Fall 'Tweener

The top photo... Tweener? Maybe. Awkward shape? Probably.

Happy Halloween, Kids.

Cheerleader in Training

Cece Dodd, 2, of Mt. Pleasant is held up by Mt. Pleasant High School cheerleaders,
including Kylie Boyd, left, during a mentoring program Sunday afternoon on the high school's
football field in Mt. Pleasant.

A Boy's First Love... continued.

I can't believe how drastically a year can make someone grow and mature.
I become really attached to Sam last fall while photographing him & knew his story wasn't complete.
(I also know it won't ever be complete.)
I am so excited to be spending time with him & his family again.

(Above)
Sam Neyer, 13, of Shepherd laughs and uses his phone as he sits on top
of his cow's head after feeding his family's cattle animal crackers outside his home Sunday
afternoon in Shepherd. Neyer, a third generation farmer, works on his family's dairy farm and
intends to take his father's job after college. In addition to the hundreds of cattle on the farm,
Neyer and his family raise several in their backyard.

Suicide Awareness Balloon Release

About fifteen students stand in a circle and release yellow balloons to
symbolize their experiences related to suicide as part of Suicide Prevention Week
Wednesday evening outside Charles V. Park Library.

Noises at Monster Truck

CITIZEN PATRIOT • ASHLEY MILLER
Alexis Stackling, 1, of Jackson reacts to the monster trucks Friday night
during their performance on the grand stand at the Jackson County Fair.

NASCAR Sunday (WIDE!)

Slap me on the wrist and tell me to put away my wide angle.
(For the record, I promise I mixed up my lensing.)

As much as I made fun of NASCAR before this summer, I will admit it...
I like it. I like NASCAR.

"My Religion saved me."

Montel Beavers, 15, of Summit Township is a devout Christian and attends the
Church of God in Jackson almost daily. His religious beliefs, he said, separates him from most
other teenagers. "(My religion) saved me and prevented me from doing things other teens are
doing now a days, like drinking," he said. Beavers said he was saved by God on a Wednesday
evening during service when he was 10 years old. "I felt like I needed to be saved
because I knew if God came back, I wouldn't go to Heaven," he said.

Neighbors | Sharon Arntson

Technically speaking, this portrait could be a lot better.
But I really appreciate it.

I learned this summer not to obsess over making a portrait that is completely literal –
Instead, capture personality. Life.

I left with several different portraits, but this one consistently stuck out to me.
This was the most genuine and warm. This defined Mrs. Arntson.

Great-Grandma Love.

CITIZEN PATRIOT • ASHLEY MILLER
Jessie Parker of Jackson laughs as she lifts her great-grandaughter
Isabella, 2, into the air while playing outside her home Thursday morning in Jackson.
"I love them," she said about Isabella and her great-grandson, Cameron, 3.
"They are a joy to have. They keep me going, energized, ready to go."

Queen for a Day

CITIZEN PATRIOT • ASHLEY MILLER
2010 RoseQueen Casey McKay flexes her muscles and laughs with two
participants while 2011 Jackson County RoseQueen candidate Quinn Fischman, 18,
of Jackson gives Halle Arehart, 9, of Jackson a high-five for doing the splits
Wednesday afternoon between activities during the "Queen for a Day"
event at the Cascades Golf Course clubhouse.

Hot Air Jubilee

Hot Town, Summer in the City

CITIZEN PATRIOT • ASHLEY MILLER
Alaijah Boyd, 5, center, reacts to a stream of water while standing in a blow-up pool
with cousins Dwayne Hood, 5, right, and Imonii Hood, 3, of Jackson as her
grandmother sprays the kids with a hose Wednesday afternoon outside their home in Jackson.
"We're enjoying the weather in the pool and keeping the kids together,"
grandmother Sarah Iveson said.

Vigil on Lake Columbia

CITIZEN PATRIOT • ASHLEY MILLER
About 200 friends and family gathered along the shore of Lake Columbia
in Brooklyn Sunday night to remember 19-year-old Broc Fejes, who died Saturday
evening in a boating accident. Fejes loved the water, friends said, and
was supposed to leave for the Coast Guard in August.

