Radio Hobbyists Join in National Field Day

This article was originally published in The Walton Reporter on 6/26/13.

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Radio Hobbyists Join in National Field Day

By Cori O'Connor

  

WALTON — Members of the Walton Radio Association gathered at Adin Miller's storage barn on Bob's Brook Road on Saturday, June 22 and Sunday, June 23 for the 24-hour National Amateur Radio Field Day. The six participants sent their call signals all over the country, testing their equipment and participating in a competition.

"What it does is, it tests our capability to communicate anywhere from down the block to across the country in unusual places, unusual circumstances, because it's never going to be an ideal circumstance during a disaster," said Richard Kelly, president of the Walton Radio Association.

The field day participants sent their signals over the airwaves using a variety of technologies ranging from Morse code to more advanced forms. "We've actually invented so many modes of communication that are so common today, that people don't even realize. We can talk over just a basic radio, we can send e-mail, we can send television pictures," Kelly said.

Craig Loudon of Sidney uses Morse code to contact another national field day site in Mississippi. photo by Cori O’Connor/The Walton Reporter.

Participants recorded the people they were able to contact and their locations and collectively submitted the information to the national association governing amateur radio, the Amateur Radio Relay League, in order to receive a national ranking in the competition. The ranking is based on the amount of points awarded to each site, based on how low the power is that they're able to broadcast on (they need to use a battery 5 watts or less, which is a current less than a flash light bulb), what locations they're able to contact, if they're visited by a news agency or an elected representative or if students come to the site and learn something.

 

According to Kelly, amateur radio, also known as ham radio, has been around since the days before electricity, over a hundred years. Members, also known as hams, are licensed by the Federal Communications Commission and they broadcast over public radio frequencies free of charge. "In a nutshell, what we do is we provide communications to organizations when normal communications goes down," Kelly said. During federally declared disasters, hams operate under an association known as RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) and are utilized by the emergency services department to broadcast for "served agencies" including fire departments, police departments, the Red Cross, EMS, hospitals, social services, highway departments, the Salvation Army and others.

"During Irene and Lee, Margaretville Telephone Company was about to go under water and it would have wiped out all of their phone communications for the Margaretville area," Kelly said. He explained that an amateur radio broadcaster was available at the Margaretville fire station, ready to provide any communications such as where the rescuers needed to be, how many people they pulled out and where they were going, as well as information on welfare checks, food and supplies.

Kelly explained that during disasters, hams benefit from versatile equipment and the thousands of frequencies and dozens of satellites available to them for national and international communication. According to Kelly, radio equipment is versatile in that radios can be powered by batteries and hams can use a variety of mediums for antennas including wires strung between poles or trees, antennas on top of vehicles, and even a basic electrical cow fence.

Kelly is taking steps to make amateur radio a more readily available "tool" for communication. "I'm trying to get just a basic radio put in every fire department in this county. I'm trying to get funding for that because when their system goes down, they rely on us and we can usually find a way, some way to communicate," he said.

Apart from disasters, Amateur Radio participants operate under the ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) association where they conduct communications throughout different events such as running, biking or boating races. According to Kelly, amateur radio personnel were a main source of communication during the Boston Marathon tragedy. Kelly also explained that amateur radio was "the original social media" and said some hams still practice their hobby by trying to contact different people across the country with whom they talk about anything such as their jobs, families, where they're from and so on, just like a "chat room."

The Walton Radio Association is looking for members of all ages. Their meetings are held the first Sunday of each month at 1 p.m. at the Walton Fire Station. If interested contact Richard Kelly at w2rrk@arrl.net.

Walton Family Raises Service Dog

This article was originally published in The Walton Reporter on 6/25/13.

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Walton Family Raises Service Dog

By Cori O'Connor

WALTON— Greg Graupman and his granddaughter, Madison Graupman, 12, are raising and training a puppy named Lawrence for Guiding Eyes for the Blind. Don Smith, general manager of the Walton McDonalds, donated all of the dog's food.

Greg Graupman has been involved with Guiding Eyes for the Blind for over a decade and raised service dogs with his sons when they were younger. Lawrence is the fourth dog Graupman has raised and the second dog Madison has raised. They have never had a dog pass the final evaluation, however. Lawrence will attend his final evaluation when he is between 16 and 18 months old.



Madison Graupman and Lawrence, the service dog s
he is raising for Guiding Eyes for the Blind,
give a certificate of appreciation to Don Smith,
general manager of Walton McDonald's restaurant,
for donating all of the dog's food. photo by Cori O’Connor/The Walton Reporter.

"It's a real wonderful experience, especially for kids," Greg Graupman said. "It is a lot of responsibility because the bottom line is that from the time he wakes up in the morning to when he goes to bed at night he's in training. He's always working."
The dogs are trained according to a five step program and the "puppy raisers," Greg and Madison, attend class with Lawrence once a week in Oneonta. When Lawrence was placed with the

Graupmans at three months old, the program began with simple commands such as sit, down, come close, and stand, and they initially used a lot of food reinforcements. "As the dog matures you begin to not give them as many treats," Greg Graupman said. "Right now Lawrence is in step three, so his food reinforcements are intermittent, he doesn't know when he is going to get them. When he gets to step five he will have none."

