Summer Semester
By: Dorine Mercy
Mom’s Diner, located on Main Street, was closed this Sunday due to an outbreak of mice found within the restaurant. Approximately three dozen of the rodents were discovered early this morning causing the diner to close for clean up and sanitation.
Betty Owens, the owner, stated “We prepared yesterday to open extra early on mother’s day. Many of our customers naturally want to eat with us on this special day. [...] When approached the side entrance the door was unlocked. Inside we found these pests running all over our floors.”
Betty further explained nothing looked to be stolen or destroyed. Betty was upset as she continued “I think someone purposely let those disgusting things in just to cause us to close today, this is very upsetting for us as a family as well as the local regulars. I don’t know who would do such a thing to us”.
The police only stated it did not appear to be forced entry.
Mom’s Diner, having been open since the 1960’s, offers a variety of home style cooked meals that are a long time favorite to the Pinebox locals. While owners have changed hands and there have been times of renovations, the diner has always come through with a clean bill of health.
Police will continue to investigate the source of this unusual situation.
Posted in Freshmen, Local News | No Comments »
Summer Semester
By: Austin Slade
After 15 years of chasing stories around Pinebox, one came right through our front door on Saturday . . . literally.
Jack Bonner, a Pinebox resident, decided to strip free of all his clothes and race into the middle of Main Street in an attempt to throw himself in front of a 2005 Suburban driven by David Grant.
Mr. Grant swerved to miss the naked man and Mr. Bonner was not struck by the Suburban, however he was unable to miss our storefront. At this point, no one had been injured and the damage caused by the now totaled Suburban was structurally insignificant.
Mr. Bonner stated that his actions were not an effort to commit suicide, but rather an attempt to ‘scare’ a possessive entity from within his body. “It worked.” He said, when asked about the success of his plan. “I feel better than I have in months!” I wish we could say the same for Mr. Grants Suburban.
Though we here at Pinebox Paranormal can appreciate Mr. Bonners’ predicament, Mr. Grant was less understanding and left Mr. Bonner with a broken nose and dislocated jaw.
Both men left in the custody of the Pinebox Police Department.
Tags: Naked Man, Pinebox Paranormal, Slade
Posted in Junior, Local News | No Comments »
Summer Semester
By: Roy Ryder
The estate of wealthy Pinebox former resident Phoebe Cushing will be auctioned off this July and the proceeds will go to various charities in and around Golon County. The auction has been anticipated since Cushing’s death in September, but legal challenges by her surviving children have delayed the event. A recent out-of-court settlement between the survivors and the Cushing estate has cleared the way for Dallas-based Chelsea Public Sales to make its announcement.
Phoebe Cushing was a longtime resident of Pinebox and was the heir to the Golon Lumber Company fortune and 99 years old at the time of her death. Her husband, Max Cushing, passed away in 1993 from complications from an auto accident. She spent her final years administering several charitable organizations in Pinebox.
The estate sale will take place July 23 at the Cushing residence and will be available via the Internet on the Chelsea Public Sales web site. Harold Biggs, chief auctioneer, also anticipates that several bidders will observe via closed circuit television and have agents present at the event. The auction is open to the public but bidders must register with Chelsea Public Sales and make a deposit of $1000 before bids will be accepted.
“An auction like this comes around once a decade, perhaps once in a generation, and we have already been contacted by a number of private collectors,” Biggs said in a telephone interview. “Although all of the Cushing estate offers an excellent value for collectors, there is considerable interest regarding the Cushing compilation of rare books, exotic curios from around the world, and extensive art collection.”
Posted in Local News, Sophomore | No Comments »
Summer Semester
By: Roy Ryder
Village Creek, Big Thicket National Forest
The Golon County Sheriff’s Office announced on Wednesday that the bodies of two parachutists who went missing following a jump over Pinebox have been recovered from Big Thicket National Forest. Ellie Castle and David Wang were part of the Texas Air Rangers performing aerial acrobatics for a June 19 skydive over the Pinebox Athletic Field. Castle and Wang were seen with the Rangers until they broke apart to open their parachutes, but were not with those who landed at the softball field. A search had been undertaken by the Sheriff’s Office and Golon County Search & Rescue but was called off on June 26, a week after the two went missing.
Sheriff Butch Anderson declined to comment on where the bodies were found but said that hikers had reported seeing brightly colored cloth in the treetops of a particular area, which prompted his office to investigate. Anderson refused to speculate on what may have caused the accident but did state that it appeared that neither skydiver had opened their parachute. An investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration is under way and Anderson said the FAA report would provide further details when released. He referred questions regarding the FAA investigators to his secretary, who has not returned repeated calls as of press time.
This reporter has learned that the pilot of the aircraft used by the Texas Air Rangers made radio contact with the Golon County Airport shortly after the team jumped. Pilot Gus Swisher reported violent air currents, instrument failure, and that he was in danger of colliding with “unusual” nearby aircraft. No other aircraft are known to have been in the area at the time of the jump.
Tags: Big Thicket, Butch Anderson
Posted in Local News, Sophomore | No Comments »
Spring Semester
By: Roy Ryder
On Friday, May 29, Mary Ann Wilkinson kissed her husband goodbye and went for one of her long hikes in the Big Thicket. She has not been seen since. Her car was discovered in a parking lot near an area of the Big Thicket known as Tunny’s Run. Deputies from the county Sherriff’s office and volunteers have conducted a search of the area and found nothing.
Mary Ann Wilkinson recently received notoriety for discovering a new species of flowering plant called Ravenstar in the Big Thicket. Her discovery was hailed at a recent conference Austin. Her husband, Hank Wilkinson, said that she has since visited to the area many times but always returned. According to her husband, on the day of her disappearance, she was complaining of a headache before she left but was otherwise in good health.
Posted in Local News, Sophomore | No Comments »
Spring Semester
By: Roy Ryder
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.”
Posted in Local News, Senior | No Comments »
