Local Man to Give Away Thousands of Bikes

by Kevin Belbey (NCC News)

Dec. 1, 2010, 6:00 p.m.

SYRACUSE, N.Y.--

For the 15th straight year, a man from DeWitt will be giving away thousands of bikes for the holiday season.

Back in the sixties, Jan Maloff would ride his bike to school every single day. Soon enough, Maloff took notice of the Elm Crest Orphanage which he rode past daily. The orphanage was home to about 100 kids that attended Maloff's school. However, they had just five or six bikes to share between them all.

"Some of my friends and I would stay after school to give them the opportunity to ride a bicycle" Maloff said. "It just kind of stuck with me, and when I was able to reach out in my professional life, that thought came back to me. And that's how I started the bicycle program."

Maloff Plans to hand out 2,500 bikes on December 18th. But he needs some help. Maloff is looking for volunteers to help repair bikes, people to donate bikes, and donors to give money for:

• Tubes
• Tires
• Tools
• Other Supplies

People looking to help with the bike drive can reach Jan Maloff at 446-7570.

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Team 3 Rundown Rationale

by Kimberly Caruba (NCC News)

Dec. 1, 2010, 7:30 p.m.

Team 3 consisted of Chet Davis as anchor, Ethan Kwassman as the live reporter, Lauren Fabrizi as the recorder reporter, and myself as the producer.

A1 - Chet teased Jenni-Lyn's funeral, three missing Michigan boys and the improvements being implemented on the Oswego River.

A2 - Jenni-Lyn Funeral

My lead story was about the funeral that was taking place today for Jenni-Lyn Watson, the missing Clay resident and Mercyhurst College student. The piece was newsworthy since the story had received national attention since her disappearance, and it was timely since the funeral services were taking place today. The story was a reader.

A3 - Missing Michigan Boys

The following story was about 3 missing boys from Michigan that were last seen at their father's house on Thanksgiving. I felt that this was a good story to follow the lead, as they both involve missing people. In addition, this story was newsworthy because of how much national attention it has received and the new developments to the case. Chet Davis did this story as his national anchor actuality.

A4 - Parking Meter Thefts

The next story was a reader about a Rome resident who is going to jail for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from Syracuse parking meters. I thought this was a good story to use as a transition back to local news since it also dealt with crime and theft.

A5 - Cuomo Outspent

The following reader was about Andrew Cuomo outspending rival, Carl Paladino 3 to 1 in the New York Governor's race. I thought the story was interesting considering Paladino is the millionaire and spent a great quantity less than Cuomo. The story was a reader, and a nice transition from the previous story as it kept things on a monetary level.

A6 - Anaren Contract

The next story was a recorded wrap by Lauren Fabrizi about the local company Anaren Incorperated receiving a $20 million contract to build satellite components. The story was interesting since a local company was chosen by a French company to do the parts, because of their experience. This story also kept with the monetary thread.

A7 - Tax Revenues Rise

The next reader was about tax revenues in New York state rising for the third straight quarter. I felt that it was an important story for local residents as it directly affects them and the new data was just released. It also kept things local and had to do with money.

A8 - Oswego River Safety

The next story was an anchor actuality by Chet Davis about new measures that are being taken to increase the safety of fishermen on the Oswego River. As in recent weeks there have been a number of accidents on the river, I felt the story was an important one to the community. This story brought the thread back to a local level.

A9 - TLC Housebound

The following story was a live wrap by Ethan Kwassman about a local resident that is being featured on TLC's show 'Housebound' tonight. The show will feature the efforts of therapists to help the resident overcome her agoraphobia. The show is popular and I felt it was newsworthy because of the shows prominence and the fact that a local resident was appearing on the show. In addition, the Rosamond Gifford Zoo is a location used on the show. This story had local threads but also set things up for a national feel for the next story.

A10 - Food Safety

The final reader of the block was about the Senate passing new measures to make food safer. As the previous story was about improving one's life, I felt this story was good to close with as it is also about making improving life. This story was also especially newsworthy as it tied to the recent outbreaks of E. coli poisonings.

Chet teased our kicker story about Hanukkah.

B1 - Hanukkah

Our kicker story was about Hanukkah beginning at sundown today. I felt the story was important since there are a lot of Jewish people that attend Syracuse and live in the area. It is also a nice way to bring a happy feeling to the end of the newscast with promise of the upcoming holiday season.

B2 - Weather

Chet read today, tonight, tomorrow, and the current weather conditions.

We ended the newscast on time and that was our show!

World AIDS Day's Final Central New York Vigil

The Central New York HIV Care Network held its final vigil for World Aids Day today.
The organization will run out of funding as of December 31st. This is due to the overall reduction in state support which will go towards servicing uninsured victims of HIV/AIDS.

The state Health department has already cut about $2 million in funds to be used for the care and treatment of the victims.

The network’s coordinator, Stephen Waldron, feels that this is for the greater good of the victims and it takes precedence in spite of the prospect for the group.

"We have sent out proposals to various foundations for monetary help, but in reality the results are not great and we might cease to exist at the end of this month."

The vigil took place at 5:00 pm this evening at the University United Methodist Church on Genesee Street. In spite of the weather, Waldron says that they will still continue to spread awareness for those around.
"The weather might not be the best but we'll move it into the church's hall and take time out to remember the lives lost and how to press on in spite of it"
This network has made awareness through:

• Syracuse University Campus efforts
• Campus ministries
• Local churches
• Social Media
• Hospitals and Clinics

With over 3,500 suffering with the disease in the Central New York area, Waldron emphasizes that we are all affected by this epidemic and we should try to be advocates for change.

"AIDS affects everyone; indirectly, directly, whether you are paying taxes for someone's medical bills or whether you lost a loved one or even if you have it yourself and should try to help each other get through this process."

