Kurt Wanfried Dispatch Editor

Google Earth finally updated our area

2012-02-09T13:29:00.000-08:00

Being a news guy, I do my best to keep up on current events, especially those that affect this community.
That’s why I sheepishly bring you this news, which I’m sure it isn’t “breaking news” to some of you.
It’s about Google Earth, that free program that lets you see satellite images of any spot on the globe.
It’s great software and fascinating to use.
You just type in an address or click on a map and zoom right to the spot. It’s loads of fun to visit familiar places, famous landmarks even check out the backyards of homes you lived in decades ago.
Sounds neat, huh?
There was just one problem, at least for this area. The local satellite photos hadn’t been updated in years. In the photos of downtown Oneida, for example, City Lanes, which burned down April 22, 2007 was still standing.
If that weren’t bad enough, the photos weren’t just old, the resolution was low. As you would zoom it the pictures would quickly get fuzzy.

From The top: VVS High School, OHS High School, Casolwood Golf Course, Turning Stone Casino - Resort, Sylvan Beach, and The Dispatch Building on Broad Street in Oneida. That's my Jeep in the red circle.

But no more. Google Earth now has fresher, higher resolution photos of the local area, taken on June 6, 2011 and July 21, 2011.
Whoopee!
I hope this heralds a change bringing more frequent updates, but I’m tempering my expectations. Truth be told, when Google decides how much attention our area warrants compared to the rest of the world, we have many factors working against us. Some are fair and some aren’t. They include:
• We’re not an economic powerhouse like Los Angeles, Manhattan, Geneva or Hong Kong.
• We’re not densely populated like Tokyo, Taiwan or Miami.
• Does anyone working at the Googleplex in Mountain View, Calif., consider Upstate New York anything more than something you fly over when you go “back east?”
• Aerial photos are only useful when they’re taken when the sky as clear. What percentage of the time is that true? If it’s cloudy when the satellite passes over, we’re SOL until the next time it comes through.
All this aside, Google Earth is a must have, and at free, the price can’t be beat. It runs on Mac, Windows, iOS and Android. It’s easy to figure out how to use it, but you should have a fairly recent computer, because it takes a bit of oomph to manipulate those big photo files.

Get Google Earth: earth.google.com

Internet is anonymous / Internet is not anonymous

2012-02-06T13:16:00.000-08:00

Two of the key features of the Internet, paradoxically, are that everything is anonymous and nothing is anonymous.
Like some sort of spooky quantum state, both are true at the same time.
How so?
When you read an e-mail or a forum post, it's impossible to know if the purported sender is genuine merely by looking at it. It's a simple matter to add professional looking logos or spoof the "from" like of an e-mail.

It brings to mind one of my favorite cartoons of all time. Two dogs are sitting in front of a computer. One says to the other, "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog."
The clever cartoon is by Peter Steiner and appeared in the July 5, 1993 issue of The New Yorker.
While this is all true, prosecutors or plaintiffs armed with subpoenas, shadowy people chasing terrorists and marketers assembling far-reaching databases can indeed know many things about us. While identity information is beyond your grasp and mine, these people know a lot about you and the amount is growing and is never erased.

In light of this some person unknown to me updated the cartoon, adding to the screen "Welcome canine, User 39... Mutt, Mostly black lab. Enjoys pepperoni, fetching, and sniffing other dogs' heinies... Updating profile"
Two key things we can take away from this:
-- Since the Internet is anonymous and we can't tell who sent something just by looking at it, we must use our brains. Pay attention to the little things like context and spelling. Know that any e-mail from you bank is likely bogus. When there's any doubt at all, call the person or the business (and look up the number yourself; don't use the number in the suspect e-mail).
-- Since the Internet is not anonymous and messages last forever, think really hard before you post anything. You could have to answer for it years later.

The cartoons:
http://www.unc.edu/depts/jomc/academics/dri/idog.html

The day I nearly killed Joe Paterno

2012-01-23T11:56:00.001-08:00

The year was 1974. I was living in Penn State’s Nittany dorms, WWII-vintage single-story buildings, which have since been torn down and replaced.
We liked them because the rooms were all singles and the rule-enforcement was a bit more relaxed than it was on the rest of campus.
It was a Saturday afternoon in the spring and my group of friends was planning a party.
Penn State has earned a reputation for excellence in many areas, and in those days it included celebrating. All work and no play did not describe us. Let’s say we were more “balanced.”
We were driving back to campus in a pickup truck with a fresh half-keg of beer and three or four of us in back.
A half-keg weighs about 160 pounds and college students are naturally lazy, so we would drive right up to the side door of the dorm, even though this would require driving on the sidewalk.
In those days, and I suspect for many years after, Joe Paterno would walk to work from his small house just off-campus. The football team’s practice field was just behind Nittany dorms.
On this particular Saturday, we rounded a corner and Paterno was right there, smack-dab in front of us, briskly walking home from the practice field.
Our driver slammed on the brakes. Paterno also stopped short and his eyes grew big.
For the record, our driver hadn’t been drinking, but I guess Paterno could tell the rest of us had.
“You boys look like you’re having fun,” he smiled.
“We sure are, Joe,” one of my friends replied as we waved to the coach and continued on our way.
Paterno would go on to coach 37 more years after that near-death encounter. But even then he was beloved; we would have been tarred and feathered if we’d run over him.
By 1974, Paterno had:
• Already been head coach for nine years and compiled a 75-13-1 record, including three undefeated seasons (no national championships, but don’t get me started), including four major bowl victories.
• Turned down head coaching job offers from the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants and the University of Michigan, plus accepted and then backed out of a lucrative offer from the New England Patriots.
• Begun his “Grand Experiment,” placing emphasis on academics for his players. This was paying big dividends in recruiting as Paterno could honestly tell parents their sons had good chance of graduating.
There was a lot to admire in Paterno. The plain, no-name jerseys, his insistence on sportsmanship and his refusal to run up the score on defeated opponents.
None of this makes up for his failure to act when he became aware of the horrible accusations against his once-trusted assistant. And Paterno made it clear after his firing that he finally understood this, even though the whole concept of pedophilia was obviously completely foreign to the 85-year-old.
Along with many of my fellow Penn Staters, I believe Paterno was treated unnecessarily poorly. But Paterno refused to be bitter and I also believe he’d be the first to note the real victims are the young boys who apparently were abused on his watch.
But I will not turn my back on JoePa, any more that I would reject my own grandfather. One mistake, even a big one, doesn’t wipe out decades of doing the right thing.

Masters invitations are out

2012-01-12T07:18:00.000-08:00

Mine hasn't arrived yet. I'll have to check my mailbox later today.

Will the Mayan calendar end or roll over?

2012-01-03T14:17:00.000-08:00

Call me a cockeyed optimist, but I’ve got a feeling 2012 will be a good year.
Certainly 2011 won’t be hard to beat. As you may remember, last year I had prostate cancer and a stroke. And my alma mater, Penn State University, had some despicable, disheartening revelations emerge.
OK, I know what you’re thinking. I also saw the movie, “2012.” Any so-called problems I had in 2011 paled in comparison to what went on in that epic disaster film.
But not to worry; my son, George, assures me that the business about the Mayan calendar running out this year is just a bunch of hooey. He says it will just roll over and start over again.
Optimist that I am, I choose to believe him, purely on faith. It would certainly make sense if the Mayan calendar were round like the famous Aztec Calendar Stone -- of course it would roll over.
Also, I know George hasn’t spoken to any Mayans, so his assertion is purely conjecture.
So if the world comes to an end, we’ll both be embarrassed.
Knock on wood, the first few days of 2012 have been great. Here’s hoping 2012 is good for all of us.

