The most difficult part about naming my five most memorable stories this year was whittling down the list.
Throughout 2022, I found myself diving into a wide variety of local issues and events. Looking back at the last 12 months, I can't help but feel grateful to Ë®¹ûÅÉAV and the communities we cover for the opportunity to report these stories.
1. School book ban debate arrives in Auburn
This is the first story that comes to mind. It probably helps that this was one of my first major stories of the year, since a couple community members raised concerns about the book "All Boys Aren't Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto," by George M. Johnson, being available at the Auburn High School library back at the first Auburn school board meeting of the year in mid-January. In my attempt to cover a spectrum of perspectives on the issue, I included the voices of people with concerns about the book, school officials, a local parent who supported the book and the director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom.
2. Former Auburn city council candidate charged with theft
Some stories come up because they get right in your face, whether it's a well-publicized event, something related to national news like the book ban story above or it's something in the public eye that people will just naturally notice. Back in September, I noticed the name Robert Otterstatter sandwiched in a series of entries listed in the Auburn Police Department's daily police blotter emails. Otterstatter, who co-owned an Auburn business and pursued an Auburn City Council seat last year, had been picked up on an arrest warrant. The story unfolded from there, as I eventually learned Otterstatter was charged in Onondaga County related to some alleged thefts at a Wegmans grocery store in that area.
3. 'That poor decision': Impaired driving arrests increasing across Cayuga County
Although this story tackled the multi-pronged issue of impaired driving arrests going up in Cayuga County as of mid-September, this story was also notable due to the way it came up. When I was covering the Cayuga Community Health Network's 25th anniversary fundraiser event in late August, I ran into JoLynn Mulholland, TOP Act Coordinator for the Drug-Free Community Coalition through the Cayuga Community Health Network. She mentioned that drunk driving arrests were increasing in 2022. I briefly spoke with her about that and during a spare moment at the health network event, I talked to Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck, who was also at the event, and asked him if he had heard about that kind of increase. This largely unrelated event helped give rise to a story I'm glad I was able to cover.
4. Hillary Clinton praises Women's Hall of Fame inductees in Seneca County
Politics aside, this story sticks out to me simply because I was able to take pictures of a former presidential candidate and the New York governor while they were a couple feet away. Hilary Rodham Clinton, 2016 presidential candidate, former U.S. secretary of state and U.S. senator joined New York Gov. Kathy Hochul at the 2022 National Women's Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony earlier this year. Regardless of the praise and controversy surrounding these women, I would argue that briefly being around such national and state figures is worth noting no matter your affiliation.
5. Aurelius man killed in collision remembered as dedicated firefighter, public servant
This story was difficult to write about, due to the sad events it stemmed from. Tom Walczyk, an Aurelius resident who had been a member of the Aurelius Volunteer Fire Department for decades and was a member of the Aurelius Town Board, died shortly after his motorcycle collided with a van Aug. 31. When I spoke with Sheriff Schenck and Aurelius fire chief David Perkins about Walczyks death, their obvious love and appreciation for this man I had never met warmed my heart and then broke it into a thousand pieces. Perkins' voice conveyed this delicate balance of fond remembrance and mourning as he went out of his way to tell me about Walczyk and his penchant for helping people in the community, like when Walczyk personally went over to the home of a woman on different occasions earlier this year to help her with difficulties she was having with her sump pump after some flooding, free of charge. After that story came out, some people sent me emails simply to talk about how much they loved Walczyk and how deeply his loss will be felt. I imagine that speaks volumes about the kind of person the community lost.
