Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum qualifies for the New York ballot with the three other prominent GOP presidential candidates.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, left, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney spar during a Republican presidential candidate debate at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, N.H., Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Washington -- Rick Santorum, who has surged in national polls to become the new frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, became the last GOP candidate to make it on New York’s April 24 primary ballot.

The former Pennsylvania senator filed a full slate of delegates for the state’s 29 congressional districts before New York’s deadline today.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Congressman Ron Paul had already filed to be placed on the ballot. Gingrich and Paul, however, did not file their full slates of delegates until today.

New York is one of the largest delegate prizes eyed by all four of the nationally-prominent GOP candidates. The state has 95 delegates to the Republican National Convention, the third-highest total.

Unlike previous years, New York’s GOP delegates will be awarded proportionally from each of the state’s 29 congressional districts. Two delegates and two alternates representing the winning candidate in each district will be sent to the convention. At-large delegates also will be awarded proportionally.

Tom Dadey, chairman of the Onondaga County Republican Committee, said the new formula virtually guarantees that all four national GOP candidates will campaign in Upstate New York. “To me, it’s good for the Republican Party,” Dadey said today. “We might see these candidates coming to Upstate New York, which we haven’t seen in a long time.”
He added, “It’s going to be an interesting two months between now and April 24.”

In the 25th Congressional District, the Santorum delegates are Patrick Kilmartin, of Onondaga, majority leader of the Onondaga County Legislature; and Brian Renna, of DeWitt, who has worked on local Republican campaigns. The alternates are former Syracuse Common Council member Rick Guy and Edward P. Maslona, a Monroe County resident who organized volunteers for Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle, R-Onondaga Hill, in 2010.

The Gingrich delegates are Jim DiBlasi, a former Onondaga County legislator, and Gregory Scicchitano, of DeWitt, general counsel for the Onondaga County Republican Committee. Alternates are retired businessman Eugene Armani and T. Brendan Whelan, a former Onondaga County legislator from Clay.

The Paul delegates are David Gay, of Syracuse, a volunteer with the campaign’s Hispanic outreach team, and Michael Gorham, of Baldwinsville. The alternates are Marc D. Johnson, of Monroe County, and Gerald Wojcik, of Liverpool. All four have worked on the Paul campaign.

The 25th District includes all of Onondaga and Wayne counties, and part of Cayuga and Monroe counties.

In the 23rd Congressional District, the Santorum delegates are retired judge Jan H. Plumadore, of Franklin County, and Derinda M. Sherman, of Westport, Essex County. Alternates are John C. Dewitt, of Adams, and Mark Flack Wells, a former Franklin County legislator.

The Gingrich delegates are John Romig, Jr., and Charles Francis, with alternates Andrew DiBlasi and Lisa A. Ruggiero.

The Paul delegates are Timothy Sherman and William King. The alternates are Gregory White, of Oswego County, and Michael Gurecki, of Oneida County, both Paul campaign volunteers.

The 23rd District covers all or part of 11 counties, including all of Oswego and Madison counties.

In the 24th Congressional District, the Santorum delegates are Tompkins County Republican Chairman James Drader and David Gould, the Cayuga County sheriff. The alternates are Amy Spin and Tracy Marisa.

The Gingrich delegates are Sue Ann Fisher and Randolph B. Soggs. Alternates are Joseph H. Hobika, Jr., and Jerry Graziano.

The Paul delegates are Darren P. Cron and Nicholas A. Parise. Alternates are Matthew D. Roach and Theon A. Parseghian.

The 24th District includes most of Cayuga County including Auburn, most of Oneida County, all of Cortland County, and all or part of eight other counties across Upstate New York.

Romney was the first of the candidates to file a full delegate slate, including former Rep. James Walsh, R-Onondaga, and Dadey, both of whom will serve as alternates from the 25th District. The delegate names will not appear on the ballot.

Contact Washington correspondent Mark Weiner at mweiner@syracuse.com or 571-970-3751.

The East Room of the White House was transformed into an intimate blues club on Tuesday night for a concert featuring blues all-stars of the past, present and future.

View full sizeAP Photo/Pablo Martinez MonsivaisPresident Barack Obama, left, helps B.B. King, right, on stage to perform during the White House Music Series saluting Blues Music in recognition of Black History Month, Tuesday in the East Room of the White House in Washington.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The president just couldn't say no: Mick Jagger held out a mic almost by way of command, and soon Barack Obama was belting out the blues with the best of them.

The East Room of the White House was transformed into an intimate blues club on Tuesday night for a concert featuring blues all-stars of the past, present and future - and the president himself.

The surprise performance by Obama came at the end of the playlist when the blues ensemble was singing "Sweet Home Chicago," the blues anthem of Obama's home town.

Buddy Guy prodded the president, saying he'd heard that the president sang part of an Al Green tune recently, and adding, "You gotta keep it up."

Then Jagger handed over the mic, and Obama seemed compelled to comply.

"Come on, baby don't you want to go," the president sang out twice, handing off the mic to B.B. King momentarily, and then taking it back to tack on "Sweet Home Chicago" at the end.

That was how Obama ended the night.

This was how he began it: Obama said sometimes there are downsides to being the president. You can't just go for a walk, for example.

And then there are the times that more than make up for all those frustrations, he said, like Tuesday night, when Jagger, King, Jeff Beck and other musical giants came by the house to sing the blues.

"I guess things even out a little bit," Obama joked at the start of a rollicking East Room concert that was electrified by Jagger and the rest.

"This music speaks to something universal," Obama declared. "No one goes through life without both joy and pain, triumph and sorrow. The blues gets all of that, sometimes with just one lyric or one note. "

King, 86, arrived in a wheelchair but rose tall to kick off the night with a raucous "Let the Good Times Roll," quickly joined by other members of the ensemble. And he followed with "The Thrill is Gone."

From there, Obama and his wife, Michelle, were swaying in their seats and singing along to an all-hits playlist including "St. James Infirmary" and "Let Me Love You."

Beck slowed things down with an instrumental "Brush With the Blues," as anticipation built for the arrival of Jagger, who did not disappoint.

The longtime Rolling Stones frontman delivered on "I Can't Turn You Loose" and then teamed up with Beck on "Commit a Crime." Jagger got the president and his wife up out of their seats, swaying and clapping to the music, and picked up the pace with "Miss You," performed with Shemekia Copeland and Susan Tedeschi.

