July 20th, 2009
By: Steve May
A freak thunderstorm struck Pinebox last Monday, leaving many trees and limbs down, and several small tornadoes damaged several businesses in downtown Pinebox.
“The storm came out of no where. It must have formed due to the extremely high summer temperatures the past month. No one saw this coming,” said Robert James, KPTX meteorologist.
“It is not unheard of, but with the high pressure cell over Texas, it was unexpected and did not fit any of the computer projections.” The greatest surprise were the formation of “small tornadic cells,” that struck downtown Pinebox and caused extensive damage to roofs and windows in the area.
“I think we are safe from any further development, at least for a while.”
Tags: Robert James, storm, tornado
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July 13th, 2009
By: Steve May
In a bizarre case, the Golan County Sheriff’s Department is reporting that more than ten animal skins have been found in the forest just north of the ETU campus. The skins are from various animals including a dog, raven, coyote, armadillo, and a white tailed deer.
Sheriff Butch Anderson stated that, “Some of them are difficult to identify and been sent over to the lab in Houston. The skins seem to have been ritually removed from the carcasses, but so far no one has found the bones or any other piece of the animals. Just the skins. The cuts are very precise, as if some kind of surgeon’s tools were used.”
When asked if this was some sort of cult activity, Sheriff Anderson shrugged, “We don’t know. It’s weird, but no people have been harmed. However the SPCA has been contacted about the animal cruelty case and we will continue to investigate and see what we can find.”
The Sheriff’s department has asked anyone with information about his case to contact their office immediately.
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Pinebox Paranormal Reporter
The oldest man in Pinebox Texas died today when he failed to look both ways before crossing the street and got hit by a speeding car as was witnessed by Jane Neren. “He just started walking into the street. We yelled for him to stop, but it was too late.”
Talking to neighbors and family it seemed that Joseph Johnson, 102 years old, had many childhood clichés haunt him before his death on 13th street.
He tied a string around his finger so he would not forget something, but the string was too tight and cut off the circulation and his finger fell off. He couldn’t remember what it was he was supposed to do.
Mr. Johnson was trying to impress his grandchildren when crossing his eyes and they actually stayed that way as well as the funny face he was making at the same time.
Funeral services are next Saturday at 1:00 pm at the Barington Funeral Home.
Posted in Current Events (news), Weird | No Comments »
July 9th, 2009
By: Steve May
We are pleased to announce that two investigators from Pinebox Paranormal are now contributing reporters for the Raven’s Reort. Pinebox Paranormal runs a book and music store downtown and also work as Paranormal investigators and have had their own magazine for the past 15 years. The company was started by Dr. Austin Slade, professor of Investigative Journalism at East Texas University.
“We need to know what’s out there. You can see the truth if you keep your eyes open,” Dr. Slade discussed many issues at the announcement party. “Writing the Pinebox Paranormal Report is easy. Suffice it to say that it practically writes itself these days: never a shortage of material in this small town.”
Besides Dr. Slade, we are also welcoming Paranormal Investigative Reporter Patty Wak. Look for their selected stories in future issues of The Raven’s Report.
Tags: Dr. Slade, Patty Wak, Pinebox Paranormal
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June 4th, 2009
By: Colleen Parker
The Pinebox City Jail was evacuated for 30 minutes on Wednesday after a police officer noticed smoke billowing from a jail cell.
Police officers and handcuffed inmates stood on the sidewalk and watched as smoke poured out the front door of the city jail Wednesday morning. Firefighters donned oxygen masks and entered the building to put out the blaze, only to discover that the source was a smoke cannister of the type frequently used by the military. The cannister was found in one of jail’s unused cells.
“We are still investigating how that smoke grenade was smuggled in,” said Officer Donner on Wednesday afternoon. “I had no idea that one cannister could produce that much smoke. It’s crazy!”
No inmates escaped during the evacuation. The city jail has four cells, but only three people were being held at the time. The three inmates, none of whom were being held for violent crimes, were led half a block to Dolly’s Donuts and cuffed to one of the outdoor metal patio tables. Meanwhile, city workers used a pair of giant shop fans to clear the building of smoke. By noon, the inmates were returned to their cells.
Tags: jail, Pinebox PD
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June 1st, 2009
By: Colleen Parker
A spokesman for the US Air Force has identified wreckage discovered over the weekend as belonging to the space shuttle Columbia.
ETU sophomores Kyle Morgan and DeQuina Johnson caused a small flurry of excitement over the weekend when they discovered large sections of wreckage while hiking in the Big Thicket. Although the students originally reported that the wreckage was still smoking when they discovered it, authorities later attributed the mistake to the excitement of their find.
“We’re very grateful Kyle and Dequina for reporting their discovery, and I can see how their imaginations might have gotten carried away. When the Columbia exploded over East Texas in 2003, it left debris scattered over hundreds of miles. Every piece could be an important clue,” said Air Force Spokesman Thomas Grey.
Morgan and Johnson remain steadfast in their claim that the wreckage was recent, and Morgan claims that one of the pieces had strange writing on it. Minutes after Pinebox Sheriff’s Deputies returned with the students, the Air Force arrived on the scene by helicopter. The military quickly cordoned off the debris area to turn away souvenir hunters and prevent bystanders from accidentally tampering with forensic evidence.
Tags: accident, Air Force, columbia, shuttle
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