Special Reports: 2006

Audio Slideshow: Adirondack teens talk democracy Face of Democracy is a national program that gives students an inside view of the democratic process by sending out to polling places to interview and photograph voters and officials. Sue Halpern, project organizer, talks with Brian Mann Audio Slideshow: Finding the North Country A new exhibit at TAUNY (Traditional Arts in Upstate New York) tells the story of North Country life with pictures. Finding the North Country: Stories of Local Life Through Photographs revisits the theme of North Country identity explored in the 2000 radio collaboration "Looking for the North Country." The photographs will remain on display through November 25, 2006. Audio Slideshow: Soldiers learn to spot IEDs at Ft. Drum Improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, kill more American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan than any other weapon. David Sommerstein visits a hands-on IED training exhibit at Fort Drum near Watertown. Audio Slideshow: Jonathan Hammond: interpretive freestyle canoeist Defending his title in Ohio at the National Interpretive Freestyle Canoeing championships is the youngest canoeist to win top honors in the sport’s 20-year history – 10th grader Jonathan Hammond of Alexandria Bay. David Sommerstein has this profile. Audio Slideshow: Inside the Amish schools They use textbooks that are thirty, sometimes a hundred years old. And their methods are very different. Karen Johnson-Weiner, an anthropology professor at SUNY Potsdam, has been visiting Amish schools; she talks with Gregory Warner . Audio Slideshow: Crash-course in combat photography in Iraq Photojournalist Bill Putnam was in the Army when he met David Sommerstein in Kosovo in 2002. He’s been living in the heart of the chaotic, violent world of Baghdad for two years. Putnam spoke with David Sommerstein about war-time photojournalism. Audio Slideshow: Lebanon, First-Hand Prairie Summer has lived in southern Lebanon for the last half year, working with teenagers, and was on the way home when war broke out. She told Martha Foley she's fallen in love with Lebanon and is planning to return there as soon as she can. Audio Slideshow: Simple Beauty: Georgia O'Keeffe at the Shelburne Museum Georgia O'Keeffe is most famous for her paintings of the American Southwest, but O'Keeffe's first maturity as an artist came while painting in Lake George. Brian Mann visited the new Georgia O'Keeffe exhibition at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont.. Audio Slideshow: Chaumont Barrens: the North Country's Prairie David Sommerstein takes a nature walk on this unique Nature Conservancy land that contains some of the nation's easternmost prairie habitat. Audio Slideshow: Art in the Garden Open Studio visits with sculptor and gardener Becky Harblin. The gardens around her West Potsdam Home are dotted with sculpture crafted to blend into the landscape and to surprise and delight visitors. Audio Slideshow: Researcher Finds New Mite Species In Adirondacks Heather Root has found at least one new type of tiny tree mite at the Huntington Wildlife Forest near Newcomb. Root does her research while dangling in a harness high above the ground in the maple tree canopy, where she also found rare forms of lichen not seen in the Adirondacks for decades. Audio Slideshow: Watertown Schools Fight Hunger with "Empty Bowls" the "Empty Bowls" program, which began sixteen years ago in Michigan and has grown nationwide in scope. 1,700 clay bowls that were made over the last few months at schools in Jefferson County will raise thousands of dollars for hunger relief. Audio Slideshow: Time Studies: Photographs By Mark Klett Mark Klett directed the Rephotographic Survey Project which rephotographed places first captured during surveys of the West in the late 19th century. Matha Foley spoke to the SLU graduate in the Brush Gallery. Audio Slideshow: Mining in Lyon Mountain Brian Mann talks with author Lawrence Gooley about the hard and dangerous history of mining at Lyon Mountain.