Obama was clearly savoring the moment, closing his eyes at times and nodding his head as he lip-synced the words.

The president rose at the end to introduce the ensemble as the "White House Blues All-Stars" for the final song of the night, "Sweet Home Chicago."

"For Michelle and me," the president said, "there's no blues like the song our artists have chosen to close with - the blues from our hometown."

With that, the ensemble wrapped up the evening with "Sweet Home Chicago." And then Jagger handed off the mic to Obama for his presidential coda.

In advance of the concert, Grammy-winner Keb Mo had joked during a rehearsal break that Obama himself would perform, and there could even be a record in the works. He joked that Obama's record would be called, "After the second term, now I can finally get my groove on."

Maybe he wasn't joking after all.

The lineup for Tuesday's concert spanned multiple generations, from legends like King and Guy to young faces such as 26-year-old Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews and Gary Clark Jr., whose style blends hip hop, contemporary soul and indie rock. Also performing were Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, with actress Taraji P. Henson as the program host and Booker T. Jones as music director and band leader.

The blues concert will be part of the "In Performance at the White House" series that airs on PBS. This one, designed to recognize Black History Month, will be broadcast on Monday on PBS stations and aired later on American Forces Network.

Onondaga County Dairy Princess Mary Burgett, of Tully, was in the top seven in the contest, won a speech award and was named Miss Congeniality.

Submitted photoAndrew

Salina, NY -- Emma Andrew, of Newark in Wayne County, Tuesday night was named the New York State Dairy Princess for 2012-13.

The two-day competition at the Holiday Inn on Electronics Parkway in Salina concluded with the crowning of Andrew, who will represent the American Dairy Association & Dairy Council and the dairy industry at fairs, farm meetings and special events throughout the state for the next year. She also wins a $1,200 scholarship.

First alternate was Alex Ormond, of Kennedy in Chautauqua County. Second alternate was Haley Groat, of Walton in Delaware County.

The Onondaga County Dairy Princess, Mary Burgett, of Tully, was in the top seven and also was a speech winner and named Miss Congeniality.

Other award winners were Abigail Teeter, of Ithaca in Tompkins County, and Kristy Alexander, of Barton in Tioga County, both with written communications awards, and state princess Andrew won the product knowledge award.

Andrew succeeds Madeline Kuhlman, of Tioga County. The 21 county dairy princesses who competed in the state pageant participated in a personal interview, impromptu and prepared adult speech, product knowledge exam, writing skills test and informal interaction with others. Judges evaluate contestants on communication skills, knowledge of the dairy industry, poise and personality.

The company makes stainless-steel tanks critical in the yogurt business and in pharmaceuticals, beer, soda and baby food too.

View full sizeStephen D. Cannerelli / The Post-Standard A welder works on a 25,000-gallon tank at Feldmeier Equipment Inc. in DeWitt. The company has fabricated stainless-steel processing and storage tanks for the pharmaceu´tical, biotech, cosmetic, food and dairy industries since 1952.

Six months ago, Feldmeier Equipment Inc., a stainless-steel tank manufacturing company in DeWitt, was popping its seams. There wasn’t enough office space for its engineers or enough room on its factory floor for the tanks it was making.

While the manufacturing industry Upstate is shedding jobs — 1,000 jobs in a year in the Syracuse area — Feldmeier has been growing and hiring.

Feldmeier rehabbed the upstairs of its DeWitt plant to make more offices. It’s adding a 10,000-square-foot addition to its factory. And it’s running two shifts a day, seven days a week.

“Before, you’d go through and see a few tanks on the floor,” said Colby Clark, the plant manager and grandson of the company’s founder, Bob Feldmeier Sr. “Now there are 10 to 20 on the floor and 10 to 20 orders waiting behind them.”

The company that began making massive stainless-steel tanks and pasteurizers for dairies 50 years ago has its hand in Olay skin cream, Gillette, Yuengling beer, Harpoon ale, Pepsi, blood plasma, Beech-Nut baby food, and drugs and vaccines made by big names such as Novartis AG.

And now, in a development that shows the ripple effect of economic trends, the company is riding the wave from the Greek yogurt business. Feldmeier has made more than 100 tanks for the companies that make Greek yogurt, including Chobani, which is made by Agro-Farma Inc., in New Berlin, Chenango County.

Feldmeier has the most employees in its 60-year history: 390 at five locations throughout the country. In DeWitt, there are 105. The Little Falls factory has 173. There are also factories in Alabama, Iowa and Nevada.

Some of Feldmeier’s survival has been circumstance: Only a handful of companies do what it does. It is the only one on the East Coast, which matters because shipping the giant tanks can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Over the past two decades, it has added plants across the country so it can be more competitive.

The company’s next generation wanted to modernize and move it out of the world of “mom-and-pop” shops.

View full sizeStephen D. Cannerelli / The Post-StandardFeldmeier Equipment of DeWitt was founded by Robert H. Feldmeier. His grandson Colby Clark runs the DeWitt plant and Jenny Jackson, who works in the HR Department, pose with their nearly 100 employees at their production facility.

Clark, who has worked at the company since he graduated from college 14 years ago, has been pushing Feldmeier into the pharmaceutical industry, which mixes its drugs in stainless-steel tanks.

Clark has been pushing the company to change how it does business, too. It used to just make the tanks and pasteurizers. Now it has added a step: Workers can put everything together and install the control boxes that run the systems that make baby food, face cream and soda syrup.

Last month, tanks and tubes destined for one of Pepsi’s major sugar suppliers in Mexico sat waiting to be assembled. A similar system for Beech-Nut baby food was waiting, too. Doing it this way saves the companies time, and makes more money for Feldmeier.

The Greek yogurt boom in New York has helped the company grow. Over the past five years, Feldmeier has made tanks for Chobani, Fage, Yoplait and Dannon.

Agro-Farma — the Greek yogurt giant that makes the Chobani brand — has bought 50 tanks from Feldmeier since the plant opened in 2007. That’s millions of dollars in metal. The tanks there range from 2,000 gallons to 70,000 gallons.

