The Flare Magazine No. 4 by Kilgore College

The Flare Magazine KILGORE COLLEGE

“Never let anyone rob you of your childhood.” – RUTH BERNHARD, photographer

] Spring 2013 [ Photo essay: Anne-Maire at 3. What’s Cooking? Courage Under Fire.

GooGoo for

Gaga. Living with Autism. Nine-person Self-Imposition. Blessings and Simplicity.

Larry Woodfin Voted Best of East Texas PLAQUES • MEDALS • CERTIFICATES RIBBONS • TIARAS • NAME TAGS NAME TAGS

Serving East Texas Since 1976 FRANK & IVA HOLYFIELD • OWNERS

(903) 295-3535 1905 (903) 758-7751 W. Loop 281 LONGVIEW LONGVIEW

903-983-2277 2402 N. Longview St. Kilgore, Texas 75662

K I L G O R E

C O L L E G E

CAREER SERVICES &

SERVICE LEARNING

Online || Career Services: www.kilgore.edu/student_jobs.asp • Service Learning: www.kilgore.edu/servicelearning.asp

CAREER COUNSELING

Ô SERVICE LEARNING Ô

We provide career counseling to help you choose a major and make an informed decision about your career.

Service Learning is a teaching and learning strategy whereby students perform public service to benefit the community in order to achieve a course’s learning objectives and fulfill personal goals. We are here to help you with your service learning needs.

JOB SEARCH TOOLS & TECHNIQUES

Ô RESOURCES Ô Ô Ô

We can help you in creating resumes and cover letters and prepare you for the interview process.

FOCUS 2 – Web-based software that helps you find the career path that is best for you based upon your interests, skills and talents. OPTIMAL RESUMÉ – Provides online career tools designed to assist you in building a better resume and cover letter as well as honing your interview skills and creating a portfolio website. KILGORE COLLEGE VIRTUAL CAREER LIBRARY – The Virtual Career Library is a 3D career library that delivers digital career information including information on jobs and assistance with interviewing in an interactive and engaging format.

EVENTS

H Two job fairs in the Spring (Health Occupations Job Fair & General Job Fair) H Service Recognition Assembly in the Spring H Service Fair in the Fall PATTY BELL Director 903.988.3713 pbell@kilgore.edu SS112

CANDACE HEEZEN 903.983.8678 cheezen@kilgore.edu SS111

The Flare Magazine NO. 4

SPRING 2013

Editorial Staff Editors................................Ashton Johnson Ashley Morales Brittani Pfau Randi Vinson-Davis Ad Manager........................Jonathen Ruesch

Contents 20

Photographers: Anup Bhadndari, Shelbi Crews, Kris Dobbins, Gabriel Espinosa, Sonia Garza, Cara Herbert, Lauren LaBoyteaux, Avery Neuendorff, Shelby Ragland, Jonathen Ruesch, Taylon Sharer, Sherry Simmons, Randi Vinson-Davis, Tomás Weidmer and Marci Wells. Writers: Travis Hull, Ashton Johnson, Ashley Morales, Kade Morrison, Jordan Moss, Brittani Pfau and Jonathen Ruesch.

Photography Adviser............O. Rufus Lovett Editorial Adviser................. Bettye Craddock Design Adviser..................Jamie Maldonado

Editors’ Note If you had told us one year ago that we would help produce a magazine, we probably would not have believed you. Now that we hold this magazine in our hands we feel a sense of accomplishment and relief. Organizing this magazine was a great challenge as we spent hours writing and rearranging stories, columns and portfolios. When all decisions were final, 40 blank pages began to transform into the fourth Flare Magazine. We are thankful for the creative and willing students who took the reigns when pages needed to be designed and headlines and cutlines needed to be written and proofed. For some of us this magazine represents the pinnacle of our journalism career at KC and it is a true reflection of the hard work and creativity of the communications and photography programs. A special thank you to all of the contributors and advisers Bettye Craddock, O. Rufus Lovett and Jamie Maldonado for helping make this magazine possible. We hope you enjoy this magazine just as much as we enjoyed publishing it for you. Ashton Johnson, Ashley Morales, Brittani Pfau and Randi Vinson-Davis

32 Cover photograph by LAUREN LABOYTEAUX

Courage Under Fire by Ashton Johnson Registrar Staci Martin recalls the fateful day a man opened fire in First Baptist Church in Daingerfield.

5 10

Anne-Marie at 3

Fleeting Moments

What’s Cooking?

Googoo for Gaga

28 30 32 36 37

Perspective is Subjective

by Randi Vinson-Davis

Blessings and Counting by Kade Morrison

by Lauren LaBoyteaux

by Jordan Moss

by Ashley Morales

by Travis Hull

Different for the Best by Jonathen Ruesch

Self-Imposition

by Nine Photographers

Simplicity

by Brittani Pfau

Contributors Printed by Hudson Graphics, Inc. Longview, Texas

DISCLAIMER: Editorial staff positions are held by Kilgore College communications students. Comments and views expressed in The Flare Magazine reflect the thoughts of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or opinions of other students, staff members, faculty members, administrative officers or the Board of Trustees.

Anne-Marie at

Three-year-old Anne-Marie’s childhood fascinates me. Her emotional, mental and physical transformations occur in the blink of an eye. One moment she is playing and needs the care of a baby, and the next moment she is calling herself a “big girl” and mimicking adult family and friends. The innocence of childhood is what intrigues me the most, full of hope and wonder with no real concerns. It is that childlike wonder I wish to preserve in these images of AnneMarie’s innocence.

