Oneida man sentenced for killing baby

by Carson Daniels (NCC News)
Nov. 18, 2010 7:13 p.m.

The Oneida County man who killed his 3-month-old son with a shotgun in front of state troopers was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Thursday morning. Adam Theall, 21, of Rome pleaded guilty in September to second-degree murder after he shot his son outside his parents' home in Blossvale on June 22.

During his plea Theall admitted to being high on drugs when he shot the infant baby. Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara said drugs were not the reason Theal killed his son.

"Even though his might have been high, that isn't why he committed this act. He committed this act because he's a very mean and angry individual that when somebody doesn't do what they want, he punishes them," said McNamara.

McNamara said he believes Theal killed his son to get back at the baby's mother Jamie Baker for seeing another man. McNamara also said Theal has a history of physically abusing Baker and members of his own family, including his parents.

Along with his sentence Theal is ordered to have no contact with Baker or his other son Adam Jr.

A soldier’s body comes home

By Luisa Ardila (NCC News)
November 18, 2010

Remains received
A crowd of hundreds of people holding American flags assembled on the sidewalks of downtown Chittenango this Thursday to receive a fallen soldier’s remains.

Army Sgt. Edward H. Bolen, 25, died on November 10 in Afghanistan at a roadside bomb attack, leaving his newly married wife and a village-full of mourners.

Bolen was remembered fondly by those that knew him in Chittenango, including his chemistry teacher, Harold Muller.

“He was a good student, respectful, worked hard. In indoor track… [he did] whatever the team needed,” said Muller. “The kids had a fun time just being around him.”

Sgt. Edward H. Bolen
Bolen was born in Chittenango and graduated from the village’s high school. He was known for his athletic abilities and has been described as “a popular kid.”

After graduating from CHS, Bolen went to State University College at Cortland, where he met Andrea Perez, the woman he would later marry. He joined the military in November 2006, separating him from Perez as he moved from Iraq to Louisiana.

They married in September of this year.

Chittenango honors him
Although his parents currently live in California, his family has come to the area to celebrate his life and honor his service.

• He was received in Hancock Air Base by family, friends and a military honor guard


• Calling hours will be held from 2 to 8 p.m. on Friday at Chittenango High School gymnasium


• The funeral service will be held at the same place at 10 a.m. Saturday


• His remains will be buried, with full military honors, at Oakwood Cemetery in Chittenango

Photos by Stephen D. Cannerelli / The Post-Standard

Oneida Man Receives Sentence for Killing Three-Month Old Son

Tempers Flare in County Court

Adam Theall, 21 of Oneida County, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Thursday morning for killing his three-month old son with a shotgun on June 22. According to 9WSYR, Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara suggested Theall receive the death penalty, setting off an expletive-laced tirade from the Vienna resident. Theall cursed off McNamara, as well as family members of Jamie Baker, Theall's ex-girlfriend and mother of 3-month old Eithen.

"There's two Adam Theall's"

During Theall's last court appearance on September 30, when he plead guilty to killing his son in his mother's house, he expressed remorse and according to syracuse.com, was emotionally distraught during court proceedings. However, McNamara said that Theall showed his true colors Thursday, displaying a violent temper that has built up an extensive criminal history.

"When he started saying these things to people, that's the Adam that I became familiar with during our investigation...he's a very manipulative individual...he was very abusive to his parents and that's the real Adam," McNamara said.

Making Excuses

Oneida County Court Judge Michael Dwyer, as well as District Attorney McNamara, rejected Theall's explanation as to why he killed his son. Theall claimed he had been high from drugs taken at a friend's party, but both the prosecutor and judge in court today vehemently brushed aside Theall's alleged motive. McNamara said it was "the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard." and Judge Dwyer referred to Theall's reaction to Jamie Baker leaving him when casting aside the drug excuse.

"It's not that you were high on drugs -- this is the way you thought was best to get back at Jamie Baker and that's why you did it," Dwyer said.

To listen to NCC News' Dan Cohen's report on the sentencing, click play below:

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Letter Carriers Cease Fall Collections

Local letter carriers will no longer be collecting food donations this fall. For 22 years carriers collected the donations, sometimes as much as 800,000 pounds of food a year.

