Archives
Feedback: People ‘On Gard’ Over Gardasil
November 19, 2008
After Jessica Ericzon, a 17 year old LaFargeville Central School senior, died last winter, her mother began blaming Gardasil and herself for letting her daughter get the shots.
“I trusted that they knew what they were doing, that the doctors knew what they were doing,” said Lisa Ericzon.
But reports of 27 deaths following a Gardasil injection and reports of more than 10,000 adverse reactions to the shots have more and more young women and their parents wondering who they should trust when it comes to getting a life saving drug that some mothers have called deadly.
“I don’t have enough information about it,” said Amanda Baltz, a friend of Jessie Ericzon.
“The doctors should, even around here, forewarn people of what it can do,” said Justina Burrows, another friend.
“You could be paralyzed for the rest of your life just ’cause you took one shot,” said Jenna Burrows, another friend.
For friends of Jessie Ericzon, the choice is clear.
They won’t be getting the injections.
Only 25 percent of eligible women, those between the ages of 9 and 26, have had the shots.
Fear of getting the vaccine is scaring doctors who recommend Gardasil.
“My daughters are a lot more likely to develop cervical cancer and die,” said Dr. Jana Shaw, a pediatrician at the North Country Children’s Clinic.
The second most common cancer for women, cervical cancer, claims 4,000 lives in the U.S. every year.
Shelly Esposito knows all about the dangers
“It can prevent you from having children. It can mean a full hysterectomy…I’ve been through two cervical cancer surgeries myself,” said Esposito.
She brought her 17 year old daughter, Chelsy, to the doctor for her third Gardasil shot.
“As a mother you want what’s best for your children and I don’t want her to go through that pain,” said Shelly.
Shelly and Chelsy both believe Gardasil is the answer.
“It’s better to be safe then to have problems,” said
but just how safe is Gardasil really?
The drug manufacturer Merck gave this statement to 7news:
“Nothing is more important to Merck than the safety of our products and we carefully monitor the safety of Gardasil on a routine basis. Experts at the FDA and CDC also continue to review data and, in July, said ‘Gardasil continues to be safe and effective, and its benefits continue to outweigh its risks.’”
But that claim is being called into question.
The National Vaccine Information Center is one organization that’s calling for more testing and greater oversight.
“We’re very concerned that this vaccine was fast-tracked. That there wasn’t enough testing in young girls before it was licensed,” said Barbara Loe Fisher, National Vaccine Information Center President.
The FDA approved Gardasil in 2006.
Testing will continue through September 2009.
If you’re torn about what to do when it comes to getting Gardasil for yourself or your daughter, talk to your doctor.
Most physicians do recommend the drug.
Once doctor advises that - no matter what the vaccine is - always be on the lookout for any unusual reaction.
If you do have one, let your physician know.
See Part 2 of Alexandra Field’s special report:
Share your thoughts. Use the form below to send your comment to Diane Rutherford for the Your Turn segment on 7 News. You must include your name, e-mail address and phone number for your comment to be considered. Your personal information will not be posted to the website - this form sends an e-mail. Your comment can be kept anonymous if you so request.
cforms contact form by delicious:days
Feedback: Legalizing Mixed Martial Arts
November 12, 2008
It has been heralded as the future of combat sports and demonized for being too brutal.
No matter where you stand, mixed martial arts has people talking.
The sport is illegal in New York state, but that could change.
Lawmakers in Albany are debating whether or not to sanction MMA as a way to generate extra tax dollars.
7 News Reporter Jeff Nelson concludes his special series “The Right To Fight.”
About 32 states in America have legalized mixed martial arts.
Because of the sport’s growing popularity and New York’s growing deficit, some state lawmakers are pushing to sanction MMA here.
It’s an idea that’s being met with opposition.
Mixed martial arts is a way of life for Marc Stevens.
The Lorraine man is a professional fighter with a dream of making it big in the combat sport.
And, he has another dream to compete on his home turf.
“To have my friends and family come watch me fight and not have to spend $500 for a weekend to be able to come watch me and have all that support and all the local support, that would be huge,” said Stevens.
Right now, MMA events are illegal in New York due in part to the stigma associated with the sport.
Fighters utilize a number of different styles to win.
Punches, kicks and choke holds are all acceptable.
Combatants square off, not in a ring, but in a cage.
It has led some people to compare MMA to cockfighting.
“It’s brutal, uncontrolled and really shouldn’t happen,” said Assemblyman Bob Reilly (D. - 109th District), who is from the Albany area.
This past summer he persuaded other lawmakers to shoot down a law that would have legalized MMA.
Reilly says the sport is wild and promotes violence.
