Colin Parajon - Writing Obituaries 1

Velda Elizabeth Fletcher, noted local dietician and church and community volunteer, died Tuesday night after a medical emergency situation. She was 47 years old.

Velda, daughter of Gina and Vandergriff Fletcher, graduated from Midville High School in 1980 and earned her Master of Science degree from the University of West State.

She worked as a clinical dietician and diabetes educator at Dialysis Clinic Inc. in South Midville and belonged to national, regional, and local professional organizations for each. She also spent many years in management in the dieticians department at the University of West State Medical Center and working in a private practice.

Her free time was devoted to many charitable activities, especially Interfaith Heath Clinic. She was also a member of the Junior League.

“Velda always had time for anyone,” her sister, Vonda Fletcher Reed said. “She devoted herself to her work and her family and her church. My children always felt like she was their second mother—sometimes first (laughs).”

A member of Little Springs Methodist since age 11, she served in the adult choir and participated in numerous mission projects. She was a devoted volunteer for Mission of Mercy, a Midville-based nonprofit group that collects and distributes school supplies and Christmas gifts to children in the area, since its launch in 1996.

She was active in Alpha Chi Omega and at the Wesley Center, and supported all UT sports.

“She just never said no to anything or anyone that she thought was worthwhile,” Reed said. “We are going to miss her very, very much.”

She is survived by her parents, sister, brother and sister-in-law Vandergriff and Davida Fletcher, and various nieces and nephews.

The graveside service will be held Saturday at 2:00 at the Forest Cemetery off Lexington Road. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Mission of Mercy.

Kayla Hand- obituary

Velda Elizabeth Fletcher, an active member of the Midville community, died Tuesday night after an emergency medical situation. She was 47 years old.

“Velda always had time for anyone. She devoted herself to her work and her family and her church. My children always felt like she was their second mother- sometimes their first. She just never said no to anything or anyone that she thought was worthwhile. We re going to miss her very, very much.” Said her sister Vonda Fletcher Reed.

Velda graduated from Midville High School in 1980. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1984 and Master of Science degree in 1986 from the University of West State. She was active in Alpha Chi Omega, the Wesley Center and was an enthusiastic supporter of all UT sports.

She worked as a clinical dietician and diabetes educator at Dialysis Clinic Inc. in South Midville. Many of her years were spent in management in the dieticians department at the University of West State Medical Center and she also had worked in private practice. She belonged to many national, regional and local dieticians and diabetes-educator professional organizations.

She was a devoted volunteer with Mission of Mercy since 1996. She also helped at Interfaith Health Clinic and was a member of the Junior League. She was a member of Little springs Methodist since the age of 11. There, she was in the choir, helped in mission projects and served as a Sunday school department director in the singles program.

Survived by parents, Gina and Vandergriff Fletcher; brother and sister-in-law, Vandergriff and Davida Fletcher; sister Vonda Fletcher Reed; and various nieces and nephews.

The burial will be held at Forest Cemetery off Lexington Road in Midville. The graveside service will be Saturday at 2:00.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Mission of Mercy.

Stormy Morelli-Obituary

Velda Elizabeth Fletcher died Tuesday night after a medical emergency at Park West Hospital. She was 47.
Services will be held at forest Cemertery off Lexington Road in Midville Saturday at 2:00. The family requests that memorials be made to Mission of Mercy in lieu of flowers.
She is survived by her parents, Gina and Vandergriff; brother and sister-in-law, Vandergriff and Davida Fletcher; sister Vonda Fletcher Reed; and various nieces and nephews.
Velda was a local dietitian and volunteer in the community. She volunteered with Mission of mercy since it began in 1996. Mission of Mercy is a Midville-based nonprofit group that collects and disdributes school supplies and Christmas presents to local children.
She was a member of Little Springs Methodist Church since she was 11. She was in the adult choir, participated in many missions projects and at one time, served as the Sunday school department director.
Velda graduated Midville High School in 1980. She went to the University of West State where she was an active member of Alpha Chi Omega and the Wesley Center. Velda Graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1984 and a Master of Science in 1986.
Velda worked as a clinical dietitian and diabetes educator at Dialysis Clinic Inc. in Midville. She belonged to local, state and national dieticians and diabetes-educator professional organizations. Velda spent many years in management in the dieticians department at the University of West State Medical Center. She also worked in private practice.
Velda gave her free time to many charitable activities. She was a longtime cast member in the Midville Nativity Pagent.