The big ones — as tall as grain silos — are for raw milk; Agro-Farma goes through 50 tanker trucks’ worth of milk daily. The smaller ones are where the milk sits with the bacteria and ferments into yogurt. Feldmeier also has manufactured special cooler units for Agro-Farma.

A representative of Agro-Farma didn’t want to talk about the company’s equipment. The company’s closest competitor, Fage USA Dairy Industry Inc. (pronounced FAH-yeh), 75 miles north of Agro-Farma, has 50 tanks from Feldmeier.

Feldmeier’s Little Falls plant makes all of the tanks for their yogurt industry customers.

Ioannis Ravanis, executive vice president of manufacturing at Fage, said his company is planning to expand the plant and likely will pick Feldmeier for those tanks.

Feldmeier tanks will be filled with Greek yogurt at a plant under construction in Batavia, too. Bruce Dye — Feldmeier’s sales manager, who deals with all of the yogurt customers — said the company has been asked to make eight tanks for that new plant, being built by Alpina Productos Alimenticios S.A., a dairy company based in Colombia.

The yogurt business is less than 6 percent of Feldmeier’s total, Clark said. Feldmeier uses two rules to remain diversified: No one customer can be more than 5 percent of the total business, and no market — such as dairy or pharmaceutical — can be more than 25 percent of the total.

The business has not been without problems. 2008 was the worst year, said Bob Feldmeier Jr., the president and chief executive officer. When the recession hit, orders slowed. No one was laid off, Feldmeier said, but no one was hired, and the DeWitt plant ran just one shift.

Business came back slowly. The Greek yogurt boom helped.

Clark said that extra business has gone mostly to the Little Falls plant, which used to hold a Feldmeier’s competitor, Cherry-Burrell. Feldmeier bought it in 1998.

The yogurt business has enabled the DeWitt plant to focus mostly on pharmaceuticals and making the whole systems, both of which Clark started pushing in June.

That’s also when the leadership changed, in an episode that shows the extra layer of drama at a family business.

After more than 40 years at the company and 30 as its president, Jake Feldmeier, the founder’s oldest son, left.

His younger brother, Bob Feldmeier Jr., took over.

Shortly after that, the expansion plans for the DeWitt plant were born, Clark said, and the company decided to market itself more aggressively instead of relying on word of mouth.

After working side-by-side with his sisters, brother and father his entire adult life, Jake Feldmeier, 63, started a rival company. In November, JBF Stainless LLC began manufacturing tanks in Nevada. Jake Feldmeier’s company has eight employees. He has taken some of his old customers with him, he said.

Jake Feldmeier said he and his siblings don’t talk anymore. He and his father talk but not about the business where they worked together for 40 years, he said.

Bob Feldmeier Sr., 90, and his wife, Peggy Lou, still come to work every day in the DeWitt factory. Feldmeier shares an office with his son, Bob. The office overlooks the factory floor. Bob Sr.’s desk is strewn with drawings and pipe fittings. His son’s desk has the computer on it.

View full sizeStephen D. Cannerelli / The Post-StandardRobert H. Feldmeier Sr., shown with his wife Peggy Lou, founded Feldmeier Equipment Inc. in 1952. He remains active in the business and is currently developing a process to make more yogurt from a pound of milk.

Bob Sr. is working on a patent for increasing the amount of yogurt that can be made from a pound of milk. That ratio is three pounds of milk for every one pound of Greek yogurt.

“It’s time to start pushing on that,” he said.

Clark loves to tell the story of one of his grandfather’s earlier patents: a spray ball to make cleaning the giant tanks easier. He came in on the weekends with his grandfather to watch him experiment. When Clark went home, he drew pictures of tanks.

Clark, 36, still goes to the plant on weekends. Now he takes his 4-year-old son with him. And when they get home, the little boy draws pictures of giant metal tanks.

Contact Marnie Eisenstadt at meisenstadt@syracuse.com or 470-2246.

Find a new clue each day in The Post-Standard and on syracuse.com.

The Post-Standard has hidden a medallion somewhere in Onondaga County and will publish daily clues pointing would-be treasure hunters to its location. Solve the clues and find the medallion, and you'll win $1,000. Double that to $2,000 if you're a home-delivered subscriber.

You can find each day's new clue ...

• On the pages of The Post-Standard


• On syracuse.com at syracuse.com/treasure-hunt


• On Facebook at www.facebook.com/poststandard


• On Twitter @PostStandard (look for #PStreasurehunt)

To find out if the medallion has been found, call 703-1703.

Clue No. 6
Wednesday, Feb. 22
See no cars,
But they're not far.
You can hear the nearby traffic,
It's not allowed so don't you panic.

Previous clues

Clue No. 5
Tuesday, Feb. 21
South said it this way
Think this thru and win you may.
Double it and just add some
Don't criticize, just have fun.

Clue No. 4
Monday, Feb. 20
You'll find lots of these around
Where the prize can be found.
They're not for pressing
We're just confessing.

Clue No. 3
Sunday, Feb. 19
Twelve months a year, seven days a week,
Hit this area to have a peek.
It's open to enjoy for all,
Spring, summer, winter, fall.

Clue No. 2
Saturday, Feb. 18
Think and stay current to have fun
But too close to water you should shun.
This is a great place to walk and run.

Clue No. 1
Friday, Feb. 17
Stay in Onondaga County
to find our bounty.
We can't give it away too soon,
Keep reading, it could be a boon!

» More about The Post-Standard Treasure Hunt, including complete rules

The lights came back on shortly before 7 a.m. for more than 1,100 National Grid customers.

Update:

Syracuse, NY -- The lights apparently have come back on for most of the 1,170 National Grid customers in and around downtown Syracuse who lost power early this morning.

The utility's website indicated at 6:55 a.m. that electricity had been restored to all but five customers.

The blackout started about 5:45 a.m. when a transformer caught fire on a pole at North Clinton and Bear streets, according to Syracuse police. Traffic signals were blacked out throughout the trouble zone, complicating the early morning commute to the business district.

At its height, the outage affected homes and businesses on the east side of downtown, neighborhoods roughly bounded by Erie Boulevard East, Lodi Street, Butternut Street and Interstate 81, and an area west of I-81 between Plum and Bear streets.

"I did nothing at all except call... 911," said Jeffrey Hilts. "Would they rather I left him in the hallway and let him bleed to death?"