The reporting intern and I spent the majority of our Fourth of July weekend on Lake Columbia. Unfortunately, instead of celebrating, we were covering devastating breaking news. A 19-year-old drowned while boating with his friends the afternoon of Saturday, July 2. Two males and two females were passengers on the boat when they said it went airborne, landed and tipped. The recovery effort lasted through Saturday evening and started again early that Sunday. The victim's brave sister gathered his friends and family for a vigil that night, shown above. Alanna and I were warned there would be tragedies to cover this summer, but covering this story hit both of us hard.

Alpacas- "Honk If You Pronk"

While flipping through a magazine nine years ago, Jan O’Neill came across a picture that inspired her future retirement plan.
It wasn’t a home in Florida, nor a photo of someone traveling an exotic land. It was a photo of a unusual, furry animal with a long neck and legs: an alpaca.
Now in retirement, O’Neill and her husband, Richard, raise about 43 alpacas on their Clare Limerick Alpaca Ranch at 5681 Rives Junction Road.
The journey started in 2002 when the couple bought four pregnant females. “We were fortunate in what we bought,” O’Neill said.
Image, one of the newborn babies, or crias, won a national level blue ribbon during the O’Neills’ first show season. The couple continue to show about four times a year, Richard said.
“When you go to a show, you meet up with all your friends,” Jan said. “Alpaca owners are the friendliest, nicest, helpful people.”
Along with friends and showing, Richard and Jan said watching the crias play is the best part of owning alpacas.
“When we first got them, we used to take lawn chairs out by the fence, bring lemonade and sit and watch,” Jan said.
Still, hard work is involved on a daily basis to take care of the South American species, Jan said.
“It’s made us closer in having to work together to take care of them,” Richard said.
The past nine years have been a fun adventure in getting know the alpacas and how to take care of them, Richard said.
“We used to say, ‘Become enchanted with the alpaca lifestyle,’” Jan laughed. “It connects you with nature. You can’t beat that.”

(I loved working on this package because --
1. I have always had a slight obsession with alpacas. Most likely because they're so awkward looking.
2. I was at the ranch immediately after the cria in the fifth photo was born.. The O'Neills named the little boy Ashton after me!
3. I was able to use funny alpaca terms like "pronk" on a regular basis.)

Porch Sittin'

CITIZEN PATRIOT • ASHLEY MILLER
From left, Erica Denard, 11, Reydontae Worthey, 14, Domojhea Young, 9,
Jalik Bonabart, 10, and Demarquan Smith, 10, sit on the porch between
playing with several other children July 16 outside their Jackson home.
About 15 family members gathered outside while the Jackson Fire Department
worked to extinguish a structure fire down the street.

126th Army Band

CITIZEN PATRIOT • ASHLEY MILLER
SFC Devin Hahn of the 126th Army Band practices his trombone behind the Cascades Falls
Park band shell before the 126th Army Band of the Michigan National Guard concert
Friday in Jackson. He has been playing since he was 13, he said.

SPC Luke Panning, left, of the 126th Army Band dances with Barb Briggson of
Weidman to "In the Mood" by Glenn Miller during the 126th Army Band of the Michigan
National Guard concert Friday night at the Cascades Falls Park band shell in Jackson.

SPC Brooke Briggson of Kalamazoo takes a nap against the back of the
Cascades Falls Park band shell before the 126th Army Band of the Michigan
National Guard concert Friday in Jackson.

SPC Steven Michanowicz of the 126th Army Band dances to "In the Mood"
by Glenn Miller during the 126th Army Band of the Michigan National Guard
concert Friday night at the Cascades Falls Park band shell in Jackson.

SGT William Karsten of the 126th Army Band plays the tuba in front of the audience
during the 126th Army Band of the Michigan National Guard concert
Friday night at the Cascades Falls Park band shell in Jackson.