Divers searched the capsized Costa Concordia ship off a Tuscan island and among the dead included a missing 5-year-old Italian girl, authorities said.

View full sizeAP PhotoThis is Jan. 23, file photo of Italian Navy scuba divers as they return after working on the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy.

ROME (AP) -- Divers searching the capsized Costa Concordia cruise ship off a Tuscan island found eight bodies Wednesday on one of the passenger decks, including that of a missing 5-year-old Italian girl, authorities said.

Italy's national civil protection agency, which is monitoring the operation off a Tuscan island, said three of the bodies were recovered a few hours after being spotted by fire department divers. It said they are those of a woman, a girl and a man. Because of worsening weather, the divers were not able to immediately remove the other five bodies.

The bodies were being transferred to a hospital on the mainland for identification, a process which could take days. Before Wednesday's development, 15 people were listed as missing, but only one of them was a child, Dayana Arlotti. The 5-year-old girl was on the Mediterranean cruise with her father and his girlfriend. The girlfriend survived. The father was among the missing.

Including the missing - who are presumed dead - and bodies already recovered, the death toll in the accident stands at 32.

Dayana's father, Williams, had a history of health problems, and was said by family to be traveling to celebrate a new lease on life - he had received a kidney and pancreas transplant in the past. Some witnesses told media that they last saw him during the evacuation as he headed back to his cabin to retrieve life-saving medication.

The Concordia, which was carrying some 4,200 passengers and crew, struck a reef off the Tuscan island of Giglio on Jan. 13, took on water and started listing badly until it lay on its side. Giglio is a tiny island of fishermen and tourist hotels.

Most of the victims were found on the capsized ship in the first week or two after the accident. Three corpses were recovered from the water a few hours after it grounded.

Officials coordinating the search efforts said divers went into an area where survivors had told rescuers some passengers had been gathering to await evacuation. Many of the ship's lifeboats couldn't be launched after the ship leaned heavily on one side.

Diving search experts from France, Sweden and Britain planned to meet with the Italian diving teams to lend assistance. Decomposing refuse and floating furniture inside the submerged ship have complicated the divers' work.

On Wednesday, helicopters lowered the Italian divers onto the above-water section of the Concordia, and then the divers scrambled down the side and swam through openings into wreckage.

Dayana's mother in the first days after the accident had been quoted as saying she was holding out hope her little girl somehow survived. After word came Wednesday that the child's body was seen, she was reported to be heading to the hospital where the bodies were brought.

"I can't say if the mother was freed from a nightmare or not," her lawyer, Davide Veschi, told Sky TG24 TV.

The Concordia struck the reef when it veered too close to the island while passengers were having dinner in the ship's main dining hall. The captain, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest at his home near Naples. He is being investigated for alleged manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship while passengers and crew were still onboard.

He denies abandoning ship and contends the reef wasn't marked on navigational charts, although sailors say the reef's location is well known and is on tourist maps. Another of ship's officer also is under investigation.

Italian news reports said Tuscan prosecutors were in the process of notifying other persons that they were formally being investigated, although their roles were not immediately specified.

Judge Roger J. Miner had served on the federal bench since 1981.

Syracuse, NY – Flags are flying at half-staff today in front of some government building, including the Onondaga County Courthouse, in honor of Roger J. Miner, a judge of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals who died Saturday at his home in Hudson.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked that state government buildings honor Miner.

According to the state Office of General Services, Miner served as district attorney of Columbia County and justice of the state Supreme Court before being nominated U.S. District Court judge in 1981 by President Reagan. Reagan promoted him to the appellate court in 1985.

Contributing to the push to vaccinate more adults was a California whooping cough epidemic in 2010 that infected 9,000.

ATLANTA (AP) -- A federal advisory panel wants all U.S. adults to get vaccinated against whooping cough.

The panel voted Wednesday to expand its recommendation to include all those 65 and older who haven't gotten a whooping cough shot as an adult.

Children have been vaccinated against whooping cough since the 1940s, but a vaccine for adolescents and adults was not licensed until 2005.

Since then, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has gradually added groups of adults to its recommendations, including 2010 advice that it be given to elderly people who spend a lot of time around infants.

Wednesday's recommendation means now all adults should get at least one dose.

"They've been moving up to this in baby steps," said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University vaccines expert.

Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a highly contagious bacterial disease that in rare cases can be fatal. It leads to severe coughing that causes children to make a distinctive whooping sound as they gasp for breath.

Recommendations from the panel are usually adopted by the government, which sends the guidance out to doctors.

Contributing to the push to vaccinate more adults was a California whooping cough epidemic in 2010 that infected 9,000. Ten babies died after exposure to infected adults or older children.

There's little data on how many elderly people have gotten the vaccine. Only about 8 percent of adults under 65 have been vaccinated, but about 70 percent of adolescents have.

Health officials believe whooping cough is underreported in older adults, perhaps because in older people the illness can be hard to distinguish from other coughing ailments.

A goal of the recommendation is to prevent teens and adults from spreading the disease to infants, although there's not good evidence this "herd immunity" approach has worked so far. Vaccination for children is included in a series of shots, beginning at 2 months.

The adult vaccine combines protection against tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough. One version of the vaccine, made by GlaxoSmithKline, was licensed for use in the elderly last year. The committee said another version, made by Sanofi Pasteur, can also be given. Both cost about $35 a dose.

The shot is as safe as a regular tetanus booster. Estimates range widely for how effective the vaccine is at preventing whooping cough in older adults, or how much its protection wanes years afterward.

Driver jumps from fleeing car, but is nabbed by a bystander, police say. Watch video

Syracuse, NY – Syracuse police are investigating a shooting this afternoon that wounded two teenagers, one critically.

The victims are both male, one 15 years old and the other 17 years old, Sgt. Tom Connellan said tonight. The 15-year-old is in critical condition at Upstate University Hospital while the 17-year-old's is being treated there for wounds that are considered non-life-threatening, Connellan said.

About 2 p.m., a Honda automobile pulled into a driveway in the 300 block of Furman Street, followed by a gray sport utility vehicle, Connellan said. Someone in the SUV started shooting at the Honda. A male jumped out of the Honda; he was wounded.

Gussie Sigler, of 325 Furman St., said she and her family were indoors when they heard five gunshots and someone yell, "Everyone get down, they're shooting."

