Travis Barker had been performing in my hometown, Columbia, South Carolina, in a very popular downtown area called 5 Points. To those of you familiar with Mizzou, 5 Points would be the equivalent of condensing "The District" into a smaller section and having all five major streets come together at a point with a big, beautiful fountain marking their convergence. Right behind where my Mom and I are standing in this picture is where their stage was set up to play for a full crowd.
Anyway, Barker had been performing a show along with the popular Gavin DeGraw and was boarding his flight from the Columbia Metropolitan Airport to make his way home after the performance. The flight had not even made it off the runway before crashing. The actual cause of the crash remains unknown, but it is believed the tire blew as they were attempting take-off. Sadly, four people died on the flight, leaving only Barker and close friend, Adam Goldstein (DJ AM) as survivors. Below is a link to MTV's coverage of the event:
Granted Columbia, South Carolina's airport is larger than Columbia, Missouri's "International" airport, however it is still very unusual for such high profile people to be traveling in and out of it, let alone being involved in such a tragic accident. The second I heard the news that morning I contacted friends of mine that worked at my station (WIS) to see if they knew any more information. Reporters from WIS were going live throughout the day from the scene for nationwide coverage. I'll admit, it was entertaining to see these people I had worked with streaming live for CNN and MSNBC, although I would have obviously hoped for it to be under different circumstances. Here is a link to the story from WIS News 10:
I believe Barker has made a full recovery since this awful occurrence.
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I am happy to say I have completed my first KOMU reporting shift! It was a nice, easy story to be broken into the new workings of the cameras and editing equipment. Central Dairy is a locally owned business that has stocked Wal-Mart's shelves with their products since Wal-Mart opened their doors. Now however, Wal-Mart has made the decision to remove Central Dairy's ice cream line from their stores claiming the local product does not stack up against its national competitors. Central Dairy shoppers are upset about this decision and hope it does not last long. I got to visit the adorable ice cream parlor, established in 1933, in downtown Jefferson City. Everyone was very friendly and willing to talk to me about their favorite ice cream. Many shoppers believe Wal-Mart's decision to put a freeze on the product was not in their best interest.
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