News Channel 9: Your Stories

Rebate Recovery Credit: Your Stories Q&A

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:03:09 GMT

Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) – This Your Stories Q&A could put more money in your pocket come tax time.

One of our Your Stories viewers just had twins -- and she heard that the new babies entitle her to a bigger share of that economic stimulus money from earlier this year.

She is absolutely right. But how does she get the cash?

Our viewer will need to apply for the Rebate Recovery Credit when she goes to file her taxes. The credit allows taxpayers who've had a change in their income or family situations to possibly get a bigger tax return in 2009.

When the economic stimulus checks came out in the spring, our viewer hadn't delivered her two babies yet, so she missed on receiving an extra $300 per child when she got her economic stimulus check.

Now that she has delivered her twins, the rebate recovery credit will allow her to get that $300 per child, for a total of $600.

There are several other folks who might be able to get a bigger tax return, thanks to the Rebate Recovery Credit.

CLICK HERE to visit the IRS website and learn more about the credit.

If you've got something you'd like the Your Stories team to check out, give us a call at 446-9900 or email us at yourstories@9wsyr.com.

Daycare center punished after child runs off: Your Stories

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:10:19 GMT

Camillus, New York (WSYR-TV) - A Camillus day care center has been punished by state regulators, after a little boy, left unattended, briefly ran away last spring.

"Learn As You Grow" on Milton Avenue paid a $250 fine and had its staff retrained after a four-year-old, told to hang up artwork in a hallway, ran out the front door, then across the street and a railroad track before daycare workers caught up with him in a shopping center parking lot.

Following an investigation, the State Office of Children and Family Services says Learn As You Grow employees have been retrained about not only visually supervising children while in the hallway, but being physically there with them in case the unpredictable happens.

The owner of Learn As You Grow signed a settlement with the state, agreeing to take every precaution to ensure the health and safety of all children who attend the center.

Owner Kevin LaGrow had no comment for NewsChannel 9.

Inauguration tickets: Your Stories Tracker

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:59:43 GMT

Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) - This Your Stories Tracker deals with getting tickets to the Presidential inauguration in January.

The signup to enter a lottery to win tickets through Senator Chuck Schumer's office has ended.

We heard over the weekend from two central New Yorkers who are angry because they couldn't log on to the site to enter the lottery; we contacted the Senator's office, and they tell us they're working with those folks -- and they will still have a chance to win inauguration tickets.

More than 100,000 New Yorkers applied to enter the lottery through Sen. Schumer's since mid-November.

A spokesperson for Senator Schumer says they'll hold the lottery on Friday, and 350 tickets will be distributed -- and each person can take a maximum of two tickets to the inauguration.

Got something you'd like the Your Stories team to check out? Give us a call at 446-9900, or email us at yourstories@9wsyr.com.

Lingering campaign signs: Your Stories Q&A

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 01:08:52 GMT

DeWitt, New York (WSYR-TV) – This Your Stories Q&A is about all those political signs you saw up around election time -- and some signs that still linger today.

The presidential election happened more than three weeks ago, and one Your Stories viewer wanted to know if a McCain-Palin sign along Route 298 in DeWitt is supposed to be gone.

The answer is yes. According to DeWitt town code, the sign should have come down no later than seven days after the election. The code also says the town has the right to remove the sign if they receive a complaint about it.

The rules on how long these signs can stay up vary from town to town, so if you spot a political sign that you think should come down, call your town's codes enforcer; they can tell you whether the sign violates town code.

Got something you'd like the Your Stories team to check out? Give us a call at 446-9900 or email us at yourstories@9wsyr.com.

To fix – or not to fix – a wet yard: Your Stories

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 01:53:17 GMT

Camillus, New York (WSYR-TV) - Tuesday’s rain and wet snow may have made your yard a bit soggy, but we'll bet it doesn't get as wet as one backyard in Camillus.

In this one of Your Stories, the question is should local government step in to fix it? And -- more importantly -- how much will it cost?

Jim and Lori Gleason have a nice, fenced-in backyard -- which they can't use much of the time.

“It seems, every rainfall, every thaw, the frequency and severity have just gotten worse,” says Lori.

They've lived there 15 years, but in the last two years, their backyard has gotten wetter and wetter. Pictures provided by the Gleasons show the ankle-deep water, which stays for days after each heavy rain or snow melt.

“It's actually washed out the tree. The tree's dead. We haven't had a leaf on it since August,” Jim says.

An 8-inch concrete pad saves their central air conditioner. When they go away, they sandbag the back of the house. Don't ask about the mosquitoes in summer; the Gleasons have the lowest land in an older development with no drainage system.

On the Gleason's street are several of so-called dead-head drains. They collect runoff, but they drain to nowhere. After the water has collected, it's allowed to seep back into the ground.

