« June 2007 | Main | August 2007 »
Wichita Falls: ________
July 26, 2007In response to the Abilene blog entry....I was going to come up with a list of potential names for Wichita Falls.
Sadly, I was beat to the best line of the entire joking session. She asked to remain nameless, but here it is.
Wichita Falls: The Oklahoma of Texas.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 02:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Abilene: _______
Once upon a time, cities didn't need a cutesy marketing brand to get people to come to their towns. My how times have changed.
Apparently, Abilene is tired of their motto "Frontier Friendly" (which oddly enough, I kinda like). And they may be willing to pay a design firm from Nashville a "low six-figure" number to come up with something goofy.
Low six-figures....that would be somewhere between $100,000-$400,000. For a name. Actually, not even for a name, for something to go behind the name of the city.
One of the cities that has already used North Star (the team from Nashville) was Fort Collins, Colorado....get this one.
Fort Collins: Where renewal is a way of life.
Whaaaaaaat? 'm sorry, but that is goofy.
So....I have a list of suggestions for little Abilene. They won't even have to pay me a six-figure amount....something in the mid-high five-figures will do just fine.
Here's the story:
by Sidney Levesque/Abilene Reporter News Wednesday, July 25, 2007A Nashville, Tenn., branding firm may be developing a new logo and motto to market Abilene -- if city leaders come up with the money to pay for it.
The Abilene Branding Partnership, which includes the city and the Abilene Chamber of Commerce, wants to hire North Star Destination Strategies to develop a marketing campaign to replace the present "Friendly Frontier" label. The two have negotiated a fee in the "low six figure" range, said George Nichols, partnership chairman.
He declined to name the exact figure because a contract has not yet been signed. He said the money to pay for North Star's services needs to be lined up first.
All five entities -- all supported at least in part by tax dollars -- that are part of the partnership have pledged money. Nichols hopes to have the funding resolved in the next three weeks.
"It looks very promising," he said.
North Star was one of 11 companies that received a request for qualifications from the partnership. The request said the partnership was looking for a reputable, experienced branding firm to create an original, research-based brand and implementation strategy. The requests did not include bids.
Three companies submitted written responses, one of which was North Star. The request that the partnership sent out agreed not to name the other interested companies until a contract was signed.
Two additional companies phoned to say they are booked with projects. One of those was Lippincott Mercer, the New York City branding firm that visited Abilene in December.
Nichols said of the companies that submitted responses, North Star was superior. Partnership members interviewed the company and a list of reference cities it has worked with.
One of the cities North Star has worked with is Fort Collins, Colo., which now has the tagline, "Where renewal is a way of life." The city of 127,000 paid North Star $80,000 to research and develop a marketing strategy, according to the company's Web site.
All but two of the cities interviewed gave North Star good reviews. Nichols said the two cities that didn't had unique situations.
One city changed leadership after it started the process with North Star, and the new folks weren't on board. The other city, Longview, was unhappy after it was discovered that the motto it was given, "East Texas: Pure and Simple," was similar to "pure and simple" taglines two other U.S. cities were using. One had trademarked it, according to the Longview News-Journal.
Nichols said Abilene, currently known as the "Friendly Frontier," will receive a unique trademark if it hires North Star. One of the city's requirements is that it receive a product that can be trademarked.
Otherwise, signs and other products the city develops with the brand would be placed in jeopardy.
"We're not about to go down that road," Nichols said.
He said it's important for the right kind of task force to be working with the branding firm, that the firm receive everything it needs for its research and that it has an opportunity to spend time following up on its research.
The product that North Star would deliver would be more than a logo and a tagline, Nichols said. There would also be a strategy behind it, and a plan for implementation. Implementing a new brand also costs money.
The city of Frisco plans to spend $200,000 this year implementing the marketing campaign North Star developed for it, according to the Frisco Enterprise. The campaign includes a railroad logo with the words "Progress in motion" beneath it.
Abilene officials said a branding strategy could help the city stand out and attract visitors and business. More and more cities are developing brands, Nichols said.
"This is becoming a competitive tool for cities," he said.
Anywhom...here is my list of potential mottos for Abilene.
Abilene: We don't suck.
Abilene: Life is a highway (referring to I-20)
Abilene: It's better than Wichita Falls
Abilene: The armpit of Texas
Abilene: The drunks come home by midnight
Abilene: We've got a huge wind farm
Abilene: Your choice for no less than three church colleges
Abilene: We're not San Angelo
Abilene: We're not Midland
Abilene: We're close to Fort Worth
Abilene: Your home on the range
Abilene: We're in the middle of Texas
The list goes on....
Posted by Jason Palmer at 02:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
It's been a boring week...
July 25, 2007All of the crazy time at the newspaper has seemingly died down.
