- [Michael] Tonight on "WPBS Weekly: Inside The Stories."

April is Cancer Awareness Month, discover how Paws4Potter is bringing awareness to cancer detection in your furry friends.

Plus the unveiling of a very special tribal belt at the Akwesasne Cultural Center, and the Center's future plans for local artisans.

Plus Kingston's Town Crier brings history to life with every call, delivering important announcements and proclamations to the community.

Your stories, your region coming up right now on "WPBS Weekly: Inside The Stories."

(bright music) - [Announcer 1] "WPBS Weekly: Inside The Stories."

is brought to you by- - [Narrator 1] When you're unable to see your primary care provider, the Carthage Walk-in Clinic is here for you.

Located off Route 26 across from Carthage Middle School.

Comfort and healing close to home when you need it most.

- [Narrator 2] North Country Orthopedic Group is there for your urgent ortho or sports related injuries.

With our onsite surgical center and same or next day appointments, we're ready to provide care for patients of all ages.

Your health matters to us.

North Country Orthopedic Group, keeping healthcare local.

- [Narrator 3] We are the North Country.

We're protecting one another, like family is who we are.

And where our tomorrow will always be worth defending.

Find out how we keep the North Country strong at ClaxtonHepburn.org today.

- [Announcer] Select musical performances are made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a Regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the office of the Governor and the New York state legislator, administered by the St. Lawrence County Arts Council.

- Good Tuesday evening everyone, and welcome to this edition of "WPBS Weekly: Inside The Stories."

I'm Michael Riecke.

We begin tonight by raising awareness.

A cancer diagnosis is always scary and more common than you might think.

That's true for both people and pets.

Take Luna for example.

A black lab diagnosed with cancer at seven years old.

With the care of her owner, Jen Loonan and support from Paws4Potter they were able to detect, battle and beat Luna's cancer before it beat her.

WPBS producer Luke Smith has more.

(crowd indistinctly chattering) - [Luke] She may look old, but she's one tough pup, her name is Luna.

And for this canine, things haven't always been easy.

- She is about 10 years old.

We adopted her about five years ago from the SPCA.

We did adopt her with her seeing eye dog brother as a bonded pair because Luna is blind.

When we adopted Luna and Shadow, we actually lost Shadow to a very aggressive form of mast cell tumor cancers.

And then shortly after that, Luna got her diagnosis.

- [Luke] Luna's cancer was treated by veterinarian and founder of Paw4Potter, Kyle Stevenson.

Her mission is to help detect pet cancer early and treat it.

And for Luna, that's just what she did.

- When we found out that Luna also had a mast cell tumor, Jen was absolutely devastated because she had a really bad experience with Shadow's mast cell tumor, which was very aggressive and metastatic, it had spread.

Luckily with Luna, her mast cell tumor was not aggressive.

And we found it super, super early because Jen was so diligent about looking Luna over all the time for any new lumps or bumps or any problems that she might have.

- [Luke] Paws4Potter is a nonprofit organization bringing awareness to early cancer detection in pets, whether canine, feline or equine.

They've been able to help pets like Luna live longer, healthier lives.

- When I created Paws4Potter back in 2016, my goal was to reach out to the communities locally and eventually more broadly than that, to make them more aware of pet cancer being something that their pet could have.

There are so many people I talk to that don't even realize that pet cancer is even a possibility.

And unfortunately, one out of four dogs are going to develop cancer at some point in their lifetimes.

And there are some studies that say it's even one in three, and half of those are going to die because of that cancer.

And oftentimes it's because we don't detect it early enough.

- I think going through cancer the first time you learn that it's not a death sentence, that you can treat it.

So we knew that we would do everything we could to try and treat it.

And thankfully it was a good outcome for Luna.

She's been cancer free for almost three years now.

Her mast cell tumor was curative with surgical removal.

- [Luke] But some pets aren't as lucky as Luna, something Kyle knows all too well after losing her dog Potter to cancer in 2015.

- I had a horrible experience with pet cancer with my own dog, don't get me wrong.

And there are numerous people out there, Jen included, that didn't have good experience with cancer.

But she's had two dogs that did have really good lives with cancer, with being able to treat them.

And we caught both of them early.

And if I could provide that hope, that awareness to even just one person every single day, that fills my cup up so much more than anything else does in my life.

- Paws4Potter is an amazing organization.

The education that they do in the local community, the events that they do are fun and help, you're supporting a great cause while you're having fun.