View full sizeFrank Ordonez / The Post-StandardJeffrey Hilts sits in his apartment after being evicted from the Skyline Apartments. Hilts, who was homeless on and off for five or six years, was originally assigned to the Skyline Apartments by Catholic Charities. While living at Skyline, Hilts called 911 when a friend showed up at his apartment with stab wounds. The next day, Hilts was evicted.

Hector Gonzalez was stabbed in Apt. 602 of Skyline Apartments in Syracuse on the night of Feb. 13.

The next day, the friend who took him in and called 911 was evicted from Apt. 921. And three days after that, Gonzalez’s ex-girlfriend — and her teenage son — were evicted from Apt. 927.

The friend and ex-girlfriend say they were innocent bystanders who didn’t deserve to be evicted. The friend who called 911, Jeffrey Hilts, was kicked out the next day and is now living at 123 Polk St., DeWitt. The ex-girlfriend, Sandi Chrysler, said she has been given until March 31 — when her lease expires — to get out.

Hilts said he was lying in bed when Gonzalez knocked on his door.

Gonzalez, 52, had been stabbed five times. Hilts let him in and called 911.

For that, Hilts says, he was evicted from his apartment the same day his friend was released from Upstate University Hospital.

“I did nothing at all except call... 911,” Hilts said. “Would they rather I left him in the hallway and let him bleed to death?”

Hilts — who said he has been homeless on and off for five or six years — was placed in the apartment complex at 753 James St. by Catholic Charities.

The apartment manager, Longley Jones, asked for Hilts’ eviction “for numerous reasons,” Toni Maxwell, associate director of Catholic Charities, said. “We immediately vacated the apartment and made sure the resident of the apartment was resettled immediately.”

Barbara Brady, Skyline Apartments’ manager, said it’s common practice for the rules of an apartment to apply to both its tenants and their visitors.

“The tenants are responsible for their behavior and their visitors as well,” Brady said. “Every lease reads that way.”

Her supervisor, Steve Nichols, of Longley Jones Management Corp., did not return calls.

Hilts, 51, said his problems began after he was hit by a car in 1999. He had worked in maintenance but lost much of his manual dexterity from the injuries he received. He lost his driver’s license after being convicted of DUI, he said.

About five months ago, he was placed in Skyline Apartments by Catholic Charities, which also has helped him pay rent and find work. He said he has applied for about 20 jobs, but is unemployed.

Hilts said his new apartment in DeWitt is less desirable and less convenient for finding and getting to work.

’’But I can live with it,” he said.

Chrysler, 47, who also lost her apartment as a result of the stabbing, said she has known the victim for 12 years and was his on-and-off girlfriend for 10 years.

The night of the stabbing, she said, the man accused of the attack — 54-year-old Edward Augustyne — knocked on her door around 9 or 9:30 p.m. and invited her to his place for a drink.

As they left her apartment, Chrysler recalled, “he took out a big butcher’s knife” and started scraping it against the wall in the hallway. “I said to myself, maybe I should just ditch this guy.”

Eventually, she said, she went back to her apartment. When she heard Gonzalez was in the building, she tried — but failed — to warn him about Augustyne. Then Hilts called and said Gonzalez had been stabbed in Augustyne’s apartment.

“I went down and saw all this blood in Jeff’s apartment,” she said.

Chrysler said it’s unfair to evict her because she had nothing to do with the stabbing. Her eviction notice, she said, gives no reason.

Police said the stabbing happened after an argument. Augustyne, who lived in Apt, 602, has been charged with felony assault and a misdemeanor count of criminal possession of a weapon.

Gonzalez, who said he had three stab wounds in his back and two in his left arm, which was heavily bandaged, said he believes Hilts was treated unfairly.

“I’m glad I’m still alive, but I feel sorry for this man,” Gonzalez said. “He was an innocent bystander. ... If it wasn’t for him, I’d have probably bled to death.”

Contact Charles Ellis at 470-2218 or cellis@syracuse.com. Douglass Dowty contributed to this story.

The children were removed from a crowded home where a registered sex offender lives after officials found eight confined in a small, dark bedroom with restraints tying some to their beds.

View full sizeJohnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle / AP PhotoThe home in Dayton, Texas, where 11 children were taken into Child Protective Services custody last month is seen in a Tuesday photo. Child Protective Services took custody of the youngsters, ranging in age from 5 months to 11 years, last month after a request to investigate conditions at the home.

From the Associated Press:

DAYTON, Texas (AP) -- Texas authorities said Tuesday they removed 11 children from a crowded home where a registered sex offender lives after they found eight confined in a small, dark bedroom with restraints tying some to their beds.

Along with the children, 10 adults were living in the one-story, 1,700-square-foot home in Dayton, about 30 miles northeast of Houston, Child Protective Services spokeswoman Gwen Carter said. One month after a raid on the house, authorities are still trying to determine how the children are related and why they were there, she said.

The children ranged in age from 5 months to 11 years. Three who were age 5 or older had not been enrolled in school, Carter said.

The children were removed after authorities found two 2-year-old children tied to a bed during a January visit to the home, according to a court document.

A legally blind, 5-year-old girl "was in a restraint on a filthy mattress, and appeared to be in a daze," the document said. One child had a black eye and knocked-out tooth.

The adults told investigators they tied the children when they slept or took a nap during the day "for safety," the document said. An investigator noted that none of the adults said they saw anything wrong with the arrangement.

Read the full story

Related links:

» Mom of boy found tied to bed in Dayton: 'It makes me angry' [KHOU]
» District attorney to investigate home where CPS seized 11 children [Houston Chronicle]

In other news:

» Two Western journalists reported killed in Homs, Syria [Washington Post]
» Five die in Georgia spa shooting [11 Alive]
» U.N. experts leave Iran without nuclear agreement [CNN]
» Second day of protests in Afghanistan over mistaken Koran-burning [Los Angeles Times]
» Jilted boyfriend accused of killing girlfriend in hit-and-run [ABC News]
» Why drones may bring a renaissance, not erosion, of privacy [The Atlantic]
» Kim Dotcom granted bailed [Reuters]
» GOP debate comes at crucial moment [CBS News]

The ritual opens Lent, a period of sacrifice leading to Easter.