There is just nothing going on around here this week. I guess I need to finish off the flooding photos, but I don't know if anybody is even paying attnetion.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 04:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
UT/Aggie Lawsuit...over.
July 17, 2007I wrote about this back a long time ago...
Texas lawsuit over the Saw'em off logo
The lawsuit was settled...here's the story
Daily Texan/Zachary PosnerIt cost more than $200,000 in legal fees, a $25,000 settlement and the addition of nostrils and a tuft or "blaze" of hair between the eyes of their longhorn logo for Texas A&M graduate and College Station resident Fadi Kalaouze and his wife to continue selling "Saw Em Off" T-shirts parodying UT's prominent logo.
"It was worth it," Fadi Kalaouze said. "We have been selling these shirts for over 10 years, and now we know Aggies can wear this logo and no one can stop them."
UT and the owners of three Aggieland Outfitters stores in College Station settled their suit last week, which was filed against Kalaouze in December - 10 days after the Texas A&M football team upset the Longhorns 12-7 the day after Thanksgiving. The recent agreement requires that the couple stop printing and selling the old shirts within three months.
"We have already ordered the new shirts and are selling them," Kalaouze said. "No one is really buying them, though, because the [old shirts] are a collectors item."
Under the terms of the agreement, the University will not try to stop the Kalaouze couple from copyrighting their new logo, and their logo cannot use UT's orange and white color configuration.
"The color terms were essentially that they would not make it look like a UT shirt," said Allan Van Fleet, the Kalaouze's lawyer. "It's not like they would be able to sell those in College Station anyway."
Louis Pirkey, an attorney for UT, said the University simply wanted the defendants to use a logo different than theirs, and now "people will know that it is not UT's."
"The main objective of the case was not money," he said. "It was to get [the defendants] to change the mark. If the case had gone to trial it would have been extremely expensive. At this stage the money was not an issue."
Pirkey also said that the University has handled around 50 similar cases, but that only a half dozen or so have ever gone to court.
"I am glad we are not going to court," Kalaouze said. "I am just relieved that this is all over with."
And here's what the logo was changed from/to.
Media Credit: Graphic courtesy of Aggieland Outfitters
Posted by Jason Palmer at 01:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Not flooding...
It's not like my world gets to stand still for flooding blogs or whatnot.
I shot this the other day at a new citizen naturalization ceremony....it caught my eye and kinda made me laugh a bit.
Sometimes you have to turn around and pay attention for a great photo.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Sons of the American Revolution members Richard Arnold (Dallas), William Walker (McKinney) and Howard Roach (Plano)(l-r) sit at the back of the United States District Court with the United States flag beside them before the start of a naturalization ceremony for 17 new citizens from seven different countries.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
The Flooding Continues
Well....Tuesday the 26th it rained like freaking crazy.
I was on TO golf duty for most of the week, so Wed. and Thursday I wasn't on the heavy rain coverage...but I promise you it was out there.
West of town...it rained, and rained and rained.
Water started coming up in houses out in Wranglers Retreat and Horseshoe Bend, to the point that one of our other photographers Jeff was out in houses on Thursday shooting flooding.
They knew it was going to be worse in the coming days....well, on Friday, it was back out to Wranglers Retreat for me.
I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to see, they had set up a few roadblocks for folks....TxDOT first, then the county deputies....but I finally made it down there.
All I had to do was ask the Iowa Park FD if I could hop a ride on their truck...they were more than happy to oblige. Made it a heck of a lot easier to do my job too.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Iowa Park firefighter Tim Sheppard (left) drives a large brush truck through high water on Wranglers Retreat Road. Water levels continued to rise along the Wichita River and it's tributaries Friday afternoon.
We drove through a section of flooded homes that was only a preview of what was ahead. The water covered the road in more than one section, with some of the homes in the middle high and dry for the moment.
They were letting a few trucks in through the first section, the water wasn't too deep on the road, but already a couple feet into the homes on either side.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Only large trucks were allowed beyond the first area of flooding along Wranglers Retreat Road Friday afternoon to retrieve what they could. The entire area would be closed later in the day after the electricity was shut off.
Once the fire truck reached the main area of flooding, the firefighters hopped off the back and were giving the mandatory evacuation orders and alerting whatever residents were left that the electricity would be shut off.
I decided to shuck my socks and hop in the water with them. This next show was holding my camera directly over my head and hoping that one of them turned to look over their shoulders...and luckily, one of them did.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Iowa Park firefighters Scott York (right) and Tim Sheppard (left) walk along the edge of floodwaters through the Wranglers Retreat neighborhood. Water levels continued to rise along the Wichita River and it's tributaries Friday afternoon.
The first thing I noticed about the water when I was wading into it was that it wasn't standing still floodwaters....it was flowing. Fast.
