Downtown Okemos Celebration

This assignment was fun because I created this story before I sat down with Peter Menser and LuAnn Maisner in the HOMTV studio to do the official interview for the show, InnerView.  So, by the time I sat down with them I had already filmed the sculptures and had a good idea of what we were talking about.

I started with an interview with Peter Menser because he was involved in the whole process of installing the sculptures and told me about how they help create an identity for the downtown area and are a positive thing for the community.  Afterwards, I went downtown and filmed the sculptures and interviewed some people on the street about how they feel about the sculptures.

After I created the story, it aired as the introduction to the show, InnerView.  I really enjoyed hosting the show and talking to the Director of Parks and Recreation, LuAnn Maisner as well as the Assistant Planner for Meridian Township, Peter Menser.  We had so much fun filming and could not stop laughing before we started!  

The show was about how Downtown Okemos is having a celebration to kick off the summer and also unveil the new sculptures.  Maisner is one of the planners of this year’s event and it is going to be better then ever!  She explained all of the activities to look forward to as well as summer actitivies coming this way.

It was a great show, and I’m glad I was able to do this story beforehand so I was already familiar with the sculptures and ready to learn more!  The Celebrate Downtown Okemos event is Thursday, June 7th from 6:00-9:00 p.m. and next time your driving through downtown, keep an eye out for the new art!

Haslett Softball

I drove out to Laingburg High School last week to cover a late season softball showdown! The game was between the Laingsburg Wolfpack and the Haslett Vikings on a gorgeous 72 degree, sunny evening! The game began with Haslett taking a three to nothing lead, in which they looked in complete control of, but man would things quickly changed. Laingsburg ended up rallying in the seventh inning to tie the game, pushing it to extra innings. A big hit in the ninth ended up brining home a runner from first to win the game for the Wolfpack.

At the end of the game I wanted to talk with Haslett head coach Bill Crafts to get his take on what exactly happened in those late innings. Overall, he seemed very proud of his team despite the late struggle. I then tried to talked to their pitcher, Erin, the player that gave up the runs to put Laingsburg in a position to prevail. It was difficult to interview her due to the fact she was clearly in tears and emotional. In was tough at times to even hear what she said as she tried to answer my questions. Just goes to show how important closing out a game is when it comes to baseball/softball.

I enjoyed covering this game due to the fact of how exciting it was! I mean, an extra inning, comeback victory!? It doesn’t get better than that! The biggest challenge for me came when it came to editing the game due to the fact that their was not a roster sheet at the game! I HATED THAT! It made it impossible to identify players! Overall, I thought the piece was exciting.

The prodigal daughter returns and has a story about bullying.

Dear Readers,

I’m baaacckkk! It has been almost a half a year since I had the pleasure of writing about my adventures at HOMTV for your enjoyment and local news purposes. I hope my absence was not too missed, and in fact I am sure it wasn’t as there are several other wonderful and talented interns to keep you up to date on what’s going on in the big MT. I, however, took a step into the real world these past 6 months and loved it—-that is until the real world sort of slapped me in the face, and now I am back HOMTV. To put it in less cryptic terms: I got a job as a post producer for a television show, a job I thoroughly enjoyed, but then it ended up not working out so I quit and decided to go back to HOMTV, my loving family, so that I could further build and expand my resume. I do now also work for Channel 10 (WILX) as a News Photog, a job I am extremely excited about.

In other news, instead of working in promotions this time around I decided I wanted to expand my repertoire and venture into news. This week my story was on the book entitled “The New Bullying” by MSU Journalism Professor Joe Grimm’s Advanced undergraduate class. Now, I must say I am very impressed with these students. They researched, wrote, edited and published a book in one semester. Plus, the topic of their book is a very hot topic in the world today and they are really hoping their work will help to fill the information gap and educate people about bullying and what has changed about it in recent years. You will be able to watch the full story on my youtube page which will be linked to the picture once I upload the video. I would also like to give a shout out to Allen Martin, a fellow HOMTV intern who was actually a member of the class that published the book (aka if you want more info than what was given in my story ask him, he’s the expert).

All in all, I would like to say it feels good to be back, and I hope you enjoy my news stories as much as you did my promos.

Until next time (since it seems as though there will always be one),

Michelle Oliver

Walk the Walk

For my latest story I was assigned to cover Walk the Walk over at Glencairn Elementary.  The real thing that grabbed my attention for this story was that students were also raising for the Capital Area Humane Society.  I was really worried about this story also because it was happening litterally right before I went to one of my other jobs.  Luckily I was able to come to work a little bit later so that I could cover the event. 

So after a busy day of running around I was able to pick up my equipment at head out to East Lansing.  It was really wonderful seeing kids not only raising money for their school but for the Humane Society as well, teaching them a valuable lesson in community service.  Even with a few bumps and scrapes, the kids marched on, cheered by parents and rewarded with healthy treats.

Another reason why I think the kids were in for it was for the prizes from the raffle that followed the walk.  The kids got a ticket for every lap that they walked and were put in a drawing for a verity of incredible prizes. 

I was really happy with my filming my soundbites, and my nats, and feel that this is a great beginning to a new semester.

Indian Lakes Subdivision

I learned about this story at the Township Board meeting on May 15th.  There was a huge turnout of residents from the Indian Lakes Subdivision.  They were expressing great concern about the increase of water they are having in their neighborhood.  Residents are experiencing the water in a variety of ways from an increase in their flood insurance on their property or having to take care of trees falling.  Some trees are also falling on their homes.  Residents are crying out and the township responded. 

Ingham County Drain Commissioner, Pat Lindemann has visited the site and is taking action.  He has studied the neighborhood and found that the problem is a log jam in the Red Cedar River.  I was glad to tell the story and help the residents voices be heard.

Controlled Burn

When I received the assignment for the controlled burn story, the exact time and place of the burns was yet to be determined. Come Monday, I suddenly find it that “it’s happening right now.”

So I rushed out to the David Foster Land Preserve and arrived just as the fires were hitting their peak. I managed to grab some great footage of the flames and the giant pillars and tornadoes of smoke. Jane Greenway, the Parks & Land Management Coordinator, was very helpful and friendly. She introduced me to the man, and company, David Borneman. His company, Restoring Nature with Fire was conducting the burn. 

He was the nicest guy! Very helpful and informative. He explained the process of the prescribed burn and the purpose of them. He was also careful to explain the safety precautions taken.

To hear what David Borneman had to say, as well as see footage of and learn about the prescribed burns occuring within the next several weeks, watch Meridian Magazine on Monday, May 21. Or you can see it on demand at homtv.net.

Spring Recycling Event

This past weekend, thousands of unwanted electronics, pharmaceuticals, books, and much more were recycled at the municipal building in Meridian Township.

This past weekend’s Meridian Recycling Event stretched from the north Meridian Mall to the municipal complex itself, sometimes causing traffic congestion as a result of the hundreds of partiipants.

Mountains of books were organized and resold to the public in the pavilion where the farmers’ merket takes place, and countless electronic devices – from TVs to cell phones to weird cables were piled high to be broken down and renewed.

The event’s volunteer coordinator, Ellen Dillman, was kind enough to speak with us during all the action.

“It’s been a terrific turnout; there’s been 140 people who have volunteered to do this,” said Ellen Dillman, the event’s volunteer coordinator.

Other items collected on April 28th included sinks, washers, bikes, styrofoam, and shoes.

It was truly a
success for the environment, as the negative effects of improperly disposed medicine and metal were avoided.

The Meridian Recycling Event isn’t the only annual event to recycle at. Look for upcoming hazardous waste and latex paint collection details at meridian.mi.us.