Audio Slideshow: The Adirondack roots of an American environmentalist Bob Marshall founded the Wilderness Society and helped popularize the idea that remote wilderness areas should be protected. He learned his love for the outdoors hiking and climbing in the North Country. Brian Mann looks at a new book collecting his Adirondack writings. Audio Play: No Bigger Than a Piano Box: a North Country Schoolhouse in 1893 By historian Betsy Kepes. Based on the 1893 diary of a North Country schoolteacher. A Women's History Month special. Teacher's guide and CD available. Audio Slideshow: "Lost Art Found," the recovered works by Paul Swan Todd Moe talks with the curators of a new exhibit at SUNY-Potsdam that includes some of the paintings of artist, actor, dancer, poet and musician Paul Swan. The New York Times called him "America's Leonardo DaVinci," but many of his works disappeared for decades. Audio Slideshow: Inuit artists gather in Ottawa Lucy Martin previews a gathering of Inuit carvers and artists in Ottawa. The not-for-profit Inuit Artist's Shop is the Ottawa gathering place for traditional artists from throughout the Far North. Audio Slideshow: Kingston artist finds beauty in the ordinary Artist Lynn Woods says most of her inspiration comes from streets, buildings, and storefronts in cities and small towns. Audio Slideshow: Ian Coristine: Thousand Islands photographer Todd Moe visits photographer Ian Coristine on Raleigh Island, his seasonal home. River residents and visitors have probably seen Coristine aloft in his red ultralight aircraft searching the Thousand Islands for the perfect photo. Audio Slideshow: Harold Weston: Remembering an Adirondack painter's "Wild Exuberance" The Adirondack Museum features a Weston exhibition this summer: "Wild Exuberance." Brian Mann with curator Caroline Welsh. Audio Slideshow: Volunteers keep Watson's Mill alive Watson's Mill opened for business in 1860 on the Rideau River in Manotick. It comes alive in the summer — full of the noise of water, turbines, grindstones, and people. Lucy Martin followed two modern enthusiasts who help keep it all turning. Audio Slideshow: The Slick of '76: Looking Back and Forward This summer marks the 30th anniversary of the “Slick of ‘76,” a 300,000-gallon oil spill in the heart of the Thousand Islands. The event re-shaped the way a generation views its relationship to the river. David Sommerstein reports. Audio Slideshow: Stratford Shakespeare Fest Opens Connie Meng recently returned from the 2006 Stratford Festival of Canada. She saw performances of Coriolanus, Oliver!, The Glass Menagerie, London Assurance, and The Duchess of Malfi. She shared the highlights with Todd Moe. Cartoon Special: Editorial cartoonist Mark Wilson Covers the NYS Party Conventions Mark Wilson, aka Marquil, is a political cartoonist covering the 2006 New York State party conventions for NCPR. His sketches and caricatures bring the arcana of state politics to life. Audio Slideshow: Peace Poets in Potsdam Primary and secondary students from six New York counties read their peace poetry at SUNY Potsdam May 19, 2006. Artists displayed their peace posters in the lobby. Todd Moe previewed the event with organizer Paul Saint-Amand. Olympic Slideshows: Photographer Nancy Battaglia Covers the Torino Winter Olympics At the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy more than a dozen North Country athletes will be competing in everything from men’s hockey to biathlon. Nancy Battaglia is a freelance photographer covering the games for North Country Public Radio. Slideshow 1 | Slideshow 2 | Slideshow3 Audio Slideshow: NASCAR on Ice NASCAR veteran Geoff Bodine has raised more than a million dollars to build better bobsleds in the US. He invited other NASCAR drivers to race the Olympic bobsled track in Lake Placid. David Sommerstein reports. Audio Slideshow: Flower Library Gets Facelift Todd Moe tours an Art Nouveau gem, Flower Memorial Library in Watertown, as it undergoes renovation in its centennial year. Letters Home: Betsy Kepes in New Zealand and the Orient Betsy Kepes of Pierrepont is a regular NCPR commentator. She shares her family excursion to New Zealand, Singapore and Japan in this Letters Home feature

Award-Winning News

2005-2006:

Disability Matters, NCPR News Department
2006 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award, News Series
Radio and Television News Directors Association

American Tragedy at the Met, Brian Mann
2006 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award, Feature Reporting
Radio and Television News Directors Association

Alex's Story: Inclusion with Autism, Gregory Warner
2006 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award, Hard News Feature
Radio and Television News Directors Association

Raise Your Voice, David Sommerstein
2005 First Place, Series
Public Radio News Directors Inc.

Michaela's Diary, Brian Mann
2005 First Place, Continuing Coverage
Public Radio News Directors Inc.

Soldiers Learn to be Media Savvy, David Sommerstein
2005 First Place, Soft Feature
Public Radio News Directors Inc.

All Before Five, NCPR News Team
2005 Second Place, News/Public Affairs Program
Public Radio News Directors Inc.

Disability Matters: Everyday Challenges, NCPR News Team
2005 Second Place, Series
Public Radio News Directors Inc.

Face-off in Potsdam, David Sommerstein
2005 Second Place, Use of Sound
Public Radio News Directors Inc.

2005-06 Award for Creative Excellence
Fundraising
Public Radio Program Directors

2005-06 Award for Creative Excellence
News
Public Radio Program Directors

The Iraq War, NCPR News Department
2005 National Edward R. Murrow Award, Continuing Coverage
Radio and Television News Directors Association
2005 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award, Continuing Coverage
Radio and Television News Directors Association

Breaking the Cycle of Rural Homelessness, David Sommerstein
2005 Silver Reel Award, News and Public Affairs Features
National Federation of Community Broadcasters

Iraq Diary, Part 4: Soldier's Family Waits, Brian Mann and Susan Olsen
2005 Silver Reel Award, Personal Essays
National Federation of Community Broadcasters

Heroin in the North Country: A Long Ride, Brian Mann
2005 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award, Feature Reporting
Radio and Television News Directors Association
2004-05 First Place, News Feature
Public Radio News Directors Inc.

Close to Homeless, NCPR News Team
2005 National Runner-up, Broadcast Excellence
Annie E. Casey Foundation
2005 First Place Award, Continuing Series
NYS Associated Press

The Eight O’Clock Hour, NCPR News Team
2004-05 First Place, Best News/Public Affairs Program
Public Radio News Directors Inc.

A Boy Dies in Iraq, Bill Putnam, produced by David Sommerstein
2004-05 First Place, Commentary
Public Radio News Directors Inc.

Iraq Diaries, Eric Olsen, produced by Brian Mann
2004-05 Second Place, Series
Public Radio News Directors Inc.

David Sommerstein
2005 First Place Award, General Excellence of Individual Reporting
NYS Associated Press

NCPR’s support of traditional cultures, arts and artists, NCPR Staff
2005 Evergreen Award
Traditional Arts in Upstate New York (TAUNY)