View full sizeDick Blume / The Post StandardThe Rev. Bill Jones, in the foreground, and Monsignor Neal Quartier, in the back, give ashes at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Syracuse for Ash Wednesday.On the right getting ashes is Helen Riley, of Clay.

About 125 Roman Catholics received Holy Communion and ashes at the 7 a.m. Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Syracuse.

Schuyler Scutt, 70, of Syracuse, bore a cross of ash on his forehead as he left the cathedral. The ritual opens Lent, a period of sacrifice leading to Easter, Scutt said. If he didn't receive ashes, he said, "I guess I feel I wouldnt be a good Catholic. It's the way I was brought up."

The ashes are a sign of humanity's mortality and a signal that it's time to examine one's life and relationship with God, "to go from verbal faith in God to living faith in God," said the Rev. Bill Jones, who celebrated the Mass with Monsignor Neal Quartier. The use of ashes as a symbol of repentence goes back to the Old Testament, Jones said.

Among other services, The Franciscan Place will be holding two services beginning at 12:15 p.m. They will be held in the Hoover and Hiawatha rooms on the Skydeck of Carousel Center.

For Episcopalians, services will be at 12:10 p.m. and 5:10 p.m. at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in Syracuse.

No one was injured in the brief chase.

Syracuse, NY – Police chasing a suspicious suspect from a Salina Street convenience store Tuesday night caught the man and recovered a defaced semiautomatic rifle, Syracuse police said.

At about 10:45 p.m., a caller complained that a man armed with a gun was standing outside The Expressway Market at 3226 S. Salina St.

Here’s the police account of what happened next:

Responding to the scene, Officer Jason Eiffe saw a man matching the suspect’s description leaving the store. The suspect ran away when he saw the officer approaching him.

After a brief chase, officers took the suspect into custody at 124 W. Newell St., where he tried to ditch a 9mm semiautomatic rifle. Police later recovered the rifle, which had its serial number scratched off.

The suspect, Dashontay Kirkland, 20, of 124 W. Newell St., was charged with felony third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and misdemeanor fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Kirkland was taken to the Justice Center and is scheduled to be arraigned today in Syracuse City Court.

See all of today's obituaries from The Post-Standard

View full sizeWilliam E. Dix

William E. Dix passed away at home on Monday after a short battle with cancer. He was born in Syracuse on October 16, 1930 and graduated from North Syracuse High School. He was married to the late Betty Ann Geandreau and lived in Baldwinsville for many years. Bill served in the U.S. Air Force in Korea. He retired from AT&T/New York Telephone and was active in Belgium Cold Springs Fire Dept. where he served as chief and commissioner. He was a beloved member of the Liverpool Community Church, who will miss his hugs and high fives. Bill enjoyed dancing, golfing and spending time with his family and grandchildren. He was an avid traveler and visited many interesting places in his own boat and by cruise ship.

» Read William E. Dix full obituary on syracuse.com

» View and sign William E. Dix online guestbook

» See all of today's obituaries from The Post-Standard

» Read local and national obituaries on syracuse.com

Today's obituaries

• Beak, Richard S.
• Benfey, Rudy
• Calagiovanni, John
• Clifton, David L.
• Cutrone, Esther G. (Guinto)
• Dix, William E.
• Drake, Harold L.
• Hardman, Albert F.
• Hassler, Beverly J. (Steele)
• LaValle, Hilaria (Aliman)
• Marsella, Josephine (Bressan)
• Mattice, May A.
• McInnis Sr., George M. "Mike"
• Miles, Gertrude L.
• Parrow, Robin R. (Ingleston)
• Quiles Sr., Anthony
• Rastley, Anthoney R.
• Reney, Patricia "Pat" (Faratzis)
• Scherz, Mary E.
• Siekanowicz, Stella (Walczyk)
• Tammelaid, Karen Ann
• VanVelsor, Deborah
• Walsh, Thomas
• Waters, Rodney L.
• Weyer, Donald I.
• Weyer, Mia K.
• White, George F. "Smokey" (Bialobreski)
• Wolford, Fern L. (Maider)

Colvin, who was 57, was known for her courage behind the front lines and immediately recognizable for an eye patch that hid an injury suffered in a Sri Lankan ambush.

View full sizeIvor Prickett, Sunday Times / AP PhotoThis is an undated image made available Wednesday by the Sunday Times in London of Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin photographed in Tahrir square in Cairo.

LONDON (AP) -- Respected American journalist Marie Colvin, who spent decades reporting on conflicts from Sri Lanka to Syria, focusing on the suffering of women and children in wartime, died in a fierce shelling attack Wednesday in Syria.

Colvin, who was 57, was known for her courage behind the front lines and immediately recognizable for an eye patch that hid an injury suffered in a Sri Lankan ambush. She had been holed up in the besieged Syrian city of Homs. Sunday Times editor John Witherow confirmed her death during a "devastating bombardment by the Syrian army."

French photojournalist Remi Ochlik died alongside Colvin, the French government announced. Freelance photographer Paul Conroy and journalist Edith Bouvier of Le Figaro were wounded, according to Witherow and Le Figaro.

Colvin, from Oyster Bay, New York, had been a foreign correspondent for Britain's Sunday Times for the past two decades, making a specialty of reporting from the world's most dangerous places. Her final dispatch Tuesday from a cellar offering refuge for women and children hinted at the horrors that eventually took her own life.

"It is a city of the cold and hungry, echoing to exploding shells and bursts of gunfire," she wrote. "There are no telephones and the electricity has been cut off. ... Freezing rain fills potholes and snow drifts in through windows empty of glass. No shops are open, so families are sharing what they have with relatives and neighbors. Many of the dead and injured are those who risked foraging for food.

"Fearing the snipers' merciless eyes, families resorted last week to throwing bread across rooftops, or breaking through communal walls to pass unseen."

Colvin often focused on the plight of women and children in battles and Syria was no different. She gave interviews to major British broadcasters on the eve of her death, appealing for the world to notice the slaughter taking place.

"I watched a little baby die today," she told the BBC on Tuesday. "Absolutely horrific, a 2-year old child had been hit. They stripped it and found the shrapnel had gone into the left chest and the doctor said 'I can't do anything.'"

Colvin's boss, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, described her as "one of the most outstanding foreign correspondents of her generation."