Randi Vinson-Davis

PHOTOGRAPHS BY RANDI VINSON-DAVIS

HAIR

The Flare Magazine • ART • 5

ANNE-MAIRE’S TRIPTYCH

BEAN BAG 6 • ART • The Flare Magazine

The Flare Magazine • ART • 7

ANNE-MARIE’S DIPTYCH PONYTAIL

8 • ART •The Flare Magazine

SLIDE

The Flare Magazine • ART • 9

Blessings and Counting

y wife’s journey as a mother began with an emergency C-section with our firstborn. We thought that was a crazy process, but then three years later we remember the day that Dr. David said, “There are two babies in your belly.” My wife’s reaction was excitement and feeling overwhelmed at the same time. My reaction was, “Are you kidding me?” I saw the expense of two of everything from here on out. Life would never be the same for us as a family because God was going to show us how faithful he is when we are overwhelmed. In the journey of being a husband, daddy and youth pastor I have learned a lot. I am a 30-year-old college student who is what many people like to call a late bloomer or even some call a slacker. When you get my age you start to look at the world differently and see things from a new perspective. One of the greatest things I have learned is the value of my wife as a mother. I have had the privilege to watch up close and personal how God uses a mother in a child’s life. Don’t get me wrong. Dads play a vital role, but there is a connection between a mother and child that only God could design. When it comes to the reproduction process the dad’s got the best end of the deal, but women have to endure so many things to give birth to a baby. My wife’s name is Jena and we have been married for a little more than seven years. She is pregnant with our fourth baby and we feel incredibly blessed to have this many children. We believe children are a blessing from the Lord, but our goal is not to have 19 kids and counting. Her daily routine starts with getting up early enough to take a shower and try to have quiet time with the Lord before all the action starts. Then the fun begins with breakfast, cartoons, fish sticks, lots

“

of crying, sweet smiles, diaper changes, naps, dinner, family time, baths and getting everybody tucked in to do it all again tomorrow. Women have a journey of routine every day that my wife says is full of God and lots of lessons. I asked my wife, “As a mother of three what are you most nervous about with the fourth baby coming?” She said she was nervous about how to manage time with our other three children. We have a 5-year-old son and identical twin girls who are almost 2. We forget sometimes as “working” people how hard it can be to be a mother and face the things mothers face on a daily basis. “It’s about keeping things in perspective. It is not always having a clean house or looking like you have it all together as a mom. The priority to me is teaching them love, to be an individual and to want Jesus in their life,” my wife says. “Mothers are not seen in the spotlight, but, they really establish structure and character in our children who will grow up and become adults themselves. “One of the most rewarding things about motherhood is watching a little life unfold and develop into a little somebody with purpose,” she added. I don’t know about you, but the more I watch this world around me, the more I appreciate the value of a Christian mother. As I ended the conversation with Jena I had one last question for her: “What would you say to mothers out in the world right now if you could say anything to them?” Her response was, “It says in 1 Peter 4:8, ‘Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.’ To me that means if I am being faithful in loving Jesus and I love my kids based off of my love for Christ, Jesus will cover all the rest. No matter the mistakes that I make with my kids or the bad things I may pass down to them, his grace is enough to cover those things.” I totally agree with my wife that being perfect is not the goal, but love is. Thankfully our mistakes so many times will teach our children how valuable the grace of God truly is. And thankfully, there are mothers still willing to love deeply and serve sacrificially. v

One of the most rewarding things about motherhood is watching a little life unfold and develop into a little somebody with purpose. – Jena Morrison

10 • COMMENTARY • The Flare Magazine

“

STORY BY KADE MORRISON

SHELBI CREWS

Jena Morrison holds twins Kambell (left) and Presli, while son Kreed gets close with future brother Tytus.

The Flare Magazine • COMMENTARY • 11

Fleeting moments

FLEETING MOMENT 12 • ART • The Flare Magazine

There is nothing more rewarding than revealing the innocence of a child in a photograph. They will never be the same the next moment – always changing, growing. It is so moving to capture them in that one moment when they believe or do something that they will never believe or do again. A child’s frequent shifts in moods make each experience more genuine. The little accidents that haven’t happened, yet with raw emotion, set each child and photograph apart as something entirely unique. Lauren LaBoyteaux

PHOTOGRAPHS BY LAUREN LABOYTEAUX

TIARAS

FIRST DRESS The Flare Magazine • ART • 13

BEDROOM WINDOW

14 • ART • The Flare Magazine

CATCHING HER BREATH

PENSIVE

COWBOY

Cooking? What’s

STORY BY JORDAN MOSS

s traditional college not for you? Do you have a passion for food and the art of cooking? If so, a world of opportunity waits for you at Kilgore College. KC’s Culinary Arts Program is helping students find exciting careers in a field that has shown exponential growth over the last 10 years. With the rise in popularity of organic and healthy eating at home and with some help from the Food Network, people’s desire to learn to cook has reached new heights. The program is designed not just to train students in the art of cooking, but to prepare them for a variety of careers in the food service industry. Everything from cooking to managerial work, dining room services and hospitality is covered in the program. All courses are also transferable to four-year programs. Kat Jackson, culinary arts lead instructor, says she sees a variety of students walk through the doors. “We have [students] everywhere from in their 60s to 18,” Jackson said. She believes that the culinary arts program is not one for the faint of heart. If you aren’t willing to work hard, it is not something you will enjoy. “If you’re not willing to get in there and do things that are not so fun–like dishes or chop carrots for eight hours–you probably need to look elsewhere,” Jackson said. “If you don’t love it and you’re not willing to work hard it’s probably not for you. The course isn’t geared toward people wanting to learn to cook; it’s geared toward getting them jobs.” As students progress through the two-year plan of study they will

