UFO Newsclipping Service - 2005 05 - no 430

Magazine Overview

This issue of "UFO" magazine, dated May 2005, features a prominent cover story titled "Film claims town attracts alien visitors," focusing on "The Secret of Redgate," a docudrama by Lynda Cowen. The magazine delves into numerous UFO sightings and alleged alien encounters, particularly in Deer Lodge, Montana, and extends to reports from across the UK and US.

Close Encounters in Deer Lodge

The lead article highlights Deer Lodge, Montana, as a hub for mysterious occurrences, largely due to Lynda Cowen's film. Cowen, a former resident, was prompted by her brother's childhood UFO encounters to investigate local stories. The film explores hundreds of sightings within a 150-mile radius over the past 20 years. Residents recount experiences ranging from playing with aliens as children to seeing strange lights and objects. Theories for the area's activity include nearby vortices, rural nature, 'lay lines,' water, and the Clark Fork River.

Louie Menicucci, a retired baker from Deer Lodge, recalls events in Sunnyside near Anaconda in the 1960s, including 'stuff landing up there' and large circles left in the grass. He also describes seeing pulsating lights and a neighbor's horses being mutilated without tracks in the snow. Gene Hughes and Ron Kelly, also from Deer Lodge, share anecdotal evidence from family members and friends, indicating a long history of sightings in the valley.

Lynda Cowen utilized remote viewing techniques for her film, employing professionals like Lyn Buchanan. The film won the People's Choice Award at the 2004 UFO Congress in Texas. Cowen also mentioned that those who shared their stories underwent hypnosis and polygraph tests.

ABC Documentary and Ufology

A review discusses Peter Jennings's ABC special report, "UFO's: Seeing Is Believing." The reviewer notes that the program aimed to explore the phenomenon without proving or debunking it, treating 'Ufology' as a belief system with many followers. The documentary featured interviews with scientists and witnesses, including the story of Padre Pio and the work of J. Allen Hynek, who coined the phrase 'close encounters of the third kind.' The review questions the timing of the special, suggesting it might be a ratings strategy, and notes the lack of coverage for organizations like MUFON.

Personal Accounts and Investigations

Several articles detail specific sightings and investigations:

• Tim Hammond's 'The Chillicothe UFO Chronicles': A former VA officer recounts an experience in 1983 involving lights approaching a building, leading him to write a book about his experiences and the stigma associated with reporting such events.
• Bill Puckett's Northwest UFO Research: A professional meteorologist and environmental scientist researches UFO sightings in the Northwest, believing that about 3% of sightings remain unexplained and that extraterrestrial visitors may already be here. He runs the UFOS Northwest website and hotline.
• The Quale's Norfolk Mystery: Drew and Sally Quale reported seeing a brightly-lit orb hovering over a field in Norfolk, which zigzagged and moved erratically for about 45 minutes. They photographed the object, which they described as the size of a basketball and unlike any natural phenomenon.
• UFO over Alnwick Castle: Dorothy Elsey, a retired teacher, recounts seeing a large, black, cigar-shaped object with a luminous green glow hovering motionless over Alnwick Castle in Northumberland in 1971. She kept the sighting secret for decades until government files were declassified.
• Spaced-out speculation over 'flying cross' UFO: A resident of Willesden reported seeing bright lights and a square object, described as a 'Maltese Cross,' hovering low above her home.
• Mystery of the alien encounter at RAF Cosford: An investigation into a 1963 incident at RAF Cosford where a dome-shaped UFO reportedly landed, bathing the area in green light. Contradictory explanations from the Ministry of Defence, including 'two drunk apprentices' and 'a hoax,' are discussed.
• UFO spotted hovering over Drax power station: Declassified documents revealed a sighting of a boomerang-shaped object over Drax power station in April 2004. Other local sightings include a cylindrical object and a large UFO described as bigger than a four-bedroomed house.
• New UFO sightings reported over power plant: Reports of mysterious sightings in Selby, UK, including a 'half-moon shaped object, grey in colour,' hovering over Drax Power Station. The area has seen a significant rise in reported incidents.
• Woman baffled by beam of light: A woman in Telford reported seeing a 'massive beam of light' in the sky, which she believes could have been a UFO.

UFO Reports on the Rise

A national survey by Ufology Research of Manitoba indicates a record 882 UFO sightings in Canada in 2004, a 31% increase from the previous year. While many sightings are explainable as satellites or natural phenomena, about 15% of all reports remained a mystery, with 7% unexplained even when considering only high-quality cases.

Tony Pace's Research

Tony Pace, a postmaster and former research director for the British UFO Research Association, has spent over 40 years investigating UFOs. He believes that while humanity may not be alone in the universe, extraterrestrial visitors are not to be feared. His research, including building observatories and publishing findings, aimed to bring seriousness to the subject within the scientific community. He recounts a 1967 sighting of a dark, porthole-lit object over the M6 motorway and suggests that humanoid aliens might evolve independently across the universe due to similar environmental pressures.

Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue revolve around unexplained aerial phenomena, alleged extraterrestrial encounters, government secrecy, and the ongoing debate between skepticism and belief in UFOs. The articles present a range of perspectives, from personal testimonies and investigative journalism to reviews of documentaries and scientific research. The overall stance appears to be one of open-minded inquiry into the UFO phenomenon, acknowledging the numerous reports and the persistent mystery surrounding them, while also presenting critical analyses and alternative explanations.

Title: HERALD
Issue Date: January 13, 2005
Location: Tamworth, England
Document Type: Newspaper article

Article: More UFOs seen over Tamworth!

This article from the HERALD newspaper details multiple reports from readers who claim to have witnessed unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and strange lights in the skies over Tamworth, England. The surge in reports followed the publication of a photograph in the previous week's edition, which the author claimed was an unidentified flying object.

Witness Accounts:

• Janet Westwood from Stonydelph reported seeing what she initially thought was an aircraft or a star on December 21, around 8:15 am. She noted that it did not appear to be moving and found it unusual upon seeing the newspaper's article.
• Tina Sewell from Leyfields described seeing a bright orange light in her garden one evening in December, between 5 pm and 6 pm. She initially thought it was a plane in trouble. The light was described as "really, really bright and very orange" before it "just disappeared as if someone had turned a light off."

Official Involvement:

A Tamworth police officer has also come forward, stating that they too have seen something they cannot explain.

Context:

The article highlights a growing public interest in unexplained aerial phenomena in the Tamworth area, with readers actively sharing their experiences after the initial publication of a UFO-related photograph.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring theme is the reporting of unexplained aerial phenomena in a specific locality, driven by reader submissions. The editorial stance appears to be one of documenting these accounts, presenting them to the public without immediate judgment, and encouraging further sharing of experiences.