(Historic) Kenny Young
Kenny Young (1966-2005) Dies At Age 38 Veteran UFO and unusual phenomena Researcher, Video technician, director and producer
By Ron Schaffner 2-1-5
It is with deep regret that I announce the passing of my friend Kenny Young.
I met Kenny back in 1994 after I got back into research after a two-year sabbatical. I didn't even have to introduce myself to him -- he knew who I was and offered me a warm welcome back when I first came on board to the local cable access show out of Cincinnati: UFO Update Live.
I knew that Kenny was going to be something special to Ufology. His early reports were very detailed and resembled legal briefs and police reports. He was very objective in his reporting which is something one doesn't see much of. His report on the Lebanon Correctional Facility UFO case was very complete in every aspect, as well as his Clermont County video case.
A small group of us who were affiliated with the cable show decided to start another Ohio group here. It was headed by the late Pat Packard and called Advocates for Scientific Knowledge. After Pat's untimely death, we changed the name to Tri-State Advocates for Scientific Knowledge. Kenny was named as public relations director.
One of the most celebrated cases of TASK was the 1996 and 1997 UFO flap in southern Ohio. Kenny was very active at this time and retrieved so much information, that we couldn't have solved the case without him.
See: http://home.fuse.net/rschaffner/flap.htm http://home.fuse.net/ufo/flareinfo.html http://home.fuse.net/ufo/MARCH26.htm
After the agreed reconstruction of TASK, Kenny went on to do some important research in such areas of Monsanto, Peebles, Ohio GE/Northrop plant and the Norwood, Ohio searchlight case of 1949, which was initiated by the late Leonard Stringfield.
Kenny had a natural instinct for working with local law enforcement and retrieving 9/11 emergency dispatch tapes, when a possible UFO or Bigfoot report was called in. I can remember helping him with his first FOIA request, as I told him how to get around the fees that some agencies wanted. After that, it was him that I turned to, to ask questions about this process.
Perhaps his best retrieval was the Trumbull County, Ohio sightings by law enforcement, which chased a UFO in their cruisers and reported back to dispatch.
Whenever there was case that needed more attention, Kenny was always there. I often wondered how he could afford all the long distance phone calls, but that didn't matter to him, as long as he received the information he was looking for. If anybody ever needed a favor, you could always count of Kenny.
Kenny always loved a great conspiracy story. He didn't always believe in all of them, but enjoyed researching them anyway. I spent a lot of time talking with him about the 'Federal Hypothesis', Area 51 and Roswell.
Kenny also enjoyed the Bigfoot phenomena, as he worked with me on some reports, such as the 1997 case that occurred in Adams County, Ohio. He investigated a few intriguing reports from the same area on his own and was the first to report and debunk the alleged Bigfoot 'Campground Closures' of Salt Fork State Park in Northeastern Ohio.
I also had the pleasure of assisting him in a strange creature report out of Indiana. http://home.fuse.net/ufo/indianafigure04.html
Mr. Young was very active in assisting Natural Light productions (Bob Leibold) in producing the UFO LIVE UPDATE programs that were viewed in the Cincinnati area. Kenny would become a live panelist on this show and we won several awards. Kenny's video clips were always a welcome sight. It was his idea to start a 'point-counterpoint' type of program to achieve 100% objectivity. Kenny was the advocate on the show and I would play the skeptic. It always worked out great and gave the audience the option to make up their own minds on the information we set forth. We had some real fun with this and some thought we were bitter at each other. That was far from the truth, as we always worked out the script before hand and laughed at each other about the acts we put on.
There will always be more to say about this brilliant researcher and investigator. I have only touched on a few of his accomplishments.
We will all miss you, Kenny. Hope you meet up with Pat and Leonard.
From all of us at UFO Update in Cincinnati, Ohio The Ohio groups All the Forteans around the world
Below is the bio of Kenny taken from his own web site:
http://home.fuse.net/ufo/about.html http://home.fuse.net/ufo
Please visit while the site is still on the Internet.
Sincerely, Ron Schaffner Creature Chronicles http://home.fuse.net/rschaffner
Kenny Young, webmaster of "UFO RESEARCH: CINCINNATI!" is a multi-award winning television producer, director and writer and formerly a State Section Director for M.U.F.O.N. and also a former public relations director of Tri-State Advocates for Scientific Knowledge. He is now an independent researcher and has lectured to large audiences about the UFO mystery and served as a host, panelist and debater on several TV programs including "UFO Update: LIVE!" and the award winning documentary "UFO REPORT."
In addition to evaluating UFO and related claims, conducting field investigations and interviewing eyewitnesses and public officials, Young has worked successfully to obtain secret UFO video recordings held by the Department of Energy and has also obtained numerous 9-1-1 audio tapes of police/UFO incidents. In addition, he employs the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to petition the U.S. government for release of UFO-related documents.
His articles have appeared in the "M.U.F.O.N. Journal," "UFO Magazine," "FATE Magazine" and "Equinox Magazine." He was the host and organizer of the 39th Annual 2003 National UFO Conference.
Young's UFO investigations have also been featured nationally on the 2-hour NBC Television program "CONFIRMATION' as well as "SIGHTINGS on The Sci-Fi Channel." He has appeared on numerous radio programs including "Strange Days Indeed with Errol Bruce Knapp," "The Jeff Rense Show," "Coast to Coast A.M. with Art Bell," "Late Night with George Noory," "The Sci-Zone with Bill Boshears," "The X-Zone with Rob McConnell," "The Jim Hickman Report" and many others.
Kenny Young lives in Florence, Kentucky and is also a musician, artist and employed as Info channel Coordinator for a cable television operation in the Greater Cincinnati area. He is also a freelance videographer and editor, specializing in graphic design.
Young remains skeptical and objective concerning UFOs, but feels that a sober evaluation of the data suggests the phenomena warrants further scrutiny.
