Monday May 28, 2002
Boaters: Beware Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Just in time for the Memorial Day holiday, WSMV-TV (Nashville) investigative reporter Nancy Amons produced an investigation into carbon monoxide poisoning around houseboats.
Amons discovered that people were dying by swimming near the exhaust of the boat engines. She reports: “…six other families in Tennessee weren’t as lucky. Statewide, four adults and two children have died in the last five years, poisoned in the open air behind their houseboats. One of them was Patricia Driscolll, who died in June 2000. Her husband found her body floating 30 feet from their Gibson houseboat. She’d been cleaning algae from the hull. “I would say to people, it only takes an instant,” Pat Driscoll, her husband, says. No one knows how many have died nationwide.
Amons also says, “A federal investigation is underway to try to stop the deaths. On May 15th, there was barely a dry eye at a subcommittee hearing of the US House of Representatives as the parents of two boys who died last year testified. “I’m Bambi Dixey and I’m the mother that lost two boys in a tragic boating accident nine months ago due to carbon monoxide poisoning.” Logan was 8. Dillon, 11. Last August, they were houseboating on a lake bordering Arizona and Utah. Their friends saw them go into convulsions and sink.”
See the full WSMV story: http://www.wsmv.com. Then enter Monoxide in the Search Site box.
Memorial Day Polling
I lifted this from the Gallup e-mail- “About 30% of men 18 years and older say they are veterans of the nation’s armed forces . A look at the age breakout on this statistic reveals the radically different pattern of military service in recent years compared to the past. Just 13% of men under 50 years old are veterans, compared to 59% of men 50 years and older . Three-quarters of the nation’s veterans feel they have received adequate appreciation and thanks for their service to their country. A new Gallup poll released on Friday shows which of the four major branches of the military – the Air Force, the Army, the Navy, or the Marines – has the highest prestige and status among the American public, and which branch is considered to be the most important to the nation’s defense.” Check for details on gallup.com.
Memorial Day Activities– What will Americans be doing on Memorial Day? Last year, a Gallup poll showed that the number one activity on the Memorial Day holiday was “just staying around the house,” followed by attending a picnic or barbeque. About three out of 10 said that they would be going to a veteran’s cemetery or grave, and one out of five said that they would be going to a Memorial Day parade.
High Speed Police Chases
WSB-TV Atlanta produced an interesting couple of stories on high-speed police chases. I am surprised that they found, “From 1995 to 1999, 97 people died in Georgia as a result of police chases. That includes police, the people being chased and even innocent bystanders. See the story: http://www.accessatlanta.com/partners/
wsbtv/specialreports/highspeed_combo.html
Hindus and McDonalds Fries
This is a story that can help you connect your viewers with a part of their community they may rarely see, Hindus. The latest news first, then the background: “McDonald’s Corp. has issued an apology for any confusion surrounding the beef flavoring in its U.S. french fries, a practice that prompted a lawsuit this month by some Hindus and vegetarians.” See story from Chicago Tribune: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-McDonalds-Fries.html
The NYTimes did a remarkable piece a week or so ago about McDonalds’ fries being cooked in beef broth and how that poses a huge problem for Hindus who didn’t know it, and would NEVER have eaten them if they did know it. See story: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/20/national/20HIND.html
See my Poynter Pal Victor Merina’s links to other stories about Hindus from last week.