And then it's just amazing to get to know people and share experiences, whether it's linked to canine or feline cancer, or whether you're just hanging out with somebody else's dog, having fun.

- [Luke] Paws4Potter has gone on to raise $80,000 towards the National Canine Cancer Foundation, bringing awareness for dozens of pets in the community.

And for many early cancer detection isn't just important, it can be life saving.

- I think the best advice I could give people is just be aware of your dog or your pet.

Have them tested if you think that something is going... if something is odd with them, just see your vet.

Have lumps tested, have routine blood work done.

If you catch cancer early enough, you can have a good outcome.

Not to say that you always will, some forms are aggressive, but your best bet is to detect it early and then don't be scared of the treatment.

- I want pet owners to be their own heroes.

I want them to be the hero for their pet and be an advocate for their pets.

So the first thing to do is being diligent about looking at their pet, even if it's once a month, pick a day on the calendar and say, this is the day that I'm gonna check them over from nose to tail and look for anything abnormal that might be different from a week ago.

And if there is something, and if it's not quite right and it's continuing on for a little bit, that's the time to give your vet a call.

- [Luke] In Watertown for "WPBS Weekly," I'm Luke Smith.

- And you can join Paws4Potter for their annual dog walk, it happens in the fall.

For more information you can find them at paws4potter.com.

Well, in November, the Akwesasne Cultural Center unveiled the latest edition to their collection, a remarkable tribal belt.

It's over six feet long and was a True family project.

Take a look.

(bright music) - Three, two, one.

- Wow.

- Yay.

(crowd applauding) - [Narrator 4] The Akwesasne Cultural Center recently held a private event to unveil the Ohen:ton Karihwatehkwen belt, beautifully crafted by Kelly Back of Fire Loom Creations with the support of her family.

This remarkable belt won the Best of Show award at the 2024 Akwesasne Art Market and Juried Art Show.

And now holds a special place in the Akwesasne Cultural Center's collection.

Akwesasne Cultural Center director, Justin Cree, shares his thoughts on Kelly Back's incredible work and discusses the center's plans to host more events that celebrate the unique creations of our artisans.

- Today's event was something that we thought would be a great idea to start doing more of is when we bring something new into the museum or even the library is to celebrate it, is to celebrate our team that worked on getting it here, and the people that have worked on it, like today was the Back family, the entire family, from all the way to from the parents to the little ones.

And to have them here and bring in our friends and family, our community members, leaders, and then our North Country friends because we're really hoping this helps spur more ideas, thoughts, new connections so we can do more things like this.

So this was a... we hoped it would be a good event and it would give us a template to keep doing more to really celebrate Akwesasne, the museum, the culture center and our people.

- [Narrator 4] Kelly Back shares the journey of creating her Ohen:ton Karihwatehkwen belt and expresses what it means to see her work displayed at the cultural center, a dream come true for her and a legacy for future generations.

- So this particular project has been in my mind for many years, probably several.

And over the years I've imagined doing the Ohen:ton Karihwatehkwen belt and how to separate each image of that.

And I imagined like porcupine quills being involved, possibly like natural leather, natural homemade sinu, and all that dream came true.

It's separated by porcupine quills that my husband brought me.

And the sinu, it's natural homemade sinu from my husband's last deer hunt.

We collected the leg tenor from his last deer hunt and we pounded that into sinu.

There's also dyed moose hair.

And the moose hair was from my husband's other last hunt.

And so he's really helped me out in that part and in the leather part.

So yeah, everybody helped make the belt.

So that was really big for me.

And to have it here is like one of my biggest dreams, to have it here in our own museum, and to have my kids, my grandkids, my grandkids always come and visit.

So that was my dream come true.

I really wanna thank Marla and Stacy for helping me out with this.

They've been a real big help, Justin as well, for putting this event together, I'm really grateful for that.

And just for everybody who came, friends, local art friends, family, chiefs, very, very honored to be here and very honored to have them in our presence at this very important time in our life.

So very thankful.

(bright music) - Please come by, I know you probably haven't been in here in a while.

Remember, we also have a library.

Update your cards, get the new ones.

We have our new logo on some of the ones coming out soon.

So again, we're here for the community.

If there's anything that we can do service wise, let us know.

The Culture center is 53 years old and it was founded for the community, so please use it, stop by, just check out what's new upstairs or downstairs.

We're here for you.

(bright music) - You can see Kelly's belt at the Akwesasne Cultural Center.

