How Was Your Weekend?

Good Morning Everyone,
How was your weekend? Did you stay warm? Sunday morning we got down to a chilly 22 degrees! Brrrrrr ... Meteorologist Frank Marzullo here, get ready for a nice warming trend this week into the mid to upper 60's. Well I did a little traveling this weekend, I headed up to Youngstown, Ohio where I spent 7 years working and making live long friends. It's fun to head back to places where you used to call home and go to places as a visitor, you see things in a different light. The weekend consisted of a little Japanese Steak House on Friday night and then I met up with my old co-anchor Scott on Saturday, by the way have you had the mac and cheese yet at Panera? So good! Anyway it was just a nice relaxing weekend with old friends, and then the drive back was exciting, as my Cleveland Browns beat up the New England Patriots in Cleveland yesterday! Now on to our Bengals...Who Dey!

Pricey Turkey

Good Morning....Dan Wells writing!
I hope this note find you well and good spirits on this Friday. My blog today is all about Thanksgiving...it's one of my favorite holiday's because you don't have the stress of presents. It's about good food and family/friends getting together. Now here's where I'm going to complain.

The price of a tom turkey is 33 percent higher than a year ago, soaring from an average of 79 cents to $1.05 a pound, according to figures compiled by The Food Institute. That adds about $4 to the price of a 16-pound bird.

WHAT? Add to that a 17 percent increase in the price of potatoes (from $3.50 to $4 for a 5-pound bag) and a 41 percent jump in the price of pecan halves (from $4.25 to $6 per pound), and you'll probably shell out more at the supermarket for your holiday feast. SAY IT'S NOT SO......PLEASE!!!!!!! Also seeing increases: Canned pumpkin (6 percent) and onions (23 percent). OK HERE'S SOME GOOD NEWS????? Some prices have fallen: celery (down 35 percent), frozen carrots (down 5 percent), canned apples (down 12 percent), canned green beans (down 6 percent), canned corn (down 8 percent) and fresh cranberries (down 3 percent).

Over all, the cost of the average Thanksgiving dinner is around $45, just a little food for thought!
I know it’s a bit early but, I wish you a joyous, delicious, and thanks-filled Thanksgiving holiday and weekend. Enjoy your Turkey and trimmings even if it is out-of-control expensive! GRRRRR!!!! Let me know what you think! Happy Turkey Day! Dan

Cyclones Take the Ice

Hockey is back in Cincinnati. Hi, it’s Meghan:) If you like beer, fighting and intense action then you're going to love watching a Cincinnati Cyclones hockey game. I know I do. More on that later. But first the team.

The Cyclones are the defending Kelly Cup Champions. This season they're off to a slow start. But the games have come down to one or two goals and are still packed with action. The Cyclones are the minor league affilate of the NHL’s Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators. Nine players are returning from last year’s team (Aubin, Ehgoetz, Robinson, Pierce, Reynolds, Sheahan, O’Hanley, Krantz, and Roeder). They're skating under a new head coach, Jarrod Skalde. He has put together a team that's bigger in stature but still quick and skilled.

You can catch me at some of the games either watching or serving as your fan cam hostess. That means I walk around with a mic, like I was on Tuesday night when that picture was taken, and play games with fans in the stands or during periods on the ice. The crowd is a lot of fun. It can get kind of rowdy with people booing and yelling insults at the opposing team. But I guess that's what happens during $1 and $2 beer night.

Oh, did I mention that yet? Yes, Big Beer Tuesday means $2 24 oz. Labatt Blue and Molson. Wet Wednesday means $1 12 oz. Miller High Life and PBR. There are ton of other promotins going on through the season. A few highlights include Kids Eat Free Nights, Santa Bobblehead Night, Kids Jersey T-shirt Night, Pink in the Rink and Child Abuse Awareness Night. The next big one is Saturday, November 13 with Throwback night. The Cyclones will be throwing back prices to $8 tickets, $1 pizza, hotdogs, and soda. The Clones will also wear retro jerseys.

Definitely check out a game. You'll have a fun, inexpensive night. Go Cyclones!!

A New Life For Karen

Organ donation's been in the headlines a lot recently. The death of former Bengals player Ickey Woods' son is inspiring others to make the promise to donate their organs.

Sheila here.
I want to tell you a personal story about organ donation. I went to high school with a great person named Karen Paul. Our drama teacher used to call her "little, tiny Karen Paul" because of her small stature. But Karen has a big heart and a huge faith. And she has her life, thanks to organ donation.

