STUDENT AT ORAN WINS CONTEST

ORAN -- A short story about a television producer who abused the laugh track on a program won its author, James Curtis, second place in a national writing contest.

Curtis, a senior at Oran High School, entered his story in a contest sponsored by a national scholastic magazine called Read.

He is one of three second-place winners nationally.

For his second-place finish, Curtis will receive a $200 savings bond and his story will be published in the April edition of Read magazine.

"I wrote a short story called `Overuse of the Laugh Track' about a television producer who ruins the quality of a program by putting too many laughs into it," Curtis said. "The spirits on the laugh track get revenge by killing him."

Curtis said his English teacher informed him of the contest, and he decided to enter. His story was submitted last fall.

"I was hoping for something, but to win second place, that was kind of a surprise."