Colvin worked in the Balkans, where she went on patrol with the Kosovo Liberation Army as it engaged Serb military forces. She worked in Chechnya, where she came under fire from Russian jets while reporting on Chechen rebels. She also covered the conflict in East Timor after its people voted for independence; she was one of the few reporters to interview ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in his final days.

She was outspoken in her defense of independent journalism, and a fervent advocate for the cause of unfettered war reporting. During a tribute service for slain journalists at Fleet Street's St. Bride's Church in November 2010, she offered a stirring appeal to media executives, pressing the case to continue investing in conflict zone reporting.

"Our mission is to speak the truth to power," she said. "We send home that first rough draft of history. We can and do make a difference in exposing the horrors of war and especially the atrocities that befall civilians."

Her death comes only days after two other respected journalists died while reporting on the uprising against Syria's president, Bashar Assad. Two-time Pulitzer prize winning reporter Anthony Shadid, a correspondent for The New York Times, died last week of an apparent asthma attack while slipping into Syria.

Award-winning French TV reporter Gilles Jacquier was killed in an explosion in Homs on Jan. 11, becoming the first Western journalist to die since the uprising began. His colleagues believe he was murdered in an elaborate trap set up by Syrian authorities - a claim that Assad's government denies.

British Prime Minister David Cameron led tributes to Colvin. Cameron told lawmakers in the House of Commons that the death of the "talented and respected foreign correspondent" was "a desperately sad reminder of the risks journalists take to inform the world of what is happening and the dreadful events in Syria."

British Labour Party leader Ed Miliband called Colvin "a brave and tireless reporter ... an inspiration to women in her profession."

"Her reports in the hours before her death showed her work at its finest," he said.

Author Salman Rushdie, who spent years in hiding from death threats, sent a message to his followers on Twitter, noting that it was "dreadful news. A great reporter, fine writer and fearless woman is gone. Her many friends are devastated."

Colvin lost her sight in one eye during an ambush in Sri Lanka in 2001 but promised not to "hang up my flak jacket" and kept reporting on the world's most troubled places.

"So, was I stupid? Stupid I would feel writing a column about the dinner party I went to last night," she wrote in the Sunday Times after the attack. "Equally, I'd rather be in that middle ground between a desk job and getting shot, no offense to desk jobs.

"For my part, the next war I cover, I'll be more awed than ever by the quiet bravery of civilians who endure far more than I ever will. They must stay where they are; I can come home to London."

View full sizeYoan Valat / AP PhotoUndated photo of French photographer Remi Ochlik as he was covering the Tunisian revolution, who died Wednesday in Homs, Syria.

Ochlik, a rising star of French photojournalism, covered riots in Haiti and the upheaval sweeping across the Arab world was killed Wednesday in a shelling attack in Syria.

Ochlik (Osh-LEEK)'s photo last year from Ras Lanouf in Libya of an opposition fighter on a mound under a rebellion flag against smoky skies won him first prize in the 2012 World Press Photo contest for general news.

IP3's website said Ochlik also covered rebellions in Tunisia and Egypt last year and his work has featured in publications including Paris Match and Time magazines as well as The Wall Street Journal.

Related links:

» War reporter Marie Colvin, East Norwich native, killed in Syria [Newsday]
» Colleagues remember Marie Colvin [The Atlantic]
» Marie was an essential witness to terrible events [London Evening Standard]
» Marie Colvin’s final interview with Anderson Cooper before her tragic death In Syria [Mediaite]

Judge advises Samuel Mohran to "grow up" and address his anger and jealousy issues or face a future in prison.

Syracuse, NY - A former surgical resident at a local hospital was sentenced today to five years in state prison for a series of domestic violence incidents.

"You had a bright future. You seemingly threw all of that away because of your inability to control your emotions," County Judge Anthony Aloi told Samuel Mohran.

"Grow up," the judge advised the defendant.

Mohran, 29, of Lowville, pleaded guilty last month to felony charges of second-degree assault and first-degree criminal contempt.

The assault charge stemmed from a July 2010 incident in which he attacked former girlfriend Megan Dunham's friend with a baseball bat outside a home in the town of Clay. The criminal contempt charge involved allegations he later violated a court order to have no contact with Dunham.

Those guilty pleas satisfied a battery of charges stemming from a series of domestic violence incidents involving Mohran and Dunham from July 2010 through March 2011.

Included in the allegations were charges involving scores of threatening phone calls to Dunham, two incidents in which her Minoa home was vandalized and an armed confrontation with police in her home on one occasion.

Mohran was about to stand trial on all those charges when he opted to plead guilty Jan. 30 in exchange for the promised sentence of five years in prison.

Mohran had nothing to say at his sentencing in court today. But defense lawyer Paul Carey said Mohran accepted full responsibility for his conduct.

Aloi took issue with that, however.

The judge noted the probation department's pre-sentence report to the court indicated Mohran blamed everyone but himself for his legal troubles.

Mohran blamed his earlier defense lawyer, his former girlfriend, the assault victim and the court, Aloi noted.

"The only person you should blame is yourself," the judge told the defendant.

Aloi noted Mohran had seriously jeopardized - if not destroyed - his medical career as a result of his criminal conduct.

Mohran was a surgical resident at Upstate University Hospital. But he lost his job as a result of being arrested in the domestic violence matter.

"You should blame yourself, your inability to control your jealous rages," Aloi told him in court. Additionally, the defendant seemed to have a propensity for violence in acting on that jealousy, the judge added.

Aloi said Mohran will face spending more and more time in prison in the future if he doesn't learn to control his anger and emotional instability.

Any violation of orders to stay away from Dunham and the assault victim will result in consecutive prison penalties, Aloi warned.

The orders of protection direct Mohran to have no contact with the victims through 2025.

Read all of today's letters and editorials from The Post-Standard

View full sizeEllen M. Blalock / The Post-StandardDA William Fitzpatrick in the editorial board meeting at The Post-Standard on January 19.

Tracking commentary and opinion from around Central New York, the state and nation:

Wednesday's Topic:

Robert R. Fluck Jr., of North Syracuse, writes about District Attorney William Fitzpatrick's grand jury probe of Syracuse Police Chief Frank Fowler's son is a wast of taxpayers money in the Readers' Page of today's Post-Standard. Here is his letter:

It would seem that the Onondaga County district attorney did poorly in kindergarten in the behaviors labeled “works and plays well with others.” Having a grand jury look into small property damage auto collisions? Puhleeeeze! I take offense at this, not only because of his hypocrisy but also because he is wasting taxpayer dollars.

