Local Boy Dies in Biking Accident

Jimmy Berry, a twelve year old boy died Saturday as he rode his bike down Linda Lane.  While police are investigating the accident, Detective Parker of the Pinbox Police Department stated that “it is apparent that he hit something while traveling at a fast pace, and was thrown over his handlebars and unfortunately landed on his head on the concrete pavement, causing massive head trauma.”

The boy and his friends had been riding their bikes down the hill of Linda Lane and were turning onto a cul-de-sac when the accident occurred.

Berry was a seventh grade student at Pinebox Middle School  and a member of Troop 1224 of the Scouts.  His parents have requested that anyone wishing to make a donation contact the Raven’s State Bank and give to the Berry Memorial Fund which is to help Pinebox Middle School purchase school supplies and to help teachers in the classroom.  “While Jimmy did not love school, he was a good student, and we want to do something to help others remember him,” his father said.

Jimmy was pronounced dead at the scene.  The funeral is set for 2 p.m. Wedneday at the Shepherd’s Cemetery.

This article is taken from the Buried Tales of Pinebox anthology and is taken from the story, The Witch of Linda Lane, by Ed Wetterman. Ed is a history teacher, game designer, writer, native Texan, genealogist, fisherman, Assistant Scout Master, Christian, husband, and father fo two.  His reading tastes lean toward fantasy, horror, science fiction, history, and role playing games.  He enjoys driving a big truck, shooting guns, camping, writing, and hanging out with his geeky friends.  He helped found 12 to Midnight in 2003 and wrote Last Rites of the Black Guard, Green’s Guide to Ghosts, Innana’s Kiss, and Fear Effects.  He has also contributed to Bloodlines, and the upcoming Realms of Cthulhu by Reality Blurs, and has written several short stories and articles.  He and Preston Dubose are currently working on ETU: Degrees of Horror, a plot point role playing game for the Savage Worlds system.

Pinebox Elementary Opens New Building to House Daycare

This is the first of the articles left for me anonymously about a week ago. I’m posting it here in the hope that someone may have some idea as to why it was left for me.

Originally published May17th, 2008

photo by: Pinebox City Council

photo by: Pinebox City Council

In a ribbon cutting ceremony presided over by Mayor James Flowers, the Pinebox Elementary Daycare was opened this morning. Those in attendance included elementary school faculty members, district administrators and members of the Risen Church of Pinebox whose generous donations helped to open the building before the end of the current school year. Flowers addressed the attendees noting, “Without the kind donations from the Risen Church and several Pinebox businesses we would not be here celebrating the rebirth of an organization our city’s parents have come to count on when it comes to the care of their kids.”

The new daycare facility was required by the school after the portable classrooms Pinebox Elementary used previously were destroyed when a delivery truck driven by an intoxicated Bill Reyes crashed into them in December of last year. While the buildings were completely demolished the accident occured in the early morning hours before school had begun and no one, except for Reyes, was injured. Reyes was rushed to Pinebox Memorial where he succumbed to internal injuries.

Area police have been advised to increase patrols around the new facility to ensure that Pinebox drivers properly adjust to the new fifteen mile-per-hour speed limit. “The safety of the kids are our number one priority,” noted Sheriff Butch Anderson, “and we’ll be watching the streets to make sure there aren’t any more accidents.”

Oldest Man in Pinebox Dies in Accident

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.

Freak Storms Strike

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.”

Police Report On Loud Sound Heard On Campus

Campus police have finished their investigation into the loud boom that occurred over the campus last Wednesday, stating that the source of the noise was a high-altitude explosion of a weather balloon filled with hydrogen gas. The boom, which rattled windows and knocked items from shelves, was heard at 12:48 p.m. all around campus and caused some students to panic. Eighty-three calls to 911 were made from campus phones and many people worried about a terrorist attack.

“The cause of the noise was an explosion that occurred at altitude overhead, maybe as high as 3000 feet up,” stated investigating officer Stephen Durant. “The balloon had been released by the ETU Astrophysics department as part of research into the upper atmosphere. Apparently, static or some kind of natural phenomenon set off the hydrogen in the balloon. Due to the distance, by the time the sound reached the ground, the fireball had dissipated and there was nothing to see. The weather balloon and the experiment that it carried were incinerated, resulting in no debris.”

Calls to the ETU Astrophysics department were not answered. Still, officer Durant believes the matter is settled.

“As far as we’re concerned, the case is closed. We aren’t going to look into this any more.”

Electrical Failures Across ETU Cause Confusion

photo by: Scott Mason

photo by: Scott Mason

On Sunday May 3rd at 1:12 PM, all clocks around ETU simultaneously stopped. While all classroom and lecture hall clocks are set to keep time with the campus’ central security system, students have reported that alarm clocks, computer clocks and in some cases even wristwatches had stopped for nearly seven minutes before resuming their proper pace.

Additionally, power to the Applied Sciences building was also lost at approximately 1:12 causing the building’s automatic doors to hold shut. While there were no classes being held on Sunday,  twenty-six students and faculty members were inside the building when it shut down, three of whom were trapped inside one of the elevators. “You don’t think the worst part about being in an elevator will be how long it seems to take to get out,” notes student Jessica Fuller who was trapped within an elevator car. “I mean, we couldn’t have been in there for more than a few minutes, but it seemed like hours passed before power kicked back on.”

The Pinebox Department of Power and Water performed a routine investigation of the building’s power systems and there seemed to be no permanent damage or evidence of tampering. The actual cause of the power failure is presently unknown.