Just visit AkwesasneCulturalCenter.org for more information.

Well, the role of Town Crier dates back centuries, serving as the original news broadcaster, delivering important announcements and proclamations to the community.

In Kingston, this vibrant tradition is kept alive by the city's very own Town Crier who brings history to life with every call.

(bright music) (bell ringing) - Oh, yay.

Oh yay.

Oh yay.

- [Gail] Clad in vibrant regalia and a voice that can carry across centuries, Kingston's Town Crier has been a cornerstone of this historic city for 40 years.

What started as a one year commitment quickly turned into a lifelong calling.

- In 1984, it was the bicentennial, the 200th anniversary of Ontario.

And across the province they had created this, a historical reenactment of town crying.

And each little town in Ontario would basically compete, have competitions to see who would be their Town Crier.

And of course, I was...

I'm not shy by any means, but I had no idea what it was all about, and I sort of left it to the last minute.

And we got the Henry VII outfit together, we found some lace that was left over and picked up a straw cowboy hat, and then basically spray painted it, made it look into a tricorn hat, borrowed my sister's long white stockings.

On the Sunday I went down with a proclamation I had written with my best friend who is now fairly well known in Canada, is a great actor, Randy Hussen, taped it together with masking tape and went on Sunday and did it and read it and won.

- [Gail] The Town Crier role extends beyond just announcements, it's a bridge between Kingston's past and present, fostering community, spirit, and connecting residents to their shared history.

- Chris Wyman is an institution here in Kingston.

He's probably one of the best community ambassadors that I have ever seen.

He is incredibly enthusiastic, he's supportive.

And just the sheer range of events that he will go to and help and support is really, really amazing.

It's honestly, I think it's fair to say, it's hard to imagine Kingston without the Town Crier.

- [Gail] Four decades of service is a milestone few achieve.

And for Kingston's Town Crier, it's been a journey filled with both personal and civic pride.

From proclaiming local milestones and welcoming international visitors, to delivering personal announcements like wedding proposals.

- I've done so many cries for international media that's come to Kingston.

I've done cries in Chinese, Spanish, Russian, German, French.

The hardest ones are for celebrations of life.

Especially if you know the person or you know the family, they're hard to do and keep your emotions stable.

I mean, I've cried for funeral directors when they come to Kingston.

I've done NATO, with the NATO you have to be a real diplomatic for that one.

Wedding, I've done two in my career, two proposals of marriage.

The second one was a few years back, which was in Market Square.

And that was a good one, it was for a old high school friend of mine.

And I had written two endings.

I had written two endings, one was a yes and one was a, if she said no.

So I was so glad I didn't have to do the no one 'cause she said yes.

And they're still together, I think it was 10 years ago.

- [Gail] His proclamations definitely captures attention, but it's his personal interactions that have left an indelible mark on the community, from children in awe of his booming voice to residents who find comfort in his familiar presence.

The Town Cries' impact is deeply felt in Kingston's daily life.

- I've lost count of the number of events that we would both show up at, but I can tell you he is very much a local celebrity.

And so I can tell you if there's an event, and it's myself and the Town Crier, it's the Town Crier that gets the requests for selfies and for photos.

And the kids are so attracted to him and adults want to meet him as well.

And so I think that that just speaks to just the notoriety that he has and just the impact that he's had on the community.

- [Gail] The role of the Town Crier dates back centuries to a time when literacy was limited and newspapers were a rarity.

Town Criers were the original news broadcasters, delivering royal decrees on market days and community news to the public square.

- See, people think it's a colonial thing or a British thing, it's not really, it can be anything.

Town Crier started back in Greece.

So Town Crier would work for the mayor or for the king or for royalty, and he would be told to go out on the streets and say good things, but sometimes bad things like, we need more bushels of hay, we need more of this for taxes.

And of course when the Town Crier went out and started saying that for the king, they would throw rocks at the Town Crier.

And basically he became a target.

And then the king decreed that anyone that harmed a Town Crier would be treasonous to the king, to the crown, so that's where don't shoot the messenger came from.

- [Gail] Over the time the role has evolved from bearers of authority to beloved community figures.

Today, Kingston's Town Crier is deeply honored to serve as a symbol of tradition and unity, sharing moments of joy, celebration and reflection with the community he holds dear.

- The amount of time and effort that he puts into that role.

The number of evenings and weekends that he's going out in the community, performing, doing events, supporting all sorts of different causes and events throughout the community, I think it takes a special individual that has that level of commitment to support the city.