Outside she saw a young man lying in the street, she said.

Connellan said the SUV pulled out, followed by the Honda. Both vehicles raced down Furman Street.

The Honda entered the intersection at South Salina Street. At the intersection with East Castle Street, it was hit in the rear by a moving van, Connellan said. The car hit a utility pole and continued on East Castle Street. The driver jumped out of the still-moving car but was grabbed by a witness at a nearby gas station. Another person at the gas station jumped into the car and stopped it.

Still in the Honda was a critically wounded 15-year-old boy, Connellan said.

That victim and the male found wounded on Furman Street were taken to Upstate University Hospital by Rural/Metro ambulance.

Connellan said police did not know why people in the SUV were shooting at those in the Honda, but said the Honda was "obviously targeted."

"We don't believe in any way that this was random," Connellan said.

He urged people with information to call investigators at 442-5222.

The laboratory, café and new lobby open Monday to join the X-ray imaging, urgent care and women’s services areas.

Fulton, NY -- People familiar with the old A.L. Lee Memorial Hospital in Fulton are in for a surprise when the new Fulton Medical Center opens for business Monday.

The hospital was gutted and everything inside is new, from equipment to floors to walls to check-in desks to snack bar to furniture. The laboratory, café and new lobby open Monday to join the X-ray imaging, urgent care and women’s services areas.

Occupational health for drug testing, physicals and hearing tests for employers requesting them of employees, will open the middle or end of next week.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and physical therapy open in late March.

Hours for urgent care are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily while the lobby hours will be 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Urgent care will be staffed with one doctor, a physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner and numerous registered nurses.

Urgent care sees about 60 patients a day with minor illnesses and injuries, such as cuts requiring stitches, sprains, upper respiratory infections and insect bites. Ambulances do not bring people to urgent care.

The building also includes three new boilers from Fulton Cos. in Pulaski, new air conditioning and two 400-kilowatt generators in the event of a power outage.

About 45 people are working at the center. An open house for the public to tour the new facility will be held sometime in the spring.

The center is owned and operated by Oswego Health, which also runs Oswego Hospital, Springside at Seneca Hill retirement community and The Manor at Seneca Hill, a skilled nursing facility.

There are no reports of injuries, an Onondaga County E-911 dispatcher says. Watch video

Bridgeport, NY -- A Good Samaritan with a rowboat rescued two adults and six children trapped on an ice floe that broke off from shore today north of Bridgeport, authorities said.

The rescue was underway when Bridgeport firefighters arrived after the 12:41 p.m. incident, said fire chief Frank Thompson Jr. None of the people ice fishing were injured.

Thompson said the group was fishing more than a half-mile from shore when a large ice floe broke off during windy conditions and started floating away.

The group's shanty and all-terrain vehicle remained on the ice, which shifted nearly a half-mile further out during the rescue.

Thompson called the people "very, very lucky" and urged people to stay off the ice, given the warm winter weather.

Several other people were seen ice fishing in the area. They moved closer to shore after the rescue.

View full sizeDick Blume / The Post StandardAn ice fishing shack and ATV on Oneida Lake, north of Bridgeport, drifts east on an ice floe after a crack in the ice separated the remaining ice on the lake. Two adults and six children were rescued.

Authorities did not know the names of those rescued or the Good Samaritan.

Brewerton and South Bay firefighters and NAVAC and Rural/Metro ambulance were sent to help, E-911 said.

In less than 24 hours, the petition for Lauren’s Law on Change.org received more than 1,000 signatures. Signatures now total more than 3,500 from across the country, with a goal of 5,000.

After the Sherrill man who fatally stabbed her 6-year-daughter was found not criminally responsible for his actions, the mother of Lauren Belius is advocating for harsher penalties for child killers.

On Feb. 14, Allison Belius left the Oneida County Courthouse surrounded by tearful friends and family. Her ex-boyfriend, David Trebilcock, had been sentenced to a minimum of one year in a secure mental health facility.

“I know everyone is waiting for me to comment on this miscarriage of justice for my baby girl,” she wrote on her Facebook page. “Frankly I don’t even know where to begin. The only thing I will say at this time is, rest assured, I’m not done fighting and this does not end here.”

Days later, Belius called on the community that supported her throughout the trial to help her petition state lawmakers “to make all child killers held accountable.”

“In 30 minutes, Lauren lost her life to a monster and our whole world stopped,” she wrote to followers on Facebook. “Lauren would not want this to happen to anyone else.

“We may not have gotten the verdict we were praying for, but let’s make sure the next innocent child that evil comes to visit does,” she continued.

In less than 24 hours, the petition for Lauren’s Law on Change.org received more than 1,000 signatures. Signatures now total more than 3,500 from across the country, with a goal of 5,000.

The petition calls for two changes to existing state laws:

» Making the murder of a child an automatic charge of first-degree murder. “Children deserve to be considered important enough to warrant a first-degree murder charge,” Belius said.

» And changing the verdict of “not responsible by reason of mental disease” to “guilty with mental disease or defect.” “Just in case the criminal makes a miraculous recovery, he will still have to serve the full sentence for the crime he committed,” Belius said.

Trebilcock faced a second-degree murder charge in the July 19 stabbing death of Lauren Belius. He told first responders, police investigators and medical professionals that he believed Lauren was the anti-Christ and he was a messenger sent from God to kill her.

On Feb. 14, after a bench trial, Oneida County Judge Michael Dwyer ruled that Trebilcock was not criminally responsible for his actions by reason of mental disease or defect, after testimony from psychiatric witnesses suggested he was a paranoid schizophrenic.

Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara said he has supported first-degree murder charges for child killers since the prosecution of Adam Theall, the Blossvale man who put his three-month-old son, Eithen, atop the muzzle of a loaded shotgun and pulled the trigger as state police watched.

“It is more egregious,” McNamara said of Theall, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison.

McNamara said he also agrees with the proposed change to the wording of verdicts in cases of mental illness, which he said other states have implemented.

“In reality, it is a not guilty verdict,” he said. “It doesn’t mean he didn’t do it, but there is no criminal conviction, and the defendant is exonerated of guilt.”

Belius also spoke out against current laws that allow a defendant to decide between a bench trial or a jury trial without input from the prosecutors or judge — a concern that was raised by Dwyer before he issued his verdict.