Fighters like Stevens say Reilly is wrong.
“It’s not just getting in a cage and beating the crap out of somebody,” said Stevens.
Combatants train for years before getting in the cage.
Over time, the sport has developed more and more regulations - rules that limit attacks that would do serious damage like head butts.
Some lawmakers say it’s time get on the band wagon and bring MMA to New York.
“We have to acknowledge that it’s a growing sport. It exists,” said Senator Joe Griffo (R. - 47th District).
Griffo says MMA is in high demand and would bring in millions of tax dollars each year.
The money would certainly help New York’s financial crunch.
An average fight at a stadium in Buffalo or New York City would generate $500,000 to $900,000 in state revenue.
“There’s an opportunity here for tax revenue, for tourist activity within the state of New York that we’re just not taking advantage of right now,” said Griffo.
But, the idea continues to spark debate.
“I don’t accept the idea that we should legalize this brutal sport that in fact hurts our society just for the sake of money,” said Reilly.
Lawmakers we spoke with agree that the top priority is working to balance the state budget and limit excessive spending.
The legalization of mixed martial arts is pretty low on the to do list.
But Senator Griffo believes it will be a topic for discussion next year and lawmakers will have the chance to decide whether or not to sanction the sport.
Watch Part 2 of Jeff Nelson’s report:
Share your thoughts. Use the form below to send your comment to Diane Rutherford for the Your Turn segment on 7 News. You must include your name, e-mail address and phone number for your comment to be considered. Your personal information will not be posted to the website - this form sends an e-mail. Your comment can be kept anonymous if you so request.
cforms contact form by delicious:days
Feedback: Messages From Beyond - Parts 1 & 2
November 7, 2008
More than 100 million Americans believe they have been contacted by a loved one who passed away.
The phenomenon is so common it has a name - After Death Communication - or ADC for short.
7 News Anchor Diane Rutherford looks into this in her special series “Messages From Beyond”.
Part 1
Skeptics say After Death Communication is impossible - that it’s the product of the imagination or just a coincidence.
But we received more than a hundred emails and phone calls from local folks who not only believe in ADCs, they say their loved ones have reached out to them from beyond the grave.
Some of them shared what they say is a very real and profound experience.
Afghanistan. Operation Enduring Freedom.
Fort Drum troops are in the line of fire. One of them, Randy Robinson, thinks he’s safe where he is - until he hears a voice telling him to move, and move fast.
“I got up and I ran and I could see all the bullets whizzing past me and just as I left that place that rock wall I was sitting behind blew up,” he said.
Robinson says the voice that saved his life was that of his great-grandmother.
She died in 1999, years before Robinson put his life on the line for his country.
During his tour of duty in Afghanistan, he says there were other occasions when he heard his great-grandmother’s voice, smelled her perfume and felt her presence.
“Those times where my life was in danger, I believe it was her that showed me where to go, where to lay down, where to take cover, where to run to so I’m here walking today,” he said.
Rita Clarke of Russell is a breast cancer survivor.
After her diagnosis, she says she became very depressed. She began to cry.
Then Clarke says a feeling of peace came over her.
“I could feel somebody here and I could smell those Kleenexes and I knew she was with me,” she said.
Clarke says the fragrance, scented Kleenex, came from her grandmother, who died 30 years ago.
Her grandmother always carried the tissues in her apron.
Clarke says she doesn’t use Kleenex, which is why she believes her grandmother is watching over her.
“It’s nice to know that she’s always with me and I know she’s there,” she said.
People have also reported seeing the spirit of a loved one who has passed away.
Still others claim to have received a symbolic message they can touch.
We also received reports from folks whose telephones or pagers have played a role in ADC’s.
Part 2
We received a number of emails and phone calls from local viewers who say things like their camera, TV, radio, telephone, pager or lights have played a part in After Death Communication or ADC.
Other people report receiving a sign.
While the ADC’s are different, all seem to convey the same message - that love never dies.
“I was shocked.”
Patricia Morrison of Glenfield is talking about an experience she had after her mother died.
Pat wasn’t with her mom when she passed away.
She says she became extremely depressed.
“I asked God and I asked my mom to forgive me and that I love her,” she said.
The next morning, she found a message on her answering machine. Pat believes her mother called from beyond the grave to say “hi”.
Pat has since recorded the message onto her cell phone.
When Jennifer Church of Canton was a child, she flipped quarters with her grandfather.
“Grandpa would flip them, catch them in the air, put them on the back of his hand and then have me guess heads or tails and it never failed, I always guessed wrong,” she said. “So I always used to tell him that someday I was going to get all my quarters back from him.”
