:: Melissa's No-name Stories ::

:: Friday, April 18, 2003 ::

I am pleased to announce that as far as the Associated Press is concerned, the war in Iraq is over. War related stories are no longer coded with "War-" and so, in conjunction with that decision out of the headquarters yesterday at 50 Rockerfeller Plaza, the upstate war capsules have been discontinued. This is a good thing, because that means maybe the war and all of the ugly aftermath to come is on its way to concluding. I will miss writing about peace people, and some good ol' patriots. And the scary people who think you can't be a patriot and a pacifist.
Anyway, its been fun.
And once the US declares war elsewhere, beit Syria, North Korea or Canada, this daily installation will resume. Thank you!
(Melissa's AP story page will be updated, once she gets to write again... apmelissa.blogspot.com)
:: Melissa 6:47 AM [+] ::
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April 17
For Maureen McHenry of Canandaigua, sending snapshots of herself and the kids with letters and e-mails to her husband, who is fighting in the war in Iraq, didn't seem like enough.
Production studio, LaBarge Media, and web developer, The Gain Company, have begun to videotape families of soldiers, and then the troops can see their loved ones through the Internet. McHenry's message to her husband, Scott, serving in the 865th Combat Support Hospital unit at Camp Doha in Kuwait, was the first video to be sent through this service.
Scott McHenry's commanding officer e-mailed Dave LaBarge to thank the company and encouraged more. The media group says most troops have access to computers and viewing the videos is as easy as reading an e-mail.
*****
The Hudson River Clearwater will host a Sail for Peace, Prayer, Poetry and Song out of the dock at Bear Mountain in Harriman. The three-hour event will take about 50 representatives from peace groups and others onto the 106-foot wooden sloop. Organizers said they thought "this would be a wonderful and healing way to spend time with friends and family in these troubling times," the day before Easter.
Two hours north in Ballston Spa, Buddhist nun and peace activist Jun Yasuda will start a Prayer Walk and Peace Vigil to downtown Saratoga. Known as the "Peace Pilgrim," Yasuda has fasted for the freeing of Mumia Abu-Jamal, for Native American rights and against the buildup of nuclear arms. She will join the Saratoga Peace Alliance's weekly vigil at the post office at noon.
*****
An upcoming auction and garage sale in northern New York will benefit families of soldiers deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sponsored by the Have A Heart/Adopt A Soldier Organization, the event will take place on May 24 in Malone, and organizers hope to bring in $50,000.
"We wanted to establish a fund for when soldiers come home or now when they need it, where they can make a request of the fund for an amount of money for emergency use," Gladys Walker said. "These families are under hardship. This will not be a loan."
Several businesses have donated items to auction off. The groups are collecting are items too big, too bulky or too costly to send to the ever-mobile U.S. soldiers, including candy bars banned from being mailed to soldiers because of melting. Furniture, lamps, dishes, trinkets, collectibles, tools and toys are being auctioned off.
:: Melissa 6:43 AM [+] ::
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April 15
A 27-year-old upstate New York native has been appointed "mayor" or a Baghdad neighborhood. Michael J. Cerroni is serving as mayor of an affluent section known as Al-Muthanna.
The lieutenant of Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment is from Carnage, 85 miles north of Syracuse. Since the fall of the government in the capital city, the Marines have divided the city among young officers to quell lawlessness and gather up stashed weapons.
Having a political science degree from Cortland State University, his mother, Patricia Strife, said they often joked that he would go into politics. "But this isn't what we expected. We thought he'd run for office a little closer to home."
Saturday night, Lt. Cerroni addressed complaints at a town meeting he organized while his mother held a candlelight vigil in a local park in support of the troops.
*****
While Jonathan Stephens spent his 32nd birthday on a Navy ship, pre-k pupils in Syracuse remembered him and sang "Happy Birthday as they looked into the sky on April 2.
"We said, 'Our voices are going to go into the air, right to Kuwait,'" Jody Schappert told the Post-Standard of Syracuse. The Navy reservist's 4-year-old son Anthony is also a student in the class.
Stephens left for the Persian Gulf in February, aboard the USS Cape Gibson. He was assigned to the Naval Reserve Cargo Afloat Rig Team, which transports supplies, food and ammunition to the troops.
:: Melissa 5:39 AM [+] ::
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April 14
Though the group Women in Black has held vigils throughout the Hudson Valley for many months with few problems, a Sunday rally in Monroe brought the activists face to face with some citizens who hurled criticism and a few insults at the silent pacifists.
The Women in Black are part of an international group, nominated last year for the Nobel Peace Prize, that shows opposition ranging from war to racism to nuclear arms by wearing black and holding silent vigils. There are groups in the Hudson Valley in Woodstock, Warwick, New Paltz, Newburgh and Kingston, as well as Monroe.
Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Werner Hofmann, who fought in Korea told the Times Herald-Record, of Middletown, "You don't have to agree with them, but it's their right to protest."
Many participants blared air horns, blasted Don McLean's American Pie, and chanted "USA" instead of focusing on the group as they marched around Crane Park.
*****
Spackenkill High School nurse Gayle Johnson wanted to ensure today's soldiers are treated better than those of the Vietnam-era, which included her two brothers. She created a tribute on a school bulletin board with photos of the servicemen and servicewomen who graduated from the Poughkeepsie high school.
Under the words "They Are In Our Thoughts," and "For Their Safe Return," Johnson tacked up photos from the soldiers' high school days, and more recent ones of them in uniform. Five members of the class of 2000 are represented on the board, and she said students have noticed those in service are not much older than them.
Johnson said she also wanted students to understand the gravity of war and the risk soldiers are taking in combat. "This is real," Johnson told the Poughkeepsie Journal. "It's not a video game."
:: Melissa 5:35 AM [+] ::
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