"The victim deserves the right to a jury trial,” Belius said. “The victim deserves to have all of the evidence heard at her trial.”

Belius and her family are sharing their progress through a Facebook group, Justice for Lauren Sylvia Belius, which includes pictures of Lauren, her twin sister, Erica, and older brother Nolan.

“I’m not going to let my little girl be forgotten,” she said.

Learn more about the petition at Change.org.

The Syracuse district is still under the gun to come up with new job evaluation systems for teachers and principals at all of its schools

Dennis Nett/The Post-Standard File photo. State Education Commissioner John B. King Jr. met with the editorial board of The Post-Standard in September. Today he announced he was releasing $11.5 million in grant money for the Syracuse school district that he had been withholding.

State Education Commissioner John B. King Jr. announced Wednesday he has reinstated $11.5 million in school improvement grants for the Syracuse school district.

King suspended the money in January because the district and its teachers’ and principals’ unions failed to come completely to terms on new job evaluations systems for staff at seven low performing Syracuse schools. The money was targeted for those schools.

The district and its unions continued to negotiate, came up with agreements, submitted them to the state and King accepted them for this year.

King also suspended for all 10 districts in the state that received the grants. He said Wednesday that five of those 10 had the money reinstated: Syracuse, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Albany and Schenectady.

Syracuse Superintendent Sharon Contreras declined Wednesday to talk about the details of the teacher evaluation system because she had not yet discussed them with Syracuse teachers. Contreras said she was proud of the work the administration did with its unions.

“We got it done and it was a good thing for children. We had a good outcome for kids,” she said.

The new systems are the first wave of a sea change in evaluations statewide. Teachers and principals are, for the first time, about to be rated based in part on student test scores and achievement. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is pressuring school districts and teacher unions to get new evaluations that do that in place at all schools by January.

The Syracuse agreements only cover the staff at the seven low performing schools for this year. In another couple of months the administration and unions have to come up with an agreement for principals and teachers at those schools for next school year, Contreras said.

The district also needs to hammer out agreements on evaluation systems for teachers and principals at all the rest of its schools. Two task forces are working on those systems and are charged with finishing the work by the end of the school year.

Those systems will “represent exactly what this community thinks great teaching and leadership look like,” Contreras said.
Contact Maureen Nolan 470-2185 or mnolan@syracuse.com

Emergency responders remain at the scene.

View full sizeDavid Lassman / The Post-StandardA two-car crash happened just before 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Interstate 690 entrance off West Genesee Street in Fairmount. Solvay volunteer firefighters are seen helping one victim (far right).

Fairmount, NY -- Emergency crews were called to a two-car crash at Route 5 exit ramp at West Genesee Street in Fairmount just before 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Check back for updates.

Accident reconstruction expert says John Tomaszewski may have never seen the railroad bridge over the Onondaga Lake Parkway before the bus he was driving slammed into it.

View full sizePeter Chen/The Post-Standard.File photo - Investigators examine the wreckage of a fatal Megabus accident on Onondaga Lake Parkway.

Update: A Coach USA official testified today that John Tomaszewski was trained to immediately pull over and call the dispatcher or 911 if he got lost while driving his Megabus route.

Fred Sprengel, director of safety, training and security for Coach USA, testified that drivers are taught from the first day that safety is the company's number one priority.

Sprengel also said drivers are instructed they are not allowed to use any personal devices - such as cell phones or global positioning system (GPS) devices - while driving a bus for the company.

They also are trained about height awareness to know the height of their vehicles and the fact that there are low bridges out on the country's highways, he said.

But Sprengel said he personally had never heard of the low CSX railroad bridge over Onondaga Lake Parkway or the fact it was just two miles from the Interstate 81 exit to the Regional Transportation Center that Tomaszewski missed the morning of Sept. 11, 2010.

While Sprengel testified he believed Tomaszewski had done a practice drive on his route from Philadelphia to Toronto, defense lawyer Eric Jeschke pointed out company documents showed only that Tomaszewski did a practice drive from Allentown, PA., to Syracuse on that route.

Pointing out that Coach USA - the parent company for the Megabus Tomaszewski was driving - had a risk assessment person in Syracuse for the trial, Jeschke suggested to Sprengel that the company was more interested in its own safety instead of the safety of passengers.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Chris Bednarski has one final witness - Sheriff's Detective Valerie Brogan - to testify for the prosecution about taking a statement from Tomaszewski after the crash. But she is on vacation and not available until Monday, something County Judge Anthony Aloi complained was "a tremendous inconvenience" to the court given the trial schedule.

With this being a non-jury trial, however, Aloi agreed to adjourn the trial to Monday to conclude the proceedings.

Syracuse, NY - A second accident reconstruction expert testified today there was no indication Megabus driver John Tomaszewski ever hit his brakes before the double-decker bus slammed into the bridge over Onondaga Lake Parkway.

Investigator Robert McMahon testified data from the bus's black box system showed no sign of the brakes being applied before the crash that occurred early the morning of Sept. 11, 2010.

McMahon, an accident reconstruction expert from the Amherst Police Department in Erie County, testified the bus's black box should have recorded any sudden deceleration in which the speed of the bus was reduced by nine miles per second.

With no such sudden deceleration recorded on the bus's data, there was no indication any heavy application of the brakes was applied, McMahon said.

That verifies the similar assessment Onondaga County Sheriff's Deputy Jonathan Anna testified to Tuesday. Anna made his determination that the brakes were never applied based on the absence of any skid marks at the scene of the deadly crash.

Tomaszewski, 59, of New Jersey, is facing four counts of criminally negligent homicide and one count of failure to obey a traffic control device for the deaths of four passengers in the crash.

View full sizeEllen M. Blalock / The Post-StandardMegasbus driver John Tomaszewski (on right) in court with his lawyer Eric Jeschke.

The prosecution contends Tomaszewski was distracted by a personal global positioning system (GPS) device and drove past as many as 13 warning signs before the bus slammed into the low CSX railroad bridge over the parkway.

The crash occurred after Tomaszewski missed the Park Street exit from Interstate 81 to get to the Regional Transportation Center here in Syracuse as the bus traveled from Philadelphia to Toronto.

Defense lawyer Eric Jeschke focused much of his lengthy cross examination of Anna Tuesday and this morning on the signs along the side of the road leading up to the crash site.