JONATHEN RUESCH

gain skills that are essential to work in the food service industry. Both one- and two-year certifications are available. “The first year is geared toward basic skills. The second year is geared toward management. They get skills like how to order and how to convert recipes,” Jackson said. Students won’t spend all of their time in a classroom. Internships are a big part of gaining the tools necessary to succeed. “You cannot substitute experience. Each summer they have to complete an internship,” Jackson said. “It’ll give them an edge on the competition. They may not start out at the bottom, but in the middle.” Courses are taught at night, and duel credit is offered for high school students at Longview High School and Hallsville High School. Getting high school students involved in culinary arts has helped many find a career path that better suits their interest. The culinary arts program has been a hit thus far and is expected to grow over the next few years. “I think it’s been really successful,” Jackson said. Julie Fowler, KC-Longview Executive Dean, is a firm believer in the program’s potential to bring a higher level of food culture to East Texas. “I have no doubt that the KC Culinary Arts Program is going to lift the consciousness of our region regarding food,” Fowler said. Prospective students must meet the same requirements as registering for traditional KC classes. So if you are looking to gain experience and knowledge in a growing field, check out what KC has cooking with its culinary arts program. v

SONIA GARZA

(Left): Nuthapong Niramolphisal’s dish tied with Sumeyye Samento for first place in competition. Students are judged on taste, presentation and creativity. (Right): A student prepares meat balls for a catering event for a local art festival and benefit.

16 • FEATURE • The Flare Magazine

“ experience.

ANUP BHANDARI

You cannot substitute

”

– Kat Jackson, culinary arts lead instructor

The Flare Magazine • FEATURE • 17

Lacy Storar, Vabbie Forston, Kat Jackson (instructor), Steven Bradford and Shelia Miller work in a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen at Longview High School.

SONIA GARZA

Stephen Sullivan, Brianna Scott, Brittiany Givens make chocolate candy.

18 â&#x20AC;˘ FEATURE â&#x20AC;˘ The Flare Magazine

ANUP BHANDARI

Shelia Miller prepares meatballs for a catering event in downtown Kilgore.

RANDI VINSON-DAVIS

Steven Bradford, Brittiany Givens and Vabbie Fortson work together to cook shrimp bisque. Stacey Herrada decorates a cake for “KilGogh,” an East Texas arts experience. The culinary arts class provided heavy hors d’oeuvres for the fundraiser.

SONIA GARZA

JONATHEN RUESCH

Lacy Storar’s crab cake placed third in competition. The class evaluates each other while Jackson evaluates each student separately.

SONIA GARZA

The Flare Magazine • FEATURE • 19

Courage under

fire

STORY BY ASHTON JOHNSON PHOTOGRAPH BY JONATHEN RUESCH

Registrar Staci Martin stands in front of the monument at Daingerfield First Baptist Church.

egistrar Staci Martin was so busy with her graduation duties last December that she did not hear about that morning’s massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., until it was mentioned in the prayer at the ceremony. Then the memories flooded back. “I know I must have gone pale because I remember just feeling sick and I wanted to cry thinking of those children who were younger than I was,” Martin said. Martin was just 10 years old when a gunman burst into her church and opened fire. “It’s just heartbreaking and makes you relive the whole thing. I just want to reach out to those kids who survived and say ‘I was around your age when something like this happened to me and you can go on with your life,” Martin said. Thirty-two years and 10 months after the Daingerfield shooting, Martin feels compelled to share her story that changed her life forever. The date was Sunday, June 22, 1980. Daingerfield–population 2,500–was a quiet, small town with a pretty church downtown. First Baptist was a safe, peaceful place, but on that day one man’s hatred changed everything. “My family was always in church, so it wasn’t unusual for us to be there that day. My mother and I were sitting about half way down on the left hand side of the church as you face toward the front. My brother was sitting with a friend closer to the front and my dad was a deacon so he was waiting on the front row to take the offering,” Martin said. “It is important to me to know that we weren’t all sitting together when something unexpected happened.” The services had just begun that sunny Sunday morning, when Alvin Lee King III, brandishing an AR-15 rifle with an attached bayonet, burst through the doors of Daingerfield First Baptist Church and shouted “This is war,” before firing randomly into the right side of the sanctuary. “We were singing the hymn ‘More about Jesus.’ It wasn’t one I knew very well, but I will always remember The entrance where Alvin Lee King burst through and yelled “This is war” before firing into the congregation.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JONATHEN RUESCH

that now,” Martin said. The puzzled congregation turned to look at the back of the church. “I heard a noise that sounded like firecrackers. My first thought was that something had gone wrong with the soundboard system because I knew it was coming from behind me,” Martin said. “Before I could turn around, my mother pushed me down into the floor and up under the pew in front of me. I didn’t really know what was going on, but she actually got on top of me.” After only 10 seconds and a hail of gunfire, five people were dead and 10 others were wounded. “I heard people just screaming and then somebody who was in the row ahead of me and was also down on the floor was just saying ‘We need to pray. We need to pray’ and then all of a sudden it stopped,” Martin said. Usher Gene Gandy had stood to greet the latecomer when the church doors burst open and was immediately shot several times in the chest. As King continued to spread gunfire across the right side of the sanctuary, soundboard operator Chris Hall jumped at him, pushing him back into the foyer. The gunman’s rifle, glasses and combat helmet went clattering to the floor. King then pulled the .22-caliber pistol out of his vest and began firing at Hall, who managed to crawl down a nearby stairwell. Red McDaniel and Kenneth Truitt bear-hugged and pushed King out the front doors of the church, down the three steps and out onto the lawn, all while King was shooting both men in their chests. There on the grass, McDaniel and Truitt died. “They sacrificed their lives. They’re [McDaniel and Truitt] heroes. They did not hesitate. Mr. McDaniel’s wife had been shot and he tended to her for a minute and said he would be back, for her to stay there, something like that, and he went after him [King]. That’s incredible,” Martin said. “There’s a monument in front of the church that memorializes the heroism of Red MacDaniel and Kenneth Truitt. It’s amazing to think about the sacrifice that someone else made so that you can live. It makes you eternally grateful that there are people in the world who are like that.” King escaped from the front of the church, walked around the side of the building and crossed the street. He stood in the parking lot of the fire station and shot himself in the temple. Meanwhile, inside the sanctuary, frantic people began to try to make sense of what had just happened. “Our pastor was sick, and the pastor that day was actually filling in,” Martin said. “I remember when he got on the microphone and

