- [Stephfond] Tonight on "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories".

COVID has changed everything.

Canadian experts weigh in on what could come for Canadian job seekers.

And discover an animal sanctuary in Clinton, New York where multi-species live in harmony.

We'll take you on a tour.

Also, the Polar Bear Dip is this weekend.

Are you taking part?

This nonprofit fundraiser for River Hospital will give you the chills.

All this and more coming up right now on "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories".

(cinematic music) - [Announcer] "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories" is brought to you by the Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation, the Watertown Oswego Small Business Development Center, CSX, the Oswego County Community Foundation at the Central New York Foundation, and by the Richard S. Shineman Foundation.

- Good evening, everyone.

And welcome to this edition of "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories".

I'm Stephfond Brunson.

Where's the Canadian economy headed for in the next 12 months?

If 2021 is any indication, the year ahead could hold many surprises.

Jamie Sturgeon of "Inside The Story"/CHCH has more.

(gentle music) - [Jamie] We came oh so close.

Canada's economy was humming in the final weeks of 2021 just about at pre-pandemic levels.

Then, Omicron hit.

(record scratches) - There's a tsunami coming.

- [Jamie] Cases soared and restrictions are back with no telling yet what it means for the economy.

Heading into 2022 things appeared set for a boom, but economists warn several risks this year can change all that.

Starting now, of course, with the variant.

- [Mark] It's gonna do damage.

It already has started to do that.

You could see that with the cancellation of air flights, restaurant bookings are down, credit cards spending on travel is off.

- [Jamie] There's also still the risk of inflation staying hot in Canada and the US, our biggest trading partner.

While some economists predict inflation will cool off later in the year, prices for food, gas, and housing are still high.

Experts at the Bank of Canada and elsewhere say inflation will remain high through at least the first half of 2022.

As pricing pressure shifts to wages amid a tightening labor market and households spend more on services, and all of that taking place amid low, low borrowing costs and a hot housing market.

- Our concern, our worry is that against a background of rapid price increases, people will extrapolate.

They'll expect that those price increases will continue indefinitely.

- [Jamie] A third risk, supply chains staying scrambled.

The Delta variant impacted supply chains in several ways, including getting workers sick.

And while it's still early, economists predict the same could happen with Omicron.

- We see various goods still quite difficult to get.

So I remain worried about those problems even if they weren't quite as bad as we were worried about a few weeks ago.

- [Jamie] In Canada, leading economists say those issues are resolving themselves now.

BMO Capital Markets saying, "it's widely expected that supply side pressures will lighten."

Then there's a possible policy mistake from either the US Federal Reserve or Bank of Canada.

Similar to Canada Central Bank, the Fed is ending its emergency support for that economy and plans to raise interest rates.

Canadian economists at BMO and elsewhere say the moves are aimed at getting prices and the housing market under control.

Many forecasting the bank to lift its benchmark rate from the pandemic low by a full percentage point by the end of the year, which if the Central Bank isn't careful could hurt millions of indebted households which BOC officials say they're well aware of.

- If you have a high debt to income and you have track your income or interest rates increase, you might have difficulty servicing that type of debt.

And that's the type of vulnerability we keep an eye on.

- [Jamie] Yet Omicron looms large.

When economists says the variant could destabilize the economy enforce central banks to delay.

- The Fed may delay when it actually begins to start raising interest rates, which right now feels like it's gonna be sometime May or June of 2022, but they could delay it.

- [Jamie] A key strength heading into the year, a surprisingly strong labor market that's expected to continue getting stronger if the Omicron wave proves short-lived.

BMO economists saying, "employers are likely to hold tightly onto their staff, having gone through the recent extreme labour shortages.

If economic growth manages to meet consensus expectations, or better, look for jobless rates to hit lows not seen in decades."

BMO says unemployment could drop to 4% for the first time since 1970.

In the US, it could grind down to around 2%, a mark last hit in the early 50s.

On that note, after providing billions in pandemic aid the past two years, both Ottawa and Washington are slowing support.

Fiscal stimulus and spending are expected to slow, in some cases, dramatically in 2022.

And last but certainly not least, the unexpected, the risk of a surprise event that could impact the economy.

Something that Omicron is perhaps reminding us is the biggest threat of all.

(ominous music) - Our next story takes you to Spring Farm CARES in the Mohawk Valley where animals of all shapes and sizes go to live out their lives with love.

This nonprofit organization aims to remind us regularly that love and respect is the key to a fully balanced life.

(applause) (gentle music) - [Dawn] Dawn Hayman, I'm the co-founder and director of Spring Farm CARES.

