Investigation continues into "suspicious" Little Falls fire

LITTLE FALLS, N.Y. (WKTV) - The investigation continues into a multi-structure fire in Little Falls that has left two families out of a home - a fire that police are now saying is "suspicious."

Is there something in the water?

RICHFIELD SPRINGS, N.Y. (WKTV) - The Richfield Springs water supply along Route 20 is fed from the village's reservoir in the Town of Springfield.

While driving on Route 20, village resident Joseph Lawrence said he saw what he believes was a dead deer floating in the water. Water that heads to the filtration plant before ending up in the houses and businesses throughout the village.

Naturally, Lawrence was concerned.

"First off, drinking water," he said. "I've got a six year old daughter that goes to Richfield. I've got another little daughter. We drink the water. A lot of people do. The school gets it. It can't be healthy for anyone, I assume."

So, Lawrence decided it was time to make some phone calls - and he made many of them, all in an effort to get someone to investigate.

"At first, they didn't believe me," Lawrence said. "They said they'd get some down there and get ahold of the proper authorities."

After hearing Lawrence's story, we went to DPW superintendent to find out just what they did to handle the situation.

Richfield Springs Village Public Works Superintendent Jim Malinowski said that they received each of Joe Lawrence's calls, and went out to the site multiple times, but could find no sign of a deer.

"Our village office received a call last Thursday about someone who saw what they thought was a deer in one of our reservoirs," Malinowski said. "So, one of our water superintendents went down and looked and couldn't find anything. Part of the reservoir was open to the bank, but they observed no tracks at all."

"Some of these footprints are from Thursday when they actually came out," Lawrence said, pointing to footprints in the snow near the water. "They actually did come out and look, I know that much. They didn't find anything."

Malinowski said that on Friday, the office got another call and that at that time they sent two people from the wastewater plant to the site, but again, the search turned up empty other than some muskrat tracks. Those tracks, Malinowski said, lead to a hole in the ice adjacent to the open body water.

"I'd like to be heard," Lawrence said. "And if it's just one person calling out of a town, I can understand they're not going to rush out and do something about it. But, there were a few phone calls made and it just didn't seem like anything was being done until I called the media."

On Monday, the Richfield Springs Village Clerk called the DPW garage and that's when Malinowski said he was made aware of the situation. He said that at that point, he sent two of his people to the scene. Malinowski said those two people walked around the entire area, but couldn't find anything other than a muskrat hole and some tracks.

"First, they said it might've been a muskrat and then they said that they couldn't see it, so it probably wasn't a big deal," Lawrence said.

Lawrence was adamant that he saw a deer's ear sticking out of the hole in the ice and a muskrat near it, but the Public Works Superintendent said he doesn't believe it's a deer that they're dealing with.

"We obtained a small boat and three of our people went out with an axe and broke the ice from the shore out to the hole where he said he saw it," Malinowski said. "We found that there was a mound of grass built there in the pond that muskrats will make in the winter time so that they can eat all winter. And the grass went all the way to the top of the ice. So, it was a feeding bed for muskrats. No sign of deer. No tracks or anything like that."

Malinowski said that while they believe it was a muskrat, neither that nor a deer would've caused a problem with the water supply due to the treatment and filtration the water goes through every day before its passed along to residents.

"In any open body of water you're going to find them," he said. "It's just the natural habitat, you know. That's where they live."

Still, Malinowski said he encourages residents like Joseph Lawrence to let them know when they find possible issues, as the only way know if something is wrong is if residents keep them aware.

"It's mostly by folks who - if they didn't let us know, we wouldn't know," he said. "And we appreciate those calls."

Anchoring on "Go Red for Women" Day

Some fill-in anchoring for the Noon news, as the Mohawk Valley goes "red" for the American Heart Association's "Go Red For Women" campaign.

"2 of Hearts" ticket drawing - Live

Doing some live shots to push ticket sales for the American Heart Association's "2 of Hearts" Drawing.

Dreaming of a "green" Christmas - Holiday Recycling

UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - While many hope for a white Christmas, the folks at the Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority are hoping for a Green Christmas - Going Green, that is.

Organizing a green Christmas can take a little planning, but it will save both time and money in the long run. Americans create 25 million tons of waste every year during the five weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years Day, but the majority of that can actually be recycled.

Everything from gift wrap to even your Christmas cards can be recycled and reused in some form. Each year there are 2.65 billion holiday cards sold in the United States - enough to a fill a football stadium field ten stories high.

So, rather than create all that waste in a landfill, recycling that paper is pretty easy, as well as environmentally friendly. All you need to do is place gift wrap, cards, catalogs, gift boxes, and other recyclable paper in a large, clear, plastic bag or a container specified by your recycling hauler, and set it out next to your other recyclables on recycling and trash pickup days. But remember - holiday wrapping paper will only be accepted during the two weeks after Christmas.

What can't you recycle?

*Foil
*Metallic wrapping paper
*Metallic ribbon
*Tape
*Tinsel

It doesn't stop with paper, however. There's many other items that can be recycled once the holidays come to a close.

Cooking oil and kitchen grease can be recycled once the table is cleared from those big holiday meals. Just drop off the oil and grease from deep fryers at the Household Hazardous Waste Facility on Leland Ave in Utica, where they have a collection tank for the material. The material will then be collected, and gets recycled into animal food.

And that's not all - Christmas trees can also be recycled.

