Articles that I wrote for the Missourian before this summer

I am going to copy and paste the articles from the Missourian web-site, but create a hyper link between the titles of the articles and the article on the Columbia Missourian website. I heavily encourage you to visit the link for additional media (like photos!) Maybe I will update the blog with some of the photos that I took for the Missourian when I was a staff photo-journalist. That would be lovely, I think.

15-year-old assaulted by masked suspect
Saturday, December 27, 2008 | 6:00 p.m. CST
BY GIANNA VOLPE
COLUMBIA — Police responded Friday night to an assault reported in the 3100 block of Alpine Drive.

According to a Columbia Police Department news release, the victim, a 15-year-old male, said an unknown male wearing dark clothing and a dark ski mask entered his apartment before assaulting him.

The teen couldn't provide further information about the suspect’s description. He told police he was able to chase the suspect out of his residence, according to the news release.

Police think the suspect was able to enter the residence through an unlocked front door. Police found no signs of forced entry, and are asking those who might have any additional information concerning the incident to submit tips to the CrimeStoppers Web site, 875tips.com.

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Flooding forces Humane Society to relocate eight dogs
Sunday, December 28, 2008 | 5:31 p.m. CST; updated 5:41 p.m. CST, Sunday, December 28, 2008

BY GIANNA VOLPE
COLUMBIA — Flooding forced the Central Missouri Humane Society to relocate eight dogs out of the stray dog wing Saturday.

Rainwater, aggravated by malfunctioning drains, began to flood the area at around 10 a.m. The wing consists of cages with small doors that lead to adjoining outdoor structures. Moving the dogs became necessary after flooding of the uncovered outdoor areas spread to the inside of the building.

Heather Duren Stubbs, the shelter’s relations coordinator, said staff began working at 10:30 a.m. to keep drains functioning and move water outside. The affected pups were later relocated to crates inside of the "puppy and kitty room," she said.

Duren Stubbs said the amount of water that flooded the building seemed unusual.

“Occasionally we’ll get a little bit, but in the three years I’ve worked here I’ve never seen it like this,” she said. Despite the increased amount of water in the building, Duren Stubbs said the situation had not escalated to the point of needing outside assistance.

However, the Columbia Fire Department visited the shelter in response to a call about the flooding — a visit that came as a surprise to the shelter. The call is believed to have been made by a concerned adopter who noticed the flooding during a visit to the shelter Saturday.

The outside kennels were under about a foot of water when firefighters arrived, according to a department news release. Firefighters set up a pump to drain the water into a ravine behind the shelter where it would run off into a nearby creek..

Duren Stubbs said she wasn't sure when the displaced dogs would be returned to their wing.