Mistletunes: A special kind of Christmas music

2011-12-22T19:19:00.000-08:00

At this time of year there's one website I always visit.
It's become a holiday tradition in the Wanfried family.
Created more than a decade ago by a good friend of mine, Mistletunes surveys the annual offering of holiday music with a rock bent.
Of course most of its is Christmas material, but there are a fair number of Hanukkah selections as well.
"Rudolf" knows more about rock 'n' roll than anyone I ever met and this website is his labor of love.
He bills it as "the ho-ho-home of a rock 'n roll Christmas," this Internet gem does not disappoint.
For example, where else would you find out about the free-to-download "Santastic Six" incorporating mashups of artists ranging for Joan Jett to the Beastie Boys, Fats Domino and Bjork to very lightly skim the surface?
It all there at www.mistletunes.com. Visit it. When you see me, you'll thank me for the link.

I'm thankful to be alive

2011-11-23T13:19:00.000-08:00

It’s the time of year when newspaper columnists wax poetic and list things most of us can be thankful for on this holiday, things like living in the USA, being able to read, having friends and family members to love who love us back.
Trite, formula stuff. I’ve read and written many such columns. While my columns were full of truisms, I don’t think I understood what it means to be truly thankful... until now.
Oh, I’ve had more than my share of blessings: my lovely wife, Linda; our healthy and intelligent children, Joanna and George.
I have an interesting job that challenges me, a loving extended family and a few good friends.
But this year I’m thankful for something even more basic — being alive.
This spring, after a routine physical, my family doctor sent me to a specialist who discovered I had prostate cancer. In May, a surgeon used a high-tech robotic device to remove my prostate; the cancer hadn’t spread.
I’m thankful prostate cancer is among the least aggressive. I had access to first-rate health care and we caught it early. It appears I’m now cancer-free.
I know how fortunate I am.
But that wasn’t my closest call with death this year. In September I had a stroke, a hemorrhagic stroke to be exact, otherwise known as a brain hemorrhage.
It sounds scary because it is.
After some physical activity my blood pressure spiked, causing a blood vessel in my brain to rupture.
It didn’t hurt a bit, but at first I couldn’t talk. After a few minutes I was able to utter gibberish and a few minutes after that all seemed well. I didn’t realize I’d had a stroke, I just chalked it up to another one of those things that happen to you as you grow older (and not the worst one, I might add).
It wasn’t till the next day, when I got to work that I realized that something was definitely wrong; my typing was far worse than normal and my speech was less fluent.
Linda took me to Oneida Healthcare; they scanned my brain and sent me to the Upstate Stroke Center at University Hospital in Syracuse.
Long story short, the experts watched me closely in the Neurology ICU, brought down my blood pressure and I’m almost back to normal. I have to closely watch my blood pressure and may receive some physical therapy to erase any lingering effects.
Whew...
So I’m thankful to be alive. And I’m thankful to be able to offer a bit of advice. For prostate cancer, monitor the PSA results from your annual physicals. While there’s some controversy in this, be informed and make your own decisions.
As for strokes, call 911 immediately at any sign of a stroke. The FAST signs of a stroke:

F: Face -- Does the face look uneven? Ask the person to smile.
A: Arms -- Does one arm drift down? Ask the person to raise both arms.
S: Speech -- Does speech sound strange? Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Example: “The sky is blue.”
T: Time -- to call 911, if you observe ANY of these signs.

Happy Thanksgiving. If you’re reading this you are also alive. You may have problems, we all do. And there always are people whose lives may seem better than yours.
So what?
There are also many whose lives are far worse. Help them and experience the true meaning of this holiday.

Penn State story has no bright side

2011-11-08T08:33:00.000-08:00

I almost threw up.
On a day I’d like to be concentrating on Penn State’s big game Saturday against Nebraska, I’m focusing instead on learning as much as I can about the child abuse scandal that’s rocking my alma mater.
I read the full 28-page grand jury report on the sordid Jerry Sandusky accusations, hoping that I could still respect Joe Paterno as much as I have.
Sadly, Joe let me down along with an estimated 1.5 million alumni, 95,000 current PSU students, and especially young people who deserve protection from alleged sick predators like Sandusky.
True, Paterno wasn’t arrested because he immediately reported the incident that began this investigation to his boss, Athletic Director Tim Curley. Curley and Vice President Gary Schultz were arrested for not reporting the incident so Children’s Services could investigate.
I take no comfort in knowing Paterno appears to have fulfilled his duties as a mandated reporter under Pennsylvania state law.
If this had happened in New York, Paterno would have been arrested. In this state, mandated reporters (teachers, school administrators, doctors, social workers and others who deal with children) are required by law to call the state’s child abuse hotline. Merely reporting it to your boss is not enough.
But beyond the law, Paterno had a moral responsibly to follow up and to keep this man away from his program as long as there was any chance even a part of the allegations may be true.
Paterno has to bear responsibly for seeing what apparently had been going on under his nose for years. Any half-measures he took placed vulnerable young people in danger... for years.
No, Paterno may have done nothing wrong, but he didn’t do enough right.
The motto of the Penn State football program is “Success with Honor.”
It rings sort of hollow today.

The New York hotline to report suspected cases of abuse or maltreatment is 1-800-342-3720. You can remain anonymous.
In cases where you believe a child is in immediate danger, call 911.

Read the full grand jury report: http://1.usa.gov/vEoqDt

Come to Oneida election event at Rec Center

2011-10-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

The candidates in races for Oneida Common Council and mayor will be appearing at "Your Voice, Your Choice," the candidates' night sponsored by The Oneida Daily Dispatch and the League of Women Voters.
Of course, the best way to participate is in person at the Oneida Rec Center on Cedar Street at 7 pm. But if you can't be there you can watch over the Internet at oneidadispatch.com.
Some questions have already been submitted, but if you'd like to submit send it to me at kwanfried@oneidadispatch.com or send it via twitter or as a comment via the live feed.
Please be advised there is no guarantee your question will be asked (the earlier you get it in the better) and this will be our first video live feed and although we've tested it, the truth is we can't be sure what will happen until it happens.
If you watch it over the Web, I would appreciate it if you would tell me how it yours for you and what sort of computer setup you have.
This is and interesting election and this promises to be an interesting event.
See you there.

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet

2011-10-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

I was speaking to a local political candidate a couple of days ago.
He wanted to point out that a commenter on our website said something that isn’t true.
He was nice about it, but it was clear he wanted me to pull down the comment he felt was inaccurate.
But I unhappily refused.
The truth is many of the comments about him, about his opponent and about many other things are untrue; for better or worse, that’s the nature of the Internet
But I told him I should point out to readers that you shouldn’t believe everything you read on any website… even ours.
Comments by anonymous posters simply aren’t subjected to the factual scrutiny imposed on news stories and letters to the editor.
The theory is when someone makes a wild claim, others in the online community will question or refute it. It’s sometimes messy, and by its nature a free-for-all, but allows people to put forth their ideas and comment on their community with a minimum of censorship or butting in by your truly.
When it is working well, true statements will be accepted by consensus and the group will reject falsehoods.
But some comments simply can’t be posted.
On any given day I may be accused of being a Nazi censor when comments aren’t posted or and unfeeling jerk when they are.
(For the record, the two most common reasons comments aren’t posted is name-calling or in the case of people charged with crimes but haven’t been to trial, comments about their guilt or innocence, other crimes they may have committed or what torture would be appropriate for them. Also, be aware that although the comments are anonymous, I can see the commenters’ IP numbers. If you file 15 comments under different screen names I can tell. When this happens (and it does), I’ll let through one or none).
News organizations across America are struggling to foster the vibrancy and spirited free-for-all that online commenting can bring without turning into a vicious snake pit of wild accusations and hate.
Online anonymous commenting is far more popular than letters to the editor were, even in newspapers’ heyday.
We’re far from perfect, but I think we’re doing a better job the message boards at Syracuse.com or topix.com.
Accusations of favoritism go along with an editor’s job; always have, always will. People want to believe you have a hidden agenda and want to see this person or that person elected because of politics, friendship or even bribery.
Well I, for one, do have an agenda, but it’s not hidden. I want interesting local elections with lots of give-and-take from all sides and I want it to take place on the pages of our website and newspaper.

