axkurtz's Blog

I recently shot a story in a Newport News parking lot with NN Police. I can't believe how many people leave their car doors unlocked or leave the window down, with valubles in plain sight! Please don't be a victim. . .lock your car up and hide anything that might attract a thief.

Here's a link to the story-

http://www.wavy.com/Global/category.asp?C=110191&nav=me
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Scroll down to the unlocked doors left wide open to thieves.

Hey Hampton Roads,

I'm looking for great feature stories.  We are expanding wavy.com and would like to produce "web-exclusive" stuff.  Do you know any events that should be profiled?  Odd and interesting character's?   I'm looking for stuff that's a little off the beaten path.  I'm looking high and low, any suggestions will be taken seriously.  So, if you know  a certain someone or something that would make a great feature story, shoot me an email at-

aaron.kurtz@wavy.com

Looking forward to hearing from you!!!

I was sent to cover a house fire in Chesapeake on Tuesday afternoon.  Upon arriving, I quickly scanned the scene.  I noticed some teens in the street clutching what looked like tee shirts.  Without going any further, I started rolling on the what was happening.  Then it became apparent.  They were holding what used to be close family members-their pets.
 
It was devastating.  My heart sunk.  Then I learned that three cats and two dogs died from smoke inhalation.  My heart sunk even lower.  I walked around to the other side of the house where I found two women talking next door.  I approached them slowly and asked if they knew what had happened.  One woman told me she was the wife of the man who was in the house at the time of the fire.  She did not want to speak on camera, but she gave me a brief synopsis of what had occured.      
 
Her husband was home alone, asleep.  A fire started in a room in the house.  Samantha, one of two dogs, came upstairs and woke him up by barking.  Somehow, Samantha or Sam as her owner affectionately called her, went back downstairs and the smoke overtook her.  Firefighters arrived on scene quickly and tried to revive her with a new oxygen mask they recently received, a special mask made for animals.    They did all they could but it was too late, Sam passed away.      
 
Buddy Hayes, the neighbor next door whom the wife was talking with said that she didn't mind talking with me.  I posted the story below for you to see.  As a pet owner myself, I felt that the story needed to be done.  Unfortunately, it did not make air that night due to various reasons.  I went home that night,  hugged my dog and told her how much I love her.  You never know how much they're willing to give for you.    
 
http://wavy.com/Global/category.asp?C=106573  
 
 
 

Yesterday's tragic event in Minneapolis should ring loud thoughout the country and the world on the safety of bridges.   We take for granted, that we travel across these things several times a day here in Hampton Roads.  I'm sure many of you have concerns, as well as myself.  How safe are the bridges around here?  Which one's concern you?  My heart goes out to those involved with yesterday's bridge collapse. . .

Hey Hampton Roads,

I'm looking for great feature stories.  We're are getting ready to expand wavy.com and produce lot's of "web-exclusive" stuff.  Do you know any neat people who should be profiled?  Odd and interesting character's?   I'm looking for stuff that's a little off the beaten path.  I'm looking high and low, any suggestions will be taken seriously.  So, if you know  a certain someone or something that would make a great feature story, shoot me an email at

aaron.kurtz@wavy.com

Looking forward to hearing from you!!!  

Well, I knew it was that time of year, when I received the text message on my phone a few weeks ago. I've since erased it but it went something to the effect like this:

"Photogs, we are now in hurricane season. Have your gear ready and be prepared to cover the storm. If you need a raincoat for your camera, now is the time to see me and get a new one. JM."

That was from our Chief Photographer Jeff Myers. On most day's he's like Santa on X-mas, ready to hand out nine volts for your wireless mic, beta SX tapes and lens fluid to keep the pictures appear like a well squeegeed window rather than the winshield of a Humvee in the desert of Iraq. But, on this day I noticed a more serious tone to his message. More like, "The apocalypse is coming and your gonna be out in the middle of it, so better not call me if your camera goes down!"

One of the toughest stories to cover in this biz is of course, the hurricane. No matter how many times you do it, you never get used to it. I mean, what's there to like about being soaked to the bone, sand blasted into oblivion, and worst of all, cold wet feet for 24+ hours

Here's a few things I learned and will gladly share with you. Forget about trying to stay dry, period. No raincoat protection or 40 gallon Glad Hefty bags are going to keep rain (and sand) from seeping in somewhere. I like to wear a pair of those, I call them SUV flip-flops. You know the kind with all the neoprene and rubber around your foot. They're great because they protect your toes but also you can rinse them off at the end of the day and there good to go.

Another thing I like to wear is a pair of those lightwieght runner shorts. They'll dry fast too (remember your Maytag drying machine will probably be out) and you'll be ready to go the next morning. Flashlights are super important. Get one of those Super High Beam one's if you're gonna be travelling in you car at night especially on the Outer Banks. When the lights go out you'll miss all the important landmarks you're used to seeing, like 7-11 and Mickey D's.

Pack plenty of food and water. Nothing will be open. And, if they are, they've already been ransacked by the locals, so more likely you'll be left with pork rinds and bubble gum. So, bring your own supply and eat well. You'll need it for the five days BEFORE the storm comes when the assignment desk sends you out to cover every PRE-hurricane story.

More to come later. . .

Whatever happened to Johnny Ray Mizelle??? Last I heard he was locked up in Canada. For those of you who don't know, Johnny Ray, stole a sheriff deputy's car while being transported to the county jail in N.C. last summer for some misdemeanor charges. The deputy pulled over to help a person with a flat tire. While the deputy was busily assisting the stranded motorist, a flexible Johnny Ray manuevered his handcuffs, in Houdini like fashion, to the front of his body and stole the police cruiser.

A huge manhunt ensued and Johnny Ray was later caught, ironically, the same way he escaped, by getting a flat tire-in CANADA! How he made it up there is beyond me. I thought the way the local media covered the story at the time was. . .laughable! Almost like a bad movie version of Natural Born Killers. The best part was when one of the local stations caught a "glimpse" of Johnny Ray running into the woods. Bigfoot footage is what comes to mind when I think about that clip.

Anyway, just wondering whatever happened to that guy?? Can anybody provide some insight or care to share thier memory of this story? It's always the wacky ones that we remember. . .