Doing your own home projects

I’m listening in as WBEN’s Tom Bauerle hosts a show on do-it-youself home projects — or not.

It’s particularly interesting, considering my new home and the handful of projects I want to take on, despite my difficult in remembering the difference between a Phillips head screwdriver and the other one…

Anyway, some people have success stories, others have the home horror stories. The horror stories are the ones that will have you cringing.

This one professional called to talk about bad or cheap mountings of the flat screen televisions. As someone who plans to get a big flat screen with his Bush money, I’m not even considering a mount — even if it was done professionally.

Stories of $2,000 televisions crashing to the floor are enough for me to just get a stand. It may look nice on the wall, but I’m not taking that chance with the mounts. Plus you have to cut a hole in the wall and string your cords through so they don’t show from behind the set.

Or, you could just can the whole traditional flat screen idea and approach the fad this way:

It’s not worth taking a chance, especially when I can’t get the washer to work right at the hose spicket and I continue to flood my backyard…

Foreward to US&J book: How to abduct a child correctly …

Every time we run into an odd police blotter item, we talk in the newsroom about writing (or copying and pasting) a Union-Sun & Journal community newspaper blotter book.

Some of these items, as seen on Leno, are just unbelievable. A compilation of these reports would be a great coffee table item or bathroom book.

Anyway, I think a woman e-mailed me what would be a great entry for the foreward of this oft-mentioned book. If you need background on the alleged attempted abduction from last week, here’s the US&J story.

Her e-mail to me isn’t exactly a blotter item, but communications sent to the paper (letters from jail, prison and more…) would certainly make the cut for our proposed book.

I know the US&J gets jabs on our copy-editing, but rest-assured, we left this one as is. It’s not being posted post-edit.

HI IM A GOOD FRIEND OF THE SUPPOSED ATTEMPTED KIDNAPPER. I WAS WONDERING WHY THEY SAID THE CAR WAS A GREEN MALIBU BECAUSE I KNOW FOR A FACT HE AND HIS GIRLFRIEND ONLY HAVE ONE CAR AND ITS A BLACK FORD TAURUS .SO AFTER HEARING ABOUT THIS STORY IT HAD ME THINKING I DONT BLAME THE COPS FOR QUESTIONING A PERSON OR ARRESTING THEM BUT WHAT IS WRONG I THINK IS SLANDERING SOME ONES NAME ACROSS THE TELEVISION WHEN YOU DONT EVEN KNOW THE FACTS I BELIEVE THE LOCKPORT DETECTIVE BETTER HOPE HES RIGHT OR IF I WAS DAN I WOULD SUE HIM FOR SLANDER ITS REDICULOUS THAT IF SOMEONE STOPPS TO SEE IF SOME ONES OK IS A CRIME.JUST BECAUSE HES A MAN ITS WRONG. MY POINT OF VIEW IF I WAS A KIDNAPPER I WOULDNT ASK THE CHILD TO GET IN MY CAR CAUSE YOU KNOW SHES GOING TO SAY NO.YOU WOULD GET OUT AND PHYSICALLY PUT HER IN THE CAR SO SHE COULDNT TELL NO BODY ITS COMMON SENSE NO KIDNAPPER WOULD ASK .I KNOW HES A GREAT GUY IVE KNOWN HIM FOR FOUR YEARS HES NEVER EVEN LOOKED AT A YOUNG GIRL LET ALONE TRY TO KIDNAP .HES ALWAYS BEEN A GOOD SUMARITAN ALWAYS ASKING IF YOU NEED HELP ,ALWAYS BEEN A GREAT FRIEND HE HAS A FAMILY .I BELIEVE HE WAS SOME WERE AT THE WRONG TIME LIKE I SAID HE DOSENT OWN A GREEN MALIBU NEVER HAS THEY ONLY HAVE ONE CAR. THANK YOU

Buffalo News continues to protect alleged perps

Every newspaper has its own policies, but I have to question the Buffalo News’ decision to still not name the alleged perpetrators in the Wilson case. At the very least, name the one kid who is now charged with drug possession. And it wasn’t just some marijuana.

The Buffalo News is a good metro paper, but acting holier than thou with this whole case is nuts. I would understand if these teens were granted “youthful offender status,” but they haven’t.

Let’s not forget, the News named the four black Lockport males charged in the gang rape last year. Now, full disclosure, I’m not sure at what point in the investigation they decided to use the names, but when everything was said and done, the names appeared in the News.

I tried finding the original story in that case to see if the name was used or not, but they charge to go back that far … too bad.

Here’s one of our original stories, free of charge

The Wilson kids’ names are public record and releasing them takes the pressure off the rest of the team and ends the rumors of who is and who isn’t responsible. That’s why we named then as soon as we could.