The only catch for recycling your Christmas tree is when you can do it. All you have to do is call your local municipality to see what the collection schedule is for Christmas trees, or bring your tree on down to the solid waste authority's Convenience Station in Utica during their normal business hours:

Monday - Friday: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Saturday: 7 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Christmas trees are accepted for recycling until January 31.

As for Christmas wreaths, those need to find their way to your regular garbage bin. Both real and artificial wreaths are held together with wire and plastic, so they cannot be safely composted.

If you want to go a step further to reduce waste, use only reusable decorations on your holiday tree and avoid items that are hard to remove, such as tinsel.

Some further holiday recycling tips:

*Give gifts made from recycled-content materials. Many polar fleece items and clothing are made from recycled plastic soda and water bottles.

*Purchase wrapping paper, gift boxes, gift bags, stationary and Christmas cards made from recycled paper with the highest post-consumer content you can find. With a little pre-cycling, waste reduction and property recycling of the materials generated, Christmas can be a little greener for everyone.

*Remove your name from unwanted catalog lists. The average American home receives more than 200 mail order catalogs each year - mostly at holiday time. Call the company's toll free number and ask that you be removed from their mailing list.

*If you want your name removed from mailing lists, you can write to Mail Preference Service; PO Box 643; Carmel, NY; 10512, which will remove your name from third-class mailing lists. However, if you go this route, you must send $1 check or money order to have your name removed.

*If you receive magazines and catalogs, please recycle them with your paper products.

*St. Jude's Ranch for Children accepts old Christmas Cards for recycling. They accept all cards which they cut and paste into new ones that they sell to raise money for their organization through the Born Again Card Recycling Program. They will accept cards from November 15 - February 28 at St. Jude's Ranch for Children Recycled Card Program; 100 St. Jude's Street; Boulder City, NV; 89005

*Save your holiday decorations to reuse next year.

*Donate decorations to local schools, churches, town offices, or non-profit organizations.

*Use natural ornaments such as pine cones, shells, dried flowers or berries to decorate with.

*If you send holiday cards, look for ones made of recycled paper.

*If you go shopping, bring your own tote bags and avoid coming home with an armload of plastic bags holding just one item.

*Avoid leaving Christmas lights on all night. Place them on an electric timer to switch off while you're sleeping.

Naughty or Nice - Santa's helper, Krampus, deals with the naughty kids

(WKTV) - Most of us are familiar with the yearly visit from Santa Claus, bringing joy and gifts to those children who've been good throughout the year. But what about the children who've been bad?

Aside from coal in the stocking, Old St. Nick used to have a traveling partner who'd take care of all those on the naughty list.

In Europe, especially the Germanic countries, Krampus was employed as a helper of Santa's to deal directly with badly behaving children at Christmas. St. Nicholas gave out the treats of nuts, fruits, and cookies to the good children, but it was Krampus right behind him, that delivered birch rods and ashes to the children - or took children away in his sack if they've been naughty.

All of this, of course, taking place on St. Nicholas' feast day - December 6.

Scholars believe that the origin of the Krampus may be traced back to ancient times and pagan deities, who were associated with the winter solstice celebrations and who were said to prowl the countryside during long, cold, dark nights. Others suggest that a heavy fear of the devil and his works by the ancient protestants placed him in a subservient position to Santa to further emphasize God's power over evil.

In parts of Austria, Krampus is a scary figure, most probably originating in the Pre-Christian Alpine traditions. Local tradition typically portrays these figures as children of poor families, roaming the streets and sledding hills during the holiday festival. They wore black rags and masks, dragging chains behind them, and occasionally hurling them towards children in their way. These Krampus runs, or "Krampusumzüge," still exist, although perhaps less violent than in the past.

In Modern Day Schladming, a town in Styria, over 1,200 "Krampus" gather from all over Austria wearing goat-hair costumes and carved masks, carrying bundles of sticks used as switches, and swinging cowbells to warn of their approach. They are typically males in their teens and early twenties, and often get very drunk. They roam the streets of this typically quiet town and hit people with their switches. Their primary aim is to frighten young children as they go through the streets of the towns, but many say it is not considered wise for young women to go out on this night, as they are popular targets.

In many parts of Croatia, Krampus is described as a devil, wearing chains around his neck, ankles and wrists, and wearing a cloth sack around his waist. As a part of a tradition, when a child receives a gift from St. Nicholas he is given a golden branch to represent his/hers good deeds throughout the year; however, if the child has misbehaved, Krampus will take the gifts for himself and leave only a silver branch to represent the child's bad acts.

Children are commonly scared into sleeping during the time St. Nicolas brings gifts by being told that if they are awake, Krampus will think they have been bad, and will take them away in his sack.

In Hungary, Krampus is often portrayed as mischievous rather than an evil devil, wearing a black suit, a long red tongue, with a tail and little red horns that are more funny than frightening. Krampus wields a "Virgács," which is a bunch of gold twigs bound together.

Hungarian parents often frighten children with the threat getting a Virgács instead of presents if they do not behave. By the end of November, you can buy all kinds of Virgács on the streets, usually painted gold, bound by a red ribbon.

When Old St. Nick came to America, his benevolent self remained, and children were told to be on their best behavior for fear of coal in their stocking or no gifts, but lost the threat of Krampus taking you away in his sack if you were naughty.

Gram Lorraine Project matching shoppers with children in need this holiday season

HERKIMER, N.Y. (WKTV) - As the holiday season fast approaches, many people will be hitting the stores to shop for loved ones. But just as many will be hitting those stores to help people they've never even met.