"The pantries really looked forward to the fall collection because it was not something that they had to purchase and it kind of filled in the gaps in their shelves," said executive director of Interreligious Food Consortium of Central New York Michele Jordan.

Why the donations stopped

In 2008, Empire Vision ended its sponsorship of about 1.5 million postcards given out annually. Losing this means of advertising caused a major decrease in the amount of food collected, only 100,000 pounds in 2009. Because of this, carriers stopped taking donations in fall 2010, affecting the community.

"Unfortunately it was something that went on for a long period of time and they always counted on it," said Jordan. "When they didn't have it this year people were surprised and also a little concerned."

But letter carriers haven’t given up the donation effort. Their focus has shifted to the annual national food drive which takes place in the spring.

What it means for pantries

The loss of donations has also stretched the pantries. With fewer donations, they have had to buy more of their own food. They have also seen an increase in visitors in the past few months, adding to the strain.

Rundown Rationale

By Kenny Connolly (NCC News)

Nov. 18 , 2010, 8:00 p.m.

A1 Music & Heads

A2 Standoff Killer Sentenced

We began the newscast off with Carson's anchor actuality on the sentencing of Adam Theal in Utica. Theal shot his 3 month-old child in front state troopers during a standoff in June. The sentencing was easily the story of the day, and we were able to get sound on from the Oneida County District Attorney on the case. It was an easy choice to lead with this, and leading with an anchor actuality is always beneficial for the newscast.

A3 Welfare Fraud

Staying with the Central New York theme, this reader was on the 41 people who were caught stealing over $620,000 of welfare benefits that they were not entitled too. One of the couples charged was a Syracuse couple who stole $108,000 in benefits. These people were all charged in court, so it flowed with the Theal story.

A4 Soldier Funeral

We then went hyper-local with the story on Ed Bolen, the Chittenango native who was killed in Afghanistan last week. The soldier's body was returned to his home today, and there was a procession through the streets of Chittenango. It was more of a feature story, so we used it as a reader and the military aspect helped us set up our next story.

A5 Nuclear Treaty

To avoid three straight readers, we then went to our national anchor actuality. In this story, President Obama called on Congress to ratify a treaty that would allow the US to inspect Russian Nuclear facilities. So this story flowed well with the Bolen reader because of the military ties.

A6 Maffei Votes

This story was a reader updating the results of the 25th Congressional Representative seat. Democratic Candidate Dan Maffei picked up 521 votes to narrow Ann Marie Buerkle's lead. This story's political focus flowed well with our previous story on Congress.

A7 NY Congress Censure

Continuing with the Political trend, this was a reader on New York Representative Charles Rangel agreeing to a plea. The ethics committee recommended Rangel be censured for his financial and fundraising misconduct. Rangel misused a rent-controlled apartment for political purposes and also improperly used government mail services.

A8 Post Office

Another smooth transition. After mentioning Rangel's misuse of mail services, we had an opportunity to break up two readers with Tony's live wrap on the post office. Letter carriers in Central New York will no longer collect food from local customers to give to local pantries because of a lack of funding. In past years, mail carriers have collected more than 800,000 pounds of food for donation.

A9 Syracuse Housing

This was a reader on the dispute going on in Syracuse's Housing Authority Board. Charlie Vinal currently holds his position as board of directors, but refuses to step down although Mayor Stephanie Minor has already appointed another person to the position. Like the mail carrier story, this story was story that was conflict-based, and was also local.

A10 Wegmans

Finally, we concluded the newscast with a softer story on a new batch of Wegmans commercials. The new advertisements feature actor Alec Baldwin. The commercials were shot at a Syracuse-based Wegmans and will be shown throughout the state of New York through the holidays. It was the softest story, so we placed it last to conclude the newscast.

A11 Lifetime Health Medical

This was a reader we were forced to drop because we were well over on our time limit.

A12 Teaser

B1 Kicker

Our kicker story was on the Syracuse International Horror, Science-Fiction and Fantasy Film Festival in East Syracuse. It was a soft story that works well to end the newscast because it is something interesting going on locally.