More from Community Day at VVS

2011-10-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

Come to VVS High School today~ bring the family and enjoy cookie samples, live fire department burn demos and lots of crafts! Visit our booth for free drawing for $25 gift certificate to Price Chopper and sign up for home delivery and get a Reader Reward discount card

Belly dancers demonstrating considerable skill.in the auditorium.

Community Day's Begun

2011-10-02T07:07:00.000-07:00

Big crowd early.
This seems to be a popular indoor event.
Stop down an say hi.

Our new circulation supervisor, Sabrina Sharkey, is here, too. Come meet her; she's nice.

I'm hoping to help some people sign up for free news alerts on their phone.

Come see us at VVS Community Day

2011-10-01T19:38:00.000-07:00

The Dispatch (and a ton of other organizations) will be set up Sunday at VVS.
It's one-stop shopping to learn about that many groups active in the area.
While you're there stop in and say 'Hi.' We'll be set up near the front door.
We'll be giving away some nice prizes.

At the United Way luncheon at the Kallet

2011-09-16T09:37:00.001-07:00

I'm at the United Way Kickoff at the Kallet Civic Center in Downtown Oneida. The food is good and the cause is great.
Watch for a story from Caitlin Traynor and photos from John Haeger.

We can learn from WWII generation

2011-09-12T11:33:00.000-07:00

Almost every year on Dec. 7 or Dec. 8, I receive a phonecall. Sometimes it's a call thanking me for a story, but most years it's areader chewing me out for not including anything in the paper about the 1941Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.

Unless I planned ahead for a Pearl Harbor story (which getsharder to come up with every year), all I can do is lamely point out that it’smentioned in the “Today in History” feature. The callers are rarely satisfiedwith this response.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt called Dec. 7, 1941 "adate which will live in infamy."

Sadly, as the WWII generation leaves us, and the Japanesehave become allies rather than enemies, the sharp reality of that date hassoftened. The date, while still well-known, doesn't carry the vivid power itheld for previous generations.

My dad told me that the lesson to be learned from PearlHarbor is one of preparedness. When the country mobilized to fight the Axispowers, U.S. recruits were forced to march with rifle-shaped wooden boards;there weren't enough rifles to go around.

As I watched the various 9/11 observances, I couldn’t helpthinking how Sept. 11, 2001 holds a special meaning to a different generation.Undoubtedly, over time, the horrors and visceral memories so many of us sharewill fade, too. Those who didn't experience 9/11 just can't get it.

But it would be especially sad if the overall lesson of 9/11faded with our memories of the event. As 9/11 grows more distant, we should alldo everything we can to make sure our children and grandchildren know the valueof first-rate intelligence and, as the WWII generation learned the hard way,preparedness.

Do you have a hurricane story?

2011-08-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

Linda took this cell-phone photo of some of the trucks heading east on the Thruway Saturday.

My lovely wife, Linda, and I just got back from taking our son, George, off to college at Stony Brook University.
We moved up his move-in by a couple of days to get ourselves off the island well before Hurricane Irene was due to hit. At this writing (about 3 p.m. Saturday), Irene was expected in Long Island about 3 a.m.
Sunday.
The college has stout buildings and I'm told it occupies the highest ground on Long Island, so I'm sure George will be safe. I also suspect, though, that he's in for quite an adventure, because the computer models show the storm hitting Long Island with quite a wallop.
We got into the hurricane zone and got out ASAP. Nevertheless, we did come away with a few observations that were interesting to us:
• Everybody in Long Island and Connecticut seemed to want to gas up at the same time. Some stations were dry except for high-test all had long lines and suspiciously high prices . We had a half-tank, but nevertheless we filled up.
• Traffic was heavy, but nothing like the photos we've all seen of evacuations down south. I suspect it may pick up as the day progresses. Curiously, it was heavy in both directions.
• As we traveled on the New York Thruway, we saw well over 100 utility trucks (cherry pickers and trucks with big pole drills, mostly Verizon) headed in the opposite direction. It was a sight to see.
Anyway, I'd love to hear about your experiences. I'm sure there are more exciting tales than mine.
Please comment below or send them to kwanfried@oneidadispatch.com

New videos on mayoral race page

2011-08-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

We posted two new videos on the mayoral race page Tuesday.
That can be seen at: www.oneidadispatch.com/news/election
This time we ask incumbent Leo Matzke and challenger Don Hudson, what they would do to fight the drug problem in Oneida.
The answers were recorded a week or so before the latest meth lab bust, but certainly are timely.
If you want to contribute a question for upcoming videos, click on:
Submit a question for the mayoral candidates, which appears below the videos or email reporter Caitlin Traynor at: ctraynor@oneidadispatch.com

Ready's presentation was great

2011-08-23T05:44:00.000-07:00

Retired Maj. John Ready drew a small group to The Dispatch Media Lab Saturday.
There were lots of questions and lots of interesting stories.
I thought it was going to be a slow day, but as it turns out there was a major fire and a meth lab bust in Oneidfa that day.
Read Caitlin Traynor's story about Ready's presentation: http://tinyurl.com/3t3p7lb

Everyone welcome at Dispatch event Saturday

2011-08-16T07:16:00.000-07:00

We're fortunate retired Army Maj. John Ready has agreed to conduct a session this Saturday in our new Community Media Lab.
You may have seen Ready in the pages of The Dispatch discussing his new project Veteran Images, in which he's attempting to documet the experiences of as many local veterans as he can.
It's a worthwhile project, in the same vein, but much more extensive of our own long-running "War Stories" series.

But that's not all Ready's prepared to talk about. He also plans to talk about his experiences in Iraq, where they called him "Uncle Sugar," because of his Army job: handing out cash (mostly hundred-dollar bills seized from Saddam) to Iraqi contractors doing work helping rebuild the country.

We hold these events at 11 a.m. and run until noon or so. The theory is that we won't take up people's whole day. Come and learn something. It's free and we'll also have free coffee, tea and doughnuts.

Maj. John Ready (Ret.)
11 a.m. - Noon Saturday Aug. 20

Visit Ready's blog: veteranimages.blogspot.com
Read Mike Jaquays' story about Ready's project at: bit.ly/rlYDUr

Good music in Sherrill

2011-07-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting on the lawn by the Gazebo in Sherrill with my lovely wife Linda and my son, George, listening to Chief Big Way.
It's far diffent than last year's Army band, but every bit as excellent.
There will be fireworks at 9:30.
C'mon down for some good,free entertainment (courtesy of the Gorman Foundation).

Blogging session

2011-07-23T08:40:00.000-07:00

People discuss blogging today at The Dispatch offices.

We want bloggers

2011-07-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

I must fess up.
I have an ulterior motive for holding a session on blogging on Saturday: we want to add links to more blogs to our website.
Why?
We want to continue to be the leading information website for this area. One aspect of this is to bring together people who have something interesting to say.
What sorts of information makes an interesting blog?
There are infinite answers to that question.
Politics, religion, boating, bowling, fishing, real estate, yoga, chess, cooking, baseball, traveling, education, child-rearing, humor, trivia, comics, prospecting, coin collecting, volunteering, skateboarding, movies, golf, baking, biking, macrame, tattoos, photography, history, bocce, hiking, gardening, grammar, woodworking, racing, poetry, origami, and skydiving are just a few of the topics that could make a good blog.
Certainly some topics interest more people than others do, but a good blog doesn't need to appeal to everyone. It does need an author who knows something about a topic and, (this is crucial) it does need to be updated regularly.
In the pre-blog days, I received many inquiries from people wanting to sell (or give) me a column for the newspaper. In fact I still get such solicitations. There are many people who see themselves as the next Erma Bombeck, Art Buchwald, Jimmy Breslin or George Will.
And to be truthful, over the years I've read many excellent columns by unknown writers. It seems many people have a good column or two in them.
Now I'm not implying that writing a good column is easy; it's not. But writing interesting newspaper columns one, two or three times a week is supremely difficult. Few people can do it.
But blogging a bit different.
First of all, there's no set length; unlike a newspaper column, it doesn't have to fit onto a finite-sized page with other columns, letters and cartoons.
If you just have something short to say, say something short. If your topic is complicated and needs lots of space to explain, no problem.
Another plus is that blogging's interactive; as more people read your blog, they contribute comments, ideas and other points of view that make your blog richer and more interesting. On the Web, more so than in print, readers can easily contribute ideas; it's called "crowdsourcing."
Also, if you make a mistake, unlike the printed page, you can fix it.
In short, there are three keys to a successful blog:
1. Have something to say that will interest others.
2. Promote your blog. Secure links on websites visited by people you want to reach. Put the address on your business cards and any printed material you use.
2. Update your blog frequently. Once people find you blog and like it, they'll come back. If they come back several times in a row and it hasn't been updated, they'll stop coming.
I must confess I don't update my blog as often as I should; I'm making a resolution here and now to mend my ways.
Anyway, I'm excited to have the chance to talk about blogging on Saturday; I hope to help some people start blogs that we can add to our Blog Center on OneidaDispatch.com
The session is set for 11 a.m.-noon at The Dispatch office at 130 Broad St. in Oneida.