And so I think it's a combination of a really special individual and a very unique gift that's really made the Town Crier what he is here.

- To be part of different things that have happened in Kingston over 40 years, I mean, I officially opened the Big Center, they're now called the Slush Puppy Place, I opened that originally.

I opened a new Providence Care hospital, I've opened a Waaban Crossing.

Usually I opened the events with the mayor and over the course of probably 10 mayors, we've been together a few times at various different events, it's a lot of fun.

- [Gail] For "WPBS Weekly," I'm Gail Paquette.

- Here ends this proclamation.

(bell ringing) - Finally tonight, a North Country native comes back home.

Joe Medwick, a blues, soul, and roots rock musician from Watertown has spent decades making his mark in the industry.

Joe has been around the world sharing his musical passion and collaborating with artists like Levon Helm, Albert Lee and Emmylou Harris.

Tonight he is joined by "Tex and Yo" to perform his original song "Pay to Play."

(upbeat music) - I'm Joe Medwick, I'm a singing drummer like my idol, Levon Helm.

I was born and raised in Watertown, New York, 1954.

My grandmother played Boogie Woogie, my mom played piano.

I sat at the piano bench from age one and a half, learning music, and had my first band when I was 11.

The best thing I can give you is the Cajun view.

The Cajun view is music is accessory to the thing.

It's not the thing, it's the dance, it's the food, it's the people, it's the music.

So it's like anything, when all those things are right, it's just, that's what music's supposed to be.

It's supposed to touch people.

It's an expression of my soul.

It's my life.

And every note that comes out of my mouth is something that I felt in my life and something I wanna share.

And most times, if you do it right, people get it and they feel the same bond.

And that's the best part.

"Pay to Play," that's a phrase they use when bands used to have to play for free, like on the Hollywood Strip, but that's not what it is to me.

What it is to me is that when you're an artist, you suffer for your art, any kind of art.

And playing music of any kind, anywhere, it takes a lot outta you.

'Cause if you're doing it with honesty and soul, you're putting your heart and soul out there.

Not to mention, 12 hour drives in ice, cold weather, showing up and promoters not there.

You have to pay your dues, and that's what the inspiration was.

You had to pay to play.

I mean, some people hit it the first record, other people like me were just around forever and we put in our dues and we do what we do.

So it's more about the price you have to pay for your art.

And that could be a painter, that could be sculptor, house builder, anybody.

So that's what that one's about.

Alright, kids, this one's called "Pay to Play."

One, two, three, four.

(band instrumental music) (band instrumental music) (indistinct lyrical music) - That does it for this Tuesday night.

Join us next time for a fresh look inside the stories.

The Marionette Magic Theater in Oswego takes you back to a time when imagination brought out originality and artistry.

Plus Earth Day 2025 is right around the corner, discover how one person's love for trees is growing roots across the community.

Plus career coach M. Michelle Nadon is back with tips to create a perfect resume that stands out from the crowd.

Meantime, if you have a story idea you'd like us to share, we'd love to learn more.

Just drop us an email at WBPSweekly@wpbstv.org and let's share it with the region.

Well, calls to eliminate federal funding for public media are on the rise.

This funding just $1 and 60 cents per person per year is crucial to smaller rural stations like WPBS.

It helps us bring you valued programs, proven educational resources for children and local information.

Public media thrives because of you.

You can learn how to protect this vital local service at ProtectMyPublicMedia.org.

And thank you for your support.

That's it for now.

Have a safe night everyone.

We'll see you on the next episode.

Take care.

(bright music) - [Announcer 1] "WPBS Weekly:Inside The Stories" is brought to you by- - [Narrator 1] When you're unable to see your primary care provider, the Carthage Walk-in Clinic is here for you.

Located off Route 26 across from Carthage Middle School.

Comfort and healing close to home when you need it most.

- [Narrator 2] North Country Orthopedic Group is there for your urgent ortho or sports related injuries.

With our onsite surgical center and same or next day appointments, we're ready to provide care for patients of all ages.

Your health matters to us.

North Country Orthopedic Group, keeping healthcare local.

- [Narrator 3] We are the North Country, where protecting one another, like family is who we are, and where our tomorrow will always be worth defending.

Find out how we keep the North Country strong at ClaxtonHepburn.org today.

- [Announcer 1] Select musical performances are made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a Regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the office of the Governor and the New York State legislator, administered by the St. Lawrence County Arts Council.

(band instrumental music) (bright music)