began telling people to calm down and that we needed to pray. At some point he said, ‘We all need to get out of here. Walk to the front of the church and out a side door.’ They didn’t want us to see what had happened.” Attempting to block the children’s view of those injured, congregation members helped to rush them out the back doors. “I remember them routing us through the hallways of our Sunday school building to keep us from seeing the things going on outside,” Martin said. “Curious, I looked and could see bodies on the concrete in front of the church.” As the congregation made its way outside, the chaos continued. “In a small town like Daingerfield you don’t have a big hospital to take people to, but there was a small hospital in the nearby city of Lone Star. It was about seven miles away, so they started taking people there,” Martin said. “My mother’s good friend and her pregnant daughter had been shot so before I knew it we were at the hospital.” Hospital in the Pines (now closed) was overwhelmed by the number of people in the small emergency room. “My mother was taking her friend’s rings off and putting pressure on her arm to try to stop the bleeding, and while all of this was going on my brother and I watched an ambulance pull up,” Martin said. “It was the gunman. I remember standing outside with a crowd of people when they pulled the gurney out of the ambulance. They didn’t bring him inside, but just started treating him in the parking lot.” King was still alive and had suffered only a minor injury to the head. “We were just standing there, watching him,” Martin said. “I had no idea who it was at the time because I had never looked around when it [the shooting] happened, but my mother and many others immediately recognized him.” King had previously been a math teacher at Daingerfield High School and was well-known around town, especially in recent events. “My mother had previously taught with him and had served on the grand jury who had recently indicted him for incest with his daughter,” Martin said. King was scheduled to begin trial Monday, June 23, 1980. He had asked many congregation members to be character witnesses in his trial. All refused. “I remember listening to the crowd whisper and mumble among themselves about King’s possible motive [while at the hospital], and I remember mentioning to a woman that mother had been on

“

Before I could turn around, my mother pushed me down into the floor and up under the pew in front of me. I didn’t really know what was going on, but she actually got on top of me.” – Staci Martin, registrar and director of admissions

The Flare Magazine • FEATURE • 23

the grand jury,” Martin said. “I will never forget her saying, ‘Well maybe that’s why he did it.’” After he was treated in Lone Star, King was transported to John Sealy Hospital in Galveston. “That afternoon we went back to the church to meet family members, and I remember seeing the pews and carpet on the grass in front of the church,” Martin said. “They immediately started ripping out those pews that had bullet holes in them. They even ripped out the carpet that had blood on it.” Martin and her family gathered at her grandparents’ house for the rest of the afternoon. “I remember sitting around the kitchen table just feeling really numb,” Martin said. “We could not believe that something like that could happen. Now we are used to hearing about this stuff, unfortunately, but back then that did not happen.” The summer of 1980 has been recorded as one of the hottest summers in East Texas. “It rained that day and it had hardly rained that summer. That afternoon a dark cloud came and it rained for a while and then it quit. It was just strange,” Martin said. “Many people call it ‘the day the angels cried.’” Phone lines were busy and all media outlets were transfixed on the city of Daingerfield. “Of course back then we didn’t have the Internet, we didn’t have 24-hour television news and you certainly didn’t have cell phones. There was a lot of uncertainty once it started getting out later that afternoon,” Martin said. “We had an influx of media come in – news helicopters from Dallas. We didn’t have counselors to help people or any of that. We just coped on our own.” Daingerfield buzzed with talk of the shooting and members of the town were forced to face the tragedy. “It was dealing with something unheard of first of all and in

a small town where you think you’re safe. We didn’t lock our doors and my parents left their keys in their cars most of the time,” Martin said. “We lived out in the country and my brother and I slept in my parents’ room because we were afraid to be by ourselves and afraid that that man would come back.” Martin’s parents placed a mattress at the end of their bed, and Martin and her brother slept there for a month. “When you’re a kid and you hear ‘He’s going to plea insanity and get out’ that’s all you think about. You think he’s going to get out of jail and come back,” Martin said. Martin and the residents of Daingerfield were confronted with the event everywhere they went. “I remember going to the lake that summer in Daingerfield and seeing a news helicopter fly overhead, so you couldn’t forget about it,” Martin said. “We just tried to get over it on our own, and only the people who were actually there could understand and help you cope with it.” Martin and her family were in church the next Sunday along with their congregation and many more. “My parents were bound and determined that we were going to go back to church that next Sunday. Nothing was going to keep us from going back to our church home. We had to be strong and show that some evil person could not overcome something that was good,” Martin said. “It was a packed service, and in fact the attendance went up tremendously after that.” The sanctuary revealed bullet holes in the walls, hardwood floors that were once covered by blood-stained carpet and a room full of horrific memories. “That Sunday I wore these little flip flop shoes that had a wooden heel. I had wanted them so much and I can distinctly remember how loud they were on the wooden floor,” Martin said. “I didn’t want to hear loud; I wanted to be quiet.”

