Saturday, September 23

Saturdays in the Fall are reserved for College Football...Sundays are for the NFL. But this weekend, I have virtually no football to watch. My Golden Eagles play Tuesday night and this is the bye week for the Chiefs. Tuesday night will be the first chance I've had to watch Southern Miss play this year. I will get to go to a couple of games, I'll be taking two Saturdays off next month.

I haven't watched a whole lot of football today, but one of the games I did see a little bit of was the Colorado/Georgia game. Colorado led the Bulldogs 13-0 going into the 4th quarter. But thanks to two late touchdowns, Georgia came out on top. That would have been quite the upset for the Buffs. UGA is ranked ninth and undefeated. Colorado came in oh-for-three (one of those losses was to Division 1-AA Montana State).

Now, for a little news:

One story that we're continuing to follow occurred early this morning at the Shell Gas Station on Highway 19 North. Around 2:30 am, Meridian Police found the clerk dead in the store. She had been shot once in the chest. The investigation is still in its early stages, so there is no photograph of the suspect available yet. Keep watching WTOK for the latest in this case.

Some other news I covered this morning...

A benefit Poker Run was held in honor of Jackie Abercrombie today. The Meridian Police Officer lost his battle with cancer a little over a month ago. After a few early morning showers, the weather cooperated with the bikers and they were able to get going around ten.

Lauderdale County Volunteer Firefighters were out at the Training Facility finishing up some training on the Jaws of Life. For many of the people out there it was the first time that they had used the equipment.

The Choctaw Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America are having a camporee at Bonita Lakes this weekend. It is something they do twice a year. Officials say it is a time for fun as well as learning. The theme for the camporee was "Pirates of the Bonita Lakes." Lots of water activities were available for the boys including kayaking, canoeing, and water balloon dodgeball.

There is a team roping event going on at the Lauderdale County Agri-Center. This is probably the largest event to ever be held there. More than 2,200 teams are competing for $85,000 and a brand new truck.

Check out Newscenter 11 at Six and Ten for these stories and more...

And on a personal note, just wanted to wish my sister a Happy Birthday!

Football Friday

Another Football Friday has come and gone...

My travels took me to Clarke County this evening. I started out in Quitman, where the Panthers were taking on West Jones. Penalties were the name of the game...at least at the beginning. Before the first offensive play there were 4 penalty flags thrown. Quitman kicked off three seperate times to begin the game. It started out pretty slow, by the time I left with only a couple of minutes left in the first quarter there was no score. Both teams did eventually score, Quitman put up 8...but West Jones won it by scoring 26.

My next stop was at Enterprise. Coach Joel Speed has his Bulldogs off to a great start. Going into the Scott Central game tonight, my alma mater was 4 and 0. I got there with only a couple of minutes to go in the first half. The Rebels got deep into Enterprise territory, but the Dogs were able to stop them before as the clock ran out. Enterprise had the 14 to 6 halftime lead. Scott Central came out in the second half a different team, they were able to move the ball on Enterprise during the third quarter eventually scoring. Their two-point conversion attempt failed leaving the Bulldog lead at two. On the ensuing kickoff, Marquez Goodloe returned the kick for an apparant touchdown, but a penalty brought it back to midfield. The Rebels would not score again and Enterprise won. Looking ahead at their schedule, I think Enterprise could make a run at an undefeated season. And that's a good sign not only for this year, but for the future. Enterprise is a fairly young team...they will only lose two seniors this year.

Remembering September 11, 2001

I think it goes without saying that September 11, 2001 is a day that none of us will ever forget. And with that in mind, the terrorist attacks on September 11 are obviously the subject of tonight's post.

In 2001, I was a Junior in my first year at The University of Southern Mississippi. On the morning of September 11, I was not in my Hattiesburg apartment. Instead, I was in Meridian because that morning I had a dentist appointment. I got in my truck around nine o'clock that morning to head to the dentist's office. After a commercial break, I heard on the radio that a second plane had hit the other tower of the World Trade Center. I continued to listen to the radio coverage and didn't want to turn it off when I got to my destination.

While the dentist was doing what dentists do, someone came in and told us that another plane had hit the Pentagon. By this point, I, much like everyone else, was wondering what was going on.

The first time that I was able to get to a television, I turned on one of the news channels just in time to see the first tower collapse. With the exception of having to go to one class, I spend the rest of the day watching the news coverage or listening on the radio while I was driving.

I think it's amazing that so many of us can remember exactly what we were doing on that day, when we can't even remember what we ate for breakfast last Thursday.

How do you remember September 11, 2001? I encourage you to leave comments on this blog with your thoughts and memories of that day.