Writing Samples

Judge Rules Partial Curfew to Remain for Woman Convicted of Murdering Members of the Richardson Family

Posted on by jkany
This story was originally posted for CHAT TV on February 17, 2015 (link to story)

 

The girl convicted of killing three members of the Richardson family in Medicine Hat in 2006 will not have her curfew lifted entirely, a judge ruled Tuesday morning.
 
The girl, who can only be identified as JR under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, had her curfew lifted for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at her last review in September 2014.
 
Justice Scott Brooker ruled it was appropriate to maintain curfew on the other days of the week, and the application will be reviewed again in late August.
 
JR, who is now 21-years old, is scheduled to move from her current living arrangement — where a supervisor is present in the building 24 hours-a-day — to an independent living situation without supervision in April or May.
 

Wanted: Rivals

Posted on by jkany
This story was originally published in The Weal on September 26, 2012 (link to story)

Some students may sense emptiness around the SAIT campus this year.

A hole, in the spot between frustrations with SAIT’s wireless Internet and the love of free welcome week food, that needs filling. This emptiness is where the animosity for the Mount Royal Cougars used to live.

“The Trojans and Cougars rivalry was one thing that unified students, I think, and with that gone it really does feel like something is missing,” said Christian Makowski, a second year Business Management student.

After almost half a century of bloody battles and merciless matchups, the Cougars moved from the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) to the Canada West conference of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), and the longstanding rivalry between the Trojans and Cougars has officially ended.

[…]

Loss Brings Emotional End to Dawgs’ Season

Posted on by jkany
This story was originally published on Okotoksonline.com on August 9, 2013 (link to story)

Do or die. Backs against the wall. Must-win.

You can use any cliche out you want, but the fact was the Okotoks Dawgs needed to win to carry on their season Thursday night.

They didn’t, they lost 13-8 to the Medicine Hat Mavericks, the top team in the WMBL over the regular season.

The loss didn’t come because of a lack of effort, however. The Dawgs responded to a three-run opening inning by the Mavs with a six-run explosion and led the visiting team 6-3 after the first inning. Not to be done there, the Dawgs kept the crowd at Seaman Stadium on their feet blasting two more runs in the second, bringing their runs total to 8, more than they had put up in the previous two games combined.

[…]

Medicine Hat Police Hand Out Toys Instead of Tickets

Posted on by jkany
This story was originally posted for CHAT TV on December 23, 2014 (link to story)

The holidays are known as a time for blinking, colourful lights, but the last thing people want to see is flashing red and blue in their rear view mirror.

However, this Christmas season, Medicine Hat Police are pulling people over for a good reason.

Instead of handing out tickets for minor offences, they’re handing out gifts.

“I pulled this person over for failing to signal when she changed lanes, so we’re going to give her a gift card instead of a ticket,” said Cst. Tyler Risling during a ‘Operation Christmas Joy’ traffic stop Tuesday.

[…]

Punches, Kicks and Ponytails

Posted on by jkany
This story was originally published in The Weal on November 22, 2012 (link to story)
The ground-and-pound, exhausting sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) has become mainstream and is seeing a popularity breakthrough with not only men, but women, too.

More and more co-ed and strictly-female classes and training sessions are popping up right here in Calgary.

Calgary MMA Boot Camp is one of the gyms that offer female-only classes. Owner and head coach Bobby Triantafillou, a fifth-degree black belt in Hapkido and coach of 18 years, saw the demand and met it head on.

“I found that women wanted to train hard, and wanted a challenge, too, so we started MMA classes for them,” said Triantafillou.

[…]