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Washington County, Tennessee, parents are anxiously awaiting word of what schools their kids will attend next school year. The county recently approved its first complete redistricting in more than 30 years. It’s making way for two new elementary schools, which will wrap up construction this summer. Although redistricting could be tough on many parents and students, the district says it tried to make as little of an impact as possible. Still, about 1,600 students will changes schools in Fall 2008. Many students will head to the new schools, others will transfer among the current schools.

Washington County is trying to make the transition easier. Parents should mark their calenders for two public meetings about the redistricting within the next month. They will be held January 29th at David Crockett High School and February 12th at Daniel Boone. Both will begin a 7 pm. The district also says it will make things easier by being flexible when it comes to parents’ preferences. Director of Schools Grant Rowland says as long as the schools are not overcrowded, the district will address requests for changes on a case-by-case basis.

This story made me wonder what it would be like to be a parent curious if my kids would be uprooted. It can’t be an easy situation. Still, it sounds like Washington County is going to work with parents to make the transition as smooth as possible. For many, even the decision of open enrollment is a tough one. One parent we spoke with has two kids that attend Gray Elementary School (one in Kindergarten, one in Second Grade). Her kids love their current school and so does that parent, still she doesn’t hide her excitement about the possibility of sending her kids to a brand new school. If she had her choice, what would it be? I’m not sure she knows. If you could send your kids to a new school or keep them at their current one, which would you choose?

Posted by Nate Morabito

Marla Brumit will now spend 12 years in prison for the death of her son, but her family is ready to welcome her back with open arms. Friday, Brumit pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide, aggravated child neglect, and aggravated assault. Johnson City police say she ran off Okolona Road back on April 12, 2006. Brumit’s 10 year-old daughter was in the cab of the truck and her 13 year-old son Davd was in the back of the truck. He was ejected by the impact and died. At the time, police said Brumit had a blood alcohol level of .19, more than twice the legal limit. We couldn’t include this fact in our story Tuesday night, but according to Brumit’s family, after the woman’s son and daughter started arguing on that April day, she stopped her truck and made her son go sit in the bed of the truck.  Shortly after, she wrecked and her son died. Yet, still her family forgives her.

Rarely do I interview the family of a victim who has died and they tell me they’ve forgiven the person responsible. With this family, I believe even if it wasn’t one of their own arrested, they still would have forgiven the suspect. It’s a testament to the family’s faith. David Brumit’s great uncle Micheal Carter admits at first Brumit’s father was bitter and angry over the situation. However, 20 months later, he has forgiven his ex-wife. Carter says if Brumit’s father can forgive, then why can’t the rest of the family? If anything, this family’s story shows the power of love and faith. This wreck and consequently David Brumit’s death, could have easily torn this family apart. Instead, it has now brought them closer together.

Posted by Nate Morabito

I just finished writing a heartbreaking story.  On Monday morning, 22 year-old Dustin Estepp of Duffield, Virginia, stopped to help an accident victim along Interstate 81 in Smyth County.  As he was trying to help, a passing truck forced him to jump over what he thought was a guardrail.  It was not a guardrail.  Instead it was a 50 foot bridge.  Although the accident victim escaped with just minor injuries, Estepp died.

His death forced Photojournalist Shawn Davis and I to approach this story differently tonight.  Often times, we don’t second guess standing on the shoulder of a busy highway to shoot video.  Tonight, we didn’t take any chances.  There’s always the thought that something bad could happen, but Estepp’s death is a reminder that you never can expect anything.

I wonder if his story forces others to change their ways too.

Posted by Nate Morabito

News Channel 11’s news manager muses about viewer phone calls

From the News Director’s desk:

It’s been a long day, one in which the small voice of a woman I’ve spoken with several times has interrupted projects and thought processes.  I want to know that she’s ok, to know she didn’t do what she threatened to, and to know she’ll one day realize I’m not the horrible person she’s convinced I am.

She is connected to a story we aired some time ago – details of who did what and when aren’t important to the overall point of this rambling.  What matters is that she believes our story ruined her life.  And she wants me to know it.

This woman calls every few months, asking if I remember her and wanting to talk about the story again.  For the record, she’s upset we reported on the criminal actions of one of her relatives and the effect the arrest and prosecution ultimately had on her.

She asked last time if I could sleep at night and challenged me to answer whether I go to church on Sunday.  She’s convinced where I’ll spend eternity and knows I must be an evil soul.  I can tell she’s hurting and still reeling from the events in her life over the past year or so.  I’m not given the opportunity to answer her questions – to attempt to do so only makes her more angry. 

It’s tough to be the person on the other line when someone’s convinced we’re the big bad media… even tougher to hear her wonder out loud if it’s worth even trying anymore.  Trouble is, we do think about how stories we cover affect people.  We talk out loud about whether our reports are fair and minimize harm.  I hate that she’s suffering the impact of someone else’s arrest.  And I wish I could convince her that we didn’t create the criminal activity that led to the arrest, which to me seems like the real root of the issue.

That said, I know she wants to be heard and to blame someone other than the relative she loves.  I know it brings her some peace to convince herself we only reported the facts to ruin lives. I listen to keep her talking, hoping to turn the conversation to more positive things.  I allow her to call me names because it just might be the only way she can get through this.

By the end of the 30 minute conversation, she’s calmed down again and promises she’ll go on despite what we’ve done.  Before she hangs up she asks me to think about her sometimes, and promises I’ll hear from her again.

Tomorrow I’ll probably wonder if she’s ok again.  I’ll tell her in my head what I couldn’t tell her on the phone – that I try to do this job with integrity and compassion every day.  Her phone calls only remind me how important that mission is day in and day out.
Tomorrow, I’ll think about her again.

( Christine Riser is the News Director at News Channel 11, the manager responsible for oversight of news, weather and sports. )

Posted by Nik Brown

For my first blog, I thought I’d share the life of a nightside reporter after turning back the clocks.  Monday through Friday I work on stories for News Channel 11 Nightside.  So, it only makes sense that often times it is dark when I am gathering video and interviews.  However, for some stories, darkness makes the job difficult.

Here we are two days after Daylight Savings Time ended and photojournalist Shawn Davis and I are working on a story about a road project that is almost complete.  By Friday, Johnson City expects to re-open Knob Creek Road, more than a year after closing it for construction.  To put together a good story on this subject, we must show the viewers how the road looks now and talk with people about the improvements.

With us starting to film around 3:30 pm today, we only had two hours of daylight to shoot the story.  Today we raced the sun and won.  Consider us lucky.  If the sun had won, finding people to talk to would have been difficult, since most people are inside when it’s dark out.  Plus, at night, there’s not much to see.

So, as the sun sets and the moon rises over the next few months, keep an eye on our video during News Channel 11 Nightside.  Was it shot during the day or at night?  What you see should give you a good idea of just how efficient we were that night.

So far so good, Us 1, Mother Nature 0.

Posted by Nate Morabito