Class Canceled 2-11-10

Students,

I have really been thinking about the fact that my other lab is actually ahead of the lecture. I think it would be much better for them to all to be behind the lecture. For this reason, I am canceling lab tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010, so both of the labs I am teaching can stay on the same schedule.

Your leads will be due Tuesday, and we will move on with our schedule beginning then. This should give you the opportunity to hear the lecture before working on the assignment and I think this will be a huge benefit to you.

If you have any questions, just let me know.

Thanks,

Michelle Sutherlin
Adjunct Instructor of Journalism
michellesutherlin@ou.edu

Rebecca Ellis-Writing Challenges

Everyone has their strong points in terms of school, and I have always considered mine to be English and writing. I would never consider myself to be a J.K. Rowling, or even close to the sort, but throwing words up against a piece of paper and hoping they all make sense has never been much of a challenge, until now.

Grammar is the one thing I’ve loathed since elementary school, and that still hasn’t changed. Doing pages and pages of grammar worksheets is never going to make it any more interesting. I understand it’s something everyone must fight through, but I mean, come on. Let’s think of a way to instill the many confusing rules of grammar into young American’s minds so that when they reach their sophomore year of college, they still aren’t trying to figure out the proper use of “who” and “whom”, or “which” and “that,” and aren’t bored out of their minds the entire time.

We pre-journalism majors, are learning a completely new style of writing in which we must take everything we know and practically throw it out the window. We’re learning to write with our opposite hand, and it’s a discouraging task. I’m majoring in professional writing so that I may improve all aspects of my writing on the intentions of ghostwriting, or being a novelist someday. Yet, here I am stuck being a journalist for a semester—not exactly my preferred choice. But hey, everyone must bite the bullet and do things they don’t want every once in a while. If I’m going to be a writer, I may as well know how to author campaigns, be a journalist, and be a copywriter as well.

Oh, and writing under the word count limit is something that I really need to work on.

Cameron Patterson - Writing Challenges

Considering we are all in college and most above the age of 20, one might think, after 16 years or more of education, the simple rules of grammar, spelling and punctuation would be as easy as tying our shoes. Not the case.

Personally, I have not exercised these "simple" rules since the fifth grade, so my level of skill in this area is somewhat weak. I thought English class existed to teach students everything about the language, encompassing all writing and reading skills. Apparently, my high school teachers missed the memo and only focused on pushing students to pass the prompt writing portion of the Texas assessment test (TAKS). Was this goal to benefit the school's reputation or the education of the students? One will never know.

Appalling, but true, grammar was way overlooked. As long as I wrote an inspiring story that followed the prompt and made sense to the reader, I was guaranteed a good grade! Whether I used who or whom, I or me, or unnecessary commas was never a major issue.

Courtney Goforth- Writing Challenges

They're, their, there. To, too. Me, my, mine. They're always there and my understanding of the difference matters too. In elementary school, I was often pressured to focus on spelling and cursive handwriting that was taught by my teachers as a future "requirement" in middle school and beyond, rather than learning essential rules that are suppose to be basic grammar.

It was never probable for the pre-pubescent version of myself to crack open textbooks to decipher the difference between accept and except; I just chose the word I thought looked right. Once I reached the high school level, the importance of grammar and punctuation kicked in because of the challenging bridge between a middle school and high school comprehension level.

Luckily, English class has always held my interest because unluckily, I come from a family of thick-accented descendants from Podunk towns in Tennessee. My sister and I, fortunately, were the only two of our family to not be drenched in a heavy, country accent. Although my mother's accent is quite charming on her, it has become the Achilles heel to my usage of proper grammar and enunciation.