And by the way, you newspaper people are giving way too much ink to the puerile behavior that our elected officials are displaying. There are lots more important stories that should be on the front page above the fold.

However, Gaetano A. Militello, of Syracuse, says Central New Yorkers are lucky to have Fitzpatrick as DA. Here's his letter:

I’m not sure of what is going on with the bad relationships involving the Syracuse mayor, the police chief and District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick.

But I do know that our DA is probably one of the best law enforcement people in the country. One of these days we will be without Fitzpatrick and we will all wish him back.

So while we have him, let’s give thanks for his presence and stop giving him a hard time.

The rest of today's letters to the editor
» Wrong to make laws favoring religious view
» Church can't choose the rules it wants to follow
» New York stalling on hydrofracking decisions
» Companies could train their own workers
» NYPD had no reason to investigate Muslim students
» Health exchanges must be affordable
» Media misleading on opposition in Syria

A $10 word trending in today's news
Vices. n. Immoral or wicked behaviors. [Newswordy]

Daily from The Post-Standard
» Today's lead editorial in The Post-Standard: Jail Overtime: Taxpayers can no longer tolerate pension excesses
» The Opinion Page on syracuse.com
» See all of today's Letters to the Editor | Submit a letter to the editor
» Today's editorials
» Frank Cammuso's cartoons
» Columnist Sean Kirst

Lloyd Brown, 30, faces multiple felonies and was sent to jail with bail set at $200,000, troopers said.

Syracuse, NY -- A Syracuse man was caught around noon Monday driving back from Pennsylvania with $25,000 of heroin in an instant potatoes box, according to Pennsylvania state police.

Lloyd Brown, 30, whose address was not given by troopers, was charged with felony possession with intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, said Trooper Connie Devens.

Brown was pulled over at 12:18 p.m. driving northbound on Interstate 81 in Susquehanna County, troopers said. A police report did not say what led to the traffic stop, but noted he was given a warning for a driving infraction.

Brown consented to a search of the vehicle, troopers said. In the trunk, they found a sealed cardboard box of Idahoan Instant Potatoes, troopers said.

Inside, there were 1,000 baggies with heroin, Devens said.

Brown was sent to the Susquehanna County jail with bail set at $200,000, troopers said.

Also, a mom photographs her flying baby.

From the Associated Press:

ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) -- A man accused of dealing drugs had his luck run out when he won $2,500 playing blackjack at a casino near Philadelphia.

Altoona police say 34-year-old Mateen Johnson was arrested Saturday because he had to produce identification to cash out his winnings at Philadelphia Park Racetrack & Casino in Bucks County. Casino officials learned Johnson was wanted for drug offenses in Altoona and called authorities.

The Altoona Mirror reports Tuesday that Johnson told police he expected to be arrested soon and was trying to win enough at blackjack to make bail.

Online court records don't list an attorney for Johnson, who was wanted on separate drug delivery charges filed last year.

In other news:

» Dune de Pyla – A new “Sahara” desert being born – in France

» Mom photographs her flying baby

» World's shortest man: Chandra Bahadur Dangi, 72-year-old from Nepal

» Crazy stuff people do to get jobs

» Cops: Suspect claims he is Elvis' brother and half Orangutan

It's Argentina's highest death toll from a train accident since 1970, when 200 were killed in a train collision.

View full sizeLeonardo Zavattaro, Telam / AP PhotoFiremen rescue wounded passengers from a commuter train after a collision in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday Feb. 22, 2012. A packed train slammed into the end of the line in Buenos Aires' busy Once station Wednesday, injuring over 300 morning commuters, Argentina's transportation secretary said.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- A packed train slammed into the end of the line in Buenos Aires' busy Once station Wednesday, killing 49 people and injuring hundreds of morning commuters in Argentina's worst train accident in decades.

Federal Police Commissioner Nestor Rodriguez says the dead include 48 adults and one child.

That makes it Argentina's worst train accident since Feb. 1, 1970, when 200 a train smashed into another at full speed in suburban Buenos Aires, killing 200 people.

At least 550 people were injured, and emergency workers were slowly extracting dozens of people who were trapped inside the first car, said Alberto Crescenti, the city's emergency medical director. Rescuers carved open the roof and set up a pulley system to ease them out one by one.

The commuter train came in too fast and hit the barrier at the end of the platform at about 16 mph (26 kph), smashing the front of the engine and crunching the leading cars behind it; one car penetrated nearly 20 feet (six meters) into the next, Argentina's transportation secretary, J.P. Schiavi told reporters at the station.

The conductors' union chief, Omar Maturano, told Radio 10 that the train might have come in as fast as 18 mph (30 kph)

Most damaged was the first car, where passengers make space for bicycles. Survivors told the TeleNoticias channel that many people were injured in a jumble of metal and glass.

Passengers said windows exploded as the tops of train cars separated from their floors. The trains are usually packed with people standing between the seats, and many were thrown into each other and to the floor by the force of the hard stop.

Many people suffered bruises, and many with lesser injuries were waiting for attention on the Once station's platforms as helicopters and more than a dozen ambulances took the most seriously injured to nearby hospitals.

There have been five serious train accidents in Argentina since Dec. 2010; the most deadly of these happened last Sept. 13, when a bus driver crossed the tracks in front of an oncoming train, killing 11.

"This machine left the shop yesterday and the brakes worked well. From what we know, it braked without problems at previous stations. At this point I don't want to speculate about the causes," Ruben Sobrero, train workers' union chief on the Sarmiento line, told Radio La Red.

The motorman has been hospitalized and the union hasn't been able to speak with him yet, Sobrero added.

Related links:

» Hundreds of Argentinian commuters injured in train crash [Guardian]
» Once train crash: 49 dead, more than 550 injured[Buenos Aires Herald]

The commission voted 4-0 to approve the site plan and the resubdivision of several lots to allow the development to proceed at the corner of Midler Avenue and James Street.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Syracuse Planning Commission gave approval Tuesday night for a new Kinney Drugs store in Eastwood, clearing the way for a project that a fueled a months long controversy and sparked efforts to change the city charter.