But Jennifer’s grandfather died when she was 12 and she didn’t get her quarters back - at least not yet.
She says things changed on September 11th, 2001. She was horrified by the terrorist attacks on America and went to bed that night afraid and depressed.
“For some strange reason I had made my bed that day and there was a quarter in it…I was a little freaked out at first when I found it,” she said.
Jennifer claims she then felt a sense of comfort and knew it was her grandfather watching over her.
Now, whenever she feels down, she says finds quarters in the most unusual places. She says grandpa is finally returning her quarters.
But are reports like Jennifer’s or Pat’s real?
Belle Salisbury of Massena claims she is a psychic medium who is able to communicate with the dead.
She says ADCs are very real.
“It’s happening more and more frequently to the point that where people can no longer dismiss it,” said Salisbury.
Of course there are plenty of people who do dismiss it.
Skeptics say these experiences are coincidences or the product of an overactive imagination.
As the saying goes - no proof is needed for believers; for skeptics, no proof is ever good enough.
See Part 1 of Diane Rutherford’s report:
See Part 2:
Share your thoughts. Use the form below to send your comment to Diane Rutherford for the Your Turn segment on 7 News. You must include your name, e-mail address and phone number for your comment to be considered. Your personal information will not be posted to the website - this form sends an e-mail. Your comment can be kept anonymous if you so request.
cforms contact form by delicious:days
Have You Ever Gotten Messages From Beyond?
September 29, 2008
We’re looking for your help for a story we’re working on and it’s a little bit unusual.
It’s about something called after death communication.
Maybe you’ve had a loved one pass away and you’ve sensed their presence, felt their touch, heard their voice, smelled their fragrance or even seen their spirit. Maybe you’ve received a symbolic message or sign. Maybe your camera, TV, radio, lights or telephone have played a part in after death communication. Maybe you’ve had unusual contact through a dream.
If you’ve had an experience, we’d like to hear from you.
You can call us at 788-3800 and ask for extension 242.
Or you can send us an email using the form below:
cforms contact form by delicious:days
‘With The 10th’…Part 3
May 22, 2008
Some soldiers from Fort Drum live near Kirkuk in northern Iraq.
Many of the soldiers live on a large base next to the downtown of the million-strong city.
Others live on small bases in the countryside.
Patrol base Bushmaster is hardly bigger than a couple of football fields
“It’s not very big at all. You can pretty much see side to side. If you look over here, it starts at the south gate and it ends about where that tower over there,” said Specialist Zachary Ziegler of Fort Drum.
With space limited, the solders need to double up and then some in their cramped living quarters.
“Four to a room. You can see space is kind of limited so its best to get along with the other occupants,” said Specialist Jared Lawson of Fort Drum.
Soldiers spend free time hanging around and staying fit.
The base includes a well equipped outdoor gym.
“We got everything you need - free weights, curl bar, straight bar, leg machine. Stay in shape when you’re not out or you come back,” said Sergeant Andrew Aldridge of Fort Drum.
Soldiers say having amenities like the gym makes a big difference.
“Having a gym here is great because there’s really not much else to do but work out…Other than that it’s just good stress relief too,” said Sergeant Dustin Evans, a Fort Drum soldier from Calcium.
Soldiers keep busy with long work days and free time is at a premium.
The toughest part of living here, they say, is missing their families.
“It sucks. I have a wife and three kids back at Drum and it’s hard on me as well as hard on them,” said Private First Class William Medlin of Fort Drum.
But for soldiers to stay in touch isn’t that hard.
The base has easy phone and internet access.
“It’s pretty easy. They have phones here. I call my wife up. I call my mom up….go on the Internet, check my email. It’s pretty cool. I keep in touch with my family on a regular basis every day,” said Private Phillip Gonzalez a Fort Drum soldier from Calcium.
The soldiers spend most of there time living and working in the Iraqi countryside.
But, every few weeks they’ll ship back to the main base near the city of Kirkuk, where the amenities are slightly better.
See Part 3:
‘With The 10th’…Part 2
May 21, 2008
S
oldiers from Bravo Company, 2-22nd Infantry walk the village of Al Noor.
Located south of Kirkuk in northern Iraq, the village was once one of the most violent communities in the area.
Now U.S. soldiers are there all the time.
“There were some bad people who lived in here. So we came in and we just started talking with them and engage the populace in a positive manner and they were very receptive to it.,” said First Lieutenant Chris Holmes of Fort Drum.
“The village was real run down. had a lot of terrorist activity coming out of here. and now it’s made a 180 degree turn around,” said Corporal Jeffrey Morris, a Fort Drum soldier from Watertown.
