Leads (or Ledes) 1

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Writing Leads

Dear NewsHounds:
Here are (mixed up) reporter notes from actual news stories (well, plausible news stories…). Identify the WWWWWH and then use the key info to write leads for the story. Conform to AP style.

Slug: Speech
There was a speech at USU last night. It was sponsored by the political science department. It was about how history repeats itself, titled, “Déjà Vu All Over Again: Rise of the New Russia.” It was at the Eccles Conference Center on campus at 7 p.m. About 200 people attended. The speaker was from the University of Virginia—Professor Igor Dullard, an expert in Russian and Soviet history and author of a new bestseller, “The Bear Is Back: Russian Adventurism in the 21st Century.”

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Slug: HawkWatch
Actual email: Thanks to Bob for reminding me to remind you about the Wellsville Hawkwatch program. Hawkwatch International was founded in 1986 by USU’s Steve Hoffmann as a science-based raptor monitoring and conservation group. His first migration chokepoint “discovery” was the northern end of the Wellsville Mountains, where hawks traveling south from Canada, Idaho and Montana converge to use the lift from the prevailing westerlies to glide along the ridgeline toward their winter quarters.

It’s a 3-mile, 3,000-foot-gain effort to reach the observation point, but it’s SOOO rewarding when you get there. The trailhead is at the west end of 300 North in Mendon at the foot of the mountain. Follow the trail to the ridgeline where you get the first dramatic views of the Great Salt Lake Valley. Then turn right (NW) and follow the ridge for 1/2 mile to the highest point, a low rock wall and a Hawkwatch International observer, named Josh Lawrey, who will lead this year’s Wellsville HawkWatch on September 27

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Slug: Crash
From Logan Police Department reports: Traffic stop, 11:43 p.m. . 1400 block of North Main Street. Blue Datsun sedan, 1998 (UTlic: HGI 901), failed to stop at stoplight at 1400N, northbound, hit left front bumper/fender of white Chevy van, 2004 (IDlic. IDSPUD). Datsun attempted to leave the scene but damage to right front wheel made vehicle undriveable. Officers apprehended driver and passenger near Deseret bank. Driver, Jerald Doolittle, d.o.b. 6/13/88, 438 East 500 North, Apt. 2B, Logan, UT, declined BreathAlyzer field test and was arrested on suspicion of DUI. Driver of Chevy, Howard Russet, d.o.b. 3/21/57, 14500 East 2500 North, Pocatello, ID, uninjured.

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Slug: Kidney
A 16-year-old employee of the Charley’s Grilled Subs store in Orem needs a new kidney, and his boss is going to give him one. Juan Delgado is the employee; the store owner is Marcus Gilbert. Delgado has acute renal disease. Without treatment and a new kidney, he will die of kidney failure. Mr. Gilbert has been trying to raise money for Juan, whose family is working to raise $100,000 for the treatment. Mr. Gilbert had himself tested and found out he’s a perfect match to be a kidney donor. The transplant will happen sometime next month.

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Slug: Paving scam
People in Provo are getting ripped off by con-men who sell asphalt paving services. Police say they target elderly people and then overcharge them. One man was charged $13,000 for a driveway repair. Another was billed $8,000 for work he didn’t authorize. Police say the scammers knock on doors and talk residents into simple repairs, and then charge unusually high prices. Police believe there may be many cases linked to the same crew of asphalt pavers in the Provo area. Residents are urged to get estimates in writing and to check contractors with the Better Business Bureau.

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Slug: Thai protest
Thousands of protesters are camped in front of the prime minister’s compound in Bangkok, Thailand, protesting alleged government corruption. The prime minister is Samak Sundaravej. He has denied charges of corruption. He’s been in office for seven months. He refuses to step down. Protest leaders are calling for 1 million people to join in a nationwide protest, disrupting government functions and rail and air service.

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Slug: La-Z-Boy
John Frontman said today that the 57-year-old La-Z-Boy Co. in Tremonton, Utah, will close its doors next month. The company, which makes recliners and other furniture, employs more than 500 people at its Box Elder County plant. The jobs will move to Mexico, where labor costs are lower, Frontman said. He is a company spokesman. He said current La-Z-Boy workers will be welcome to relocate. Union officials called the announcement “a disaster.”

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Slug: Army recruiting
The Army is offering new signing bonuses and incentives to new recruits to enlist. The Army has met recruiting target for the past two years, and says it is on track to meet its 80,000 goal for this year. But the minimum standards on age, weight, education and drug and criminal records have been eased. To get more recruits to sign up, the Army is landing Black Hawk helicopter simulators in shopping malls in Pennsylvania and Minnesota. Iraq war veterans share their combat experiences with teenaged shoppers, and given them a chance to try out the high-tech simulators and video gaming stations, “flying” the helicopter gunships in storefronts near mall food courts. Maj. Larry Dillard say the Army is targeting “destination malls” in urban areas.

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Slug: Football
No. 15 Arizona State 30, Northern Arizona 13. Arizona State quarterback is Rudy Carpenter; threw for 388 yards and one touchdown. ASU is the Red Devils. NAriz is the Lumberjacks. ASU running back Dimitri Nance ran for two touchdowns. Carpenter completed 222 of 28 passes, including 13 straight in the first half, tying a record. And he also ran for a TD.

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