Days Of Future Past

The year was 1984. Gas was a $1.10 gallon. Tina Turner & Stevie Wonder were a couple of the big names in the Music World. You wanted to watch The Terminator at the movie theatre but got Ghostbusters instead, not a bad consolation prize. And why former WAFB'er Grey Hammett, photographer on the right, was making sure Ronald Dalton Dunnagan is in sight of his lens for the local news.

What is the the latter you ask?

It turns out the Dunnagan, middle of the picture, was implicated in a crime that caught a family off guard and leaving them with an infinite number of questions and no answers. It was late November in '84. Gary Keargan was leaving a local club with an associate thinking all was right in the world. Suddenly unforeseen events lead him to just vanish into the night sky. No one had seen or heard from Gary since. Time passes, the Police conduct their investigation which leads them Dunnagan and a female companion but things come to an impasse. The motive is there but the link is not. All of this had the making of the perfect crime novel.

Nearly three decades later, a family still has questions while a certain pair thought they had gotten away with their deeds. However, good old fashion police work with new technology said otherwise. What did you expect? After all it the had the makings of the perfect crime novel.

Editor's Note: Yeah I know the title of this entry is the name of a X Men comic book and could be turned into movie later. Believe me if that happens I can't wait to see it, did you know?

Thank You George

There are those in our business that will be a fad. A fly by night image. A simple blip on the radar. Here one minute, gone the next second. None of those apply to the one known as George Sells. An iconic figure in the Television industry for over 50 years with roots firmly planted in the Red Stick for the past 25. You name the place, he's probably been there. Houston, Philly, Detroit, Nashville to name a few. He's had a run with the locals as well as with the "Big Boys" bringing an unique style of delivering the daily news to the masses all over the country.

The year was 1988. Baton Rouge was the next stop. Sells had arrive to a station that was sagging in the rating to the competition. Little did they the tide was about to change. The iconic figure and hard hitting journalist brought a that style & swagger and turned the little station on Government Street into well oiled machine. The rati ngs came, the quality of the product rose, the legacy continued. The ladies of South LA were forever grateful.

I remember the time I met George. A young photographer still in school. No idea what I was doing. Not very confident thoughts of do I belong here. Then there was one night scanner started blowing up. News time was closing in. Time to roll out. George knew in mind how he wanted to preset the story before I even shot it. I get to the scene, shoot some pictures, then head home. Once I'm back at the station, George just starts to debrief me on every little thing possible. I get most of everything but it was that one little detail that he had in mind that I didn't get. Naturally he upset at first but it's show time. Afterwards he tell me to just soak it all in. Get the essential but look beyond the obvious of the situation. Did a little deeper on what's going on and who it affects. After that I started to get the entire story and how to bring it back. That was the way Sells liked it. What was the one thing that no one but us was going to get. And if you heard that distinctive voice saying, "THAT'S GREAT!!!" coming from his desk you know you had his seal of approval.

Now the present where nothing is forever. Time had come to step aside and enjoy what path you left for those who follow. Thank you George, thank you for all that you have done. You were more than a hard hitting journalist. More than the anchor who manned the desk. You were our leader. Always ready to bring us aside to tell us how to get better. To live up to that standard that you set so high. The newsroom won't be the same with out the news hound getting every little detail in to a script with one ear on the scanner and a bag of M&M's with a Dr. Pepper within arm's reach. It's been said before and we'll keep saying it...

Thank you George. Thank you for everything you done for all of us. Best wishes in retirement my friend.

Good Bye, Ms. Jeanne

When most start their morning routine I’m willing to bet part of it was waking up, turning on the TV, and seeing the intelligent and beautiful Jeanne Burns recapping the news events from the night before. How she did it for over a decade I will never know. It takes a special person to get up before the sun peaks over the eastern horizon. Wouldn't suprise me most people had the alarms set to welcome her into their homes & hearts since she was pretty much family.

There’re times the Bat Signal would get sent up into the night sky. I would head out gather whatever the breaking news was happening, drive back to the asylum, and see her and the team putting the final pieces of the show together. She would look up and see me then say, “Sorry we had to wake you up.” I would tell her that’s alright. It’s part of the job. Once I was finish and say my good byes to everyone, she would always say, “Thank you handsome.” She was always kind to me; guess it was part of her personality that made her who she is.

Now after 14 years, she’s stepping away from the scanner traffic, the newsroom, and the anchor desk. Putting aside the daily grind of deadlines and proofreading scripts to concentrate on life outside of the world we call the asylum. Being there to enjoy time with her family at home while relishing her new, and probably important, role as mom. Jeanne you are truly a blessing. I’m glad I got the chance to met you and eventfully work with you during your time here. You can only be succeeded and never replaced.

So go ahead, turn off the alarm clock and sleep in tomorrow. You earned it Ms. Jeanne. And thanks for not killing me and the Meeks for the blooper reel we made for the show. Take care and don’t be a stranger to us.