The Color Purple

As we made our way back toward the station our minds wandered but conversation focused on the story. How would be the best way to demonstrate what we'd just seen. Flooding had lifted a church off it's foundation and carried it some 200 yards down the "stream" next to which it sat. Lilla and I had shot plenty of footage for our package, and great sound to boot. But the discussion was cut short by my cell phone going off. The voice on the other end was rather frantic, "Kenny, how close are you two to Bowling Green?" I figured 15 to 20 minutes. "Get to the Colony Apartments complex off Campbell Lane as fast as you can, drop the church story." The voice broke up slightly, "we have a child abduction."

My stomach feels much the same way now that it did when I heard those words. My Chevy Lumina news car found a new gear and we were on the scene in less than 10. We already had one photographer on location who had quickly collected a picture of the little girl. Her name was Morgan Jade Violi. She was 7 years old.

Lilla took the picture and she and Greg were on their way to the studio to get the picture broadcast on televisions across south-central Kentucky in record time. The police knew it might be the only chance to find Morgan before her abductor got out of the area. Time was of the essence. It was July 1996, long before the now familiar Amber Alert System.

I stayed at the scene trying to make sense of what had happened. Morgan's mother, Stacy was in tears on the front steps of her apartment. Police were doing their best to conduct interviews with kids who had been playing with Morgan, including her younger sister, who had managed to escape the attacker when he forced Morgan and one of her friends into a maroon cargo van. They were just 50 feet from the front door, playing innocently, as kids do.

The Saga Continues
The next few weeks are somewhat of a blur of candlelight vigils, numerous pleas from Stacy to bring her daughter home, America's Most Wanted and big market news crews from Louisville and Nashville hanging around our small town. Purple ribbons and lapel pins were given out to keep the faith that Morgan would find her way home. Stacy repeatedly told us that purple was Morgan's favorite color.

Mom and Dad were divorced and soon Morgan's father, Glen Violi, became a suspect. He was ruled out after having an alibi, he was at work. We interviewed Mr. Violi and he was just as devastated as the rest of the family over Morgan's disappearance.

Morgan's friends and family all told us the same stories about her. She loved life itself, was a smart little girl who had plenty of friends in her school and everyone liked her. The first grader was looking forward to the upcoming school year. Her place in second grade was ready for her when she made it home.

The Call
About 4 months into the tragedy the phone call that no one wanted, came. Police in White House, Tennessee were on the scene of a body found in a culvert under a small farm road just off Interstate 65. The purple bow in the little girl's hair told us what we feared most. It was indeed the brown-haired, little Morgan Violi. Morgan had been there since the day she was abducted.




This is the only suspect known at this time. He is reported to have sandy blonde hair. The maroon colored van suspected in the abduction was found in Franklin, Tennessee. A white van was parked in the area where Morgan was found for four hours. This man was driving that van. He is the only connection to the case. The maroon van was stolen from Dayton, Ohio. Police in Bowling Green, KY, Robertson County, TN and the FBI are still on the case and ask anyone with information to call (270)393-4244.




The Funeral
The coffin came out of the church draped in Morgan's favorite color, purple. As I pushed in tight I spotted Mom and Dad walking behind as ushers pushed the small casket into the back of the hearse. The most hardened of reporters showed their emotion that day. It was, and still is, one of the hardest stories I've covered in the news business.

Stacy Violi
I visited Stacy a few times after all this was over and formed a sort of bond with her. I guess working so closely with someone going through a tragedy makes that happen. Even though it's been close to ten years, I think of little Morgan often and wonder what she must've gone through. My prayers go out to Stacy and her youngest daughter- all she has left. All they both have is each other.

Morgan would have been 17 years old this year.

LOTTO Fever

It's no secret that North Carolina is getting the lottery. And, since they're one of the last states in the southeast to get one it's big news for the surrounding states. We travelled to Virginia to see how things were going there as the new machines are being installed across the Tar Heel state. It seems folks in the Commonwealth are not looking forward to the lottery coming to the southern border state.

We picked the Lucky Horseshoe in Cana, VA for our first stop. Once inside it was pretty obvious they count on the lottery for some major cash flow. In fact, about 90 percent of their $50,000 a week comes from North Carolinians. The line was about 10 deep of nothing but millionaire seeking ticket buyers. Oh sure, they sell gas, knick-knacks and food at the Lucky Horseshoe, but I only saw one person buy some tic-tacs and a Coca-Cola.


Brent and I don't usually do the lottery stories-they're too soft-so while we were there, we bought a few tickets of our own. If I get the $256 million from the Mega-Millions game I was promised by the friendly cashier, I'll let you all know.

Oh yeah, the story turned out great... lead at 5, short versions at 6 and 10. All in a day's work. Ya'll come back now, ya hear!

Mountain Lions and Tire Fires

Back in the day, when I was just a rookie lenslinger totin' the camera around, I had some pretty memorable stories with one reporter in particular. Lilla Marigza, an accomplished news veteran now working in her hometown of Nashville, could make the day go by like no other. For those in the country music meca, you know her as the cute little morning reporter who used to work at News 2. As the emergence of the "VJ" came into the fray at the ABC affiliate, Lilla found a nice out and made her way across the street to 4 News, the NBC affiliate. News 2's loss is WSMV's gain.

I worked with Lilla for a few years in Bowling Green, Kentucky at WBKO where we were both more than a little wet behind the ears. But, through our naivete came a passion for stories like none I've been able to duplicate. Oh sure, I still get fired up over the big stories and I love who I work with here. But there's something about that first gig that can't be found just anywhere.