Jeschke got the deputy to admit four of the signs were prior to the missed exit, several were small signs indicating no trucks should be on the road and the last two were so close to the bridge as to be useless in terms of warning of the danger.

In response to a question from Aloi today about the existence of a sharp curve in the road shortly before the bridge, Anna admitted it would have been very difficult for a motorist to stop before the bridge if all he saw were the final warning signs.

Jeschke also questioned Anna about photographs and a videotape of the roadside signs. The lawyer repeatedly suggested lighting in the area created a glare that made the signs difficult to read, but Anna claimed that was caused by the photography and did not accurately reflect what a passing motorist would see.

McMahon testified the absence of any braking by Tomaszewski indicated to him that the driver may never have seen the bridge at all by the time he came out of the curve leading up to the bridge..

McMahon said he believed Tomaszewski did not "perceive the threat" posed by the low bridge.

That happens to be the legal standard for finding Tomaszewski guilty of criminally negligent homicide.

In order to convict Tomaszewski as charged in the four passengers' deaths, Aloi must conclude the driver failed to perceive the risk of his conduct in causing the deaths.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Chris Bednarski is expected to call one more witness to testify for the prosecution when court resumes this afternoon after a lunch recess.

But the trial itself may then be adjourned until next week for the prosecution to call one final witness, the Sheriff's detective who took a statement from Tomaszewski the day of the crash.

That witness is unavailable this week. And Jeschke said he does not intend to call any defense witnesses -- including his own client -- until the prosecutor has concluded his case.

The proposed project in Eastwood sparked a fight between Mayor Stephanie Miner and Common Council over control of the city planning commission.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Developer Tino Marcoccia said he is moving ahead with a $3 million development in Eastwood following city approval this week of his plans for a Kinney Drugs store at the corner of James Street and Midler Avenue.

The 11,550-square-foot drug store on the southwest corner of the intersection is the biggest piece of a project that also includes renovation of the former Steak & Sundae building on the northeast corner.

Marcoccia said he hopes to complete all the construction by Thanksgiving.

The city planning commission Tuesday night unanimously approved plans for the Kinney Drugs store, about a year after Marcoccia first proposed it. The lengthy process, during which the city insisted on changes, sparked controversy when some city councilors accused the planning commission of needless delay.

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 met with a drug store official and worked out a compromise that planning officials found acceptable.

But in December councilors cited frustration over the Eastwood project, and similar neighborhood developments, when they voted 6-3 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 next week’s council meeting, lawmakers are expected to vote on two compromise resolutions that would give them more input at the planning commission without changing city law.

The new drug store, complete with a drive-through window, will be built on a site that once held the Eastwood Sports Center bowling alley, demolished 11 years ago.

Marcoccia plans to demolish nearby buildings — an ice cream stand, a one-story pizza shop and a two-story commercial building — to make room for Kinney Drugs. Six existing businesses in those buildings plan to move across the street into the renovated Steak & Sundae building, which has been vacant for years, Marcoccia said.

Architect's rendering of the project

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

Frank Fowler Jr.'s fender-bender accidents attracted high-level scrutiny.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The 20-year-old son of Syracuse’s police chief resigned from his city parks department job last week, but only after inadvertently sparking a war of words that has deepened divisions between city hall and the district attorney.

Frank L. Fowler Jr.’s departure from the parks department had been planned since September, said Bill Ryan, the mayor’s chief of staff. Fowler quit Feb. 17 to join the U.S. Army, Ryan said.

Fowler’s sloppy driving record during his last three months on the job — in which he had three fender-bender accidents in city vehicles, costing the city at least $4,000 — spilled gasoline on the already fiery relationship between his father, Police Chief Frank Fowler, and Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick.

The week before Fowler’s son left his job, Fitzpatrick launched a grand jury investigation to examine whether police gave the chief’s son preferential treatment while investigating his accidents.

Mayor Stephanie Miner lashed out in response, accusing Fitzpatrick of abusing his office to pursue a “personal vendetta” against Chief Fowler. Fitzpatrick countered that he launched the grand jury probe because Miner impeded his investigation.

All of which seems like overkill to Leo Fountain, whose company van was involved in one of the accidents.

The van, driven by one of Fountain’s employees, was rear-ended Nov. 10 as it waited at a downtown traffic light at West and Fayette streets. The younger Fowler was driving a city pickup truck that bent the rear bumper of Fountain’s vehicle after Fowler failed to stop in time, according to the accident report.

Fountain said he never bothered to fix the bumper or to seek reimbursement from the city. The damage was so minor it wasn’t worth the trouble, he said.

“There wasn’t any damage to the vehicle other than a little twisted bumper,” Fountain said. “In order to save the city money and time, I said, well, no big deal.”

A passenger in Fowler’s truck, parks employee Dwight Hall, complained of back pain after the accident and was transported by ambulance to a hospital, according to police reports. The city has paid $648 in workers compensation thus far as a result of Hall’s injury, city records show.

Fountain said he can’t understand why county and city officials are warring over such minor incidents. “There’s enough problems in the city without us fighting over our children,” Fountain said.

The Nov. 10 accident was the first in a series for the young Fowler, who declined to be interviewed.

On Jan. 9, a pickup truck driven by Fowler scraped the private vehicle of another city employee as Fowler attempted to turn around in a parks department parking lot. Fowler left the scene without reporting the incident, but was identified from a surveillance camera.

Police investigated, but did not charge Fowler with leaving the scene of an accident. Parks Commissioner Baye Muhammad suspended him from work for a week as punishment for not reporting it.

The owner of the private vehicle, Earl Reese, has accepted a $3,384 payment from the city to cover his repair costs, Ryan said.

Fitzpatrick, who said he launched his grand jury probe in part to help Reese get paid by the city, declined Wednesday through a spokesman to comment on the status of his investigation.

Two weeks after he returned from his suspension, on Feb. 6, Fowler parked a pickup truck in the parks department lot and turned off the ignition, but neglected to put the gearshift in the “park” position, Ryan said. As Fowler walked into the building, the truck rolled across the lot and struck another city vehicle, Ryan said.

Neither vehicle required repairs, but the third accident prompted parks officials to ban the chief’s son from further driving, Ryan said.