“What happens is all that water fills up, you get all the street surface water and it takes about 3 to 4 days for it to go down, so it just seeps out through, back into the ground,” Jim says.

“We think, over time, the ground is just saturated, because the drainage system is just not up to date,” says Lori.

If that's the problem, the costly solution may be a new drainage district for the neighborhood. The Gleason's town councilor tells us a consulting engineer is working up the numbers right now.

Those numbers show the cost of the new drainage district is probably prohibitive. The district would cost $78,000, and only 10 homes would benefit.

When you tack on interest costs for the bonding, engineers estimate the cost per home would be $614 every year for 30 years.

The Gleasons and at least four of their neighbors would have to approve the district before it could happen. The only other solution suggested by the engineer is to install one of those "dead-head" drains or filtration basins in the Gleasons’ backyard.

While much less expensive, the Gleasons say one more "dead-head" drain would be a dead-end for them. We've asked Camillus and its engineer for a second opinion on that, and we'll let you know when we hear back from them.

National Grid rebates for home improvements: Your Stories

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) - If you are making any heating or cooling improvements to your home, we want to remind you about a website that can save you cash when you go to buy things like a new furnace, windows, or programmable thermostat.

It's National Grid's Think Smart Think Green website. Once you're on the site, you can enter your zip code and see a range of rebates and credits you'll receive from the utility once you install certain energy efficient items.

Let's take a programmable thermostat for example. National Grid will give you a $25 rebate for each programmable thermostat you purchase, and that's up to two thermostats per home.

To get the rebate, simply fill out the form on the Think Smart Think Green website, and mail it in. It's that simple.

Click here to visit the website.

Still waiting on STAR check? Your Stories

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) – This Your Stories Tracker is about those STAR rebate checks many property owners in New York state received over the past several weeks.

We've got some final facts and figures from the state on how many checks they sent out and how much cash property owners received.

The state Department of Taxation and Finance says they sent out roughly 2.8 million STAR rebate checks across the state.

Those 2.8 million checks were worth more than $1.1 billion.

Most STAR rebate checks have been mailed out by now.

If by some chance you didn't get one, and you believe you should have received one, call the state Taxation and Finance Department's STAR hotline at 1-800-225-5829, and select option 1.

Yard waste pickup: Your Stories Q&A

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:06:14 GMT

Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) – This Your Stories Q&A comes from Mary of Syracuse. She e-mails saying she was awakened by the sound of DPW equipment picking up bags of leaves and yard waste at 1:00 Monday morning.

She says she appreciates the hard work, but why at such odd hours?

DPW commissioner Jeff Wright says the city fell behind in leaf pick-ups this year. They started their work around November 1 -- which is the norm -- but this year they ran into more leaves on the ground, earlier than usual, and it backed them up.

To catch up, workers launched day and night operations on Sunday, and they'll continue that way until all of the leaves are collected.

If you've got a question -- or something you'd like the Your Stories team to check out, give us a call at 446-9900, or you can e-mail us at yourstories@9wsyr.com.

Family seeks changes after another crash: Your Stories

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:18:45 GMT

Raw Video of the scene

Cazenovia, New York (WSYR-TV) - A SUNY Morrisville student is expected in court Wednesday night after sheriff's deputies say he stole a car from the school's campus and drove off with it.

Deputies say they spotted 19-year-old Shaun Pritchard, of Long Island, speeding Tuesday afternoon at around 1:00 p.m. on Route 20 in the town of Nelson. But when deputies tried to pull him over, Pritchard sped away, eventually crashing into the Beacham family's barn -- nearly 20 minutes away in Cazenovia.

This isn't the first time cars have wound up on the Beachams' property, and they say something must be done to prevent future crashes.

In one of Your Stories, we found out why the county says nothing can be done -- their hands are tied.

“He jumped right over the ditch, curved and went four feet from the house and went in to the barn,” says Frauke Beacham.

When the car went through the barn, it knocked it off of its foundation, so the family had beams installed, as they try to figure out what to do next.

The Beachams say it's actually the sixth time in the last two years that a car has wound up on their property, which is why Frowka wants a guiderail installed on her property.

But the county highway department says all they can do is provide proper signage.

“We didn't put the road there, the resident there, it's a geographic calculation we have no control over,” says highway superintendent Joe Wisinski.

The superintendent says guiderails usually run parallel to traffic. In this case, it would be perpendicular -- and would serve as a barrier, meaning if a driver got hurt, the highway department would be responsible.

“This is really dangerous…[there are] children and families in this area -- had it been ten minutes earlier, I would have gotten hurt,” Frowka says.

The Beacham family is still trying to figure out how much all the repairs will cost. Deputies say Pritchard will be held responsible for paying for all the damages.

Cazenovia, New York (WSYR-TV) – A 19-year-old SUNY Morrisville student is under arrest Tuesday after leading police on a chase that ended with a crash in Cazenovia.

