New Commanding General at Fort Benning

June 24, 2009

By Ashley Ball
Reporter

Major General Michael Barbero says goodbye to Fort Benning. He has 30 days before he deploys to Iraq, where he will take over for General David Petraeus.

News 3 was at the Change of Command ceremony Wednesday. We spoke with Barbero late last week. He told us there would be fingernail marks on the parade field as they dragged him off Post. Wednesday, General Barbero said he was sad to leave but excited about the challenge ahead.

Read the full story here http://www.wrbl.com/rbl/news/local/article/new_commanding_general_at_fort_benning/79515/.

Behind the Scenes: Powell at National Infantry Museum Grand Opening

June 19, 2009

By Ashley Ball
Reporter

Whoa baby, what a day.

Some of our crews started pretty early this morning, staking our claim on the media platforms outside the Museum. Ninety-five degrees and three hours later, I officially have the coolest ever press pass tan line around my neck.

Not the most attractive look but hey, you do what you have to do. The highlight of my day, talking to General Colin Powell in a media interview. All the media outlets were whisked away to the second floor of the museum immediately after the ceremony where we gawked in a semi circle around the General. After what seemed like a half hour and a dozen questions I didn’t get to ask, I finally sputtered out my two questions before the General called it a day.

Our Chief Photographer, Kevin, finagled his way inside the museum early so he was ready when the media stampede came bursting through the doors on the
second floor, all the reporters fighting to stand next to their camera. I lost my battle and I ended up four feet away, but oh well, I had a great view of the General.

You can check out my story right here http://www.wrbl.com/rbl/news/local/article/powell_speaks_at_national_infantry_museum_grand_opening/78488/

It’s 7:10 here and I am cutting out. I sure am glad it is Friday, but I am also very grateful for being a part of a pretty monumental event in Columbus history, and I have to tell you- if you haven’t been to the Museum, it really is amazing.  The hoopla is pretty accurate, and remember it is completely free to check it out.

 

 

 

 

It’s Flea and Tick Time

By Kelly O'Connell
Reporter

From Petland:

With warm days and summer walks come a number of summertime dangers for our pets, namely fleas, ticks and mosquitoes.
“Prevention is the key. Most people don’t know they have fleas and ticks in their house until it becomes a problem” said Don Popham, Operator of Petland of Columbus.
Mid-summer problems range from a flea-infested dog to a flea-infested household where carpets, bedding, and sofas provide adequate breeding grounds for the rapidly multiplying, blood drawing parasite. Studies show that 10 fleas can reproduce to a quarter of a million in 30 days providing breeding conditions are right – warm and moist. While outside pets may suffer more, indoor cats and dogs are not free of fleas.
Lumps in your pet’s fur and excessive scratching are a couple of warning signs for fleas and ticks, respectively. Also white specks observed where your pet sleeps could be flea eggs; black specks, flea feces. Blood on your dog’s skin is another indicator.

Today, there are many new products that interrupt the flea’s life cycle, preventing it from breeding. Flea products that control insect growth come in many forms. Some are pills; others come in liquid forms meant to be applied directly to a pet’s skin each month. Most of these products are available at Petland while others are prescription remedies available only from licensed veterinarians.

       

Anticipation For Grand Opening

June 18, 2009

By Ashley Ball
Reporter

Today I got to meet the Lead Exhibit Designer for the National Infantry Museum, Brent Johnson. He is from a design firm in Boston, and what a hoooot!  He’s been in Columbus for three weeks straight ironing out the kinks.

Johnson told me before they could even get started on the project Major General Jerry White made the whole team spend one week in Army Basic Training. Johnson also told us early on in the process (before basic), General White actually made him drop and do push ups. Luckily, he says he didn’t out do the General.While the process may not have been easy for the design team, Johnson says he has a developed a great respect and admiration for General White, a feeling that is mutal among the majority of Museum staff and organizers.

Johnson calls the National Infantry Museum a world class facility that will be hard to top. You can see all of Johnson’s work as well as the rest of the team, Friday at noon when the doors open to the Public.

Stay with News 3 for more behind the scenes info from the ceremony.

Gotta run—off to do a Skype live shot!

Our First Skype Live Shot

By Kelly O'Connell
Reporter

So yesterday, we did our first Skype live shot here at WRBL!
Our Chief Photographer, Kevin Roble, and I were live at Lake Oliver for our story about the fire department practicing water rescue procedures.
Many nation media outlets, as well as Oprah, have recently been using Skype for live shots and it was really exciting to try it out here in Columbus,
Yes, the video is a little grainy and the audio is a little off, but it’s a work in progress and that’s how it’s supposed to be.
We are working to tweak the quality so that it can be the best possible but it’s designed to be a little graining.

Kevin and I had a blast getting it started and doing the live shot.
It’s very simple to set up and it takes about 5 minutes; a normal live shot takes about 30 minutes for everything to be up and running.

Let us know what you thought of the Skype live shot and please be patient as we work out the kinks.

Thanks for watching!