Greg Graupman explained that they are allowed to bring Lawrence wherever they go. Lawrence sat through a class at the Walton Middle School with Madison and he goes into the Big M Supermarket almost every day. Greg also takes Lawrence to the bus garage. "I take him there frequently, mostly when I know the buses will be either pulling in or pulling out, because it's noisy," he said. "We're trying to desensitize him to loud noises because most of these dogs end up in urban areas with a lot of noise."

Lawrence also has to learn how to ignore things such as a stick on the ground, a cat or another dog. "We purposely put him in situations where he has to perform even though there's a cat. He has to ignore that cat and that takes a while, because the way you do that is to call his name and get him back to you."

Lawrence is also in strict training at home. Unlike most dogs he is not allowed to "counter surf" with his nose along the counter, he's not allowed on furniture, he can't have any "people food" as they have to watch his weight, he only can be off of the leash in fenced-in areas and, when they're gone, he must stay in a kennel.

Although the Graupmans would recommend the program, according to Greg Graupman, "It's not for everybody. Not every kid, not every adult can do this and give up this dog. Your heart's one place, your mind's another. You have to separate your heart and mind to be successful as a puppy raiser."

"It's for a cause so you have to focus on the fact that he's not your dog. It's like babysitting for a long time," Madison Graupman said.

Greg Graupman gave Smith a certificate of appreciation from Guiding Eyes for the Blind, which Smith said he will hang on the wall in McDonald's. "This is just another part of Walton McDonald's taking care of the community. Someone we haven't even met is going to benefit from having Lawrence," Smith said.

"We're very grateful for what Don and McDonald's is doing," Greg Graupman said. "For a puppy raiser, Don is saving a puppy raiser a lot of money."

Cori O'Connor scooping a pic after a felony hearing at the Walton Village Court.

Delhi Beautification Committee Supports Fire Hydrant Contest

This article was originally published in The Walton Reporter on 6/5/13. -------

Delhi Beautification Committee Supports Fire Hydrant Contest

By Cori O'Connor

 

DELHI —The Delhi Beautification Committee presented the Delaware Academy Art Club with a $150 check on May 29 to cover the $50 prizes for the first place winners in each category of the fire hydrant decorating contest.

The contest is organized by Delaware Academy high school art teacher and art club advisor Brian Rolfe and the project is a partnership between the art club and the beautification committee. Over 20 students and community members will participate in the contest this year and a total of nine hydrants will be painted, eight of which are being repainted from previous years. There are three categories which the designs will reflect: community pride, realistic/abstract, and under 14 years of age.



Members of the Delhi Beautification Committee and the Delaware Academy Art Club

gathered for a check presentation last week. Pictured are: Bob Henault, Don Harris,

Peg Baldwin, Brian Rolfe, Julia VanBuren, Michaela Mills, Sophie Nellies, Adie Hook,

Sophia Gimlik, Brian Hannigan and Stephanie Bishop. photo by Cori O’Connor/The Walton Reporter.

"We wanted to interact more with community and school rather than just having it be a school thing or a community thing and with our club it was easy to do that," Rolfe said. He then explained that by including community members in the art club project there's "a bridge to get to the community."The contest began on April 15 and participants have until June 7 to paint the hydrants, although they had to submit designs for approval by May 31. In the days following June 7, the hydrants will be rated by a panel of three judges: Shiela Ayres, member of the beautification committee, Delhi Mayor Richard Maxey and a third judge who is currently unknown. The judges won't know the names of the people who painted the hydrants, only their ages.

All of the hydrants being painted are on Main Street because the village wanted the club to maintain the hydrants lining the center of town. "It's easier in the long run because I won't have to manage as many," Rolfe said.

This year the village donated a fire hydrant to the art club. The club will auction it off at the Harvest Festival to raise money for field trips and events. The hydrant will be painted with a scene from the surrounding area and, according to Rolfe, the club doesn't know whether they will paint it or hire someone to do so. Rolfe hopes to have the finished hydrant on display at the last Fair on the Square on July 26.

Female Construction Majors Build Bridge on SUNY Delhi Campus

This article was originally published on the front page of The Walton Reporter on 5/22/13.

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Female Construction Majors Build Bridge on SUNY Delhi Campus

By Cori O'Connor

DELHI —Six female SUNY Delhi students, Krista McCabe, Alex Rose, Jenna Singer, Helen Caster, Emily Gadbois and Jesse Jacob built a 24-foot bridge to cross "Lake Addison" outside of the Applied Tech buildings at SUNY Delhi and set it in place on Tuesday.

The women, four of whom major in architecture (McCabe, Rose, Singer, and Caster) and two of whom major in construction management (Gadbois and Jacob) completed the project in their spare time. They were supervised and instructed by Floyd Vogt, professor of construction and technology at SUNY Delhi. "I'm here to answer questions, inspire, guide, expedite wherever I can," Vogt said.



This bridge, built by female students in the architectural and building trades programs at SUNY Delhi, was lifted into place over a small waterway on the campus on Tuesday morning. photo by Cori O'Connor.