Anyone can blog

2011-07-11T09:22:00.000-07:00

There was a time one had to learn the basics of html and computer file structures to be able to have your own website and post information on the World Wide Web.
Believe me, I know. I put together the first daily newspaper website in Pennsylvania back in the dial-up days of the Internet. It was complicated.
No more.
The advent of blogs (short for weblogs) have brought the power to communicate to online everyone.
All you need to have a blog is enough technical skill to fill in a few blanks.
All you need to have a popular blog is something to say that people find interesting.
Indeed, a popular blog can make money for its author.
If this sounds at all interesting, I'll be holding a free Community Media Lab presentation explaining how to do this.
The program is set for Saturday, July 23 from 11 a.m. to noon at The Dispatch offices.
We're offering free coffee; free tea and free doughnuts. No need to preregister, but an email would be helpful if you know you're coming, so we know how many doughnuts to buy.
If you already have a blog, please come. We're looking for a variety of blogs to add to the Blog Center on our website. With our site receiving over 500,000 visits a month, we can send a lot of visitors your way.

The festival is open

2011-07-09T08:04:00.000-07:00

We're downtown on Freighthouse Alley (across from the Oneida Street stage) at Oneida’s Downtown Association’s Summer Fest.
Stop by and see us. We're doing live blogging. You can blog, too.
There seems to be some confusion as to the time of the musical acts.
Here's the schedule:

3 pm - 5 pm - Matt Chase and Thunder Canyon
6 pm to 8 pm - Fritz's Polka Band
Until then, La Vie Boheme is providing open mic music

It's all downtown on Oneida Street.
Fireworks are at 9:30 pm or so at Vets Field.

Come downtown today

2011-07-09T06:54:00.000-07:00

Circulation Director Marc Alvord stands inside our booth.

We're nearly set up on Freighthouse Alley (across from the Oneida Street stage) at Oneida’s Downtown Association’s Summer Fest Saturday.
The fun starts at 11 a.m.. We'll be doing live blogging.

Come see us downtown Saturday

2011-07-07T05:04:00.000-07:00

The Dispatch will have a booth at Oneida’s Downtown Association’s Summer Fest Saturday.
We'll be set up by 11 a.m. and plan to do live blogging from the event.
I'm hoping people will stop by to see what blogging's all about.
I'll be happy to show anyone how to set up your own blog.
I welcome any suggestions or complaints you may have regarding our news coverage online in print.

Read more about the event here: http://bit.ly/o2yyUo

Outdoor ceremony bold move

2011-06-26T06:36:00.000-07:00

Oneida High School's plan for commencement exercises is a bit different than that of most schools. Workers prepare two venues, one inside the gym and one on the front lawn. nd decide at the last minute which they will use.
I talked to several of the Oneida City School District officials before Saturday's commencement exercises.
Among them were Principal Brian Gallagher, retiring Vocal Director Jeff Welcher and the man with the ultimate responsibility for the decision, Superintendent Ron Spadafora.
I told them the decision to hold the ceremony outdoors on the lawn instead of inside was a bold move, but I, for one, approved.
I've been at a lot of graduations and the OHS front-yard venue is about as nice a place as there is; it's far better than a hot, stuffy gymnasium.
Their luck didn't hold out as it started to rain about an hour into the event, so I'm sure there will be plenty of critics of the decision.
On this page you'll see a bunch of photos of the beginning grand march before the ceremony. I had a pretty good vantage point; I think that most of the graduates are included.
I'll also upload them to the photo gallery in case anyone wants high-quality reprints.

Graduation weekend coming up

2011-06-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

We're making our coverage plans for commencement exercises in our local school districts.
It would be a lot easier if they didn't all happen pretty much at the same time.
I will be at Oneida; I still enjoy it, even though my son, George, and daughter, Joanna, have graduated.
I'll post a lot of photos in our photo galleries; I hope our readers will share their graduation photos, too.

Lots doing at Boxing Hall of Fame

2011-06-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

This year I decided to jump into the festivities surrounding the Boxing Hall of Fame with both feet.

We're experimenting with new ways to cover the news, so this year in addition to sportswriter David Johnson's professional coverage, I brought along my brother-in-law, Barry Brown to serve as a citizen-journalist blogger. His impressions are at the bottom of this piece.

As for me, I had watched "The Fighter" a few days ago for the second time, so it was a particular thrill to see "Irish" Micky Ward and his one-of-a-kind brother, Dickie Eklund.

At one point, during a boxing demonstration, James "Smitty" Smith asked Ecklund, "Hey Dickie, did you really knock down Sugar Ray Leonard?" Eklund replied, "I tripped him." The exchange referred to a controversy that persisted throughout "The Fighter," the Oscar-winning film based on the two brothers and their family.

During the parade, I happened to be seated across the street from Ray Halbritter, the Oneida Nation CEO. I think I got a pretty good shot of him waving to Canastota boxer Billy Backus. I was waiting to see how he's react to the UCE float, but group must've decided to skip the event.

Speaking of skipping the event, my family was quite disappointed that Sylvester Stallone chose to forego the parade.

Mike Tyson rode down Peterboro Street. OK, he was so surrounded by police and burly bodyguards that I could hardly see him, but at least he showed up.

Speaking of showing up, in my opinion, our sportswriter David Johnson did a great job both before and during the event. We sent his work out to 23 other Journal Register papers throughout America, which can't help but raise the profile of this area.

At any rate, below is the work of an aspiring citizen-journalist:

By Barry Brown:

Azumeh Nelson, left, and Barry Brown

We arrived on the site and, eh, surveyed the area and checked out the 50-year-old original Madison Square Garden ring, met Azumeh Nelson, who was very gracious and humble, and allowed me to have my picture taken with him.

I remember watching him fight on TV; he lost, but put up a great fight.

We went over to the Hall of Fame museum, saw many very interesting things and compared fist sizes with some of the huge heavyweight boxing champions. I found that the two that were most impressive were Primo Carnera, who was heavyweight champion in 1933 and 1934 and Lennox Lewis.

We viewed boxing demonstrations by boxing greats Aaron Pryor and "Irish" Mickey Ward. They worked out in the ring while being interviewed by James "Smitty" Smith, who has a web TV show at www.inthiscornertv.com show.

It was very informative and fun.
We bought some souvenirs and went home.

My fist compared to the 14 3/4-inch paw of Primo Carnera.

Handy links:

Sugar Ray Leonard fights Dick Eklund:

http://youtu.be/Xu6A2EDSg2o

In ThisCornerTV:

http://www.inthiscornertv.com/

International Boxing Hall of Fame

http://www.ibhof.com/

Ray Halbritter, left, waves to Billy Backus

Oneida parade was great

2011-05-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

Once again the Oneida Memorial Association put on a great event.
Some of my thoughts on this year's celebration:
- Joel Meltzer was back hosting the parade; he's clearly the best.
- I didn't count the musicians, but the Oneida High School Marching Band looked larger and certianly sounded snappy. They seem to be upward bound.
- There seemed to even more people selling noisemakers, toy guns, nasty-looking cotton candy and Silly String. Perhaps they ads excitement to the parad4 for some, but not for me. What do Spongebob Squarepants blow-up dolls have to do with our most solemn national holiday?