The soldiers live on a small patrol base named Bushmaster, located inside the village.
They man the guard towers and keep watch constantly, cautious about against insurgents trying to get back in.
“You’re always watching your back. You can never let your guard down just in case. It’s one of those - don’t give an honest man an opportunity to turn dishonest,” said Private First Class William Medlin of Fort Drum.
Soldiers walk the streets of the village every day.
They play around with the kids and work with the local men, offering work and security.
The locals reciprocate the attention.
“The populace likes to say that they will secure us, is how they put it. I think they really enjoy us being here. We put some money into their economy, buy stuff at the local stores, sodas water stuff like that,” said Lieutenant Holmes.
A major reason it’s quiet in the village is because the Iraqis run their own armed security groups.
Private citizens, called the Sons of Iraq, are paid by Americans and help keep Al-Qaeda and other terrorists out.
“They’re Sons of Iraq. To have their support in the fight against the terrorists and insurgents just makes all the difference,” said Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Sullivan, commander of the 2-22nd Infantry.
Soldiers say the closer to the people they get, the safer their lives become.
See Part 2:
7 News Special Report: “With The 10th”
May 20, 2008
Soldiers of Delta Company 2-22nd Infantry search cars at a bus station in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.
The soldiers say insurgents bring in contraband through the station, which offers easy access into the city from from all over the country.
“We think it’s an easy way for people to kind of come in and out unchecked. So it just kind of helps us disrupt things every now and then and kind of keep people on their toes,” said Lieutenant Sean Kane, a Fort Drum soldier who lives in Sackets Harbor.
Soldiers work alongside a large number of special Iraqi police.
They search for armor-busting grenades and other weapons.
The biggest threat to Americans is not roadside bombs, also called IEDs, but grenades and sniper fire.
“This year in Kirkuk we’ve dealt with a lot more sniper fire. Last time we were here I was down in Abu Ghraib and there were a lot more more IEDs down there,” said Sergeant Michael Hovanec of Ithaca.
The soldiers say violence has dropped dramatically in the city over past year.
However, they still do come under fire.
Several soldiers, such as Specialist Ryan Shipley, have been shot, but soon recovered.
“It was my right calf. It just went through the meat. Nothing important. It was annoying for two weeks or so. I got to sit back and do nothing,” said Shipley.
The soldiers who have been injured say when they go through trauma like a shooting, it is best to get back out again as soon as possible.
“It’s a little crazy. You don’t really think you’re going to be the one to get shot. But you got to just deal with it and get back out here,” said Sergeant Jeff Mass of Fort Drum.
“You got to get back out here as soon as you can. You can’t be afraid of it. You want to be scared, but you don’t want get too scared that you think about it too much and you can’t do your job,” said Shipley.
The battalion has seen two men killed in the seven months it has been here.
The were both from one company and were on patrol far south of the city.
Officers say the casualties are tough to take but everyone pulls together.
“We have to find the people that are down and help bring them up and the people that are kind of up need to be the ones that grab those guys that are kind of hurting. It shows the true camaraderie of the unit,” said Captain Greg Hotaling, a Fort Drum soldier from Syracuse.
Soldiers form Fort Drum patrol inside Kirkuk every day.
But because there is only a company of them, the bulk of the security is actually provided by the Iraqi forces.
See Doug Grindle’s report:
Feedback: ‘Helping Hands’ Part 3
May 15, 2008
Because of people like Dick Paradis, a volunteer from Ogdensburg, New York, Ken and Nita Trawick’s house in Gulfport, Mississippi, looks a lot like it did before Hurricane Katrina.
In the wake of the hurricane, the home was flooded with water five feet high.
“We spent two weeks just scrubbing the dirt out of here,” said Ken Trawick.
He was one of the the lucky ones when you compare his plight to that of his neighbors.
“Every house from our house to the beach was destroyed,” he said.
But the home Ken and Nita lived in for 25 years was still standing.
They say that was the first blessing.
A few months later they met Paradis and his team of volunteers from the First Presbyterian Church of Ogdensburg.
That was the second blessing.
“And they would do what they had time to do and do what they had skills to do,” said Trawick.
The Ogdensburg volunteers are still going strong.
On their fifth trip to Mississippi since the storm hit, they’re building new houses.
“No matter what, who you are, what skill you have, you can help people,” said Ogdensburg volunteer Martha Shaver
The group has been working on some of the 22 nearly identical homes that have been given to families in need since October.
The pre-fabricated houses were built by the Pennsylvania Amish and sent down to Mississippi.
Putting the parts together is up to the volunteers from Ogdensburg along with about 3,000 other volunteers working with the same charitable organization, the Presbytery of Mississippi.