Fowler, who got his first summer job at the parks department in 2009, started his most recent summer job in June 2011. When September came, Chief Fowler asked Ryan if his son could continue working several more months until he was due to join the Army, Ryan said.

“I said to Baye (Muhammad, the parks commissioner), ‘You got a spot for him?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, he can keep doing what he’s doing,’” Ryan said.

The younger Fowler earned $8.50 an hour as a part-time seasonal aide. Between June and Feb. 17, he was paid $6,980, according to city records.

Ryan said the parks department does not have a formal policy for evaluating who can drive vehicles or what actions should be taken in response to minor accidents. In the wake of Fowler’s accidents, Ryan said he plans to review city procedures.

Fountain, who owns the van involved in the Nov. 10 accident, said he’d be willing to provide a free dinner for the police chief, mayor and DA if they would try to iron out their differences. One of Fountain’s businesses is the Siena Restaurant in Camillus.

“Tell them to stop up to the restaurant for dinner and a drink,” he said. “I’d pay for it if they could straighten the whole mess out and get back to doing the people’s work.”

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

Jessica Mae Hardin and Joyce Hardin Garrard were both arrested and charged with murder after the death was ruled a homicide by a state pathologist.

View full sizeAP Photo/Etowah County Sheriff's OfficeJoyce Hardin Garrard, 46, left, and Jessica Mae Hardin, 27.

From the Associated Press

The grandmother and stepmother of a 9-year-old Alabama girl who died after witnesses said she was forced to run for three hours as punishment for lying have been charged with murder and are being held in jail.

Witnesses told deputies that Savannah Hardin was told to run and not allowed to stop for three hours on Friday Feb. 17, an Etowah County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman said. The girl's stepmother, 27-year-old Jessica Mae Hardin, called police at 6:45 p.m., telling authorities that Savannah was having a seizure and was unresponsive.

Authorities are still trying to determine whether Savannah was forced to run by physical coercion or by verbal commands only.

Savannah Hardin died Monday at Children's Hospital in Birmingham, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.

Authorities said Jessica Mae Hardin and Savannah's grandmother — 46-year-old Joyce Hardin Garrard — were both arrested and charged with murder after the death was ruled a homicide by a state pathologist.

View full sizeAP Photo/Etowah County Sheriffs OfficeSavannah Hardin, 9.

The sheriff's release says the autopsy report showed the girl was extremely dehydrated and had a very low sodium level.

The sheriff's office received calls from concerned citizens who had witnessed the incident. No other details were released, and spokeswoman Natalie Barton said the investigation is ongoing.

"It's sad when a family is grieving over the death of a daughter and granddaughter and so soon to find out that the death could have been prevented," Etowah Sheriff Todd Entrkin wrote in the release. "My thoughts and prayers are with the family."

Garrard and Hardin are being held in the Etowah County Detention Center, each on a $500,000 cash bond.

Barton said Savannah lived in an Attalla, Ala. home with her father, Robert Hardin, and Jessica Hardin. Garrard lives nearby.

Court records show that Robert Hardin filed for divorce from Jessica in August of 2010. In his complaint, he asserted Jessica was bi-polar and of had alcoholic tendencies. He accused her of previously having run off with the couple's own child, Gavin.

In her response, Jessica denied all of Robert's allegations.

Five months after filing for divorce, the two asked a judge to dismiss their case.

Savannah Hardin was a 3rd grader at Carlisle Elementary School. Superintendent Alan Cosby said her desk had been turned into a makeshift memorial where her classmates could leave notes and mementos. He said counselors and social workers were made available for students.

"This is obviously a very tragic, devastating, heartbreaking situation," Cosby said. "Nothing like this has ever happened before."

Technicians will be on hand to inspect and help install child safety seats in vehicles.

Oneida, NY -- State police will be holding a child safety seat clinic from 3:30 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Troop D Headquarters, 261 Genesee St,

Technicians will be on hand to inspect the seats, assist with installation and provide information and answer questions on child seat safety.

Appointments may be made by calling state police at 366-6032.

"I wanted to die as a virgin. He robbed me of that," the victim told jurors.

View full sizeAP Photo/Star-Telegram, Ron T. EnnisJeff Maxwell, right, enters Judge Trey Loftin's Weatherford, Texas courtroom on Tuesday Feb. 14, 2012. Maxwell, 59, is charged with aggravated kidnapping and two counts of aggravated sexual assault. He is accused of abducting a woman at gunpoint from her rural Parker County home March 1, 2011 and driving to his house about 100 miles away in Corsicana, then later setting her house on fire in an attempt to destroy evidence. Opening statements were to start Tuesday, a day after a jury was selected.

By The Associated Press

A Texas man who kidnapped his former neighbor and tortured her while holding her captive nearly two weeks was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison.

Jeffrey Allan Maxwell, 59, will be eligible for parole after serving 60 years because the judge ordered him to serve two of his three life sentences consecutively. The same jury convicted Maxwell a day earlier of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of aggravated sexual assault. He faced a minimum sentence of probation.

After abducting his ex-neighbor last March, he drove 100 miles away to his Corsicana home, 50 miles south of Dallas. Then he whipped and sexually assaulted her on a deer-skinning device. He assaulted her on his bed, where he kept her chained and gagged during most of the ordeal.

She was rescued when authorities went to question him about her disappearance after her house near Weatherford, about 70 miles west of Dallas, burned down.

"I want you to know there is a God, and he answered my prayers to spare my life," the victim, Lois Pearson, said in court, reading from a statement she prepared as several jurors wiped away tears. "It's a miracle that I am alive."

The Associated Press generally does not identify victims of sexual assault. But with the trial over, Pearson, 63, said she wanted her identity revealed to share her story of survival.

After the sentencing, she told news reporters that she was relieved Maxwell received the maximum sentence. She said she worried he would try to kill her if he ever got out of prison.

State District Judge Trey Loftin told Maxwell that he had preyed on the "least, lost, little and last."

During closing arguments, Parker County prosecutor Kathleen Catania told jurors that Maxwell previously had not been convicted of a felony and was eligible for probation, but "you don't get a free pass your first go-around." As she walked in front of jurors and held up items seized from his home, she said Maxwell collected locks, restraints, handcuffs, pepper spray, sex toys, whips, gags, pornography with bondage and rape scenes — and women's underwear.