Student remembers tragic day in church

STORY BY BRITTANI PFAU

hey didn’t know to duck. They didn’t know they would be dodging bullets that day. Leslie Lee, Lone Star sophomore, was 8 years old when Alvin Lee King III burst into Daingerfield First Baptist Church on June 22, 1980, taking the lives of five people and injuring 10 more. Lee and her sisters were seated in the far right pews of the church when King opened fire. “Everyone was screaming. My sisters and I moved into the regular pew just a few feet away with my mom and brother,” Lee said. “My mom said, ‘Get down! Get down!’ So we hid under the pew on the floor until the preacher said for everyone to exit the back door. People were bleeding and crying.” Lee followed the preacher’s instructions and, along with her mother, sister and brothers, made her way through the back door of the church, outside and into a crowd of injured and shocked congregation members. “I remember seeing a man with his hands and arms covered in blood,” Lee said. “I’m not sure if he was helping someone who was hurt or if he had been hurt himself. My dad, who did not go to church with us, was at home and heard it on the police scanner and was there when we came out of the church.” Lee grew up attending First Baptist Church with her family. The Sunday following the shooting, the Lees were in attendance with many other congregation members who refused to be deterred from coming back to their house of worship. Lee’s mother, Barbara Lee, clearly remembers that day.

“We were a little apprehensive to go back. They had taken out some of the bloody furniture and removed the carpet. But when he [King] came in that day, we thought it was a skit. Sometime before, the church had held a skit with men coming in the back door in military get-up,” Barbara said. “They were trying to show us how fortunate we were that we could worship freely without a gun to our head like it is in some countries. That’s why no one got down right away. We thought it was a skit.” Today, Lee says the events of that day don’t have much of an effect on how she lives her life. I don’t really remember it affecting me to the point that I was scared to do things,” Lee said. “I’m sure it affected my life somehow because it was a traumatic event but sometimes it even seems like it was a dream and not real.” v

King remained in Rusk State Hospital for 18 months before being relocated to Morris County Jail. Just hours before he was scheduled to return to a courtroom where a district judge was considering whether to relocate a court hearing to determine if he were competent to aid in his defense at his murder trial, King hanged himself with strips of a towel in his jail cell. “I remember very distinctly the day he killed himself. I was in the sixth grade and the phone rang, and when the phone rings early in the morning, it’s usually not good news,” Martin said. “I just had the biggest sense of relief. It was like a weight had been lifted off all of us.” Even today Martin is still affected by shooting-related incidents. “As I got older, maybe college age and older, and could really look back on what an unusual experience it was and how tragic it was. When you are sort of removed from the situation it makes you really think ‘I can’t believe I went through something like that,’” Martin said. “It becomes more unbelievable as time goes by and it’s not as fresh.” Martin says it makes her more aware of her surroundings. “There is a side of me that says ‘I’ve already been through this awful experience. What are the odds of this happening to me again?’ and that’s the logic that you tell yourself to try to cope,” Martin said. Though Martin has experienced an unusual and tragic event, the happenings of that day haven’t held her back. “I take the positive aspects out of it; like the heroes, the outpouring of support we got and the fact that we could go on with our lives,” Martin said. “Not many people have been in an experience like ours. God pulled us through it and let us prosper beyond that.” v

MARCI WELLS Leslie Lee, Lone Star sophomore, holds the June 21, 1981, special section of The Steel Country Bee. The special section was released to commemorate the one-year anniversary the Daingerfied First Baptist Church shooting.

Alvin Lee King III: Portrait of a killer

STORY BY ASHTON JOHNSON

lvin Lee King III was always a puzzle to the people of Daingerfield. They did not understand his beliefs, his intellect or his attitude toward life. King was an outsider, a loner who lived in his own world in a small town where everyone knew everyone else. Daingerfield was a community that prided itself in its churches and Southern hospitality. He was said to be an atheist who had little interest in being a socialite. He was born in Wichita Falls in 1934 and was raised in Corpus Christi. King moved to Daingerfield in 1966 with his wife, Gretchen, daughter Cynthia, and son Alvin Lee King IV. He taught mathematics and was said to be a brilliant teacher, but most students were weary of his odd character. The same year, while King was visiting his parents, he was examining a 12-gauge shotgun when it discharged, killing his father. His father’s death was ruled accidental. In 1972 he quit teaching and became a truck driver. After working as a truck driver, he went back to school to get a doctorate in psychology at East Texas State University (now Texas A&M Commerce). When his mobile home burned five years later, members of the First Baptist Church arranged for donations to be made to replace lost belongings. King and his family then moved to a 100-acre farm just outside of Daingerfield. On Oct. 24, 1979, King was indicted on incest charges after his daughter, Cynthia, filed a complaint. He asked church members and other people in the community to serve as character witnesses in his trial, but everyone refused. On June 22, 1980, the Sunday before he was scheduled to go on trial, he arose early, ate breakfast with his wife and then tied her to a chair. She didn’t fight back and she didn’t think much of it. He said: “I love you and I don’t want to hurt you.” King then scribbled the message on a scrap of paper and left the room. He dressed in Army fatigues, a flak jacket, a steel helmet and carried two weapons, an AR-15 and a .22 pistol, and slung over his shoulder was a pack stuffed with ammunition. At 11:20 a.m. King burst through the doors of Daingerfield First Baptist Church and shouted “This is war,” before firing into the sanctuary. King killed five and wounded 10 before attempting to take his own life. He was transported to John Sealy Hospital in Galveston where he remained in critical condition for several days. He recovered and it was determined that he was incompetent to stand trial. He was transferred to Rusk State Hospital where he remained for 18 months. In 1982 King was ruled competent to stand a murder trial. He was relocated to Morris County Jail. Hours before he was scheduled to return to the courtroom, King hanged himself with strips of a towel. v Sources: www.murderpedia.org/male.K/k/king-alvin-lee.htm www.safeatchurch.org/daingerfield-shooting.html