Our facility is pretty large.

We have 260 acres that are nature sanctuary, and we have 50 acres on this side of the road that is our animal sanctuary.

This is our small animal facility, and it's actually a large pole barn with two lean two structures off to the side.

That's the base of the building.

So our animals, none of our animals live in cages with the exception of these pens that we use, like you see this bunny, and the rabbits are the only ones that have cage time.

And then they also have free time where they can come out.

We have a room that we let 'em run in.

So we have all of our cat rooms and we can probably, we'll pick one that we can actually go in, but the cats live in communal rooms.

We try to give them places between cat trees and shelves and things that they can get up on.

And each cat room has a door that goes out into an enclosed porch.

And especially in the summer, they get to do that 'cause we can take the storm glass off on the outside in the summer and they can go out there and be a part of watching the birds and the butterflies and everything.

But even in the winter, on a day like today, if it's warm enough they'll go out and use the porches out there, too and they can lay in the sun.

So we try to make sure that they have an environment that suits them appropriately.

So we get a lot of tours especially in the summertime where people just come through and experience the animals.

They hear their stories, they get to meet them, and we over and over again have people tell us when they come here that they feel such peace here.

We also have a program called Purrfect Readers, which is it's P-U-R-R, Purrfect Readers and it's for kids to come and read out loud to cats in the cat rooms.

Nationwide, there's a lot of studies on this right now that it really helps children improve their reading skills, but it also bonds them with the animals in a different way.

So we try to have as many programs as we can like that here.

When we first started out we would rehabilitate horses and adopt them out.

And we had done that.

We had rehabilitated and adopted out eight horses to really, really good researched homes.

I mean, it wasn't just willy-nilly.

We ended up taking seven of those back.

They ended up getting into neglect situations.

At that point, our board of directors, we all met and issued a decree that we would not adopt out any farm animals anymore.

Once they're in the door, they're here.

So we make a lifetime commitment to them when they walk in.

This is Misty.

(laughs) She's actually our greeter cat who's now stealing what she shouldn't be stealing.

(laughs) Misty was actually found on our porch a couple years ago and she was pregnant.

Somebody dumped her and evidently like three other cats 'cause they all looked alike, so we were figured they all came from the same place.

They showed up within a three day period of time.

But she loves being loose out here in the big hall.

She loves greeting people and she loves just being like the head greeter cat.

So that's become her job.

So the birds come from various places too and backgrounds.

Merlin, the African Gray, has been here since 1994 (parrot clicks tongue) (Dawn laughs) and he was actually taken from a neglect situation.

When nobody's here in early morning and at night, he's, like you saw when you first walked in, he was out of his cage.

He gets to wander around.

Marty the Cockatiel, he was originally came as a pair with another female and she unfortunately has passed away, but he's very bonded with Merlin.

One of the things we're very proud about here is we never ever have made a medical decision based on a price tag.

It's always made on what is right for that particular animal.

Let's just say we go to the vet and they do x-rays and find out that it has a leg that's very badly broken.

We're given two options.

There's a $5,000 surgery that can fix the leg or we can pay $1,500 and have the leg amputated.

We won't take the amputation just because it's cheaper.

If the vet really feels that the quality of life for this cat is good by fixing the leg, we'll put the $5,000 into fixing the leg.

So every single animal that's here, regardless if it's a chicken, a duck, a rabbit, all the way up to every single horse has an individualized treatment plan and care plan.

The staff monitors these each day.

So we have clipboards where each horse has its own page and they sign off for all the treatments done and the feeding.

But this is just what goes in their food.

For example, this is for the horse Brandy and you can see it's very complex what they have to do.

I watch people just totally open up and I watch what it does for them.

I watch people who have suffered with depression and anxiety and I watch them connect to animals.

And I watch the change in their life.

I watch them find that connection and it literally changes their lives forever.

It's a life changing experience for people.

It's not just about the animals.

People are hungry for healing.

They're truly hungry for healing.

Every year in this country, animal sanctuaries close because they've lost funding and they didn't have enough money.

And every year distress calls go out nationally for a sanctuary that has to place two or 300 animals somewhere.

I mean, unplaceable animals, unadoptable animals.

And we see this and we've watched it for 30 years that we've been doing this, and it's very distressing.

So we've wanted to make sure that Spring Farm CARES will go on after the three of us and we constantly are working on a plan for that.

That this organization will continue past our lifespans.

So we wanna make sure these animals are taken care of.

(gentle music) - The Polar Bear Dip takes place this coming Saturday, February 26th in Alexandria Bay, New York.

If you're not familiar with this event, it is a very cold fundraiser for River Hospital that is sure to warm your heart.