Earlier Wednesday, jurors were shown authorities' recorded interviews with Maxwell in which he says he stole panties from the daughters of several girlfriends without their knowledge about 30 or 40 times. He initially tells the investigator they were "souvenirs" from ex-girlfriends.

"That's what this defendant feeds off of. He takes the most intimate piece of apparel ... without consent," Catania told jurors. "This defendant is what gives people nightmares. ... He is pure and unadulterated evil as he sits there."

Prosecutor Jeff Swain said Maxwell has shown a pattern of acting on his sexual fantasies by abusing women.

But defense attorney James Wilson said if jurors sentenced Maxwell to probation, he would be ordered to register as a sex offender, could be forced to undergo counseling and might be required to wear an ankle monitor.

"What he did to her was horrible at first and then it started tapering off. Why? I don't know," Wilson told jurors. "... Only y'all can figure out what's in his heart of hearts."

Defense attorneys called no witnesses during the entire trial. They declined to comment after the sentencing.

Pearson testified during the trial's penalty phase earlier Wednesday, saying she still has problems with her shoulder since her arm was fractured. That happened after Maxwell chained her wrists to the device in his garage and hoisted her off the ground. Pearson also said she lost three cats and irreplaceable belongings in the fire and was trying to forgive Maxwell.

The deeply religious woman has never been married and said she had no sexual experiences before the ordeal.

"I wanted to die as a virgin. He robbed me of that," she told jurors.

In another recorded interview with authorities after his arrest, Maxwell tells the investigator that was the first time he had done anything like that "to a complete stranger," later saying he had tried bondage with his second wife and even used a stun gun on her.

Two women told jurors that Maxwell molested them when they were children. Another woman testified that Maxwell raped her nearly 20 years ago after going to her house unexpectedly. She said she didn't want to go to court but filed a police report so there would be a record, in case Maxwell was ever arrested in another case.

On Twitter, people are expressing shock and outrage over the photo. Is it over the line?

View full sizeAPCandles burn at a memorial to Whitney Houston outside New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J.

The National Enquirer has published an unauthorized photo of Whitney Houston lying in an open coffin on the cover of this week's issue.

The headline, "WHITNEY: THE LAST PHOTO!"

The photo shows Houston lying in a gold coffin wearing a purple dress, jewels worth $500,000 and gold slippers on her feet.

The Daily Mail says that the National Enquirer claims the photo was taken at Whigham Funeral Home in Newark, New Jersey. The tabloid did not specify who took the picture.

People are expressing shock and outrage on Twitter.

Houston’s funeral, held Saturday at a Newark Church, was live streamed by the Associated Press with permission from the family. The stream had about 2 million unique visitors.

Houston was found unresponsive in the Beverly Hilton on the eve of the Grammy Awards. She died at the age of 48.

» See the photo on Gossip David's website

What do you think? Is it over the line?

Matthew Corrice, 24, of 8101 Commandant Way, was charged with misdemeanor assault after he surrendered to police.

Manlius, NY -- Manlius police asked for assistance from a Syracuse police dog to locate a suspect in an assault at a Manlius apartment complex tonight.

Police were called at 9:40 p.m. to 8101 Commandant Way to investigate an assault. The victim told police he was outside the apartment building smoking a cigarette when he exchanged words with another tenant of the building who was also smoking, police said.

After the two exchanged words, the other man struck the first and then fled on foot, police said.

With the Syracuse police dog, officers spread out through the complex to locate the assailant, police said. Police were able to contact the suspect by cell phone and got him to agree to surrender, which was about the same time the dog located him, police said.

Matthew Corrice, 24, of 8101 Commandant Way, was charged with misdemeanor assault.

New talk radio host has track record of riling listeners in Rochester

View full sizeCarlos Ortiz/Democrat & ChronicleLeft, president of LiveWire LiveWire Telephone Corp., Tish Robinson of Pittsford, chats with radio host Bob Lonsberry, at the Roc Center in Rochester, N.Y. on Friday, February 20 2009.

It was a slow news day: No fireworks, no controversies, no callers. He soldiered on, ready to address the looming threat of roving gypsy bands, when the word blooped out.

“North Sa-LEE-na Street,” he said, then paused. “Or is that Sa-LIE- na? I’m new to town. I know that’s a huge street. I apologize.”

It’s not easy learning a new town, especially from 90 miles away. But these days, that’s Bob Lonsberry’s challenge. He’s the first Rochester-based host of a Syracuse talk show. Lonsberry started Jan. 9 at WSYR “NewsRadio,” the AM/FM station whose legacy extends to 1927.

He replaced Jim Reith, a local personality who dominated Syracuse drive-home talk for 14 years but was ousted in a case of corporate belt-tightening.

Lonsberry faces a daunting task. At 2 p.m. each day, he finishes his three-hour show on WHAM-AM (1180), in Rochester. An hour later, he hits the Syracuse airwaves for his second three-hour shift. That’s talking for nearly 30 hours a week to an area roughly the size of Connecticut. With two of Upstate’s largest markets, Lonsberry has a chance to become the region’s most powerful radio commentator.

Which begs a question: Who is this guy?

Lonsberry, 52, is a hard-line conservative who scorns “commie-lib” politicians, judges and journalists. A prolific writer, he files a daily blog column, which is emailed to supporters for $12 a year. A devout Mormon, he claims to never drink or gamble, but he was, at least for a while, excommunicated. He’s been married three times and has eight children.

A former newspaper writer and TV commentator, he’s been suspended, canned, sued and protested — and once promoted himself as “the most fired man in Rochester media.”

To fans, Lonsberry stands as an unyielding voice against the liberal-elite power structure. To critics, he’s just another guy trying to be Rush Limbaugh. He possesses a sometimes hilarious, self-deprecating sense of humor, riffing on the vagaries and demons of everyday life.

And he has a history of controversy.

He sells “FUBO” merchandise: It stands for “F— U, Barack Obama.” He has called gays “freaks,” Muslims “animals” and praised the U.S. soldiers who recently infuriated the Arab world by urinating on Taliban corpses in a video.

“You pee for us all, Marine,” he said.

His job: to stir the pot.

Lonsberry did not respond to interview requests for this story. But his blog archives offer insights into the challenge at hand.

“I will learn Syracuse,” he wrote last month. “I will come to know its sights and smells. I will figure out what it thinks and how it is organized, who the good guys are and who the bad guys are.”