Rumors in small towns are nasty.

Now, with Colton J. Sherman charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, we may be getting an even-more clear picture as to who this alleged perpetrator is. He still hasn’t been convicted of anything, both in the Wilson and drug cases, but the fact that young Colton is accused in both says something.

He isn’t exactly a choir boy, so why not release his name? What does that say for the rest of the innocent kids, who for those who just read the Buffalo News, may be seen as perps themselves, because the record has not be set straight by that publication.

The names of the alleged victims and the alleged perpetrators have not been named by the News. I wouldn’t name the victim, but the fact that they are both treated the same way doesn’t sit well with me. Wondering how that makes the victims feel? Just my two cents.

Sad day for city

Steve Niziol, one-time US&J Advisory Board member, civic volunteer and political aide died suddenly Wednesday.

Niziol made news in recent years for working as a code enforcement officer within the Tucker administration. He was the guy citing local homeowners for code violations and such.

He was a writer to the Mailbag and an all-around good guy.

Here’s what we have so far:
Civic volunteer and part-time city employee Stephen Niziol died unexpectedly Wednesday.
Niziol was driving on Transit Road at lunchtime and was stopped at Strauss Road when he became ill. A passenger put the vehicle in park and called 911. Rescue crews were unable to revive him, according to his friend John Lombardi III.
“We had breakfast together every day. He never complained about his health, never complained about anything,” Lombardi said. “He was a good guy.”
A widower, Niziol was retired from UPS and worked part-time as a security officer for various businesses. He also had served on City Hall’s Citizen Advisory Board and was Mayor Michael Tucker’s part-time community services aide, a person who traveled the city encouraging compliance with local sidewalk-to-curb local laws such as sidewalk shoveling and proper trash disposal.
The job was considered instrumental to the mayor’s push to clean up the city and Niziol put his heart into it.
“He got paid for 20 hours a week but we all know he worked more than that,” Lombardi said. “The guy was always there to help people. He’ll really be missed.”

Intersting column on community newspapering

Editorial: Community newspapers faring well
The Daily Telegram Published Tuesday, May 06, 2008
It’s time for newspapers and their staffs to tell the other side of the story about our industry.This past week, we read about the decline of newspaper circulation in most of the major markets across the country. But, what we didn’t read about is the readership increase that has taken place in other parts of the country in our print products and the expansion of our Web sites. In the Forum Communications Co. market area, 74 percent of adults read our printed product or our newspaper Web sites. This is during a seven day week Sunday through Saturday. This percentage is typical of all newspaper markets our company serves. The Daily Telegram’s Web site was visited 89,360 times from April 4-May 5. On average, each reader visited 4.85 pages for a total of 433,840 views in that one-month period. And they’re loyal customers. Eighty percent of our traffic is from return visitors. We as a communication company feel it is time to provide positive information about our industry to our readers.. No one delivers local news better than your daily and weekly newspapers. We, as an industry, understand the need to deliver the news to different demographics by various delivery methods, and we do that well. We have developed Web sites for each of our markets to serve our online readers as well as our advertisers. Our Web sites, which include our online advertising products, delivered more than 23 million page views in April 2008, with more than 5.2 million visits. Our industry is alive and well and still considered the No. 1 means of delivering information to the people in our communities. Today, we do a better job than ever of delivering the news and advertising , because we can bring it immediately to our Web sites. This is what is happening in our market, and I’m sure there are other positive stories to be told by other newspaper companies across the country. We are not all in a large metro market, where the greatest circulation loss has occurred. The fact is that the community newspaper business remains strong and vibrant. Lloyd Case is president of Forum Communications Co., which owns The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead and 35 other newspapers in North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, including The Daily Telegram, Northland Smart Shopper, Duluth News Tribune, Budgeteer News, The Pine Journal in Cloquet and Lake County News-Chronicle in Two Harbors.

Wilson coaches case adjourned

The wheels of justice, in typical fashion, have suffered a flat tire.

We found out today that the court date, May 8, is not the correct date for coaches Thomas J. Baia Jr. and William Atlas, each charged with endangering the welfare of a child, to appear Thursday in Wilson Town Court.

According to a clerk, Wilson court isn’t even in session on Thursdays. so instead, the date is May 22. Also the day the three players charged in the alleged assault incident are schedule to appear.

Look for both to be postponed once again, closer to the 22nd. Just think about the Marcy Cole case and how many times that has been postponed.

Indiana Jones coming to US&J

The Union-Sun will have a cool feature hitting this Sunday in your copy of USA Weekend. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the new Indiana Jones film plus a special poster.