If you haven't attended an event this weekend honoring the fallen, there's still one more chance. In Wampsville, WAVEM is holding a county-wide ceremony
at 2 p.m. at the War Veterans Memorial Plaza by the courthouse.

Doug Ginney, president of WAVEM will be the master of ceremonies. The guest speaker will be Robert Conway, the Madison County American Legion Commander. Holly Page of Morrisville will sing the National Anthem.

Joe Barilla, Madison County American Legion chaplain will lead prayers and the Hamilton American Legion Post 375 will provide the firing squad for the service. Peter Finocchairo will play taps.

Wreaths will be placed at each stone. Color guards from any other veterans’ organizations and the public are welcome to attend and support this service in memory of the country’s fallen comrades.

Come to the parade

2011-05-27T02:56:00.000-07:00

I've been invited to be a judge for the Oneida Memorial Day parade again this year. Please feel free to stop by the reviewing stand and tell me what you like and don't like about our ever-changing website and newspaper.

If you don't plan to attend the Oneida parade there are lots of other events around the area. We've compiled this list:

The following are a local Memorial Day parade and celebrations being held this weekend.

Oneida

The Oneida Memorial Association will hold the Memorial Day services and parade on Friday, May 27 starting at 6:30 p.m. at Triangle Park, Main Street.

The parade will begin from the park immediately following the services at 7 p.m. The parade route runs through town ending at Veterans’ Memorial Playfield. The theme for this year’s parade is “Forever Honor.”

Additional parade participants are still welcome. They are asked to get their line up positions from the parade marshals stationed at the park by or before 6 p.m. that evening.

Large and small donations are still needed to cover the expenses especially for the bands. Donations should be sent to the Oneida Memorial Association, P.O. Box 93. Oneida, NY 13421.

Munnsville

The Munnsville American Legion will be holding their annual Memorial Day parade on Sunday, May 29. The parade lineup is at noon in the Briggs & Stratton (Ferris) parking lot. Parade begins at 1 p.m. Anyone interested in participating in the parade should call the Legion at (315) 495-6593 to register.

Sherrill

The Sherrill Memorial Day Parade will be held on Monday, May 30 beginning at 8:45 a.m. on the corner of Route 5 and Sherrill Road. It will travel down Sherrill Road to East Hinds Avenue to Park Street and culminate with a ceremony in Memorial Park.

Durhamville

The Durhamville ANM Veterans Club will hold a Memorial Day parade on Monday, May 30 at 9 a.m. at the World War I monument, across from the Durhamville Volunteer Fire Department.

The Memorial Day World War II service will be held at the club. The keynote speaker will be an Iraq war veteran, Patrick Hoose.

Canastota

The Canastota American Legion parade will be held on Monday, May 30 beginning at 10 a.m. from the Canastota School, Peterboro Street. It will proceed to Clark Park, where ceremonies will be held.

Following the service there will be an open house with refreshments at the legion.

At noon in front of the Canastota Kwik Fill on Route 5 a new historical marker will be dedicated in honor of General Chauncey Barnes Reese. The marker will show the birthplace of the only Civil War general from the northern half of Madison County. There will be many speakers and Civil War re-enactors participating at this dedication.

Verona

The Verona Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6811 will host a Memorial Day observance on Monday, May 30 at 12:30 p.m. Parade will start at Joel’s Steak House, Route 31 and Main Street, Verona and proceed to the Memorial Park.

The guest speaker will be Mike Meyers of Verona. Meyers is married to the former Lisa Hale and they have two children. He is a graduate of Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School. Meyers served with 8th Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division with service in Iraq during Desert Storm. He was discharged with the rank of Sergeant.

Meyers served as a Lieutenant in the Oneida fire Department for 21 years, retiring this month. Currently he is a member of the Verona Fire Department and owns and operates Oneida gutter Company.

Flags will be placed on all known graves of veterans in the town. After the ceremony the Veterans of Foreign Wars post will hold a chicken barbecue at the post home on Spring Road, Verona. Take outs will be available.

Vernon

The Town of Vernon will hold a Memorial Day Ceremony on Monday, May 30 at 1 p.m. at the Veterans’ Memorial in front of the Vernon Town Office Building, 4305 Peterboro Road.

All are welcome to attend and a social hour with refreshments will follow.

Wampsville

The Madison County War Veterans (WAVEM) ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. on Monday, May 30, at the War Veterans Memorial Plaza in Wampsville.

Doug Ginney, president of WAVEM will be the Master of Ceremony. The guest speaker will be Robert Conway, the Madison County American Legion Commander. Holly Page of Morrisville will sing the National Anthem.

Joe Barilla, Madison County American Legion chaplain will lead prayers and the Hamilton American Legion Post 375 will provide the firing squad for the service. Peter Finocchairo will play taps.

Wreaths will be placed at each stone. Color guards from any other veterans’ organizations and the public are welcome to attend and support this service in memory of the country’s fallen comrades.

About Sudoku...

2011-05-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

With our larger, improved weather map, we've run into a space allocation problem.
We're trying to figure out a good way to solve it. One proposal was to drop our Sudoku feature.
To test if this were good idea or not, we left the puzzle out of Tuesday's edition to see if anyone noticed.
They did.
The experiment is over; Sudoku will be back in Wednesday's edition (plus we'll put in the puzzle that was skipped).
I do apologize for and dismay our little experiment caused; I won't apologize for trying to be sure we're running daily features that people actually want.
Sometimes an experiment like this is the only way to find out what's wheat and what's chaff.
One plus has been the chance I had to talk to the readers who've called in. It's nice to be reminded that we have so many intelligent readers who do care what's in their newspaper.

I'm back

2011-05-23T07:34:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, I've been out of the office for nearly three weeks.
It seems I had a touch of prostate cancer.
But no more; it's gone. Robotic surgery performed by a skilled surgeon saw to that.
Every test that they could think of found no other cancer in my body anywhere.
I'm sure you can understand I'm relieved.
During my absence, the staffed stepped up and carried on. I've been following their work from home; I think they did a great job. I thank them all.

Rome Home Show a success

2011-05-01T16:12:00.000-07:00

Our live blogging at the Rome Home Show went great.
We got to meet lots of good people and gathered some excellent story ideas.
Read all about it in the blog http://romehomeshow.blogspot.com/

Rome Home Show is open

2011-04-30T07:40:00.000-07:00

Good crowd early on At the Rome home show at the Armory on Black River Blvd.
As you can see Elmo's here, along with his great pal, Mickey Mouse.

Stop by the Rome Observer booth (61) in Room B. You can live blog, just say 'Hi' to Managing Editor Kali Zigrino, or suggest stories you'd like to see in the paper.

See you in Rome

2011-04-27T06:36:00.000-07:00

I'll be stopping by the Rome Home Show at the Rome Armory on Black River Boulevard on Saturday.
The Rome Observer is one of the many businesses that will have booths there.
The event, which runs from 10am-6pm on Saturday and 10am-4pm on Sunday, offers the opportunity to meet lots of business people in Rome while stocking up on pens, chip clips, coffee cups and other swag.
The Rome Observer will offer live blogging throughout the show.

Read the Rome Observer story here

Learn more about the show here:

Oneida middle school plan makes sense

2011-04-24T13:18:00.000-07:00

Like many residents of the Oneida City School District, I’ll need a lot more information before I decide whether to vote “Yes” or “No” on the budget on May 17.

One thing on which I don’t need any more information is the plan to move the district 6th-graders into the middle school. I’d be in favor even if it didn’t save a dime.

My lovely wife, Linda, and I had two children go through Otto Shortell Middle School, so we saw the current system’s shortcomings first-hand.

