The Indy 500 2007 (and 2006?)

Well, another Indianapolis 500 in the books and it was good one. Good except for the rain delay and the early end to the race, but it was still good. I think if the rain would have held off, the Penske boys and Danica would have all challenged for the lead on the final lap. However, weather is always one of the factors and Franchitti did lead the most important lap of the day. It was a good race.

The Indianapolis 500 isn't so much a race as it is an event. Similar to NASCAR (the Daytona 500), IRL has their "Superbowl" near the beginning of the season. The race itself is the climax of a month-long festival in Indy. Throughout the month of May, the track is hosting Carb Day, Bump Day, practices, parades, one party after another. Race day itself is filled with traditions and events before the race even begins. The Spectacle of Bands, Jim Nabors and "Back Home Again in Indiana" (though he was ill and unable to attend this year), and the fly-over are all Indy traditions. There's live music. This year Daughtry performed (you know, the bald guy who should have won American Idol last year).

Another Indy tradition is the red carpet walk. All the big shots come out to be seen on this walk. Usually it takes place outside the Pagoda. This year with all the rain, most of the goings on happened inside. This brings me to why I'm writing this blog. Sunday night after all was done and Rob and I were leaving the track, we got to talking about last year's red carpet walk and our Gene Simmons interview. Gene is very involved in IRL and when Rob questioned him about a favorite, Gene took the mic right out of Rob's hand. I thought the disk that had the interview was long gone, but Rob told me he watched it the other day and the disk was on his desk.

Yes this is more than a year old, but it's one of my favorite Indy moments. The clip never saw air, so here it is on the web. (Phil Powell this one's for you.)
-Billau

Welcome Home!

Yesterday 16 servicemen from the 180th Fighter Wing returned home from Iraq. Unfortunately due to time constraints we were only able to include a limited number of the reunions in our package. Here is my raw video of the men returning. To the servicemen, thank you for what you do and welcome home.

And then you can have lunch...(Billau's Version)

Ah yes, and then you can have lunch. Chris blogged about the difficulty of finding time for lunch. Some days you’re a man down because someone is sick. Other days people are OOTL to work on special projects. Some days you’re just simply understaffed. Today was one of those rare days where “and then you can have lunch” happened. In fact, lunch was the highlight of my day.

You see, that trip to Cedar Point I felt I was so lucky to get out of the day of the propane fire, well it caught up to me. After doing some interviews with Cedar Point’s media relations guy, we headed to one of my new favorite local food joints.

The New Sandusky Fish Company.

They easily have the best perch sandwich I’ve ever had. Today was my second trip to this place, and it won’t be my last. The place is no frills. They just do what they do and do it well. I can’t tell you exactly how to get there, but just go to old downtown Sandusky and head down to the water. You’ll find it. Try your sandwich with a side of fried okra. I can’t vouch for anything else they have, but if it’s anything like the perch, you’ve got nothing to worry about. No question, the highlight of my day.


The Calm Before the Storm.

Also a big thanks to Becca the Media Relations intern. She got our crew water when we needed it (see a pattern here) and answered the questions we had. Good luck back in Syracuse, Becca!

Reliance Fire

Ah, breaking news. The big one. It can bring out the best in a news operation. Yesterday I was traveling on I-75 with Alexis Means, headed to Cedar Point to do an interview about why media day was being cancelled. Not the most exciting story but as Chris mentions in his blog, the beast must be fed. Around Phillips Ave., we saw the large plume of black smoke north of us. Trying to get out of a trip to Sandusky, I called the station to let them know what I was seeing. Jenny assured me that they were trying to find a photographer to send. No luck. Alexis called shortly after, and by then the powers that be started to realize the magnitude of what was unfolding. I’ve been doing this job for five years, and when I arrived on the scene, I was impressed with this fire. We parked along LaVoy road. As soon as I opened my door, I could hear the propane cylinders exploding.

After 10 minutes of shooting, I hiked down the road to meet Jason, our live truck operator. Before I could even get my video sent back to the station, fire officials came over to tell us that they were extending the perimeter and we would need to move. Down comes the mast (that’s the big metal pole you see sticking up in the air coming up from news vans). We moved about 200 yards down the street and started to set up again.

I’m now separated from my own Jeep, parked down the road on the other side of the Reliance property. While Jason tries again, I jump out and start shooting more video. More explosions. Closer explosions. “We need you guys to move all the way back to Telegraph.” Recognizing the pattern, Jason and I head to Telegraph and make a right and head down the road to an overpass. Surely we’re now far enough away. Jason starts to put the mast up. Zach Ottenstein and photographer Chris Henderson have now joined us. I put my camera on my tripod and Zach stood in front of the camera ready to go live. I hear in my earpiece Lee Conklin say, “Zach Ottenstein is on the scene with more.” Then, a voice from behind says, “We need to extend the perimeter to a mile and a half.” Yeah, we had to move again.

Now imagine trying to find a spot a mile and a half from where the action is actually happening. Not very easy. Jason saw a farmer’s lane and headed down it into the middle of a field. Believe it or not we actually had a clear shot to the fire. Even better, the gentleman who owned the property I was now standing on had agreed to let us use his property. So at this time I need to send out my first thanks to Mr. Trabbic of E. Sterns Road in Erie (who by the way has corn and pumpkin mazes, pony rides, fall decorations and hay rides available on the weekends in the fall – call (734) 848-4049 this fall for more information).We did live hits for the next three hours.

In my Jeep, I keep supplies like raingear, coats, hats, snacks and water. That’s a mile and a half away from us now. I’m from the area and I’m used to the weather, but anyway you slice it, it was hot yesterday. And again – in the middle of a field, supplies are in my Jeep – no water. This is where my second thank you goes out. Zach’s friends, Dave and Mary Liske of Luna Pier, were lifesavers. Not only did they bring us bottled water, they brought us three cases of bottled water and a cooler filled with ice. Dave and Mary, thank you.

I got home around eight o’clock. It took a little longer than it should have because I had to hike back down LaVoy to get my Jeep. Yesterday was really a remarkable day. Such a huge fire in its explosiveness and its size and amazingly there was no loss of life.

Before I go, I have to send out a final thank you to Jason our truck op. Jason had to set up and tear down four times in a matter of half an hour (almost unheard of), and he did it all keeping his cool and professionalism. Breaking news, it can bring out the best in a news operation.

PUTTING THE BUS ISSUE TO REST

This will be the last post having to do with distracted school bus drivers. We’ve received a lot of feedback, both good and bad, on the issue. We didn’t do this story to sensationalize the issue or get drivers in trouble. We did the story to raise awareness of the issue. It’s true, being a school bus driver is a thankless job. While we were shooting this story, the vast majority of drivers were obeying all the rules, but we did find some drivers doing some things that could be considered distracting. A viewer commented, “I agree with the drivers that there are many distractions involved with driving a bus load of children. That is why I believe that there is no excuse for adding to the distraction by eating, drinking, talking on cell phones, or having ipods attached to your ears.” That, I believe, is the point here. There are many other drivers on the road, and they have their own distractions that can make a bus driver’s job even more difficult. But, if a bus driver can take personal responsibility by limiting his or her own distractions while transporting our children, that would help keep our children a little safer.

One viewer commented saying, “Thank you for getting my children to and from school every day.” I’m guessing most bus drivers have never heard those words. So from me, thank you for what you do and maybe this story could just be a reminder of how important your job really is to all of us in the community.

Below is Ronnie’s last report on the issue.



Thanks for your input and for watching.
-Billau