They built the bridge to express the female presence in the overwhelmingly male majors. "Our numbers are growing in the younger classes, we want to show them that we can do anything," Rose said. The women are also interested in forming a sorority on campus.

Vogt had thought for a while that he'd like to build a bridge over "Lake Addison" but it wasn't until the women approached him in search of a project that they decided to do it. Singer and Vogt designed the double arch bridge with a sunburst detail and they began building in April. The women estimated that between designing, gathering supplies, and building, the project took between 30 and 40 hours.

"I'm leaving here, so I'm definitely glad I did this before I left," Caster said. "Doing this and having it be our own separate thing was very special."

Vogt explained that his favorite part of the project was working with the women and he noted that their skill level is equal to that of the men he works with. "It was a matter of this is how we do it and then some of them would come and take tools right out of my hand. So once they saw how to do it they did it," he said.

"This was probably the highlight of my semester," said Rose. "It was something fun to do outside of class with close friends and it was something we weren't going to get graded on, so there wasn't a lot of pressure. But it was a pressure for our own goal, sort of."

"It was nice to have something tangible to finish the year out," said Jacob, a resident of Walton and a 2011 graduate of Walton Central School.

Pistol Permit Remains Suspended

This article was originally published in The Walton Reporter on 5/21/13.

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Pistol Permit Remains Suspended
By Cori O'Connor

 

DELHI — A Walton man's permit to possess handguns remains suspended after a hearing on Monday in Delaware County Court.

William Picinich, 51, appeared before Judge Carl F. Becker regarding the possible revocation of his pistol permit which was suspended after his arrest on Feb. 1 in Walton.

Picinich was charged at that time with second-degree obstruction of governmental administration, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. His wife, Tina Picinch was also arrested Feb. 1 for second degree obstruction of governmental administration and issued a ticket to appear in court.

William Picinich's pistol permit was suspended based on section 400 of the Penal Law which, according to Becker, allows for possession of a permit as long as there aren't questions of judgement or conduct. Becker explained that the charges against Picinich have caused both to be questioned. "I am not going to tolerate someone who has a pistol permit behaving in a manner that disrespects the authority of law enforcement," Becker said.

Picinich explained that there was an agreement that all charges would be dropped if he had an alcohol evaluation. Becker didn't agree to that, however, but said that he would be open to something other than a revocation of the permit.

"I could find you guilty and you could be found not guilty in Walton," Becker said. He explained that the Walton village court and the county court could come to different conclusions because of the difference in the burden of proof that the county court hearing is dependent upon.

Becker adjourned the hearing to June 3 and June 24 so that Picinich could speak with his lower court attorney about his county hearing and so that the lower court issue could be resolved first.

Even the Experts Have to Work at Their Marriage

This article wasn't previously published but was submitted as part of an application in the Spring of 2013.

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Even the Experts Have to Work at Their Marriage

By Cori O'Connor

Marriage counselors, Frank and Diane Torino, have an unmistakable joy spread across their faces as they interact—but this joy hasn’t come easily. Speaking from their experience, the Torinos now counsel couples about how marriage takes continuous effort and God at its center.

Frank and Diane met when Diane snuck into the high school dance with a friend. By the time Frank asked Diane to dance, they only could dance for one song and left without learning each other’s name because Diane had to make her curfew. Diane’s friend told her not to go to another dance because she would end up marrying the guy she danced with.

The prophecy was fulfilled; they have been the main focus of each other’s lives since.

They were married when he was 20 and soon after had their two girls. Life during the beginning of their marriage wasn’t easy; the big crises came when their younger daughter became a teenager.

“From the minute she opened her eyes at fourteen to boys, I would say it was about four years of what you could describe as a living hell, calls from the police at 2:00 in the morning saying we’ve found your car abandoned and so on,” Frank said.

The Torinos disagreed about how to handle the situation. Frank wanted to be the peace maker and Diane thought their daughter needed discipline.

In counseling couples, the Torinos have seen marriages fall apart because of parenting pressures. “If we did not have a good church we were going to and faith in Jesus, we could have easily ended up divorced through all of that,” Diane said.

One thing that Frank and Diane have been able to do well is continue to work at their marriage. They have attended marriage conferences.

They’ve also have had various people speak into their marriage: “There’s wisdom in the multitude of counsels,” Frank said. He then spoke of a “very mean” boss he once had. At a conference his company sent him to, a counselor in wisdom told Frank to “take time for your family.”

The joy in the Torino’s relationship is evident: “My father will say, “You and Frank, you’re always so happy, you’re always so joyful,” said Diane who then said the joy comes from God.

After having God at the head of one’s marriage, the Torinos say one of the keys to marriage is  focusing on each other and being sacrificial; “There is no room for selfishness in marriage,” said Diane.

Frank explained how when you really work on your marriage and realize you’re part of something bigger than the immediate scenario “you can put yourself aside, less of me and more of her.”

The other key is communication “We’ve just learned over the last ten years that you have to share gently and lovingly how you feel,” said Diane, even if it’s something as simple as asking them to turn the TV down.

On June 16^thFrank and Diane will have been married for 40 years.