Power outages across New York

By Callan Gray (NCC News)

December 1, 2010 6:40 p.m.

Outages across New York State

Many in Onondaga County woke up in cold, dark houses Wednesday morning as strong winds caused power outages across the county. National Grid reported at noon there remained 544 outages among the company’s customers in the county and 9,000 across New York State. When the day started there were over 10,000 outages.

National Grid spokesperson Patrick Stella said the highest concentrations of outages were in the Mohawk Valley and Utica and Rome areas. But the company had seen a scattering of darkness in the Syracuse area. National Grid continued to respond to calls from customers throughout the morning, said Stella.

“We’re making a little bit of progress, and of course we are restoring customers,” Stella said. “And we’ll pick up some new outages after that so the numbers have gone up and down steadily throughout the morning."

Heavy rains turned into snow by around 3:00 p.m. in Syracuse. But Stella said the snow should not be a problem for the power company.

“The only thing snow really brings for us and our equipment would be wet heavy snow that could weigh down lines or weigh down trees that would come down and hit our lines,” he described. “If its not that kind of snow it doesn’t tend to have a huge affect on our equipment.”

Stella said the company trains its employees well to prepare for those snowfalls, which are common in Upstate New York.

“We prepare for emergencies all year round,” Stella said. “We do drills all year round and we certainty can call in crews from other areas if needed if we do see an influx of outages.”

More bad weather on the way

Wednesday evening provided a different set of weather problems for the county as the National Weather Service issued a flood watch until 1 a.m. Thursday morning. The heavy rain, sleet and snow were the result of a cool front that brought temperatures in the region down from 60 degrees to the low 30s.

On its website, New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) offers these tips to customers out of power:

· Keep flashlights and fresh batteries handy

· Have at least one telephone not dependent on electricity

· Keep non-perishable food and water on hand

· Make sure your cell phone battery is fully charged

· Call your neighbors to see if their power is off; you may have just blown a fuse

Oswego River safety

by: Chet Davis (NCC News)

December 1, 2010 5:30 p.m.

New safety measures will be employed regarding fishing on the Oswego River.

In a meeting discussing angler safety, Oswego Major Randolph Bateman, area official, residents and fisherman discussed the easiest ways to make Oswego River safer. The ideas include:

• Placing signs on the east side of the river to show river levels can rapidly change

• Installing depth poles to provide water levels in the river

• Placing life wings on the west linear park that could be used to save fishermen in trouble

• Installing distance markers to assist with the exact location along the river when in an emergency

The improvements come following the deaths of two fishermen on September 28 on the Oswego River. Leonard Nichols, 45, and Clifford Luther, 52, were swept down river after the water level quickly rose. Both men died soon after the accident.

The Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism, & Planning is also getting involved. David Turner, the director of the county planning, said the departments will make pamphlets with safety information for the public.

“I think general education is key to anything you do over there,” Turner said. “If people aren’t informed about it and what it means, it’s not going to be successful.”

Turner believes that even the most experienced hunters or fishermen need to be updated on safety measures. Sometimes the unexpected can happen to anyone.

“Things just happen and no matter what the sport is, I think that constantly reminding folks that there are dangers and you should take precautions, that should go on no matter what,” Turner said.

Turner and his department are willing to partner up with other groups to help spread safety information.

The safety upgrades will be worked on throughout the winter and be in place come spring.

Anaren Inc. gets $20 million contract to build satellite components

by: Lauren Fabrizi (NCC News)
Dec. 1, 2010, 4:19 p.m.

DEWITT, N.Y. - Anaren Inc. received a $20 million contract Tuesday to make components for new communication satellites.

Anaren has been selected by the French company, Thales Alenia Space, to build beam-formers, a type of satellite component. Thales Alenia Space makes satellites for Iridium Communications, and has hired Anaren to aid in the production of 81 new satellites.

John Hoeschele, Anaren's marketing communications and government retail manager, said Anaren has worked with Iridium in the past, and explained why Anaren is the right company for the job.

"In very broad strokes I would say because of experience," Hoeschele said. "Actually we had some content on the earlier version of Iridium, which was deployed in the late '90s, and we've got a lot of experience in that territory."

Hoeschele is glad that Anaren has been given the opportunity to continue working with Iridium.

"The fact that we have a legacy in producing context for the Iridium network," Hoeschele said. "It's just kind of nice to be back on the project for the new version, which is called IridiumNEXT."

The Iridium Constellation is a network of 66 satellites, called LEO satellites, that spin around the earth in a low earth orbit, Hoeschele said. As these satellites rotate, they communicate with one another and also with the ground.

Hoeschele said the Iridium Constellation will provide total global coverage for a number of uses, including:

• cellular phone communication
• data transfer
• weather analysis
• transportation tracking

Anaren will begin production immediately, Hoeschele said.

Galeville Grocery To Close In The Spring

By Gino Zarrillo (NCC News)

December 1, 2010, 2:30 p.m.

SYRACUSE, N.Y.-- After standing for over one hundred and fifty years, the Galeville Grocery in Liverpool will be closing its doors in the spring.

The local landmark was built as the headquarters of the Thomas Gale Salt Company in 1851 and has been in continuous operation as a grocery for the community since 1888. The building will be demolished in the spring to make room for a new Byrne Dairy store.

"Unfortunately, stores like ours are just falling by the wayside," said store manager Marty Campbell. "We actually lasted longer than a lot of other people. We can't compete with the dollar stores."

Campbell also lamented that some of the personal touch will be lost on local shoppers when the store closes.

"Everbody knows everybody by name right now," Campbell said. "When Byrne Dairy comes in, they may not."

Byrne Dairy plans to uphold several community traditions such as sponsoring little league baseball teams next season.