Madison County Sheriff’s deputies say Shaun Pritchard, of Long Island, was speeding on Route 20 in the town of Nelson when a deputy tried to pull him over shortly before 1:00 p.m. The deputy did not know at the time that the 1995 Chrysler Pritchard was driving was stolen from the SUNY Morrisville campus.

Deputies say Pritchard refused to stop and continued into Cazenovia, where he lost control of the car and crashed into a barn off Ballina Road.

Pritchard got out of the car and ran from the scene; deputies say he led police on a foot chase through an occupied house before deputies and state police finally caught up to him.

A deputy injured his leg while chasing Pritchard on foot; he was treated at Community Memorial Hospital in Hamilton. A state trooper also cut his hand while taking Pritchard into custody.

Pritchard faces several charges, including criminal possession of stolen property, criminal trespass, unlawfully fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle and resisting arrest, and several traffic violations.

Pritchard has been turned over to the SUNY Morrisville Police Department.

He may face additional criminal charges.

Fixing up Onondaga Lake Park: Your Stories Q&A

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:15:05 GMT

Liverpool, New York (WSYR-TV) - This Your Stories Q&A is from Richard in Liverpool. He writes in about the appearance of Griffin Field at Onondaga Lake Park.

He says the stone columns ringing the field are in a bad state of disrepair -- not only are they an eyesore, but it looks like they pose a safety hazard, too.

Why isn't the county working to fix them up? We called parks commissioner Bob Geraci for an answer. He says the department actually had a meeting about the pillars just last week.

Money is set aside to repair all of them at some point; they're gradually working their way around. Some have already been upgraded -- and the others will have their time too.

The process may be a slow one, but the parks department says it's working on fixing up the appearance of the park as a whole.

Notice something out of place in your neighborhood? Give the Your Stories team a call -- we'll check it out. The number is 446-9900, or you can email us at yourstories@9wsyr.com

Are police breaking the law? Your Stories Q&A

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) - We're answering two related Your Stories Q and A's.

Here's the first: we've received several calls recently about police officers seen talking on their cell phones while driving. Is this legal?

The answer is yes. New York State law says police officers are allowed to use their phones while driving as long as they are doing official business.

The next question is about why police officers are seen speeding without their lights or sirens on. Are they allowed to do this?

Again, the answer is yes. State law says police officers can exceed the speed limit even when their lights are not flashing.

Benches for the Carousel’s carousel: Your Stories Q&A

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 02:00:31 GMT

Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) - This Your Stories Q&A is from William in North Syracuse -- he wants to know what's going on with the carousel ride at the Carousel Center.

There used to be benches on the ride, for young children and older people who had a tough time stepping up on the tall horses -- but they've all been taken off. We called the mall Friday -- and they tell us not to worry; the seats will be returned.

The carousel is almost 100 years old, and the benches needed refurbishing. As for the horses, they pull those off one at a time for touch-ups.

The whole process should be finished by Thanksgiving.

If you've got something you'd like the Your Stories team to check out, please call us at 446-9900. You can also email us at anytime at yourstories@9wsyr.com.

Recycling sunflowers: Your Stories Q&A

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 01:18:24 GMT

Camillus, New York (WSYR-TV) - This Your Stories Q&A is about some beautiful sunflowers. During the summer time, they cover the fields along Route 5, between Camillus and Elbridge.

Kathy writes to us, saying they were beautiful to look at -- but now they've turned dark and dead, what happens to them now?

We called the Camillus highway superintendent. He tells us the sunflowers get harvested, then sold to a seed mill where they will be processed and bagged and sold as bird seed.

If you've got a question, or something you'd like the your stories team to look into -- call us at 446-9900, or you can e-mail us at yourstories@9wsyr.com.

Waterhouse Road in Clay has reopened: Your Stories

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:26:02 GMT

Clay, New York (WSYR-TV) - Your Stories viewers in the town of Clay that have been waiting for Waterhouse Road to reopen can finally start using it again.

Construction is finished and the road is back open for traffic.

The two lane street, which runs between Morgan Road and Henry Clay Boulevard, has been closed since June for construction.

Work was delayed when the town had to deal with damage caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ike.

Waterhouse Road construction: Your Stories

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:00:13 GMT

Clay, New York (WSYR-TV) - When will the Waterhouse Road construction project in Clay finally end? It's a question you've been asking on the Your Stories line, and a question we've been trying to answer for the past several weeks.

It's looking like the project will finally end on Friday -- we hope.

The Clay town supervisor tells us weather delayed the final few pieces of the project. They were hoping to have it done last week, but now they're looking at Friday as the new date for the end of construction.

Road crews are just putting the finishing touches on some paving, and assuming there's no wet weather between now and the end of the week, we should be in good shape.