There was the time we headed out of town on a suspect chase in Scottsville, KY. Some nut from Michigan driving a stolen car got into a pursuit, went off the road and crashed into a school late one night. We picked up the story early the next day and followed the sheriff's department around in the pouring rain until they picked up this creep. I remember the call coming across the scanner as Lilla held it up to my microphone, "suspect in custody, suspect is in custody." We did the 400 meter dash like we were still in high school and bagged "The Shot." Deputies had him in cuffs walking across this big field as I sprinted up to the gaggle of law enforcement and a scratched up criminal sans shirt. I fired off the usual, "why you'd run?" And, "did you think you'd get away?" He really didn't have much to say but the pictures of cops in the woods and one of them telling us, "he was up in a tree and the dogs was barking" made for TV greatness. We won the AP award that year for best spot news story.

And what about the time somebody was keeping a couple of mountain lions in their house! We went to the animal shelter to see this cat and found a quite tame little feline. Oh sure, they were indeed mountain lions but the shots of Lilla snuggling up with those cats are ones that will not soon leave my memory bank.








One also tried to take a bite out of crime.... or was it Lilla?





Not far removed from the rather odiferous mountain lion we were on a string of fires. One of which was a long-burning tire fire in Simpson County. It was not long after this we were tabbed "Stinky and The Other One" because we always came back smelling like the story. I'm not sure which of us was "Stinky" and which was "The Other One" but none-the-less, we were THE "A" TEAM.

Speaking of fires, our most well-known coverage no doubt came from a horrific fatal fire one night in Bowling Green. I'll never forget when I heard the alert tones going out over the scanner at about one in morning sending fire crews to the Howard Johnson on 31-W Bypass. I lived only minutes from the scene and was on location in time to see the bright red lights of fire engines arriving on scene. The January night cold mixed with snow gave a surreal feeling. What I saw over the next several hours I will not ever forget.

People pulled from the fire in steaming, smoking blankets, firefighters and EMS crews performing CPR and just absolute bedlam from the poor people trapped inside. I remember the 911 dispatcher desperately trying to direct firefighters to those trapped inside. Four people died in what soon would be discovered was an arson for hire scheme. We covered everything from the fire, to the hotel owners (who had similar fires in Nashville hotels), to the rather lengthy trial.
The trial was not an easy endeavor as it took place in Federal Court, a place where cameras or any recording equipment are not allowed. We tag-teamed the proceedings flawlessly, going live every day they were in court for 8 weeks. On the days Lilla was off I went live from the newsroom with the day's events. It all culminated with the conviction and life sentences for one of the hotel's owners, Suresh Kumar, and a maintenance man, Joe Logan.

We did the backwards tango in front of the two as they were transferred to the awaiting transportation to federal prison. Logan said nothing, but Kumar was more than willing to cry and say he didn't do it, only laying blame to a different maintenance man.

The fire and trial were also covered by the Discovery Channel on a show they aired called "Inferno." I still go back and watch that piece every once in while. That was probably seen by more people than any other video I've ever shot.

There was one other story we covered that touched me very deeply. I'll leave that for another day when I feel I can make it through. I will only say it involved a little girl named Morgan. Her favorite color was purple.

Lilla and I made quite a team, one that I'll never forget... even if the folks of south-central Kentucky have. After all, this WAS nearly a decade ago!

BUSY, BUSY!

Yes, it's that time of year... RATINGS! Usually I'm out of the loop, so to speak, during the Feburary book because I'm in Daytona for 2 weeks. This year, however, for the first time in 8 years, I'm in my home base of Winston-Salem turning out the daily grind. Throw into that series pieces that have to be edited and it makes for a busy time of year.

I did want to pass along a nice package done by a fantastic photojournalist in Miami. I've heard about Angie Moriconi's "Is That Thing Heavy" blog and have visited numerous times. If you haven't you should check out her latest entry with a nice piece she recently submitted for the award circuit. I'd give the blue ribbon right now as it's one of the best I've seen in a while. Very nice, Angie!

A Light Dusting

It was 4:30am and for the third time I was out of bed trying to get the youngest back to sleep. After being off two days last week with my own severe cold I knew what she was going through. As I glanced out the window I noticed wet streets. I thought to myself, I don't remember any mention of rain. That's when I noticed the white stuff coming down pretty hard. We woke up to about an inch of fluffy snow. It was enough to delay some school systems, but my 5-year-old was still getting over her cold so she wasn't going to school anyway.

I went out front and snapped a few pictures. There's something about a fresh fallen snow that makes things seems clean, pristine.

The first snow of the season always seems to be the freshest. The way it clings to the trees, bushes and grass.

As I watch the weather forcast tonight it looks like we have a chance to see some more on Saturday. If it looks like this one, I'll take it.


A program that's been going on in Winston-Salem for over 10 years took Brent and I out the city's yard waste dump. It's not so much of a dump, however, as a place where leaves and trees go to die. Or in this case, be picked up by others. The program allows folks to come out and cut up wood to take home. All those trees cut down from right of ways and some that have just fallen, are dumped here for anyone to come and get.

We found a couple of men cutting and hauling away some of this free firewood. One of them, Clyde Glenn, told us he relies solely on this wood to heat his home. He's been getting it for years.

As we were leaving the yard, I snapped off one last picture. This is the Winston-Salem skyline.