The Flare Magazine • FEATURE • 25

for

STORY BY ASHLEY MORALES You would camp out to see your favorite artist ever. Right? Gabriel Espinosa, Longview sophomore, camped out for three days at the American Airlines Center in Dallas to see his favorite singer, Lady Gaga. Espinosa had waited two years to see his “mother monster” for the second time. His plan was to meet up in Dallas with two friends from Argentina and two from Tampa, Fla., who were flying in just for the campout. Planning to be the first in line so he could meet Lady Gaga, Espinosa arrived at the center on Jan. 26 and waited by the door all day by himself. As the night dragged on he didn’t want to sleep alone outside so he went to a hotel and planned to be back as first in line early the next morning. Before he arrived he received a call from one of his friends telling him there were already people waiting outside the center. Espinosa rushed to the center where his friends were waiting for him and he became 17th in line. Waiting fans received wristbands to reserve their space in line, allowing them to leave to get food

and use the restroom. Espinosa spent the next two days with other fans eagerly awaiting the day of the concert. They explored the Avenue and waited for the tour buses to arrive. “Lady Gaga’s tour bus came at 2 a.m. and we all were freaking out and waving, but she was probably asleep,” Espinosa said. The day of the concert a tornado warning sounded an hour and a half before the doors were supposed to open and the fans were allowed inside during the harsh weather. Once the gatekeepers allowed the fans that had been waiting for days to go into the pit, they all started running. “I got to the front of the stage and was so happy,” Espinosa said. Lady Starlight and Madeon opened the show. Then it was time for Gaga. “I was crying when she came on,” Espinosa said. “The first minute of the show she was on a unicorn and was just looking at all the people in the pit.” Espinosa was sporting a sign that read “Immigrants are people too. I am Americano.” About 10 minutes into the show Lady Gaga looked at the message and into Espinosa’s eyes. “She blew me a kiss and I was crying. Everyone around me was like, ‘Oh my gosh!’” Espinosa said. For the last song, “Marry the Night,” Lady Gaga picked a fan from the crowd to go on stage. She ended up picking one of Espinosa’s friends from Argentina. “She was so excited because she came all the way from Argentina just for the concert,” Espinosa said. When the performance was over and Gaga was walking off stage she grabbed Espinosa’s hand and squeezed it as she looked into his eyes. “That was the best part of the night,” he said. v

Left: Gabriel Espinosa wears the outfit it took him two months to create for the concert, an inspiration from Gaga’s song “Americano.”

Top: Espinosa and friends wait in the front of the Monster Pit for Lady Gaga to perform her grand opening. Middle: The fans show their numbered bracelets that served as line placeholders. Left: Lady Gaga tells her Little Monsters to put their claws up in her monologue in between “Bad Romance” and “Judas.”

PHOTOGRAPHS BY GABRIEL ESPINOSA

The Flare Magazine • FEATURE • 27

LIVING WITH AUTISM

PERSPECTIVE IS SUBJECTIVE STORY BY TRAVIS HULL

pring is in the air, and that means a longneeded break from cold weather, grilling food outside, the smell of flowers and the warm sun on your skin. As life and color are returned to our surroundings, we set off on our daily routines to find inspiration to celebrate life again. Especially celebrating life is the Autism Society, which represents roughly 1 remarkable percent of America's population. This 1 percent has been diagnosed with a neural development disorder commonly known as autism that is usually represented most by problems in socializing with others. However, for Avery Neuendorff, Overton freshman, this so-called "disability" is nothing more than a reason to be refreshingly unique and has provided her a chance to break the mold of the mundane lifestyles the other "normal" people get sucked into. She has always been a rose in a field of daisies. At around age 3, she found that disassembling pens and putting them back together proved no challenge at all, and picking locked doors around her house was an easy task. "I've always considered myself somewhat of an escape artist," Neuendorff said with a mischievous smile. It was not until she entered the third grade that she was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a mild form of autism. Regardless of her different ways of conducting relationships, Neuendorff quickly learned that the interests of her peers were quite different from her own. "I was way more interested in art, movies and writing than the other kids," Neuendorff said. However, these differences soon began to make life difficult for her. Children in her school took notice of her peculiar ways and, like many young kids, tried to exploit her differences by picking on her. "Grade school was the first circle of hell for me, but middle school was the worst place of all," Neuendorff said. With words like "freak" being thrown in her face and always being stared at, she found herself in a state of depression. The ways she escaped the unfriendly world she had to deal with every day were the very things that made her different in the first place. Traditional Japanese and French art allured her, so she dived into her artistic hobbies. 28 • FEATURE • The Flare Magazine

High school provided relief for her difficulty in maintaining relationships since some students were maturing enough to look past themselves and give her the time of day. "The guidance counselor helped me socialize and I started to make real friends," Neuendorff said. Now in full bloom, college life has suited her better than any other institution she has been a part of. Dabbling in theater, photography, creative writing and radio-television-film, Neuendorff is finding her identity and happiness by doing the activities she loves while furthering her education. Helping ease the difficulties of everyday life, a few KC employees have helped support Neuendorff. From personal security to creative feedback, these humbling individuals do not hesitate to accommodate the needs and wants of this quirky young woman. Susan Black, librarian, has befriended and provided herself as a confidante for Neuendorff's many fan-fiction stories. Fan-fiction writers use popular stories from movies or books as templates for their own fictional stories. "Avery bounces ideas off of me and I help her develop her stories," Black says. "I really admire her determination and tenacity to stay in college. The library is a place where she feels safe." Also helping ease Avery's college experience is Hollyann Davis – one of KC's guidance counselors. "We have a working relationship to help resolve issues with students and teachers,” Davis said. “It puts a smile on my face when I see her bouncing around campus. She is truly addictive to be around.” Neuendorff plans to attend the University of North Texas after KC. She wants to be a story concept designer for movies and screen plays one day. "I enjoy being myself and having a different perspective on life with no restrictions at all. I don't get weirded out by things most people find strange. I'm always trying to make a unique identity for myself," Neuendorff added. She is one of 13 students with autism enrolled at KC, and with the help of the Autism Society's Autism Awareness Month in April, more people can become educated on the potential of these extremely bright, non-judgmental and happy individuals. Neuendorff is a shining example of someone living with Autism, and anyone willing to accept her for who she is can learn a little about finding true inner peace with the characteristics that make them special and unique. v

Avery Neuendorff holds her ever-present iPad.