Racism charges in Rochester

People who talk for a living are prone to creating controversy. The most famous, or infamous, Lonsberry controversy occurred in 2003. He went from discussing news to making it.

The summer before, a 14-year-old black youth had been shot by Rochester police, raising city tensions. From his megawatt pulpit, Lonsberry railed about urban teens who were “raised like animals, groomed as predators” and called the victim “genetically a man, but socially a wolf.”

Those words riled the African-American community.

There were more: Lonsberry lamented changes in his town, the rural Livingston County village of Mount Morris.

“We’ve imported a ghetto,” he wrote, blaming a wave of minorities and “the prejudice they have against the white community.”

Finally, in September 2003, with a few stray words, he crossed the line.

In a show’s waning moments, as jungle music and monkey sounds played, Lonsberry said, “Monkeys loose up at the zoo again. ... Yeah, yeah, and he’s running for county executive!”

View full sizeKevin G. Hall/McClatchy-Tribune News Service Former Rochester Mayor William Johnson says he never called for Bob Lonsberry to lose his job and was touched by the radio host’s apology.

Immediately, the words were interpreted as a racial slur against Democratic Mayor William Johnson Jr., an African-American who was running for Monroe County executive. Moreover, it was the second time Lonsberry had referred to Johnson in such a manner. Earlier, he said, “Headline: Orangutan escapes at zoo, runs for county executive. Fascinating stuff.”

He faced a huge backlash. Political leaders from both parties condemned Lonsberry’s statement. WHAM suspended him for two days. His taped public apology didn’t stifle the anger.

His fans rallied, and traffic skyrocketed on his blog, where Lonsberry poured out his heart.

“I was wrong,” he wrote. “I let my thoughtlessness hurt a man for no reason.”

The protests grew. The station increased his suspension to three more days, and Lonsberry began to see a conspiracy.

“Somebody was running tape,” he charged, on his blog. “Somebody was recording the program, looking for the rope. This somebody then secretly took the quotes to the newspaper.”

He blamed the city’s power structure: “If I am criticizing a candidate or party in the run-up to the election, what better way to silence that criticism than to get me canned?”

Next day, he raged at the injustices meted upon him.

“What cannot be refuted, must be silenced. .. That apparently is the attitude of the liberal and afraid. The minority who seek to dominate society through threat and intimidation ... who have failed at their callings, yet sit in judgment of all, ever ready to cast the first and the second and the hundredth stone.”

Next day, WHAM dropped Lonsberry’s show. He fumed about the turn of events.

“The elite may claim otherwise, but Joe and Betty Rochester know the truth,” he wrote. “It wasn’t me who was silenced last week. It was the majority.”

He talked of running for public office, but the timing wasn’t right. Months earlier, on Valentine’s Day, Lonsberry had eloped with his second wife. Within days, the marriage collapsed. By June, it was annulled.

Johnson, who lost the county executive’s race, issued a statement accepting his apology.

And Lonsberry did have friends: His fans expressed unbridled loyalty. They protested his cancellation, boycotted WHAM’s advertisers and scorned his replacements. Lonsberry offered to take “diversity training,” and the next spring, he returned to the Rochester airwaves, vowing a new sensitivity to people of all kinds.

But his job hadn’t changed: Stir the pot.

Love him or hate him

View full sizeDennis Nett/The Post-Standard, 2011 Joel Delmonico, vice president of Clear Channel Communications in Syracuse, says Bob Lonsberry is a unique talent who can speak about local issues even though he doesn't live in the community.

“When you think of a talk-show host, think of a ‘1-to-9’ scale,” said Joel Delmonico, vice president of Clear Channel Communications Inc., who has managed WSYR for 20 years.

“The ‘1’ rating is, ‘I hear one vowel of the guy’s voice and want to shut off the radio.’” he said. “The ‘9’ rating is, ‘I can listen to this guy the rest of my life.’ So you have those two extremes. Most people would think you want the guy who scores 5s. The fact is, you don’t. You want the guy who gets as many 1s as he gets 9s.”

Lonsberry’s predecessor, Jim Reith, apparently scored too many 5s. In WSYR’s evening slot between Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, Reith’s relatively centrist politics were losing listeners, Delmonico said. Lonsberry brings a solid dose of GOP conservatism. Thus far, the reaction has been “overwhelmingly positive,” the general manager said.

Delmonico said he hated to terminate Reith, whom he guided into the host role. But said he considers Lonsberry a unique talent with a track record of success, even in cities where he does not live.

“Do I think it’s critical for WSYR to reflect the community, to talk about what’s important to Syracusans? Yes. Do I think someone has to be born here, raised here, live here and die here? I don’t think that’s true. And I think Bob will prove that,” he said.

As for the FUBO line? Delmonico said it “makes me uncomfortable, it definitely does.” But he would not ask Lonsberry to change his ways.

“The more I listen to him, the more fair I think he is,” Delmonico said, adding later, “There may be people who disagree with that.”

In June 2008, Lonsberry again made Rochester news.

The Monroe County Urban League had honored minority students who achieved a B average — a minor news item, until Lonsberry seized on it. He said white students received Bs all the time, without awards. Then he turned to a local program that praised teen mothers for graduating from high school.

“Let’s give them a special award and tell them how proud we are of them,” he mocked. “Or we could just tell them they should have left their freakin’ pants on, right?”

Over the next few days, Rochester City School Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard called for Lonsberry’s dismissal, and a group calling itself the Anti-Racism Movement called for a boycott of WHAM advertisers. Lonsberry’s legions rallied behind him. A rising conservative star, he was guest-hosting the nationally syndicated Glenn Beck show, though the timing wasn’t exactly prime — Christmas Eve.

After a few days of discussion, WHAM said Lonsberry would stay.

After all, Johnson had forgiven him. Others might, too.

“One day, he just shows up in my office,” Johnson recalled recently. “He said his life was ruined. He wanted to know what could he do to make it right. ... Look, I call myself a Christian. I believe in forgiveness.”

A faculty member at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Johnson spoke of knowing Lonsberry for more than 20 years, back to the host’s time as a newspaperman. He has felt Lonberry’s intense praise and fiery wrath. During the 2003 “orangutan” controversy, he never called for Lonsberry to lose his job, and he was touched by the man’s personal apology.

