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CNN Live Saturday
California Crop Circles
Aired July 19, 2003 - 12:53 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: In northern California, people have been flocking to a farmers's wheat field for several weeks now to see a series of crop circles. The circles appear to be easily explained. In fact, local teenagers claim they are responsible, but some true believers are taking that claim with a big dose of skepticism.
Here is CNN's Rusty Dornin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Crop circles appeared in farmer Larry Balestra wheat fields in late June.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no energy right here.
DORNIN: When they first materialized, believers came in droves, armed with dousing rods and divining devices. It was a whodunit until four teens confessed anonymously to the local paper. A hoax. So everyone went home, right?
(on camera): Poor kids confessed to it, and still there are people coming here.
LARRY BALESTRA, FARMER: Right. They're the believers. They don't want to give it up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
DORNIN (voice-over): Bob Hauser (ph) isn't giving it up. He's videotaping the circles to send to a local UFO society.
(on camera): Is there a possibility, as far as you're concerned, that it could be something other than done by humans?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I consider the possibility. I keep my mind open. The door is open. Just like it's been since 1947.
DORNIN: The teenagers claimed to take a 30-foot ski rope, attach boards to it, then rotate around the field, flattened the stalks. But farmer Balestra and others say they don't believe it. For one thing, the rope is too short for this circle.
(voice-over): It's 140 feet across. Even the local DA is doubtful and says the boys claim it was a moonlit night when it wasn't.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But I'm noticing a beautiful pattern.
DORNIN: Jody Hoskins (ph) believes whoever did it wasn't human.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some other intelligence did it. I don't know what to call it other than that.
DORNIN (on camera): Or it could be a UFO?
BALESTRA: It could be -- I mean, we're not the only ones here in this universe. I don't think it's UFO, but...
DORNIN: Did you do it?
BALESTRA: No.
(CROSSTALK)
BALESTRA: Oh, yes. Many times. I have a wheat field across from the fruit stand. And I would have done it there if I was going to do it, like two miles down the road.
DORNIN (voice-over): This family is more interested in the human visitors than any aliens.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They wear aluminum hats, aluminum shoes. There goes lay down here, you know, taking pictures and everything, and, you know, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
DORNIN: Then there's the curious, albeit skeptical.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really mathematical people come out and do a really good job fooling people, and so that's what I think.
DORNIN: As for Balestra's wheat crop? His field of means is a field of something else to others. So he's harvesting around the circles.
BALESTRA: Even if they believe, a lot of city folk have never been in the middle of a wheat field.
DORNIN: Alien territory worth exploring.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, Fairfield, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 19, 2003 - 12:53 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: In northern California, people have been flocking to a farmers's wheat field for several weeks now to see a series of crop circles. The circles appear to be easily explained. In fact, local teenagers claim they are responsible, but some true believers are taking that claim with a big dose of skepticism.
Here is CNN's Rusty Dornin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Crop circles appeared in farmer Larry Balestra wheat fields in late June.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no energy right here.
DORNIN: When they first materialized, believers came in droves, armed with dousing rods and divining devices. It was a whodunit until four teens confessed anonymously to the local paper. A hoax. So everyone went home, right?
(on camera): Poor kids confessed to it, and still there are people coming here.
LARRY BALESTRA, FARMER: Right. They're the believers. They don't want to give it up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
DORNIN (voice-over): Bob Hauser (ph) isn't giving it up. He's videotaping the circles to send to a local UFO society.
(on camera): Is there a possibility, as far as you're concerned, that it could be something other than done by humans?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I consider the possibility. I keep my mind open. The door is open. Just like it's been since 1947.
DORNIN: The teenagers claimed to take a 30-foot ski rope, attach boards to it, then rotate around the field, flattened the stalks. But farmer Balestra and others say they don't believe it. For one thing, the rope is too short for this circle.
(voice-over): It's 140 feet across. Even the local DA is doubtful and says the boys claim it was a moonlit night when it wasn't.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But I'm noticing a beautiful pattern.
DORNIN: Jody Hoskins (ph) believes whoever did it wasn't human.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some other intelligence did it. I don't know what to call it other than that.
DORNIN (on camera): Or it could be a UFO?
BALESTRA: It could be -- I mean, we're not the only ones here in this universe. I don't think it's UFO, but...
DORNIN: Did you do it?
BALESTRA: No.
(CROSSTALK)
BALESTRA: Oh, yes. Many times. I have a wheat field across from the fruit stand. And I would have done it there if I was going to do it, like two miles down the road.
DORNIN (voice-over): This family is more interested in the human visitors than any aliens.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They wear aluminum hats, aluminum shoes. There goes lay down here, you know, taking pictures and everything, and, you know, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
DORNIN: Then there's the curious, albeit skeptical.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really mathematical people come out and do a really good job fooling people, and so that's what I think.
DORNIN: As for Balestra's wheat crop? His field of means is a field of something else to others. So he's harvesting around the circles.
BALESTRA: Even if they believe, a lot of city folk have never been in the middle of a wheat field.
DORNIN: Alien territory worth exploring.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, Fairfield, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
