You no doubt heard this week about a roller coaster in Arkansas
that left people hanging upside down for a half hour during a power outage.
You might want to check a couple of places when it comes to investigating theme park safety.
Here is an interactive map of theme park inspection laws.
This Web site collects and attempts to verify reports of accidents at theme and amusement parks worldwide. The site points out:
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission surveys a sample of U.S. hospitals to collect information about product injuries, including those at amusement parks. However, this survey does not include incidents from seven of the nation's most popular theme parks, including those at Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando. Nor does the survey include injuries that required medical care, but not a trip to an emergency room.
The CPSC has used this survey [PDF] data to create a report on amusement ride injuries and deaths from 1987 to 2004. The CPSC estimated 3,400 accidents at fixed site parks in 2004.
The CPSC also provides an overview [PDF] of what states are -- or are not -- doing to inspect rides.
Wildfire Resources
Wildfire season started early in Wyoming and California. The driest winter in decades has left parts of the country parched and ready to burn. Just look at this constantly updated map that monitors national droughts. I pulled together resources to help you with your special and daily coverage this summer.
National, live fire maps:
Resources for kids:
Other resources:
Military Bases Behind on Closings
Congress' foot dragging is causing delays in military base closings around the country. It might be time for an update since this involves so many thousands of people.
Younger, More Violent Sex Offenders Drive IncreaseThe Associated Press reports:
Courts have seen the number of sex offense cases involving juvenile offenders rise dramatically in recent years, an Associated Press review of national statistics found, and treatment professionals say the offenders are getting younger and the crimes more violent.
Some psychologists blame the increase in numbers -- 40 percent over two decades -- on a society saturated with sex and violence and the fact that many of the accused were themselves victims of adult sexual predators. Others say there aren't more children committing such crimes, simply more awareness, better reporting and a general hysteria about sex offenders.
"I don't think it's appropriate to suggest we have whole schools full of sexual predators ... but we're seeing more of it and more sexually aggressive acts," said Scott Poland, past president of the National Association of School Psychologists. "How do these kids even know about this? It's permeated throughout our society."
The story adds:
Studies show that one in two sex offenders began their sexually abusive behavior as juveniles.
The rise in juvenile sex offenders has spawned hundreds of new treatment facilities for children as young as 5.
A Matter of Fairness
The Chicago Tribune recently ran a public editor piece on whether it is journalistically fair to refer to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as "Hillary" in news coverage. Take a look at this thoughtful piece, which includes this passage:
With the campaign starting a full year early, the singular Hillary has been creeping into the newspaper in articles and headlines, and on the Tribune Web site. Three examples: "With Hillary books, fairness doesn't sell" and "Hillary's once-in-a-lifetime journey" and several months ago this egregious and now very outdated financial comparison with another Democratic front-runner: "Hillary coffers at $14 million; Obama at $500,000."
"The simple fact is that Hillary Rodham Clinton is running in a field of men who are never referred to by their first names," Jane Fritsch, an online Tribune editor wrote to me in an e-mail. "The argument that we call her Hillary to avoid confusion is a weak one. There are easy alternatives. ... Certainly the problem created by the existence of two presidents named George Bush has been a difficult one, but we found ways to solve it without diminishing George W. Bush."
The entry in the Tribune stylebook, the newspaper's guide for consistency and fairness, also is clear: "Except in extremely rare cases, don't use first names or nicknames in place of last names." Examples include not substituting Jesse for Rev. Jesse Jackson or Oprah for Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey has apparently migrated to another sphere, appearing in headlines as simply Oprah 176 times in recent years.
Mother Tucker
I hope you don't mind if I stray from my normal fare this morning to tell you about one of the most extraordinary women I have had the privilege to know. If the doctors are right, she now only has a few weeks to live.
I met Sandy Tucker while shooting a documentary in Guatemala City. She was there helping street children who were begging for coins from passing cars. Sandy spotted one little boy named Oscar, who was born with a leg deformity. The begging child, no more than 5 years old, was scooting along on a skateboard. His mother could not afford a wheelchair.
As I passed a few moments with Sandy that night, she told me that she lived in Liberty, Ky., (not far from Lexington) and that her mission in life was to help children who were at the end of their rope. She was, in effect, their last resort in the world.
In 1989, photojournalist Pat Slattery and I paid her a visit. I won't ruin it for you -- just click on the video below and see what we saw. After the video, I will pick up the story with more about this remarkable person.
NOTE: The video above is 11 minutes and 18 seconds long, so it may take longer than expected to load.
Now, 17 years later, more than 800 desperate children from all over the world have passed through the Galilean Children's Home.
Some will call it their home for their entire lives. Others who have gotten surgery have gone on to lead productive lives. This is one of those kids. I met Jean when he was just a boy. He spent the first 10 years of his life hopping because his other leg was useless. Sandy took him in, got him medical care and even arranged to have a prosthetic leg made for him.
Country music legend Charlie Daniels saw the story that Pat and I produced and has been a loyal and generous Galilean Home supporter for more than 17 years. The Galilean Home children call him "Uncle Charlie."
In 1992, President Bush honored the Tuckers as one of his national Points of Light.
Long after I did TV stories on Sandy and her husband, Jerry Tucker, I agreed to lend my name to their board of directors. It is the only time I have gotten so personally involved in a charity like that.
Besides taking in children who need long-term care, the Tuckers started Born Free Ministry. They are foster parents for babies whose mothers are in prison at the federal facility in Lexington.
As I write this note, Sandy is in St. Joseph Hospital, dying. It has been a long battle with cancer and there are no treatments left. The doctors guess she may have less than a month left.
Her ministry, the Galilean Home, will live on. Jerry and the Tucker children have run the day-to-day operations during Sandy's illness and are determined to keep the mission going.
What journalism lessons are there in all of this?
- Never pass up an interesting character, even on a dark night in a faraway place.
- There are always people among us who have a capacity for loving and giving, and will inspire others to rise. Journalists should investigate wrongdoing -- and we should investigate "rightdoing" too.
- When a character in a news story is inspired by faith, don't run away from that. Include it in the story. Too many journalists worry about including people of faith, any faith, in their stories.
- Don't be afraid to take on big tasks. Don't wait; don't worry so much. Get to it. Find out what you are good at and use it on as wide a stage as you can.
- Give more than you take from this life.
Sandy is not a doctor, although she acted as a midwife and delivered a lot of babies in rural Kentucky. She holds no college degree. She and Jerry live in a tiny room just off the noisy nursery at the Galilean Home. She wears a Mennonite's scarf and lived a simple, imperfect life. She hated being compared to Mother Teresa. Besides being a great cook, she has one skill really. She loves children more than any person I have ever met. She found a way to make the world better with just that.
E-mail Sandy at St. Joseph Hospital.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's
Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story
excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as
original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly
from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided
whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends on the
accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and
inaccuracies found will be corrected.