I made it to the side of the road and a mailbox that I wanted to photograph, and my firefighter buddies warned me to be careful of the bar ditch. I was already about two feet in water that was moving at a clip strong enough that I had to put a lot of effort into standing still to get this shot.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Water flows around a mailbox along Wranglers Retreat Road Friday afternoon as floodwaters from the Wichita River inundate the area.
Looking down the street....it wasn't a pretty sight. Mailboxes vanished beneath the water further down, and I can only imagine how high it got inside some of the houses.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Water nearly covers several mailboxes along Wranglers Retreat Road Friday afternoon as floodwaters from the Wichita River inundate the area.
The firefighters could not go any further in their trucks. The road would have likely failed beneath them and the floodwaters were moving even faster up ahead. So we turned around and headed back to the top of the hill.
When I got back there, I noticed several residents just on the edge of the waters, sitting in the back of a truck.
I approached them slowly, and introduced myself, careful to not get to close wiht my cameras or disturb them.
This wasn't the first disaster I've covered, and I know to tread lightly around victims. Sometimes, you'll see on the news where a camera gets right in the face of somebody grieving or whatnot, that's not my style.
I'd much rather build their confidence and get in for a much more personal shot.
While I'm waiting, I see this man on a tractor driving through the water.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Wranglers Retreat resident Robert Giles drives a tractor through high water near his home. Floodwaters continue to rise along the Wichita River and it's tributaries Friday afternoon on Wranglers Retreat off of Hwy. 369.
Turns out...he's friends with Lee Anderson, one of the newspaper veterans in the office. I knew that he'd let me photograph him and he'd talk to me. As soon as I said hello, and he opened up to me, the other people did as well. It was a big relief.
I found out quickly why the two people were waiting in the truck. One of the residents had to go back into his flooded house to retrieve some medicine. He only grabbed enough for three days and it was clear he would be away from his house for longer than that.
He donned a pair of waders (something I should have done as well) and walked right towards me carrying a box of medication.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Wranglers Retreat resident Dan Jansa carries a box of medication through shin-deep waters near his home Friday afternoon. Floodwaters continue to rise along the Wichita River and it's tributaries on Wranglers Retreat off of Hwy. 369.
Well, the day wrapped up for me by chatting with Robert Giles about his house. He told me that in 1987, he stayed as long as he could, and watched the water invade his home. I can't even imagine what that would feel like and frankly, I don't want to know.
It is a slow and painful experience. Tornados and fire...they destroy quickly and without warning....flood waters, you can usually see it coming, slowly rising around your house and finally coming inside like an unwanted guest.
He stood there and looked at his house, and stopped talking for a second...I could sense the emotion he was filling...and snapped this shot. To me, this photo speaks volumes.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Wranglers Retreat resident Robert Giles looks toward his house Friday afternoon. Giles evacuated last night after water began rising in his garage. "I stayed in 1987 and watched it come into my house," Giles says, "I just couldn't stand to watch it this time."
This was my Friday, June 29th.
That afternoon, we heard word that the Eastside might see a little bit of flooding as well. Perhaps water coming up from the storm drains or whatnot....
Nobody knew quite how bad it was going to get and on a Saturday, I was the only witness from the paper with a camera to capture it........
Posted by Jason Palmer at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Long Awaited...the floods.
July 14, 2007I'm going to ease into this over a couple of days though...try to interject a few stories along with the pictures.
So bear with me...
After a few days of waiting, here are some of my images from the flooding in late June around these parts.
It all started on Tuesday the 26th of June. It was raining like crazy around here. I've never seen rain like this in this town. There were things and parts of town flash-flooding that I didn't even know COULD be under that kind of water.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Brown-stained water rushes down Jacksboro Highway as a motorist zips by in the heavy rain Tuesday morning.
This was Kemp....now, we all know that Kemp can get a bit of water on it, but this was crazy. The cops and fire dept. were al over the place with high water. The water was rushing about 2-3 feet deep at the intersection of Fairway and Southwest Parkway.....I thought that was a high spot.
So...of course...who do they sent out into the monsoon weather....me. Yay.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
A motorist drives slowly through high water on Kemp near Hampstead as a heavy rain flooded many parts of town Tuesday morning.
The next thing we here....they are flooding down along Garfield and Grant near Kemp. The drainage ditch there is backing up like a sink and they've already evacuated the Dr's office on Kemp near Big Five.
About the same time...they start calling for a water rescue out at Fairway...there's literally no way I can get down there. Every way to that part of town is completely underwater. We were stuck. (Boy...did I ever miss my 4x4 Escape about now).
