Area woman garners fame since seeing UFO - OMEFT deploys to Stephenville, TX on historic first mission

Area woman garners fame since seeing UFO

By Jane Pratt
Reporter-News Correspondent
Friday, April 4, 2008
Angelia Joiner




Angelia Joiner


STEPHENVILLE -- Garnering international attention was the last thing on Angelia Joiner's mind when she interviewed Steve Allen on Jan. 8 and reported on UFO sightings in Erath County in the Stephenville Empire-Tribune.

But today, she still receives 30 to 40 e-mails daily from all over the world about the sightings, and she will be the guest speaker at two conferences on UFO's during the month of April.

Joiner will join eight other speakers during the 20th Annual Ozark UFO Conference that meets April 11-13 in Eureka Springs, Ark. Then, the next week, she will fly to Washington, D.C., where she will make a presentation during the Paradigm Research Group's conference from April 18-20.

The Ozark UFO Conference is an independent activity not affiliated with any local of national UFO organization that promotes information on UFO-related topics.

The Paradigm Research Group was established in 1996 by Stephen Bennett, a political activist and consultant. The group's Web site states that the purpose of the group is to promote ways to stop the government-imposed embargo on facts "surrounding extraterrestrial presence engaging the human race."

The title of Joiner's presentation is "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of UFO Reporting."

Joiner said the "good" part of UFO reporting is the number of new people she has met and old friendships that have been renewed when people she had lost touch with contacted her after seeing her on national television or reading about her in newspapers or on the Internet.

She said an artist who has designed T-shirts and special edition art cards is going to Washington to meet with her and television producer and journalist Linda Moulton Howe. She said some of the "bad" is simply trying to answer all the e-mail she receives.

She did not elaborate on the "ugly."

Steve Allen had started a Web site about the local UFO sightings but stepped up his efforts after Joiner left the local paper.

"He wanted me to have a place to write," Joiner said. "The first day Stephenville Lights went on line was Feb. 10."

The site, www.stephenvillelights.com, carries stories from Joiner and other writers who have an interest in UFO sightings. It also advertises T-shirts and special edition art cards designed by artist Mark Medford of Maine.

"This has been a real education," Joiner said. "Before I was pretty passive about UFOs. If I saw something on TV, I would think it was interesting, but I really didn't pay much attention. Now I have the UFO bug."

She does not know what the future holds for her. "Who knows? I may write a book," she said.

E.W. Scripps Co.
© 2007 Abilene Reporter-News
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OMEFT deploys to Stephenville, TX on historic first mission

Submitted by annunaki on Fri, 04/04/2008 - 04:53.

This is an historic day in the field of UFO investigation for an aspiring group of online forum members. It may also prove important as well for the UFO resarch world. They are known as OMEFT...Open Minds Expeditionary Field Team.

A team of members on the Open Minds Forum have set out on a 3-4 day journey to Erath county Texas to meet up with rancher Ricky Sorrells. Their hopes are to document hard evidence of UFOs that Mr. Sorrells reports continue to buzz about his property to this day. It is not certain yet how many members will attend this weekend sky search, but it is known that Angelia Joiner, the reporter who broke the famed "Stephenville Lights" will attend along with her husband. "Miss Doolittle", a Stephenvill resident, wildlife rehabilitator and fellow sky watcher (view sky cam) will be playing a major role. It is also speculated that Constable Lee Roy Gaitan and pilot Steve Allen will also make cameo appearances during this event.

OMEFT will arrive on April 4th adorned with cameras, audio recorders, night vision, GPS, communications devices and a detailed plan. Like any great expedition, careful planning, research, discussion and coordination were involved before setting out. Members of the team will be documenting some of their findings on a daily basis at the OM Forum.

Finally the team will top off their maiden voyage with a good ol' southern barbecue and brew headed by a member who goes by the handle "motorcyclerick" or McRick.

What can be expected from this enterprising effort? That remains to be seen. But one thing is certain...they are out there, watching, studying, documenting and reporting their results to the rest of the inhabitants of this Earth.

Good luck OMEFT! May the weather cooperate with you.