There’s a cover story with interviews featuring Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf. Should be pretty cool. I know I was a big “Indie” fan when I was a kid, so it will be interesting to see how this latest film does. I loved the Atari game!

At the very least, this section may be worth checking out. Looks for special promotional ads to hit the newspaper and newspaper boxes in the coming days.

Landscaping on a budget

On Sunday my wife and I went to an earlier-than-usual Mass, which meant we got an earlier-than-usual start to our day.

What that meant is that I had more time in the day to shoot our budget on groceries and landscaping materials.

It was funny, our grocery bill at Wegman’s was $121.10. Our Lowe’s bill was $121.07. Maybe it’s not so funny after all…

All we got at Lowe’s was two bags of grass seed, a hose, an air filter for the furnace, a pack of “green” light bulbs and a bag of peat moss. It wasn’t cheap, and that was just to patch the dog mess the previous owner of our house left us.

Then I got this “Angie’s List” e-mail. Maybe it will be helpful for your spring/summer projects.

Boost Home Value with Landscaping
Angie’s List data shows landscaping a top project in 2008

Now that spring has sprung, it’s time to start thinking about your yard and garden. With the stalled housing market, landscaping could make the difference between breaking even and making money on the sale of your home. In fact, a well-designed landscape can add 7 percent to 14 percent to a home’s value.

Angie’s List, (www.angieslist.com), the nation’s leading consumer ratings service, found landscaping to be the second most common project members will tackle this year. In 2007, members nationwide reported spending on average nearly $7,500 per job on landscaping.

“There are many more benefits to landscaping than just having a pretty yard,” said Angie Hicks, founder of Angie’s List. “Done correctly, landscaping can enhance your property value and make a home more energy efficient.”

Landscaping can help decrease heat buildup in the home by blocking and absorbing the sun’s energy in the summer. In the winter, trees, fences; or other landscaping features can be used as windbreaks to shield a house from wind.

Angie’s List offers 7 tips to a perfect landscape:
· List your priorities: Decide what’s important for you. Is it entertaining, playing in the yard with the kids; or growing flowers and vegetables? Once you have an idea, map out your property, indicating what you want.
· Assess your skill level: Just because you like working in the yard on an occasional Saturday doesn’t mean you’ll want to put an entire flower bed into place. Hire a professional if you don’t think you’ll stick with the project through the season, or if it’s a complicated project that will require tools and equipment you don’t have.
Be realistic about your budget: You may not be able to afford it all this month or even this season. Keep it simple with some pretty plants.
· Factor in maintenance: Putting in that water element might look great on paper, but keep in mind it will have maintenance attached to it as well.
· Plant a tree: Trees are a great investment. On average, they’ll add 3 percent to 7 percent on the value of your home. Plus, planting trees on the east and west sides of your home can reduce air conditioning costs as much as 25 percent.
· Pick the perfect plants: Select greenery that is hardy, adaptable to your area and will thrive in your soil conditions. If you’re planning on selling your home, pick plants that will be attractive in more than one season – especially in seasons when the surrounding landscape is drab and colorless.
· How’s the hardscape holding up? Are there areas in your landscaping made from brick or concrete that need repair? Clean and fix any broken steps or walkways.

Ramped up ramp talk

Reporter Joyce Miles will have a story for Tuesday’s paper exploring the city ramp debate. Some want to rehab it, others want to tear it down. Some want another on built, underground, with shops above. That’s Mayor Tucker’s idea.

Engineering estimates suggest Tucker’s proposal would cost well in excess of $5 million. Greenman-Pedersen Inc., which priced out a series of restoration and replacement scenarios, pegged full rehabilitation of the existing ramp at about $2.3 million.

Despite the cost, I like the underground idea with shops above, as long as the shops can survive and there is still ample parking downtown. There are still a lot of empty buildings around town, including the Benderson plaza up on Transit.

I wonder how hard it would be to fill these proposed shops, with businesses closing every other day.

So what do you think? Should the ramp be repaired, razed and rebuilt or just razed and made into a park or parking lot. Let me know what you think.

Amazing van fire photos captured

Check out the photos US&J freelancer Steve Wallace grabbed from a van fire Thursday night.

They will be more in Saturday’s US&J.

FLAMES: An O’Connor Drive man reported Thursday evening that he parked his 1990 Pontiac Trans Sport van by the side of his house about 10:30 p.m. Shortly afterward, he discovered the vehicle was on fire. The man told deputies he could see flames protruding from the back seat area. The South Lockport Volunteer Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire. The flames were strong enough to melted the siding on the man’s house and damage a fence nearby. An estimate of damage was not available. The county’s cause and origin team responded to the scene to investigate the cause of the fire. The van was towed from the scene.