The biggest problem is that despite many of the teachers’ best efforts, it’s hard for them to develop closeness with many of the students in such a short time. This extra year will allow the teachers more time to reach out and mentor, something that benefits every kind of student.

And the kids, either they’re just newbies trying to find their way (not unlike high school freshmen) or they’re old hands focused on the next step (not unlike high school seniors). There are no analogues of the high school sophomores and juniors, who contribute so much to high schools.

Students’ time in middle school is, at its best, awkward and difficult. They lack the poise and coordination of high school students, but have already lost the cuteness of elementary students. For many it’s a time of clumsiness, self-consciousness and bullying. These kids need more attention and an extra year will make this possible.

I, for one, want to see the district go full-steam-ahead with this move. I only question why it took a budget crisis to do it.

Golf is a cruel sport

2011-04-20T12:39:00.000-07:00

Anyone who plays golf and hasn't seen this video of PGA golfer Kevin Na's record-setting 16 on a par-4 last weekend should take a look. Think of it next time you have a bad hole.

Visitors asked questions at business expo in Oneida

2011-04-17T07:48:00.000-07:00

It was great talking to so many people at Saturday's shindig in Oneida.
I learned a lot:
• Our new carrier force, provided by the Post Standard, is doing a better job, but more work remains to bring service up to the level it needs to be. Please call in at 888-699-2199 with any issues so things can be made right.
• A Canastota reader said he'd like to see more Canastota news. I told him I want more Canastota news, too. We'll get right on that.
• Several readers asked if our paper's recent outsourcing of printing and delivery is a sign that we're on the brink of going out of business. Far from it. The move puts us in a strong position. Once the final kinks are worked out in the delivery system, the carriers will be in good shape to prosper, even as the price of gasoline climbs. Since they are delivering both newspapers, their routes have more papers in a denser pattern. And as for the Post Standard press, it's one of the best in America. It can print high-quality color on every page. Yet it can only print newspapers - no greeting cards, handbills, wedding invitations or books, so most of the time it sits idle. While we are owned by different companies and still compete fiercely for news and advertising, both papers benefit from the arrangement.
• I talked to a number of people who want nothing to do with our digital efforts. They like their news on printed sheets they can hold in their hands. I told them they are not alone; lots of people still enjoy newsprint. It still works great for local advertising; people still pay to bring newspapers into their home. Newspapers don't need batteries and they're handy to have around for wrapping, window cleaning and a hundred other things. But the question isn't which is better, print or online or when or if online will replace print. The truth is they're both here now. Some people want their news in print and others only want it in digital forms. We want all these people to be our customers. We're a "digital first, print last," company, but we are committed to doing both.
This might be a good place to recap all we're doing digitally. It's a lot and we're getting better at it every day:
• www.OneidaDispatch.com - Our website continues to grow in the richness of content, frequency of updating and number of visitors. Local advertisers are finding it a good way to reach people who don't read printed papers.
• Twitter - Many of us at the paper are sending out tweets about things we find interesting in the paper or online. Follow me at www.twitter.com/OneidaEditor and you'll find links to the others.
• Facebook - We post information on our Facebook page so our friends know what the top local stories are. Like us at:
www.facebook.com/pages/Oneida-Daily-Dispatch
• Blog Center - Several of us at the Dispatch have blogs and we've recruited a few community bloggers, but we want more. We want our Blog Center to represent a wide range of local information and opinion. Listing your blog with us is a win-win deal. Our site gets better, but we provide a big boost to anyone who wants more eyeballs for their blogs. Not only do we have thousands of visitors every day, but since we area a bonafide trusted news source, any blog linked from our site will rank higher in the search engines and bring you more visitors. Popular bloggers can earn money. If you want to know more, e-mail or call me. To see the blogs we have so far go to: www.oneidadispatch.com/blogs/
• SMS texts - I've saved the newest for last. The Dispatch has just begun offering news via text messages for mobile phones. This is completely different from Twitter or Facebook. We will not use this as a way to inform readers of our stories in our other products. It is breaking, significant news as it happens. Each story is only one or two sentences that sum up the basics. We won't send any after 8 p.m. (who wants their phone to wake them up for news?) and we'll only send 1 to 4 messages per day. If there's no big news we won't send any. The service is totally opt-in. If you don't request it, you won't receive it; you can turn it off any any time. The service is free, there will eventually be a line of advertising text added to end of the story, usually offering local deals. To try it out, just text "ONEnews" to 22700.

More blogging from the Oneida Business Expo / Chocolate Fest

2011-04-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

Bogey's at Kanon Valley Country Club and Kanon Valley are offering great deals from the Business & Chocolate Expo today in downtown Oneida! Easter dinner menu and trial golf memberships are available. Come to the Kallet and find out more!

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Here at La Vie Boheme we are enjoying an awesome time at the Chocolate Fest......I'm sooooo full!!!! Come and check out our Fair Trade Items!!! When you purchase an item, you support the artisans that create them and their local villages.

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Come on down and try the chocovine espresso, raspberry or the Pleasant Valley Chocolate lab....these wines are delicious....have a great day...Barbanos Liquor store

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RealtyUSA is now open in Oneida and Chittenango and we welcome all our past present and future clients to stop in and say hi. Thank you to the Oneida Daily Dispatch for all the advertising help. Come and meet any of our qualified agents to help you with any of your real estate needs.

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Good afternoon Oneida,

The Oneida City Police are here showcasing community and personal safety. At our booth we have free information regarding senior safety, Internet safety for kids, home fire arm safety, as well as other various topics. Come visit us at the show and we will be happy to answer any questions. Thank you and enjoy the chocolate fest.

Ofc. Lowell
Oneida City Police

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greetings from downtown gotham city there are over thirty vendors displaying thier wares, a great turnout. a nice job by the o d a see you at summerfest. george clark

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Photo post from Business Expo / Chocolate Fest

2011-04-16T11:48:00.000-07:00

John Haeger stopped by and took a much better photo. Thanks, John.

I'm blogging with our General Manager Karen Alvord and our Circulation Director Marc Alvord.

Blogging at the Oneida Business Expo / Chocolate Fest

2011-04-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

Among the people posting to our blog today was 5-year-old Jack Grinnell of Oneida. He's being watched by Bernie Sykes.

Visitors invited to blog

2011-04-16T10:11:00.000-07:00

Visitors to our booth at the Oneida Business Expo / Chocolate Fest this afternoon at the Kallet in Oneida are invited to contribute their views. Watch this blog for their comments.

Up and blogging at the Oneida Business Expo / Chocolate Fest

2011-04-16T09:57:00.000-07:00

C'mon down to the Kallet; say "Hi" this afternoon

See you at the business expo/chocolate fest Saturday

2011-04-14T07:29:00.000-07:00

The Dispatch will be one of about 35 local businesses at Saturday's Spring-time Chocolate Festival and Business Expo.

I'll be there doing live blogging and some tweeting. I hope to field questions about the Dispatch's online or print efforts.

I'm hoping to recruit some people who want to have their own blogs on our site. The mechanics of blogging are easy; I'll be happy to show you how it's done.

Oneida’s Downtown Association is holding the event from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Kallet Civic Center.

Other businesses, including Hood, Hershey’s Ice Cream, Kerwin’s Cakes and WMCR radio will be there. Barbano’s Liquor store will handing out wine samples.

The band Double Chase will play and La Vie Boheme Bistro will hold an open mic program.

There is a $5 admission fee, but with all the swag that will be handed out, it sounds like a bargain.

