Courtney Lamdin,
Courtney Lamdin is a news reporter at Seven Days; she covers Burlington. She was previously executive editor of the Milton Independent, Colchester Sun and Essex Reporter.
83%
The Daily's Verdict
This author has a mixed reputation for journalistic standards. It is advisable to fact-check, scrutinize for bias, and check for conflicts of interest before relying on the author's reporting.
Bias
85%
Examples:
- I'm shaking and crying because I'm like, Oh my god, I'mma get shot.
- It felt so real.
- One of the students said she dove on the floor, scraping her knee. The other said she scrambled to find her phone so that she could text her mother.
- Students and parents who spoke with Seven Days expressed shock and outrage, saying the demonstration played on the fears of students who have grown up amid a nationwide increase in violence at schools.
Conflicts of Interest
100%
Examples:
- As I waited for the government motorcade, I looked up to see my best friend's dad and waved hello. He lives on Beckley, too, albeit above the flood's waterline. I don't remember our exact conversation. He probably said something like, "Isn't this crazy?" And I probably agreed. Because it was.
- click to enlarge
- File: Courtney Lamdin © Seven Days Bob Nelson (left) helping a customer
- Five months later, Barre flooded again, but not as badly. Though Nelson's store basement took on water, his inventory was spared: His employees, anticipating a deluge, moved everything to higher ground. My mom's basement stayed dry, thanks to a hardworking sump pump. And my grandmother's apartment house? She sold it - one less thing to worry about the next time Barre floods. Because it will. And I'll be around to cover it.
- I linked up with Erik Wells, my journalism school classmate and childhood friend, to document the flood from Beckley Street.
- In July 2007, I was on summer break from college when a torrential rain hit my hometown of Barre. The north end of the city, where my grandparents had owned a convenience store for decades, was underwater.
- It started at the service center off Interstate 89 in Berlin. There I was, in my hastily-purchased rubber boots and water-wicking pants - and there, too, was my sister's high school boyfriend, getting something en route to the airport. I said a quick hello, then made my way downtown.
- I was a natural fit for the story. Besides being from Barre, I already knew Bob Nelson, the owner. When I was a kid, my dad would sometimes sit in with Nelson's classic rock band, Native Tongue, at Barre's summertime heritage festival. It was hard to reconcile my memories of Nelson crooning on stage with the man who was now in front of me, sleep-deprived and stressed out, helping customers find hoses and pipe fittings in a store with no power.
- Later that day, I was dispatched to Beckley Street, where state and federal officials were scheduled to tour the damage and speak to residents. It's also where my grandmother owns an apartment house, and my family had questions about flood relief. My mom said she'd join me at the press conference. This will be a first, I thought.
- Low-lying Second Street, a Beckley cross street, was covered in thick, foul-smelling mud. Renters - including a former classmate's mom, I later learned - were pumping out their basements.
- My mom got there before I did. "Reporters everywhere," she texted me. "It looks like everyone is parking near Second Street."
- Perhaps sensing my discomfort, my mom hung back as I joined fellow reporters on the sidewalk. She didn't end up sticking around: She needed supplies for her own flooded basement and went to get them at Nelson's.
- Published December 27, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.
- Sixteen years later almost to the day, this summer's devastating flood brought me back to that very same spot where my personal and professional lives collided in ways I'd never experienced.
- The original print version of this article was headlined "Story that Hit Closest to Home"
Contradictions
75%
Examples:
- The simulation occurred at the Burlington police station.
Deceptions
65%
Examples:
- One of the students said she dove on the floor, scraping her knee. The other said she scrambled to find her phone so that she could text her mother.
- Students and parents who spoke with Seven Days expressed shock and outrage, saying the demonstration played on the fears of students who have grown up amid a nationwide increase in violence at schools.
- The lack of warning - and the loud gunshot sounds - sent students diving for cover in fear for their lives.
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