In that meeting, he recalled Lonsberry offering to do shows together, to work with him on community issues. But once back on the air, Lonsberry returned to blasting him.

“He’s an interesting man,” Johnson said. “At times, he has created a myth that there is this vast conspiracy, that some of us — all we live for is the chance to smash him down. But my view is that he’s way too smart to really believe that.

“He’s not a flame-thrower,” the former mayor continued. “He’s a nice, mild-mannered guy. That’s why it’s so distressing — that this guy, who I know is capable of so much better, allows himself to be dragged down to this level. I can only say he’s doing it because — and I’m going to use this word knowing that it will be disparaging to him — he’s an entertainer. He’s not a journalist. He’s an entertainer. And he says what he says not because he necessarily believes it, but for shock value.”

Johnson compared Lonsberry to Keith Olbermann, the left-wing commentator who moved from MSNBC to Current TV, with a far smaller audience.

“Basically, they both just rant and rave,” he said. “Olbermann is now broadcasting on a channel where nobody can watch him. For him, it must be like purgatory. He can talk all he wants, but nobody can hear what he says. I wish they could find a place like that for Bob Lonsberry.”

A listener’s take

Tom Hanley, of Fulton, made sure to tune in to Lonsberry’s first Syracuse shows. A longtime WSYR listener, Hanley considered any local voice better than the syndicated Hannity show, which replaced Reith’s.

His hopes didn’t last. Hanley, 63, found Lonsberry’s “FUBO” products to be offensive and disrespectful. He viewed Lonsberry’s right-wing positions as too extreme to be accepted.

“I swore to myself that I wouldn’t call,” Hanley said.

His vow didn’t last. Lonsberry launched a tirade against anti-smoking programs. Hanley called to defend them.

“Thank you, Mr. Obama,” Lonsberry said and hung up.

Stunned, Hanley vowed to not listen.

The vow didn’t last. Days later, he called again, this time to discuss taxing the wealthy. As Hanley began, Lonsberry hung up.

Hanley vowed to never call again.

His vow didn’t last. Days later, he found himself on hold, waiting to talk to the show’s producer.

“He was polite,” Hanley recalled. “He just said, ‘We don’t want the same people who used to call Jim Reith.’ He didn’t bar me from calling. But it’s clear to me they don’t want opposing viewpoints.”

These days, Hanley vows not to listen. But his vow doesn’t always last. If his wife catches him, she scolds him.

“The only ones who call are the ones who agree with him,” Hanley said. “Only the cheerleaders. ...

“You’d think being new to this area, he would be open to community ideas, even those different from his,” Hanley said. “The bottom line is, it’s supposed to be a local show.”

But now and then, Hanley tunes in, just to check what’s happening.
Learning the Syracuse market
There’s still the issue of doing “local” Syracuse radio from someplace else.

“I’ve got a problem with any guy out of Rochester who they try to disguise as a local radio show host,” said Roosevelt “Rick” Wright, a professor at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School for Public Communications and a broadcaster for more than 40 years. “We’ve got a lot of good local people who know this community, who should be doing that show.”

But few talkers can fill two three-hour shows — in separate markets, simultaneously — as Lonsberry did for 10 years for Rochester and Salt Lake City.

He has vowed to spend a few days in Syracuse each week. But that won’t be the key.

“If he is interesting and compelling, he will do well, whether he comes here often or not,” said Ed Levine, president of Galaxy Communications, a group of stations in and around Syracuse that is a competitor of Clear Channel, Lonsberry’s employer. “If he is not interesting and compelling, well, he can stand on ‘Sa-LEE-na Street,’ handing out dollar bills, and his ratings won’t be any good.”

So Lonsberry studies his newly adopted town. He doesn’t hide his newby status. He solicits advice on restaurants. He focuses on news stories, even the looming gypsy threat. He needs to make friends and enemies —1s and 9s. And he needs to say their names right.

“That’s the town of Lysander,” he said, later that slow day, then paused. . “I apologize if I mispronounced that.”

He didn’t.’’

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. 7
Thursday, Feb. 23
Water pays homage to those who kept fire
The prize will go to those who don't tire.

Previous clues

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.

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

A storm system coming up the Ohio Valley is expected to bring snow, sleet and rain into the area tonight through Saturday.

Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse area could get one last glimpse of the sun today before a storm system cruises in and dumps more winter in the region’s lap, the National Weather Service says.

Today’s forecast for Syracuse calls for a slim chance of snow showers before 8 a.m., followed by gradually clearing skies as the thermometer heads toward a high of 41 degrees.

A storm system rolling up the Ohio Valley is expected to change that tonight.

A wintry mix of precipitation is expected to fall late this evening into early Friday across the Finger Lakes, Central New York and into the western Mohawk Valley. One to 3 inches of snow could fall around Syracuse, the weather service’s Binghamton office said.

The Buffalo office of the weather service predicts 2 to 4 inches of snow and sleet tonight before the rain comes, especially across the Genesee Valley and the Finger Lakes.

The rain-snow-sleet mix is expected to continue falling around Syracuse until around 11 a.m. Friday, then turn to all rain. Another 1 to 3 inches of snow and sleet is possible. The high temperature is expected to be near 42, but it should feel much cooler under east winds 11 to 21 mph, gusting to 36 mph.

The rain is expected to turn back to snow and sleet Friday afternoon east of Lake Ontario, with 2 to 4 inches of accumulation possible. Expect a high of 38 degrees in Oswego.

Gusty winds should continue around Syracuse Friday night with snow showers likely and a low around 27.

The snow showers are expected to continue into Saturday around Syracuse before moving off around 1 p.m. It will be breezy, too, with winds 16 to 20 mph gusting to 32 mph. Expect a high of 34 degrees. It should be mostly cloudy Saturday night with a reduced chance of snow showers and a low around 18 degrees. Snow showers remain likely all through Saturday around Oswego.

Sunday’s forecast calls for partly sunny skies and a high in the lower 30s, followed by a mostly cloudy evening and a low around 21 degrees.

Warmer weather is predicted for Monday as a chance of rain and snow showers yields to mostly cloudy skies and a high around 45 degrees. The chance of rain and snow showers continues at night as the thermometer falls to the upper 20s.

Syracuse.com's weather page has current conditions, forecasts, radar, maps and more.