Difficult to balance liberal, conservative views

2011-04-08T13:55:00.000-07:00

Reader Robert Hughes Sr. wrote in the other day saying he kept a tally of the columnists on our Opinion Page from Dec. 31 through Feb. 27 and during that time we featured 46 liberal columnists and only 27 conservative ones.
He freely admits the classification was “based on my opinion of liberal and conservative points of view.” He knows that others doing the same study might arrive at different numbers; in fact, he encourages them to do exactly that.
I’d like to thank Mr. Hughes for his efforts; I like the fact that people care what appears in their newspaper.
I’ve spoken to Mr. Hughes several times. He’s not the only one who thinks the “mainstream media” are filled with liberals who want to foist their views on America.
For what it’s worth, I take comments from readers to heart. I want our Opinion Page to reflect the wide range of thought that exist among our readers.
I do my best to balance things given what’s available and pertinent on any given day. I love it when I can run two diametrically-opposed points of view on a particularly partisan issue. But this isn’t always possible. There might be room just for one column on a subject. Sometimes, in cases like these, I’ll run a cartoon that takes another point of view. Since Mr. Hughes only tallied columns, these would not appear in his analysis.
I don’t have the ability or the inclination to answer for other news outlets, but I believe this paper’s most pronounced prejudice is in favor of diversity of opinion. And I believe the stable of columnists that appear on our page represent a wide range of viewpoints.
I don’t find it quite so easy to brand most of them as liberal or conservatives, but here are my own opinions of each of our regular columnists:
Liberals
• Donald Kaul - This retired Des Moines Register columnist has been a leading liberal voice on the national scene for years.
• Will Durst - San Francisco-based comic calls himself “Raging Moderate,” but his jokes are usually at the expense of conservatives.
• Donna Brazile - She was Al Gore’s campaign manager. ‘Nuff said.
• Gene Lyons - This Arkansas Democrat columnist is co-author of the book “The Hunting of the President: The 10-Year Campaign to Destroy Bill and Hillary Clinton.”
Conservatives
• Katherine Lopez - She’s editor of the strongly-conservative National Review online.
• Byron York - Former National Review columnist, he’s a conservative voice for the Washington Examiner.
• Michael Reagan - The late president’s adopted son, he’s a popular radio talk-show host.
• Tom Purcell - Columnist for the conservative Pittsburgh Review, Purcell’s humor almost always has a conservative slant.
Not so easy to label
• Nat Hentoff - While he stands up for individual rights, much as many liberals and conservatives say they do, he agrees with conservatives on abortion and Fidel Castro.
• Morton Kondracke - The Roll Call editor sometimes agrees with the Republicans, sometimes with the Democrats and sometimes finds a position in-between.
• Peter Funt - Son of “Candid Camera” creator Alan Funt, he sometimes takes liberal stances, but more often than not writes about things that have no conservative or liberal platforms.
• Jim Hightower - Populist who opposes what he sees as the increasing power of corporations over indiduals in America. He writes short, to-the-point columns, so he can appear virtually every week.
• Andy Rooney - He says he’s a liberal, but rarely writes about politics.
• Martha Randolph Carr - Writes mostly about personal struggles.
• Tina Dupuy - L.A.-based stand-up comic frequently goes after conservatives, but will also give a tongue-lashing to liberals.
• Steve and Cokie Roberts - They certainly aren’t conservatives, but a lot of their writing is informational and not so partisan.
• William A. Collins - Likes to write about government waste.
• Jim Mullen - No politics, just humor.
• Michael Gormley - The Albany Capitol editor also writes news stories in addition to frequent analysis pieces. I haven’t noticed any biases either left or right.
Anyone who regularly reads our Opinion Page will recognize these names, but also know that some appear more often than others.
We will always try choose the opinions of local people on local issues over any of the national columnists speaking on national issues.
From a nuts-and-bolts point of view, Reagan, Purcell, Carr, Durst and Rooney write shorter than Hentoff, Kondracke and Brazile. Since whole sections of short columns don’t have to be eliminated to fit onto the page, shorter is better.
As always, I love to hear from people who disagree with decisions we make in presenting the news. It’s good to know people care what’s in their news report.
As they say, the opposite of love isn’t hate; the opposite of love is indifference.
I welcome your response.

Autism Walk at OHS draws big crowd

2011-04-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

I'm amazed at the number of people who showed up for today's Autism Walk at Oneida High School. I'll be sure our story includes some numbers, but it must be in the hundreds.
The event's benefiting the Kelberman Center's work with people who have autism. I know from experience they do good work.
We'll have a story by local freelancer Michael Yeoman, along with photos and video by John Haeger.

Were you stuck in the blizzard?

2010-12-28T08:09:00.000-08:00

OK, the big storm completely missed the Oneida area.
But we're looking for local people who were stuck in the storm, probably with panicking people clearly not able to handle snow like we do here.
If you or someone you know was stuck, please contact me.
This could be an interesting story

Kurt Wanfried
363-5100 ext. 137
kwanfried@oneidadispatch.com

Not all comments can be posted

2010-12-10T07:22:00.000-08:00

Not every would-be comment offered by online readers is posted on the Oneida Daily Dispatch’s website.
Before a comment appears, it first must be approved, and that job falls to me.
A few angry readers, whose comments could not appear, have called me a censor.
I’m not a censor; I’m an editor.
Here’s the difference: a censor will spike things because he or she disagrees with them. An editor, at least a good one, welcomes a wide variety of opinions because they spark discussion and interest. This hews to the highest ideals of journalism and draws readers (and advertising dollars) to your product.
But editing for online is far different than editing for print:
• Online comments are immediate; some are posted literally minutes after a story appears. In the more leisurely world of print a quick response is one you hear the next day.
• Online comments are anonymous; even when someone does include a name, is this person really who he or she purports to be? We have no way of knowing. Even sites that require registration are easy to fool.
• Online comments can’t be edited. For legal reasons, we cannot edit comments, even for simple spelling. The only choices are to let a comment through or not to let it through; bummer.
So what makes a comment not appear?
Well, for starters, there are these guidelines that appear on our comment form:

We encourage your feedback and dialog. All comments are moderated by the editors. We ask you to follow a few simple guidelines when commenting on stories on oneidadispatch.com.
1) Please post responsibly.
2) Be polite.
3) Don't hate.
4) If you object to someone's post, use the "Report Abuse" button and we'll review it.
5) Users who don't play by the rules will be blocked and won't be allowed to participate.
6) Self-promotion of businesses or advertisements of anything for sale are not permitted.

The “be polite” and “don’t hate” pretty much scuttle any comment that attempts to point out someone’s similarity to Hitler or any other Nazi. It also covers comments that ridicule someone in the story.
And remember, with the “all-or-nothing” editing dictum, a long, thoughtful comment won’t see the light of day if it ends with a nasty insult.
When people are accused of crimes we get lots of comments opining on the person’s guilt or innocence. Legally, we could run these, but we don’t because it’s simply not fair.
Many people have pointed out that other news organizations do things differently. Some allow all comments to immediately go through and only look at them if a reader flags it as abusive.
Here’s why we don’t do it this way: Imagine we do a heartwarming feature story on a high school girl who’s raising money for kids with cancer and some joker (maybe a classmate, maybe an immature adult) calls her a “slut who’s slept with every boy in school.”
Sure, when her dad and grandma read the story, they can flag the comment as inappropriate, and it would be removed; but does that really solve the problem? Does that un-ring the bell? Is it fair? Will people continue to speak to our reporters?
The drawback screening comments before they’re posted, rather than after is that it’s a time commitment. I check the site and approve comments at least six times a day, every day, even when I’m out of town or on vacation. I see it as that important.
Across America newspapers are having problems with their comments and message boards.
At their best they facilitate the free exchange of ideas about community events and ways to solve problems within the community. They can help editors to correct inaccurate or incomplete stories and provide great ideas for new ones.
At their worst, they become snakepits of back-and-forth insults from a few posters who look on anonymous rudeness as some kind of sport or hobby.
So if you find your comment hasn’t appeared after a few hours ask yourself if could be viewed -- even in part -- as criticizing someone as a human being rather than taking issue with an action or idea.
Please try again; we truly do want a wide variety of views on important local issues. The We’re not MSNBC or Fox News trying to push one point of view on our readers. Frankly, if I wanted to be an advocate rather than a journalist, I would’ve gone into PR, which pays much better and has better hours.
And while the our comments truly are anonymous, I am able to see the IP addresses of the posters, so when someone attempts to submit several comments with different screen names, perhaps to make it seem that many people agree, I can tell. I don’t know who it is, but I know it’s the same commenter. Even in these cases, if the comments fit the guidelines, one of them will be allowed through.
I invite your comments:
www.OneidaDispatch.com
www.KurtWanfried.blogspot.com
or follow me on Twitter:
www.twitter.com/OneidaEditor

Southern Madison County Living

2010-11-29T17:23:00.000-08:00

We're working hard on the next issue of Southern Madison County Living.
There's a lot happening right now in that part of the county.
Those who receive it should see it in the mail in early December.