The commission voted 4-0 to approve the site plan and the resubdivision of several lots to allow the development to proceed at the corner of Midler Avenue and James Street, said Heather Lamendola, city zoning administrator. Kinney plans an 11,550-square-foot store at the southwest corner of the intersection.

“They need to apply for their (building) permits, and they’re ready to go,” Lamendola said.

For months, city lawmakers complained that the planning commission was delaying the project unnecessarily, blocking needed development on a desolate corner in the heart of Eastwood’s business district. Planning commissioners objected to developer Tino Marcoccia’s request to include a residential property in the project and to rezone the property commercial.

Six city councilors held a press conference in September, demanding that the commission and Mayor Stephanie Miner take action to help the project. In October, Miner worked out a compromise under which Kinney dropped the residential parcel from their plans.

But councilors cited frustration over the Eastwood project, and others, when they voted 6-3 in December to approve a change to the city charter that would have given councilors more control over the planning commission. Miner vetoed the change, and the council did not override the veto.

At today’s council meeting, lawmakers are scheduled to discuss a proposed compromise that would give them more input at the planning commission without changing the charter.

Contact Tim Knauss at tknauss@syracuse.com or 470-3023.

Judge Brian DeJoseph wrote in his ruling that attorneys for Bobby Davis and Mike Lang failed to show that an impartial trial cannot be obtained in Onondaga County. Watch video

Photo by Peter Chen / The Post-Standard.Mary Beth Hogan and Andrew Levine, lawyers for Syracuse University, and C. James Zeszutek and Timothy Murphy, lawyers for coach Jim Boeheim, listen to Mariann Meier Wang in court Tuesday. Attorneys argued before judge Brian DeJoseph during a change of venue hearing on the defamation lawsuit bought by Bobby Davis and Michael Lang against Boeheim and the university. Wang is one of Davis and Lang's attorneys.

The slander lawsuit against Syracuse University head basketball Jim Boeheim will be moved to Syracuse, a state Supreme Court judge ruled Wednesday.

Judge Brian DeJoseph heard arguments Tuesday from a lawyer for SU as well as an attorney for Bobby Davis and Mike Lang, two former SU ballboys who allege that Boeheim’s longtime assistant coach, Bernie Fine, molested them decades ago when they were children. Davis, 40, and Lang, 45, are suing SU and Boeheim over comments Boeheim made Nov. 17 when he called them money-hungry liars for accusing Fine of molesting them.

SU fired Fine Nov. 27. Fine, 66, has not been charged and has denied all wrongdoing.

DeJoseph wrote in his ruling that attorneys for Davis and Lang failed to show that an impartial trial cannot be obtained in Onondaga County. He also wrote that attorneys for Davis and Lang failed to show that potential jurors would have a financial stake in the outcome of the case.

The slander lawsuit was originally filed in New York City in December. Attorneys for Davis and Lang said the suit was filed there because they said their clients could not get a fair trial in Central New York because of the university’s and Boeheim’s popularity and economic influence in the community.

Attorneys for SU and Boeheim argued that the case should be moved to Onondaga County since none of the principal parties involved in the case live Downstate.

At the hearing Tuesday, SU and Boeheim were represented by four attorneys. Davis and Lang had two attorneys present. Boeheim, Davis, Lang and Fine did not attend.

SU and lawyers for Boeheim declined to comment Wednesday.

Gloria Allred, who represents Davis and Lang and is well known for representing high-profile and celebrity clients, responded to a request seeking comment Wednesday by email.

"We have reviewed Judge Dejoseph's decision," Allred wrote. "He clearly has considered the arguments made. We respect his decision and we will move forward with our case. We have no plans to appeal the decision at this time."

Allred also wrote she is prepared to move forward with the case in Onondaga County.

Attorney Mariann Meier Wang, a lawyer for Davis and Lang who works with Allred, argued Tuesday that SU and its basketball team have too much influence in Central New York for the court to find an impartial, local jury to decide the case.

Wang said the university and its affiliates employ a large percentage of the community and SU contributes nearly $16 million annually to the local economy through the school and its sports teams. She described the university as an “economic engine that drives the city.”

In his decision, DeJoseph wrote that nearly half a million people live in Onondaga County and about 350,000 of those could serve on a jury like this one. In contrast, SU employs about 6,500 people, DeJoseph wrote.

In arguments Tuesday, Wang said Boeheim is a local celebrity, hired to promote companies and services in Central New York on TV, and is so well known he does not have to be identified. She has previously argued that Central New Yorkers are "obssessed" with Orange basketball. DeJoseph explained in his decision Wednesday that Boeheim's prominence and the team's success are not enough to sway a jury.

"There is also no dispute that the Syracuse basketball program has enjoyed great success under defendant Boeheim, including this season in which Syracuse is currently ranked No. 2 in all national polls," he wrote. "Regardless, just because a party to an action is of some prominence or holds an official position in the county does not justify an inference that an impartial trial cannot be held in that county."

In summary, DeJoseph said Wang had made careful arguments but they weren't enough to keep the case nearly 250 miles from the county that's home to SU and its head basketball coach, who is at the center of the case.

"The plaintiff's arguments are well-crafted and are certainly worthy of review from this Court, but they still equate to nothing more than mere beliefs, suspicions and a feeling of possible bias," he wrote. "The is insufficient to retain venue in New York County."

Wang and Allred, who was not in court Tuesday, previously argued that the case should stay in New York City since potential witnesses lived near there. Those witnesses, they said, included former SU players they allege had sex with Fine’s wife, Laurie Fine. On Feb. 10, a judge in New York City rejected Davis and Lang’s request that SU turn over the names of all basketball players from 1992 to 1997 and any information about players who had a sexual relationship with Laurie Fine. Laurie Fine was not discussed in court Tuesday.

Emily Kulkus can be reached at ekulkus@syracuse.com or 470-2184.

DeJosephRuling

The 11:08 a.m. fire was still going an hour after it was reported, emergency dispatchers said.

Sennett, NY -- Firefighters from several departments are fighting a mobile home fire reported around 11 a.m. off Route 5, according to emergency dispachers.

The fire was reported at 11:08 a.m. at 186 Henderson Lane in the Kenyon Landing mobile home park. Crews were still working to douse the blaze an hour later.

There were no reported injuries. The cause of the fire is not yet known.