Memories, echoes and refractions.....


37.

Unpublished letter written January 28, 1998, by Lurene Helzer to Cornelia Ilie, Swedish professor, regarding my travels, and my political writings. I discuss a trip to Nevada and my adventures in ghost towns with friends, P.J. Adams and her friend Skip. We all had cameras in hand with 400 speed black & white film. This quote I wrote below describes part of our adventure:

“…Now, these towns are abandoned and completely empty. Half-crumbled banks and saloons, homes, roads. I took photos in a few of the old cabins. I found one that some modern visitors had occupied. They left an old, brittle newspaper in there, lying amid debris. It had a picture of Bill Clinton with a headline that said: PROPHET. Of course, this was marvelous, because at the moment I took the picture of that abandoned cabin with that paper on the floor, Clinton was struggling with his political survival. It was January 25, 1998, the day I was there….”.

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Note from Lurene: Those who have questions about these old stories I wrote for Bay Area newspapers, feel free to call Lurene (me) at (360) 656-6838 or email me at lurenexyz@gmail.com

Regards,

Lurene Gisee
Bellingham, WA
September 20, 2019



The Challenger Explosion

Remember 1986:




Published news story, May 2, 1985, Chabot College Spectator, Hayward, California. “Instructor May Ride The Shuttle,” by Lurene Helzer. A pretty brief story of only six paragraphs. Runs on page one of this small student newspaper alongside photo of instructor William Dillon authored by photographer Matt Santos.

The story would, at the next meeting of the Journalism Association of Community Colleges, be named the second-place news story for that academic period. Notable really for two reasons: First, that I won such a prize at all, given the number of students in California’s community colleges in 1985. This is the less-important reason compared to the other.

The other reason is this: national tragedy. Chabot Aeronautics Instructor Dillon, who the story is about, might have been on the space shuttle Challenger during its January 28, 1986 launch. Had he done so, he would have perished along with the space vehicle’s other occupants that day.

The shuttle disintegrated shortly after launch. There was a school teacher on board, Christa McAuliffe, chosen as finalist for the so-called Teacher in Space Project, but she died with all other occupants of the space vehicle. School children everywhere who were following the lift-off were shocked. Dillon was a finalist as McAuliffe had been.

After the disaster, the news traveled rapidly. It at least made people aware of danger of space exploration. It has always been a risky and demanding job.

Below, President Ronald Reagan's January 28, 1986 words to the nation after the

explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger:

https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/archives/speeches/1986/12886b.htm



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276. BEARS IN CALIFORNIA WERE INCREASINGLY DESPERATE IN JUNE, 2001

276.

Published news story by Lurene Helzer for Bay City News, June 16, 2001, “BEARS IN CALIFORNIA INCREASINGLY DESPERATE, HUNGRY.” Story based on information that was put out that morning by California’s Department of Fish and Game. (Photos of bears from Wikipedia, Creative Commons, U.S. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. First photo of cub in Lake Tahoe, CA. Second bear shown in California eating fish. Photo of Palm Springs region by Lurene, 2005.)

It regards murderous attacks on bee homes by starving bears.

Some of the attacks were highly unusual; rangers expect bear food sprees in Tahoe and Santa Cruz, but now they were getting reports from Palm Springs, which is a high-temperature desert area more feared – when feared -- for its population of terrifying, venomous snakes.

This 2001 story still interests me, because average temps in Palm Springs in June are a dry 102 degrees Fahrenheit:

Northern California beekeepers are increasingly struggling with black bear raids on hives, and say that electric fences, netting, alarms and hive-moving have been practically useless measures while confronting either hungry, or even skinny and starving bears

The California Department of Fish and Game released a Black Bear Management Plan in 1998 that estimated California’s bear population at between 17,000 and 23,000, which is about double the population of bears in the early 1980s. Meanwhile, decreased levels of rainfall and controlled fires for wildfire prevention have reduced the amount of food in bear territory, officials say.

According to an article in June’s AG Alert, an industry newspaper for the state’s agriculturalists, beekeepers are observing that the bears attacking hives and other livestock are not fat animals, but starving, Young bears who are increasingly crossing city/rural lines in search of food.

Fish and Game officials report bear trespasses in several spots throughout the state in the past few years, including the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Tahoe basin, areas around Lake Shasta, and even Palm Springs, an area previously assumed to be too high in temperature for bears.
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277. TWO DEAD AFTER UNION CITY DRAG RACE IN JUNE, 2001. 278. JUNE 19, 2001: RICHMOND BOY IN CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER DOG ATTACK

277.

Published news story update by Lurene Helzer for Bay City News, June 21, 2001, “Two Dead after Union City Drag Race.”

This story stands out for me today because it reminds of routine suburban life in San Francisco’s East Bay. It’s not unusual to see young men competing with one another with their cars in the middle of the night, killing themselves and others in the process.

They often do this on main streets – Union City’s portion of Mission Boulevard in this case – and reach speeds of around 100 miles per hour.
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278.

Published news story by Lurene Helzer for Bay City News, June 19, 2001, “Richmond Boy in Critical Condition after Dog Attack.” (Photo of pit bull from Wikipedia, Creative Commons photo.)

The 11-year boy was out riding his bike in the high-violent crime city of Richmond when he was attacked by some number of pit bulls; possibly three, but at least one dog. People often say that pit bulls are friendly, but it’s hard for me to take this characterization seriously since I had to write several stories like this one as a reporter.

I could not help developing this feeling about the attack dogs because a follow-up brief I did a few weeks later [BCN5, July 6] reported that the boy remained in the hospital on a ventilator. The canines had ripped off the eleven-year old boy’s ears and inflicted dozens of puncture wounds to his upper body.

Today, in December of 2008, I wonder who paid the medical bills. Are owners of such dogs financially responsible? Original news brief follows:

-BOY ATTACKED--

Richmond Police spokesman Sgt. Enos Johnson said an 11-year-old boy who was riding his bicycle on the 300 block of Lucas Avenue early Monday evening was mauled by one or more pit bulls and is now in critical condition.

Johnson said two people are in custody, who may be owners of the dog or dogs involved. Only one dog is in custody so far, he said.

Police cannot yet confirm the number of dogs involved in the attack, but investigators have “reason to believe” another dog was involved, possibly three altogether, Johnson said.

The boy was riding his bike around 7:30 p.m. near Peres Elementary School, which is at 719 5th St. in Richmond near the site of the attack, he said.

Johnson said the unidentified boy is at Oakland’s Children’s Hospital in critical condition.
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279. VARIOUS ITEMS FOR BAY CITY NEWS, JUNE 2001

279.

Published news stories by Lurene Helzer for Bay City News, 2001, all brief. I list here the headlines of 11 items with the date we released: Fremont Bank Inside Grocery Store Robbed Friday, 6/23/01; Hiker Rescued after Fall into Arroyo Seco Gorge, 6/23/01; Big San Jose Winners Expected to Meet Media Today, 06/29/01; CORRECTION: Lottery Check Today for About $43 Million, 06/29/01; Drug Device Blown Up Early Tuesday in Mission Bay, 07/03/01; Fire at Dry Cleaning Shop in Hayward Sends Five to Hospitals, 07/03/01; Trading Halts in New York after Computer Glitch, 06/08/01; Crews Trying to Retrieve Body after Jump from Golden Gate [suicide], 06/14/01; UPDATE: Forest Fire 32 Percent Contained [near Lake Tahoe], 06/20/01; CORRECTION: Red-Legged Frog [Calaveras County, CA], 06/13/01; U.S. Postal Service Met Delivery Standards Last Quarter, 07/14/01.