“It’s just as important to put the walls up as it is to hang the drapes so every body’s part to me matters equally,” said Russ Ellolderman of the Presbytery of Mississippi.
This week the volunteers are putting the finishing touches on a new house for Katherine Puryear, who hasn’t had a place of her own since the hurricane destroyed her home.
“It’s nice to be home. I missed all my friends since I was gone away and now I’m back,” said Puryear.
But the neighbors aren’t home yet.
It’s just another sign that there will be plenty left to do when the Ogdensburg group makes its sixth trip to Mississippi in October.
See Part 3:
Share your thoughts. Use the form below to send your comment to Diane Rutherford for the Your Turn segment on 7 News. You must include your name, e-mail address and phone number for your comment to be considered. Your personal information will not be posted to the website - this form sends an e-mail. Your comment can be kept anonymous if you so request.
cforms contact form by delicious:days
Feedback: ‘Helping Hands’ Part 2
May 14, 2008
Debbie Moody has plenty of her own home repair to do, but she’s staying busy in someone else’s yard.
The north country woman is spending the week rebuilding other people’s homes in Gulfport, Mississippi.
It’s ironic since she’s got a lot of work to do in Tupper Lake, where her house burned down this past winter.
“They say pay it forward. I think i’m paying it forward,” said Moody.
Moody and a dozen other volunteers from Ogdensburg’s First Presbyterian Church are doing anything they can to help as thousands of people, still living in FEMA trailers, prepare to lose their homes all over again.
The trailers were never meant to be permanent solutions.
They’re made with high levels of chemicals that are dangerous for your health.
Now FEMA says if you’re still living in one nearly three years after Katrina hit, it’s time to get out.
The deadline is June 1 and that has volunteers from around the country working around the clock to get more people into new homes fast.
“It started with a church and a church and a church first looking out for their church family members. And then, well, what about my next door neighbor and so on,” said Martha-Lee Bohn, outreach coordinator of the Presbytery of Missippi.
It spread 1,500 miles away to the First Presbyterian Church in Ogdensburg.
Now that all of the financial assistance from the Red Cross and Salvation Army is expected to be spent by October, help from volunteers is critical.
“The American people take care of their own,” said Lynn Lanier, who lost his home during Hurricane Katrina.
While work to restore the region comes along slowly, lending a helping hand has become an endless mission for the group from Ogdensburg.
“The people in Tupper Lake have been so good to me in my time of need. I want to do something to help other people,” said Moody.
In Part 3 of Alex’s special series, she’ll visit the families the church group has helped and show you just how much a dozen people really can do.
See Part 2:
Share your thoughts. Use the form below to send your comment to Diane Rutherford for the Your Turn segment on 7 News. You must include your name, e-mail address and phone number for your comment to be considered. Your personal information will not be posted to the website - this form sends an e-mail. Your comment can be kept anonymous if you so request.
cforms contact form by delicious:days
Feedback: ‘Helping Hands’ Part 1
May 13, 2008
Teressa Vardano lives in a camper on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.
Her five grandchildren frequently visit her in her camper, which was meant to be a temporary setup after Hurricane Katrina destroyed her home.
Repairing her old home was too much for one person and she spent nearly two years looking for help.
But, Teressa says her luck started to change about a year ago.
That’s when she met a church group from Ogdensburg, New York, volunteering to help Katrina victims in Gulfport, Mississippi.
“I can’t explain it. It is very overwhelming,” said Teressa.
The latest visit last week marked the third trip members of Ogdensburg’s First Presbyterian Church have made in a year to see Teressa Vardano.
It’s the fifth trip the group has made to Mississippi.
“These people deserve to have this house finished,” said Nancy Skiff, one of the Ogdensburg volunteers.
With the help of new friends from a place Teressa had never even heard of, the job is getting done.
“My job is to make a tiny dent in helping these people regain a normal lifestyle,” said Dorothy Sharlow, an Ogdensburg volunteer.
Because of another week of work from the volunteers, Teressa is getting ready to move into her home.
For more information on the volunteer’s organization, go to www.pcusa.org/pda.
See Part 1 of Alexandra Field’s report:
Share your thoughts. Use the form below to send your comment to Diane Rutherford for the Your Turn segment on 7News. You must include your name, e-mail address and phone number for your comment to be considered. Your personal information will not be posted to the website - this form sends an e-mail. Your comment can be kept anonymous if you so request.
cforms contact form by delicious:days
The 5 Day Forecast
World & National Video
Office For Rent
7News/Fox 28 has office space for rent in our Arcade St. facility.
More information here.
Archives
WWNYTV Links