“

Grade school was the first circle of hell for me, but middle school was the worst place of all.

SELF-PORTRAIT BY AVERY NEUENDORFF

LABELS

Avery Neuendorff

SHELBY RAGLAND

When the world sees me They see the American The greedy, vain, violent, arrogant, dumb American When America sees me They see the Southerner The racist, overly-religious, uneducated, unchanging Southerner When the South sees me They see the Texan The horse-riding, gun loving, Mexican-hating Texan When Texas sees me They see the Catholic The non-Christian, Mary-worshiping, alcoholic, pedophilic Catholic When the community sees me They see the Autistic Girl The weird, unemotional, anti-social, robotic Autistic Girl

Yes, I am an American Yes, I am from the South Yes, I am a Texan Yes, I am a Catholic Yes, I am Autistic But, I’m also none of those I wear a mask of labels that people force on me They see eyes and a mouth; and nothing else They see the painful label mask that I can’t remove Will you see me? Can you see me? No, you can’t see me Not with these on my face

Get Them Off!!

Differe for th

30 • COMMENTARY • The Flare Magazine

ent he best

STORY BY JONATHEN RUESCH

imitations. We’re all given them throughout our lives. Some of them are as minor as you can’t cross the street without holding mom’s hand to as major as you’ll only live for another month. When I was 4 years old, I was given the limitation that I would not be able to live a normal life, that I would have to go to schools for “special” kids and not be able to survive in everyday society. I was diagnosed with autism at 4 years old and then was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at the age of 8. I didn’t talk coherently. Whole sentences turned into single words as I tried to speak as fast as the words went through my mind. Eye contact was a thing of myth, not truly existing in my world. When I drew a stick figure, I drew a circle, a long line next to it and then four short lines next to those, lining up the head, body, arms and legs instead of attaching them like a child would normally do. I didn’t understand strength, accidentally tackling the “demon child” who came over for a play date, resulting in his hiding behind his mother for the rest of the day. I fed my fish spaghetti and put socks in their tank to keep them warm. Yeah, they died. One day while watching “Aladdin” I broke a television. The characters said that they were thirsty, so I dumped a sippy cup of orange juice down the air vents in the back of the TV. Did you know that the screen starts to turn different shades of orange before it starts smoking? My childhood seems kind of lonely as I look back on it, but it wasn’t something that I minded too much as a child. I was able to go out in the backyard and make up these little worlds, which evolved into my love for reading and writing. I didn’t realize until I was about 10 years old that friends were supposed to be friends both in and out of a school setting, which was about the time that I had a friend tell me that the only reason he was my friend was because his mom told him to be. However, my “disability” made it so that I was more open-minded about the world. It helped me learn that when the going gets tough, you get tougher. I had to learn how to accept change, because before I learned that change was good, I always had to have the blue bowl. I learned to cherish friends who stay despite all of your flaws. I also learned to not let the little things hurt.

Harassment was an everyday thing as a kid. Adults knew that there was something different about me until I was 8 years old; then they usually only knew if they were close to someone who had Asperger’s Syndrome. Though the other kids knew right off the bat that I was different, and they pointed it out. I usually didn’t play with the other boys because someone usually got hurt when I did, and usually it was the other kid I was playing with. There was also the issue that I had no sense of personal space and usually came off as overly friendly. People started to call me names and two that stuck were gay and fag; however, the reason for those was because I went to the principal about the kids calling me those and he said that it was OK, that he called his horse those names all the time, so not to worry. Well, I still took offense to those words because I was not a horse. The dark points are what make the bright points even brighter, though. I remember the first time that I was accepted into a group. Boy Scout Troop 800, American Fork, Utah. There was Zachary Frost, Logan Edvalson, Bradley Ivie, Trenton Kirkham, Joshua Dawson and David Mortensen. I remember the first time I rode a bicycle without falling over at the age of 8. I remember winning a reading competition and earning two Utah Jazz game tickets. I went to the game with my dad. These little happy moments in life are so bright and shining in my mind, like stars in a night sky. The sky itself may not be the most beautiful, dark and frightening, but then you add those bright pinpoints of white light. Living with Asperger’s Syndrome has taught me to appreciate the good in life. It has taught me that it is possible to overcome limitations set in front of me. I was told that I wouldn’t be able to live a normal life. Guess what. I don’t. I live a life much richer and fuller than any normal life can ever be. v SELF-PORTRAIT BY JONATHEN RUESCH

S e l f –

ocial media has offered us an insatiable appetite for self-indulgence. Photographs flood the Internet, reflecting our egos and perhaps how we hope to be perceived in regard to appearance and lifestyle. So, our ego-maniacal imaginations often run amok. Serious photographers have been turning the camera on themselves for decades, creating self-interpretations that often go beyond the obvious trite surface value of images projected in the more common social media of our pop culture. Self-Imposition is a selection of images by photographers whose visual interpretations reveal their interest in themselves and their imaginations, perhaps leaving the viewer open to determine truth or deception.