Please vote

2010-11-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

The polls are open until 9 p.m.

We'll be updating our site throughout the night.

Here's where to vote in southern Oneida County:
http://oneidadispatch.com/articles/2010/10/25/news/doc4cc642470d4b2819067744.txt
Here's where to vote in Madison County:
http://oneidadispatch.com/articles/2010/10/25/news/doc4cc642b5aa439619176601.txt

There's a lot at stake and some competitive races for a change.

Lots of election letters

2010-10-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

If letters to the editor are any indication, this figures to be a lively Election Day. Remember our deadlines for letters for "don't-vote-for-that-candidate" letters is Tuesday and "vote-for-this-candidate" letters is Thursday.
There's been a special election page on our website.
Check out www.oneidadispatch.com/news/election/

Fritz's Polka Band begins their show.

2010-10-03T11:10:00.000-07:00

I certainly didn't expect them to start with "Folsom Prison," made famous by Johnny Cash.

Fritz's Polka Band begins

2010-10-03T10:49:00.000-07:00

The boys are certainly punctual.

FPB coming to Community Day

2010-10-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

Fritz's Polka Band is scheduled to play at 2 p.m. at VVS.

Post from Steve Geer

2010-10-03T09:31:00.000-07:00

I just saw myself on the tv screen at the Oneida Dispatch booth at VVS' Community Day !

2010-10-03T08:51:00.001-07:00

Marc Alvord and Roxann Gallagher greet people today.

Hello world

2010-10-03T08:30:00.001-07:00

We'll soon be posting photos from VVS is all goes well.

Live from VVS Community Day

2010-10-03T07:50:00.005-07:00

After some early tech woes (the VVS network doesn't like Blogger), we're finally online. Here's a picture of our booth outside the auditorium. Stop by; say high and register for our free basket raffle.

Live from VVS Community Day

2010-10-03T07:50:00.004-07:00

Live from VVS Community Day

2010-10-03T07:50:00.003-07:00

You can blog at VVS Community Day

2010-09-28T10:46:00.000-07:00

Interested in blogging?
We will have a computer at our VVS Community Day booth and thanks to the good people at the district, we'll have Internet access and be blogging. People who stop by our booth in the lobby will be able to blog, too.
What's more, we'll have full information on how you can have your own blog if you have something to say.
Stop by Sunday Oct. 3 and see. We plan a few other neat surprises, too.

VVS Community Day

2010-09-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

The Dispatch will have a booth at the VVS Community Day on October 3.
This is a great event that showcases the many fine community groups that serve, protect and contribute to the quality of live in the area.
The hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Several of us will be manning The Dispatch booth throughout the day. Stop in and say Hi. Bring any questions suggestions or complaints about the newspaper or the website.

We use new tools to achieve traditional goals

2010-07-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

This has been quite a month at The Oneida Daily Dispatch and all Journal Register Co. news organizations.
In this newsroom and others, we've been working hard trying to use unfamilair tools to do our jobs.
Responding to the challenge of JRC CEO John Paton, we've produced this edition using free and nearly free software and other tools.
Why?
It's no secret that the media world is changing. While newspapers reamin profitable and effective advertising vehicles, there's no question more and more people want to receive their news over the Internet.
But clearly they still want to receive news. Almost overlooked in the newspaper doom and gloom stories is the simple fact that more people are seeking out news than ever before.
And how does that news, especially local news get on the Internet? Do Google reporters attend county supervisor meetings? Has the Huffington Post ever done a feature story on your award-winning daughter?
Local news comes from local news organizations. An local news is more than just posting public officials' press release on a website.
Quality local news on the Internet or on the Web takes professional reporters and editors committed to gathering facts in a fair and balanced manner. To do so they must be ready to field accusations from people who feel strongly about issues that they are showing favoritism to the other side. The middle road is often narrow and hard to follow. In a perfectly-handled controversy, a news organization is accused by each side of favoring the other.
When I started in journalism 30 years ago, my editor told me something that's stuck with me. "Listen, kid" he said. "This paper is 95 years old. For most of its history it got by just fine without me; it can sure get by without you. What it can't get by without is the readers. No readers, no paper; it's as simple as that. Don't print what you want; don't print what the public officials want. Print what the readers want; print what they need. That's the secret of news."
With today's edition, we rededicate ourselves to this concept. Today we call it "crowd sourcing" and we use new tools such as social media and e-mail to do it, but the concept is as true as it was in my editor's time and in Ben Franklin's time.
But we pledge to never lose sight of the fact that this newspaper - printed on paper or posted online - is a part of this community.

Ben Franklin Project all about readers

2010-06-15T12:55:00.000-07:00

The news business is changing.
The Internet is bringing new options to readers as they seek information about their world. But the Internet also is bringing new tools to journalists to help them do a better job of providing reliable, factual information quicker than ever before.
This Independence Day, The Dispatch's parent firm, Journal Register Co., is undertaking a company-wide effort to accelerate the use of new avenues to include readers -- both online and print -- in shaping the news reports in their community. It's called "The Ben Franklin Project."
The company's new CEO, John Paton has set forth a "Digital First and Print Last," strategy encouraging the chain's local papers to reach out to readers by posting developing stories online throughout the day, while continuing to print useful, authoritative and interesting newspapers in the community.
The goal, Paton said, is to "liberate our thinking and become ever more meaningfully involved with the communities we serve by involving the audience in our content creation. Along the way, we will prove we can challenge the outdated business model of print to a model of the future that preserves and enhances our journalism."
From Independence Day on, Paton said "we will continue to explore ever more ways to shed the past and adopt the future.Ó
Along with making greater use of social media software, such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs, The Dispatch and other JRC papers will experiment by publishing a newspaper on July 3-4 using largely open-source or free online tools.
To that end, The Dispatch is planning several "crowd-source" stories designed to include readers in shaping what appears online and in the paper.

The stories include:

Where have all our neighbors gone?
Census projections show Madison and Oneida counties continuing to lose residents. It's not just retired people moving to Florida; it's young and educated people seeking opportunity they feel they can't find at home. If this area is to grow and proper, we'll need these people to help make it happen.
What can be done? What are the pluses and minuses of this area? What do other areas offer that this area doesn't? What can you find here and nowhere else?
We want to hear from former residents as to why they moved and local adults about why they stayed local adults of all ages about whether they are planning to stay.
We want to hear from teenagers and college students as to where they see themselves living in the future.
The first in a series of articles on this topic will run July 3.

Dangerous intersections:
Dispatch readers know better than anyone which are the most dangerous intersections in the area. After all, they travel though them every day. Let us know which intersections are high on your list. We'll talk with local officials about how to solve what may be long-standing issues.
To report an intersection, click on the SeeClickFix button on www.OneidaDispatch.com

Your neighbor:
Too often news stories revolve around the same high-profile public officials. But we all know the area is filled with interesting people who rarely step into the limelight. Dispatch readers know who these people. We're asking for help identifying them. There are great stories waiting to be told.

Oneida Proud:
This year's edition of this annual effort will focus on Oneida High School. While many of us attended or have children who did, the school was different in each era. The teachers, fashions and atmosphere changed over the years and made huge differences our experiences. We want people to share their memories of what OHS was like "back in the day" .... whenever that was for you. We want to hear from everyone, students, teachers and administrators. Please share your memories and your photos.

To contribute, to any of these-mail: kwanfried@oneidadispatch.com,visit the Oneida Daily Dispatch on Facebook

or simply comment below