B2 Weather

B3 Music & Close

Rundown Rationale, Christina Jones, 3:45 P.M., 11/18/2010

By: Christina Jones

My stories were equally spread throughout the rundown; meaning there was never a reader read 3 times in a row. And most of my stories were hyper-local.

A2- I began my newscast with Dan's story on the man who was sentenced to 25 years to prison for shooting his 3-month-old child to death. This story is both heart-wrenching and hyper-local. Although the incident did not occur in Syracuse, but in Vienna, it was still local to our DMA. The story sparks interest and is an attention grabber; it is a story that would definitely pull the audience in.

A3- Next, Luisa's Anchor Actuality. Her story was on the soldier who died in Afghanistan on November 10. His body came home today, as veterans and townspeople of Chittenango honored the fallen soldier who was newlywed in September. This story is yet another heart-wrenching death story that has a great affect on people in our DMA. So both stories flowed well.

A4- Next on the rundown was Kevin's live wrap on Central New York's Postal Services decision to stop collecting food for the holiday season after a 22-year tradition. This story flowed because it is another local story that greatly affects local people in our area who want to give back during the holiday season, but can’t anymore because of failed advertising.

A5- The U.S. Postal Service story on closing the Post Office on South Main Street in North Syracuse was next on the rundown. This story easily flowed from one post office story to the next so that's why I placed it here. It is also local and relevant to those worrying whether this will cause job loss. Fortunately, it won't. All workers will be transferred to another office in the area.

A6- The crackdown on welfare fraud was next. This story was hyper-local because a Syracuse couple was involved in the case. The story flowed because the post office story was about cutting costs and this story was about theft and fraud of welfare money being stolen.

A7- Next: Luisa's Anchor Actuality on Charles Rangel. This was another story on fraud. Rangel was found guilty of breaking multiple House of Ethics rules. This story is state news, but still relevant to our DMA because he's an official for our state, and his decision not to pay taxes on a local home might have a negative influence on people in our area.

A8- Next on the rundown, the story on Charles Vinal refusing to step down from his position on the Syracuse Housing Board (SHB). This story flowed because it was another story of an official doing something ridiculous. Alike the Rangel story, Vinal's decisions might influence people in our DMA to react to his absurd actions at the SHB meeting.

A9- The Maffei and Buerkle votes were next on the rundown. The story is local and relevant, seeing just how far they've both come in the polls. I kept this story to the end just in case we needed to kill it because it wasn't that important. And we did wind up killing it.

B1 -Kicker: The kicker was on actor, Alec Baldwin and his mother being featured in a holiday-themed commercial. I thought this story added a light kick to the story. Listeners might like this story especially because the commercial was shot in the local Wegmans.

Local pantries scrambling for food donations

Without the expected food drive by the postal service, local charities are worried they may lacking donations this holiday season

By Kevin Barry (NCC News)
Nov. 18, 2010, 8:00 p.m.

For 22 years, local mail carriers have been collecting food donations from houses on their mail route and delivering those donations to food pantries in the area. However, without the drive's corporate sponsor, the postal workers will have to stop their holiday drive.

Empire Vision, a low cost eyecare provider, had been sponsoring the drive, donating $1.5 million to print postcards to remind residents of the drive. With the reminders some of the drives brought in nearly 800,000 pounds of donations, compared to only 100,000 pounds in year after Empire Vision withdrew its corporate sponsorship.

Interfaith Food Consortium
"The pantries really looked forward to the fall collections because, people donated the food so it was not something they had to purchase," said Michele Jordan, the Executive Director at Interfaith Food Consortium. "It kind of filled in the gaps in their shelves. And it's really good for the holidays too."

Jordan said Interfaith and other charities are expecting more requests from local residents for food this holiday season since pantries are expecting less donations than they received in past years.

"Our main concern is the people who use the pantries and the pantries themselves," said Jordan.

Outside competition
Jordan says that collection has become harder in recent years with the emergence of other charitable organizations that members of the community to which members of the community also donate.

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