GABRIEL ESPINOSA

RANDI VINSON-DAVIS

TAYLON SHARER

32 • ART • The Flare Magazine

I m p o s i t i o n

KRIS DOBBINS

“There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are.” Ernst Haas, photographer CARA HERBERT

LAUREN LABOYTEAUX

34 • ART • The Flare Magazine

SONIA GARZA

SHELBI CREWS

“Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be.” Duane Michals, photographer

SHERRY SIMMONS

The Flare Magazine • ART • 35

TOMÁS WEIDMER

S I M P L I C I T Y STORY BY BRITTANI PFAU

like simple. I am simple. Simple defines me. No facade, no added drama, no frills. I live simply, I dress simply, and I eat simply. People may associate simple with being simpleminded or boring. I have never broken a bone. Does this make me boring? Does that mean I don’t take enough risks? No, I have simply never broken a bone. I would rather stay home, curl up on the couch and read a good book as a way to enjoy a weekend afternoon. Does this make me boring? Does that mean that I don’t know how to have fun? No, I simply enjoy reading. I have a passion for animals and, at times, like to be around them rather than some people. Does this make me boring? Does that mean that I need to work on my people skills? No, I simply have a deep love of animals. I compare myself quite often to other people, a habit I have been working on avoiding. I could never really put my finger on what made me feel different. And then one day I realized what it was when a friend summed it up for me: “You are just a simple person.” I have come to embrace this quality and be proud of it. Yes, I still have a flip phone. Yes, I still live by “old-fashioned” values. Yes, I drive a used older model car. Yes, I would much rather wear comfortable clothes than make sure I accessorize my outfit correctly. I wear the same jewelry every day. Yes, I 36 • COMMENTARY • The Flare Magazine

have naturally curly hair that I let have its own way rather than spend time in the mornings changing what God gave me. Yes, I eat my food without much fanfare or condiments. Yes, I pretty much embody simplicity and that suits me just fine. I have learned to become comfortable in my own skin. I still remember one of the best compliments I ever received. I was having a conversation with my aunt one afternoon, about three years ago, when she brushed my hair behind one of my ears, looked at me and said, “You know, you will make some man very happy one day. He will love these curls of yours. You’re just a low-maintenance gal and that’s a good thing.” To many, this may not seem very profound, but for me it was heartfelt and a compliment that soothed my soul. I realized that subconsciously, that’s what I have strived for in life: a genuine character of simplicity and low maintenance. I am these characteristics. It was reassuring for someone to tell me that it is OK to embrace how God designed me and the qualities that define my personality. Sure, I get ribbed and made fun of for my choices, often more than I would like, but who doesn’t at some point. I am OK with not living like those my age. I am OK with, as some would say, living in the past. I like simple. I am simple. Simple defines me. v

CONTRIBUTORS Ashton Johnson, editor, is a sophomore communications major from Kilgore. She is also Co-Executive Editor of The Flare. Ashton will earn an Associate of Arts with a field of study in journalism/mass communications in May and transfer to Texas Tech University in the fall.

Ashley Morales, editor, is a freshman communications major from Longview. She is also Page Editor of The Flare.

Brittani Pfau, editor, is a sophomore communications major from White Oak. She is also Co-Executive Editor of The Flare. Brittani will earn an Associate of Arts with a field of study in journalism/mass communications in May and transfer to Texas Tech University in the fall.

Randi Vinson-Davis, editor, is a sophomore photography major from Henderson. She earned an Associate of Applied Science in the spring of 2012 and will earn an Associate of Arts in the spring of 2014.

Anup Bhadndari, photographer, is a sophomore photography major from Nepal. He will earn an Associate of Applied Science in August. Anup is on the Board of Directors for Longview Museum and paints/volunteers for several charity organizations in East Texas.

Travis Hull, writer, is a sophomore general studies major from Kilgore. He is also a staff writer for The Flare. Travis will transfer to the University of Texas at Tyler in the fall where he plans to major in mass communications and minor in music.

Jonathen Ruesch, advertising manager, photographer and writer, is as sophomore communications major from Gilmer. He is the Advertising Manager and Web Editor of The Flare, an Eagle Scout and plans to transfer to Stephen F. Austin State University in the fall.

Shelbi Crews, photographer, is a sophomore photography major from Gladewater.

Lauren LaBoyteaux, photographer, is a sophomore photography major from Kilgore. She will earn an Associate of Applied Science in August.

Sherry Simmons, photographer, is a freshman photography major from Longview.

Kris Dobbins, photographer, is a sophomore photography major from Kilgore. He plans to transfer to the University of North Texas to study photography. Gabriel Espinosa, photographer, is a freshman photography major from Longview. Sonia Garza, photographer, is a sophomore photography major from Tatum. She has an Associate of Applied Science in graphic design/advertising. Cara Herbert, photographer, is a sophomore photography major from Longview.

Kade Morrison, writer, is a sophomore communications major from Kilgore. He is a staff writer for The Flare. Jordan Moss, writer, is a sophomore communications major from San Antonio. He is also a staff writer for The Flare. Jordan will earn an Associate of Arts in May. Avery Neuendorff, photographer, is a freshman photography-RTF major from Kilgore. Shelby Ragland, photographer, is a freshman photography major from Naples.

Taylon Sharer, photographer, is a sophomore photography major from Powder Springs, Ga. She will earn an Associate of Applied Science in August and plans to attend Texas State University in the fall. Marci Wells, photographer, is a freshman photography major from Gladewater. Tomás Weidmer, photographer, is KC’s Spanish instructor and is from Mexico City. He is also enrolled in Photo Digital Imaging I.

The Flare Magazine • CONTRIBUTORS • 37

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