So, the firefighters start asking for a boat on Garfield, they need to rescue a wheel-chair bound lady out of her home. I take off for the area, knowing that I'm probably going to be wading in water that could be 3-4 feet deep.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
A Wichita Falls fire truck drives through several feet of water with a rescue boat in tow on Garfield near Kemp Tuesday afternoon after a strong thunderstorm dropped several inches of rain over the city and surrounding area.
SO...I'm already standing in water up to my knees for that picture....and they get the boat out and start walking up the street, all the while saying they were going to another house further away from me...I was going to have to A: switch lenses and B: go wading
Jason Palmer/Times Record News Wichita Falls firefighters use a boat to rescue Bettie Allen, 76, after heavy flooding on Garfield near Kemp flooded her home Tuesday afternoon during a strong thunderstorm dropped several inches of rain over the city and surrounding area.
FINALLY....the rains stopped for the moment. We heard reports that the water was already coming over the Lake Wichita spillway (that's always breaking news around here). So the office wanted me to head out that and get a few shots.
When I made it out there....what suprised me more than the water going over the spillway was the amount of water coming out of the storm drains just down-creek from the dam. So, I decided to photograph them instead.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Water pours over the Lake Wichita spillway and a drainage ditches that feed into Holiday Creek Tuesday afternoon after heavy morning rains brought flash flooding and road closures all across the region.
Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Water rushes beneath a pedestrian bridge near the Lake Wichita dam Tuesday afternoon following a morning of heavy rains that brought flooding to much of the region.
Of course...the only reason I was out there shooting all of this rain stuff, was the Texas Oklahoma Junior Golf was completely rained out on Tuesday, freeing me up.
Wednesday...it rained again, but the really bad stuff was still draining out of the fields to the west and starting to fill into Beaver Creek and the Wichita River......
Posted by Jason Palmer at 05:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Shocking night
July 11, 2007If there is one thing that will get me out of my PJs and into my car with my camera gear....it's a good lightning show.
I got exactly that last night.
It was wonderful lightning...all from the same general area in the sky. Great bolts and repeat strikes...the kind of lightning that photographers crave when they are out looking at storms. Last night was the first time in a long time that it's been good lightning to go out and photograph.
Here are my 2 faves from the night.
Hopefully...you'll see the first one in the newspaper today. It was literally the first shot of the night. I set my camera settings to what I thought would be close...and obviously nailed the exposure AND...got lucky with a few bolts.
Those are the sorts of things that really make me smile, when I know that it wasn't just my technical knowledge that made a great shot....it was a lot of good luck too.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 08:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Flood Stuff....today
July 10, 2007I'll be working on putting a good selection of my flood-related photos online here today with short stories going along with them.
Thanks for the patience to wait...I know some of you are looking forward to these.
j
Posted by Jason Palmer at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Blog Traffic
July 05, 2007I probably could have passed Nick this month if I had put forth the effort....my bad
June Numbers:
Nicky G. - 396
Jason P - 328
Clayton - 117
Some other people - not as much.
Lookout Little Nicky...I'm coming.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
One before I go...
July 02, 2007I've got the next two days off to recover from all of the flooding coverage I've been out on.
I am stressed, tired, exhausted, heart-broken, worn out, stressed, water logged, stressed and stressed.
I have seen a lot of things that I honestly didn't know I'd ever see. I've heard local comparisons to the scenes from Hurricane Katrina, and on a very small scale, I'm sure it's kinda like that.
I've got a lot of photos that I'm going to share with all of you readers soon, but not right now. I'm too tired to talk about them.
Before I came back to the office for the last time tonight, I went over the Emanuel Davis overpass for one last look for a few days.
The sunset was very pretty... perfectly shining through the clouds. But the filthy floodwaters below made a great contrast of beauty and pain.
A song came to mind...by the christian group Superchick. It's called Beauty from Pain. I thought it kinda made sense.
The lights go out all around me
One last candle to keep out the night
And then the darkness surrounds me
I know I'm alive
But I feel like I've died
And all that's left is to accept that it's over
My dreams ran like sand through the fists that I made
I try to keep warm but I just grow colder
I feel like I'm slipping away
After all this has passed
I still will remain
After I've cried my last
There'll be beauty from pain
Though it won't be today
Someday I'll hope again
And there'll be beauty from pain
You will bring beauty from my pain
My whole world is the pain inside me
The best I can do is just get through the day
When life before is only a memory
I wonder why God let me walk through this place
And though I can't understand why this happened
I know that I will when I look back someday
And see how You've brought beauty from ashes
And made me as gold purified through these flames
Here and I am at the end of me (at the end of me)
Trying to hold to what I can't see
I forgot how to hope
This night's been so long
I cling to your promise there will be a dawn.
I wanted to shoot something pretty from all of this nightmare before I put it behind me for a few days.....that's pretty much what I did.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 08:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