This construction project, which began in June, has seen quite a few weather-related delays, most notably from the remnants of Hurricane Ike, which pulled National Grid workers off the job as they helped restore power across central New York.

But hopefully by Friday, drivers in Clay will once again have a smooth ride down Waterhouse Road.

If you've got something you'd like the Your Stories team to check out, please call us at 446-9900, or email us at anytime at yourstories@9wsyr.com.

Cost of a Flu Shot: Your Stories Q&A

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:24:16 GMT

Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) - This Your Stories Q&A is about what you'll pay to get a flu shot. A viewer called us after noticing there's a range of prices.

We talked to the Onondaga County Health Department to find out why that is. The health department says many companies and school districts will help pay for employees to get a flu shot -- but not cover all of it.

Thirty dollars is the standard price. The health department says the cost of administering the shots and the vaccine itself makes it impossible to charge any less. So expect to pay at least $30 for the vaccine at local flu clinics -- maybe even a little bit more.

The health department would like to see the same price charged by everyone in the area, but not everybody's in agreement; each location has a right to charge what they want.

CLICK HERE to find a list of all the county flu shot clinics that have been scheduled in central New York.

If you've got a question, or something you'd like the Your Stories team to check out, call us at 446-9900, or you can e-mail us at yourstories@9wsyr.com.

Fireball in the sky: Your Stories Q&A

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:55:02 GMT

Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) – This Your Stories Q&A comes to us from a viewer wondering about a phenomena they saw in the early morning sky last week.

Fred writes to us and says, “at approximately 4:30 a.m. I observed something huge enter the Earth’s atmosphere and end in a "fire burst" much like that of a very large meteor.” Fred says whatever it was lit up the entire ground.

What you saw was actually a fireball associated with the Taurid meteor shower. The debris from the comet Encke burned up as it entered our atmosphere. In this case, it was big enough to cause the fireball.

It is called the Taurid meteor shower because the meteors 'appear' to come from the part of the sky where the constellation Taurus is.

CLICK HERE to read more about the Taurid meteor shower and others.

If you see something out of the ordinary that you'd like the Your Stories team to look into, call us at 446-9900, or e-mail us at yourstories@9wsyr.com.

690 roadwork nearing completion: Your Stories Q&A

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 22:10:19 GMT

Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) – This Your Stories Q&A is on the most-talked about construction project in the city of Syracuse -- the roadwork along 690.

The projects have been going on for more than a year, and a lot of you want to know when it will end? Good news: as long as the weather cooperates, all 690 construction should be wrapped up by November 17.

First, there's the 690 bridgework over the CSX tracks near Hiawatha Boulevard -- construction has been happening here for months, and we're finally seeing the end of the line.

The westbound lane closure should end Thursday -- if the weather cooperates -- and the Hiawatha Boulevard onramp should open that day too.

As for the eastbound side, that lane closure should end on November 14, or the following Monday, November 17.

The Willis Avenue onramp will reopen November 17 as well, weather permitting.

Finally, the state DOT has been paving 690 West from Teall Avenue to Hiawatha Boulevard. The paving project wrapped up earlier this week, so there are no more lane closures along this stretch of highway.

If you have something you'd like the Your Stories team to check out, give us a call at 446-9900 or email us at yourstories@9wsyr.com.

Newspaper ads: Your Stories Q&A

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 23:33:57 GMT

Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) – This Your Stories Q&A is about the advertising inserts in the Post-Standard.

Sharon Cleaver gets the paper at her home in LaFayette, but when she heads into the city of Syracuse, she notices the paper has different ads and more coupons. Why is that?

We called the Post-Standard advertising department to see why. The paper says advertising is sold in zones throughout the area.

Stores choose which zones they want to run their ads and inserts in; in some cases, advertisers can even choose which zip codes they want ads to run in.

The Post-Standard says it all has to do with location and who a store's customers are.

If you've got a question, or something you'd like the Your Stories team to look into, give us a call at 446-9900, or e-mail us at yourstories@9wsyr.com.

Abandoned building: Your Stories Q&A

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:16:25 GMT

Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) – This Your Stories Q&A is from last week's Your Stories call-in. Clarence Delosh lives on the north side of Syracuse, and wants to know what's been going on at a vacant building at the corner of North McBride and Butternut streets.

A fence has been put up around the property and he's noticed a lot of activity.

Here's the answer: The city says it put up the fence because of falling debris. It didn't want anyone to get hurt. The building, which used to be Otisca Fuels, has been vacant for quite some time.

Just last week, the Environmental Protection Agency finished up a major clean up at the site and removed hundreds of potentially hazardous materials. The clean up cost about $800,000.

What's next for the old building is still up in the air, but that fence will remain around the building because the structure itself is still crumbling.

If you have a question, call the Your Stories line at 446-9900. You can also email us at yourstories@9wsyr.com.