Angelia Joiner fired from the Empire Tribune

Exopolitics Alert: Reporter Sacked for Supporting Witness to Stephenville UFO Sighting

[Updated February 12, 2008 - Kona, Hawaii, Exopolitics Institute] News broke on February 9 concerning the sacking of a small town newspaper reporter who broke the Stephenville Texas UFO sightings case, and intimidation of a key witness who saw the UFO in daylight (click here for another article). The witness, Ricky Sorrells, was given threatening phone calls and visits by helicopters. The reporter, Angelia Joiner, publicized what was happening to the Sorrells in two stories on February 3 and 4 .

She claims that subsequent to her coverage of Sorrell's harassment: "A city councilman here talked to (Texas media) and said the whole thing was an embarrassment to the town (or something to that effect.)" Her employer subsequently notified her of official disapproval of her news coverage, and she was told to back off. She subsequently offered to resign. With regard to her forced resignation/sacking on Febuary 7, she is quoted as saying: "I gave two weeks notice but this morning they had confiscated my computer and I was told to pack up and get out. I'm devastated and still in shock."

As the initial stories exposing her sacking/forced resignation suggest, she lost her job as a result of her support for Sorrells. The newspaper made record sales during her coverage of the UFO reports. The idea that the Town Council was embarassed and wanted to put a stop to the news coverage appears to be a cover for the real reason. It may be that covert national security teams are in damage control and have moved into high gear to cover this story up, by approaching town officials to help. If true, 'national security' was undoubtedly given as a justification to the publisher for why Ms Joiner should be sacked. Ms Joiner, however, contests this view in a public email: "I do not believe they were contacted by some higher up telling them to stop the stories. If that were the case they would have told me." If higher authorities did intervene in Ms Joiner's case due to national security concerns, it is very possible that this would not have been relayed to her.

I also recommend reading a recent story of Sorrell's harassment,
and an Earthfiles report by Linda Howe on Stephenville and Sorrell's testimony.

A sample letter protesting the forced resignation/sacking of Angelia Joiner is also available online. The publisher of the Stephenville Empire-Tribune is Rochelle Stidham whose email is: rochelle.stidham@empiretribune.com , and the name of the Managing Editor is Sara Vanden Berge whose email: sara.vandenberge@empiretribune.com . The fax number for the Empire-Tribune is: 254-965-4269. If you choose to write a letter to the Empire Tribute protesting Ms Joiner's treatment, please maintain a respectful and courteous tone.

I request you circulate this Exopolitics Alert to friends and interested parties so this kind of treatment of reporters covering UFO issues is exposed.

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New UFO Sighting Reported In Stephenville Texas

Fired Reporter Angelia Joiner Sparks Conspiracy Theories

Are there UFOs in the skies above Texas?

The truth may be out there, but, when it comes to UFO stories, it is sure hard to find. Conjecture breeds conspiracy theories. Any official denial can be labeled a cover-up. In the end, it often boils down to a he-said-she-said scenario.

Such is the case in Stephenville, Texas, a small, rural community thrust into the spotlight after several unexplained disturbances in January. Though that spotlight has now faded, the town remains altered. Some members of the community want to move on; others cannot let go. And some, if you believe them, say that UFOs are still there.

According to Angelia Joiner, the reporter who wrote the original UFO stories, there was another UFO sighting on Saturday. "If the military is testing a secret military device, why do they keep doing it here?" she asked me. "If it's not a secret why do they keep scaring the bejesus out of people?"

Adding a further wrinkle to this story, Joiner was fired from The Empire-Tribune a week ago. She claims she had been told to back off the story and thinks the town's "upper crust" was "embarrassed" by all the attention. The Empire-Tribune has avoided comment, which of course only fans the flames of the conspiracy theories.

For its part, the military has done itself no favors, first denying that it had any aircraft in the area, then flip-flopping a few days later -- after more witnesses came forward. A spokesperson blamed internal miscommunication for the mix-up. Others, including CNN's Larry King, have asked whether it wasn't a cover-up.

But who can we believe? The truth remains unidentified.

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