth annual 'Be A Tourist in Your Town,' a program put on by the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce, the farm hosted an open house to guests both Saturday and Sunday. "If it's got animals our kids want to be there," Paul Keptner said.

RivalryFest MSU v Michigan

Andrew Hage reacts to a play while watching the Michigan versus Michigan State game at Dow Diamond Saturday afternoon with family. Joined by brother Taylor Hage, left, wife Brittney Hage, right, and father Al Hage, not pictured, the four have watched three Michigan games this year together." Get around more people interested in football,"Al said why they decided to watch the rival game at Dow Diamond's RivalryFest. "I come for the cheese fries," Brittney joked. For the second consecutive year, Dow Diamond has hosted the RivalryFest, showing the game on televisions, projection screens, and the jumbo screen throughout the stadium. This was Taylor's second year attending.

Cross Country

H.H. Dow High School's Ben Zank finished fifth place with a time of 16:49.00 during the 5k Men's Midland/Carter Invitational held Saturday morning at Stratford Woods Park. Both Dow's men and women teams finished third overall in the event.