Tuesday afternoon, approximately 300 people filled The Crystal Ballroom at The Hotel Utica. I sat in the quarantined press area in the back of the room with a crowd of television and newspaper reporters and watched as waiters deftly maneuvered through the crowd, serving hors d’oeuvres to the anxious ticket holders. The event, a campaign fundraiser for congressional candidate Ray Meier, normally wouldn’t warrant such extensive press coverage, but this fund raiser was special. That’s because endorsing Meier at this event was first lady, Laura Bush.

It was a unique experience for me from the very beginning. Of course we first had to fax over all of my information for a background check. You’ll be happy to know nothing turned up. When I arrived at the hotel, I was told everyone needed to stay in the entrance area while security did a sweep. We were then directed to check in and taken to the press area. Once there, we were unable to leave with out being escorted by a member of The White House staff.

It all seemed like something out of a movie, especially once the secret service agents arrived. They stood feet away from us, clad in their dark suits with ear pieces dangling into their collars.
The event was a fund raiser, and tickets went for $150 a piece, so I knew that the crowd would be filled with people who really wanted to see the first lady, but the reactions of some crowd members were so exuberant, it was almost laughable.

Two members of the crowd stick out in my memory. A pair of teens were so full of excitement that they stood in the crowd bouncing up and down and practically squealing with delight. Personally, I don’t remember a time when I was ever that excited about politics as a teenager. It was funny to see such a reaction at a campaign fund raiser, but I guess it’s a good thing that in a time of extremely low voter turn out, some people can get excited about politics.

Of all the events I have covered over the past two months, this was one of the most interesting. I was glad I got to go, and thrilled that I didn’t accidentally cause any national incidents.

As I strolled through the high school and middle school buildings today with Superintendent O’Sullivan I seemed to get caught up in my personal memories. Being a graduate of Norwich I walked the same halls, ate in the same cafeteria and even saw a locker that used to be mine. I have only been out of school for five years but somehow when I walked inside the building it felt much longer. There have been small changes, additions and overall the place even smells the same it did five years ago. Many of the same teachers are there and it was nice to be able to walk in there and show them one of their students, someone they could take credit for, was doing something worth while. I am sure out of my graduating class (as well as others) they are filled with people doing amazing things but, who I am and the way I struggled in high school it truly felt good to be where I was today. As I walked the halls all I kept thinking was “If I had known what I know now when I was here I would have tried harder, participated more and overall had been more involved. Time goes by entirely too quickly. Here I am only five years later with my own family and career that I worked my @&#% off for. Done with college, paying bills, raising children and trying my best to do something worth while. Who knew? Who knew this is what happened after high school?? It’s not as glamorous as you may think when you are 16 years old walking down the hollow halls of high school is it?

Lately, I have been obsessed with the story of the newborn baby who was kidnapped from her Missouri home. For anyone who missed this story, (where have you been?) Last week, a woman asking to use the phone, gained entry to the house where baby Abby lived, slashed the mother’s throat, and took the week old baby.

Yesterday, I read the news that the baby had been found. The suspect had reportedly given birth to a still born child the day of the abduction. Obviously this woman was in an extremely emotional state. I’m anxious to hear more news about this story. I want to know why the woman was released from the hospital so soon after giving birth. Did she check herself out against medical advice? If so why wasn’t someone notified? Why didn’t her husband or anyone in her family know she had given birth to a still born child? I don’t know what hospital policy would be in this situation. I know there are confidentiality issues, but it seems like someone should have known. The questions this story raises are endless.

Now I find myself wondering if the defense will use a temporary insanity defense. It seems like a very good possibility given the details leading up to the abduction, and I think in this instance it is appropriate. The actions this woman took are unforgivable, but the emotions of losing a child must be overwhelming. I know I’m going to be checking Court TV on a regular basis to hear about this one.

As a new mother, my heart went out to the mother of baby Abby and the rest of the family. I can’t imagine the horror and worry they must have gone through. I’m so glad this story had a happy ending.

As I read about the events unfolding in our news lately I would have to agree with most; technology although often more times than not, extremely scary it can in the long run, benefit our best interests. I just read of the young girl who heroically escaped her unwilling fate to be fatally victimized by her perpetrator. Her fast thinking and street-smart skills along with what else; technology aided in her escape and proved to serve its’ purpose. I know.. I know..technology can also work the other way on this topic too! I am a strong believer the technology being created now under the correct measures of responsibility can aide us to do some amazing things. I am a firm believer that children should jump on the bandwagon now and learn about technology now because if they don’t I think they will end up suffering in the long run. Typewriters are out of date now, can you imagine them in 2064??

