News Story #4

                Mindy Rosenau, a sophomore at Putnam City High School in Oklahoma, was in keyboarding class when she felt the effects of the Alfred P. Murrah building explode during the Oklahoma City bombing.

            The computers flashed and then went off, the entire school shook. Mindy was confused because earthquakes didn’t occur in Oklahoma. A half hour later the principal came over the intercom and asked students who had parents working in Oklahoma City to come to his office.

            Mindy was curious, although she had some idea that being called there was related to the shaking she’d felt, why she was being beckoned. She noticed her teacher receive a phone call and then seem nervous after it.

            Mindy’s principal explained that there had been an explosion downtown Oklahoma City and if students wanted to call and try to reach them they were welcome to use his phone; Mindy was unable to reach her mom.

            It was then that Mindy returned to her keyboarding classroom and spent the rest of her school day and watched the news unfold the facts of what actually happened in Oklahoma City that morning. At first reporters speculated that a gas line had burst and caused the explosion, and then as more news became available it looked like the explosion had been a deliberate act of terrorism. Mindy returned to her home after school and tried calling her mom again. It wasn’t until 6 p.m. that she got through to her because of phone lines being knocked out due to the explosion.

            Mindy soon found out that 168 people were killed, 19 of which were children in a daycare center.

            Mindy felt connected to the incident because of being only 17 mi. away when the building was bombed and looked for ways to lend her aid. Putnam City’s student council requested that students volunteer for blood donations and also to help pick up hard copies and equipment at the journalism building-which was right across from ground zero. Mindy went to help with a group of students from her school and in the process found clothing and children’s shoes in the debris.

            Mindy recollects this event as though it happened yesterday. The impacts of such events sometimes can be truly life changing; this was true in Mindy’s case.

  

 

The Oklahoma City Bombing: An Interview with Melinda Rosenau

Q:   What were you doing when the Oklahoma City bombing occurred?

A:   I remember it was 9:02 am and I was in keyboarding class. All of the computers suddenly flashed and went off, it felt like an earthquake.

Q:   How far away from Oklahoma City were you?

A:    I was in Warr Acres at Putnam City High school which was about 17 mi. from Oklahoma City.

Q:   What were some of your thoughts as you felt the shaking of the school building?

A:    I was confused because earthquakes didn’t ever happen in Oklahoma. Then when the shaking stopped we all went back to normal. Then about a half hour later the principal came over the intercom and asked students who had parents working in Oklahoma City to come to his office.

Q:   Did you assume the principal’s direction to come to his office was related to the shaking you felt?

A:   Some idea, yeah. The teachers had been receiving calls and were looking nervous so I was uneasy.

Q:   What did the principal say when you arrived in his office?

A:   He said there had been an explosion downtown Oklahoma City and that if kids wanted to try calling their parents they could use his phone. I couldn’t reach my mom and I started crying then because I was getting really scared.

Q:   Was your mom injured?

A:   No she wasn’t. I wasn’t able to reach her because phone lines were down due to the blast. I was finally able to reach her later that evening at about 6 p.m.

Q:   What happened next?

A:   I went back to my keyboarding classroom and the teachers were all turning on the news. At first everyone thought it was a gas line bursting that caused the explosion, and then as more news became available they realized it had been a deliberate act of terrorism.

Q:   Do you know how many people died and were injured during the bombing?

A:   168 people died, 19 of which were children at a daycare center. I believe over 600 people were injured. It was awful.

Q:   Do you have anything else to add?

A:   The student council at my high school posted that they needed blood donors and volunteers to help at the journalism building- which was directly across from ground zero-to gather hard copies and other equipment that was laying around. Some students, including myself, went there to help.  In the process of recovering those items my group found clothing and little kid’s shoes in the debris. It was really horrible to see.

Interviewer:   I appreciate your talking to me today and thank you for your firsthand look into this disaster.

Melinda:   You’re welcome.

News Story #3

 A bookkeeper at the North Pointe Inn was robbed in her office and witness to the murder of her colleague yesterday morning.

            Nina Cortez was counting drawers from the previous night when a man carrying a knife came around the corner at her.  Out of $6000, the man grabbed $130 in $5 bills and walked out. While the robber walked out, Cortez heard a different man say, “get that money out of there.” Cortez locked herself in her office at that point and waited for police to arrive.         

            Just minutes after police had arrived Cortez walked with officers into the reception area where she found her co-worker, Blohm, dead. There was blood on the walls and floor and Blohm had a large knife wound in his chest and another on one hand.

            Cortez described the man who robbed her as about 6-ft tall, in his early 20’s with a medium build. The man also had a scarf covering the lower part of his face. When questioned by police about anything else unusual that she’d noticed, Cortez recalled having seen a car she didn’t recognize in the parking lot when she’d come to work that morning. Cortez said she had never seen the man that robbed them before.