Karen's last name is Range now, and she has a beautiful son named Sammy. In 2006, Karen developed a lung disorder called Bronchiolitis Obliterans. It's a pretty complicated illness, but the long and short of it is that Karen needed a double lung transplant. She couldn't breathe well enough to take care of her son, go grocery shopping alone, or even have a conversation without gasping for air. I remember her telling me that her son, who was only 2 years old when she was diagnosed, was helping around the house and taking care of her. It was heart wrenching to hear, and it was painful to think of the possibility that Sammy would have to grow up without her if there was no organ donor who matched Karen.

Karen never lost faith that she would get her lungs. She had quite a prayer network, and she had a strong belief that God would take care of her. Karen got the call from the Cleveland Clinic, not once, but twice, saying her lungs were on the way. Twice, she and her husband Jerry made the trip, only to find out the lungs were not the right match. I remember reading those emails from Karen. Even though she was devastated, she put others first. Karen would always tell her network of friends to pray for the family who had lost a loved one, a family who was consumed by grief.

Finally, the right lungs arrived. Karen underwent a double lung transplant on December 1, 2009. It was the day her life was renewed. You can't imagine the joy Karen experienced in doing simple things, like going out shopping or playing outside with Sammy. Karen says, "I think one of the greatest joys of having my life back is being a Mom to my now 6 year old son. He never knew his Mommy any other way but sick. Now we can spend as much time together as we want." She's even taking Zumba classes!

As you might imagine, Karen has become a vocal proponent of organ donation. An Ohio University student recently completed a video about Karen's experience. Here's a link if you're interested: Http://www.facebook.com/endthewaitinglist?v=app_2392950137#!/video/video.php?v=451552774119

Whether you watch the video or not, I hope you will consider putting your signature on your driver's license, indicating you would like to donate your organs, and talk to your family members about your wishes.
More than 100,000 people like my friend Karen are waiting. It's a decision that could save someone's mommy or friend. As Karen so aptly puts it: "The organ donation gives people a second chance and makes families whole again. I truly believe that organ donation is the greatest gift a human can give another human. It is a gift of love and life."

Amazing WWII Story

Last Friday, I had the honor of hosting the dedication of North Avondale Montessori School.
Good Tuesday morning. Rob here with an incredible story that started decades ago.
World War II veterans Herb Heilburn and John Leahr were the keynote speakers. Herb was a B-17 bomber pilot who flew numerous dangerous missions over Nazi Germany.

John was a fighter pilot in the all black Tuskeegee Airmen of the 332nd Fighter Squadron. They were called Tuskeegee Airman because they were trained at a segregated airbase in Tuskeegee, Alabama. It wasn't until 50 years later that Herb discovered that his bomber squadron had been escorted for most of his missions by Tuskeegee Airmen. So he researched military records and learned one of the planes that escorted him safely on his missions was flown by John.

So they met at the annual meeting of Tuskeegee Airmen and they learned that they were from the same hometown, Cincinnati. After talking for a bit they learned they attended the same school. North Avondale Montessori. They talked some more and learned they were in the same 3rd grade class . Not only are they in the same class. Take a look at the class picture. Count down from the top left student. Down two.. over one. That is John. The kid standing on his left right next to him is Herb. Like many their many WWII missions John is Herb's wing man. The two man agreed that it was racial segregation that kept them apart and vowed to share their story to improve interracial understanding.

Frank's Halloween Night

What a evening for Trick or Treat! Hi Everyone...Frank Marzullo here...are you brushing your teeth a little bit longer this morning? I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween, I spent the evening with some of my friends including Dan Wells and new mommy Corey McConnell. We spent the late afternoon watching the Bengals loose and then got ready to hand out candy and take the kids out for Trick or Treat. Uncle Frank, spent most of the time handing out candy as the Wells's and McConnell's took the kids out for tricks and treats. I have many memories of Trick or Treat as a child especially all my neighbors growing up who would do elaborate displays, in fact our neighbor growing up would break out his talking pumpkin man, it was pretty intense. However, what I though was really cool last night, was that all the neighbors in this Florence neighborhood would hang out on each others driveways with fire pits a blaze and candy at hand. It was a old school Halloween if Norman Rockwell could have a Halloween Picture, this would be it.