School violence has been an area of concern for several years, but recent events are once again moving the topic to the front burner. How safe are our schools, and why are some kids so messed up?

In the headlines recently were two stories. The first was about a Canadian student who took three guns and went on a shooting rampage on a Montreal College Campus. The gunmen left one woman dead and 19 others wounded before taking his own life.

A second story told of a Columbine-like plot that was caught before it was too late. Police in Green Bay, WI took two seventeen year old boys into custody. They found stock piles of guns and said that the boys had learned how to make bombs on the internet.

With stories like these in the news, it is a scary time to be a parent, or a school aged child. I think that schools have taken several steps to become safer for our children, and the fact that the plot in WI was stopped is a sign of that. I guess the bigger question is what is causing children to behave this way. There have always been school bullies and outcasts among school populations. That will never change, so why are kids striking out in such violent ways? We need to address these issues before more tragedies occur.

I find it funny that since I started this job I have found out more about this community and others for that matter than I believe I’ve ever known. Traveling through different areas, meeting new people and learning of the great things happening here are truly the best part of having this job. I would consider myself a people person and I find it so interesting that everyday it seems I get the chance to meet someone new and they seem to always be doing something good for the community. The local community has really done some extraordinary things that many people, like myself are not aware of. Stay connected to the paper and be sure to read about some great things people from YOUR community have done and are continuing to do.

Yesterday, I returned from my lunch break to hear a call go out over the police scanner . A house fire had been called in and since our police and fire reporter had to go to court, I would be covering it. I rushed to my car and by sheer luck, stumbled upon the scene of the fire.

Smoke lingered, rising from the holes where the windows used to be, and firemen were marching in and out of the house, but the fire was no longer burning. In the short time that it took me to travel the six miles out of town, the firemen had arrived on the scene and extinguished the blaze. I was impressed by the speed and efficiency with which they operated.

I also felt incredibly sad for the people residing in the house. Although no one was home at the time of the fire, and no injuries were inflicted, it is still a terrifying experience. The look on the face of the young woman arriving on the scene and seeing her smoldering home, was full of shock and heart ache. She informed me that this is the second fire she has encountered in a little over a year.

My heart goes out to her and her companion, and I hope they did not lose anything that they cannot replace, and that their luck takes a turn for the better.

Patty Larkin has just left the stage, bringing to a close Colorscape Chenango 2006. (She was great, but I’m still partial to The Kennedys, Pete & Maura, as my all-time Colorscape faves).

All in all, it was another successful weekend filled with all the sights and sounds that make this such a magical time of year. Reconnecting with old friends and sharing in the spirit of community which overtakes East and West parks in downtown Norwich is really what Colorscape’s all about, and this weekend had that in spades.

We at The Evening Sun had a fun time playing with new technology, bringing our web audience live updates of Frank Speziale’s photos, selected video clips of the performing artists and of course this rolling blog. It was our first foray, really, into using the website to expand our coverage beyond the printed page, and I dare say it was success. Hopefully it’s just a taste of things to come as we shift from thinking of ourselves as solely a newspaper publisher and more into being an information services provider. Many thanks to our “web guy” Craig Ballinger (and Allnet Networking, who provided the wifi Internet access) for making the technical end of things possible, and to my trusty staff, Melissa deCordova, Jill Osterhout, Jessica Lewis (and Benjamin!) and Tyler Murphy for manning the booth alongside yours truly. It was a fun weekend.

Now, what will we come up with for the Pumpkin Festival?

One of the joys of sitting at our Colorscape booth all weekend (besides the music, art and food, of course), is that the friendly folk of Norwich are always full of ideas for the paper.

So far I’ve been told we should do a story about how people ignore the handicapped parking rules (not unique to Colorscape weekend, but certainly more prevalent), about how the county maintenance crew dug up a high-traffic area of West Side Park days before Colorscape (brilliant planning), and about probably 20 different areas in the county where there’s a bad intersection, a section of road that still hasn’t been repaired since the June flood, or where traffic laws seemingly don’t exist (or at least aren’t enforced).

The sights and sounds of Colorscape are everywhere. This is my first time at Colorscape, and I’m amazed at the variety of things that are going on. If you haven’t seen the sights yet, come down.

The music is playing, only a few feet away. If I had to pick my favorite attraction, it would be the musicians. There is a wide variety of bands playing all kinds of music, and in The Evening Sun tent, we have a front row seat.

Crowds of people are milling around looking at the different exhibits. The art work is great. It’s amazing to see so much talent right here in Chenango County.
There’s still plenty of time, so come down and visit us, and enjoy the festivities. I’m always ready and willing to meet new people. I hope to see you soon.