Here's a look back on a past Polar Dip.

Now put an extra blanket over you for this segment because it's a cool one.

(light music) - [Chris] We are in beautiful Alexandria Bay today, going to be partaking in the Polar Bear Dip.

I am the absolute last register jumper.

I am 219.

They went up from 189 last year to 219.

So, hopefully we can get some people to give us some support since I'm the last jumper.

It is the end of February.

The temperature is kind of a sweet, rain mix.

It's about 33, 34 degrees.

And the river is frozen over in this little bay that we're gonna jump into.

The more I think about it, the more it just doesn't make sense, but there's no turning back now.

- 219.

He's last jumper.

- [Chris] I'm the last one.

- He's last man.

- You're the last one.

- Last man jumping.

(woman cheers) - [Narrator] The Polar Bear Dip is a traditional winter event for Northern New Yorkers.

This activity is fun and allows people to not only test their courage, but they can test their creative side as well.

Plus, it's a worthwhile cause to help raise money for local organizations like Friends of River Hospital.

- Friends of River Hospital, which is a grassroots organization, started this event 23 years ago.

Some employees who still in fact work at the hospital started the Friends of River Hospital and then they came up on this idea.

To have people dip in the St. Lawrence and raise money for the hospital.

- Last year, you guys raised, was it $55,000?

- They raised more than $55,000.

$55,000 is what they gave to the hospital to buy for digital mammography equipment.

- [Chris] This year's proceeds are going to a new portable ultrasound unit for the hospital, is that correct?

- [Jodi] Correct.

For the emergency department at River Hospital.

- Well, I'm excited to do it.

I'm going to be absolutely freezing, but it's for such a great cause.

And I guess my last question for you is have you ever experienced the plunge?

Have you done this before?

- No.

I'm a Southern girl, so no.

I have not.

I look and I watch everybody jump and I am so thankful that they do, but no.

(laughs) I do not.

- [Narrator] Whether you're from the south or the north, watching people take the plunge into frozen water can be a lot of fun.

However, safety is paramount and emergency crews are always present.

Qualified divers and medical personnel are there to supervise all the dippers as well as everyone else cheering them on.

- [Event Host] Put your hands together for the Star Team that we have here today.

Once again, the Star Team make things (people cheering) safe and secure.

We have the technique of the jump and then we have the costume, and they'll be judging that stuff over there.

So let's begin the 23rd Annual Polar Bear Dip.

- We're gonna jump in, we're gonna swim.

- Are you gonna dive?

Try to gonna do a flip?

Or you're just gonna jump?

- [Erin] No.

I don't know.

We're debating on diving.

We're on the swimming team, so we're gonna either dive or we're gonna do some ballet move, 'cause we get do that.

- [Chris] Maybe I want you to see how your dive goes, and if your dive goes well, maybe I'll try.

- I am before you so you can follow my lead.

- I'll repeat you and then we'll see what happens.

- Yes.

- [Event Host] This is what we do in the winter to have fun.

- [Narrator] At this event, you can witness the zaniness of Northern New Yorkers.

The event is full of music, dance, food, and beverages.

A really fun time for everyone.

(indistinct chatter) - [Event Host] Three, two, one.

(people cheering) - [Man] Oh man.

- [Event Host] Three, two, one.

- Woooh!

(audience shouting) - [Chris] Erin looks cold.

- I'm freezing.

(both laugh) I'm ready, though.

I'm ready.

- Cold and ready.

- I'm anticipating the jump.

(upbeat music) - [Event Host] In three, two, one.

(light rock music) - [Crew] How's the water, Erin?

(people screaming drowns out speaker) (group cheering) (both screaming) - That's crazy.

We did that, Cole.

- [Man] Yeah!

- So cold.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

- Oh yeah.

It's that cold.

(laughs) - Don't do it.

Don't do it.

- Don't do it?

(laughs) All right, I'm done.

Okay, I'm done.

Take the mic.

I'm out.

- Then you're out.

It's fine.

- All right.

No worries.

- You're good.

- I'm gonna do it anyway.

- You'll be fine.

Here we go!

- [Event Host] This is all part of a television show that's gonna be on WPBS TV.

(theatrical music) - [Crew] It's beautiful.

- [Event Host] Once again, thank you for supporting Friends of River Hospital.

- Guys.

- [Crew] Frozen.

- Frozen salad.

.

That was awesome.

- Oh man.

I'm here freshly out of the water with Troy Johnson.

How many years have you been a judge?

- [Troy] This is my first year.

- [Chris] First year.

- [Troy] Yes.

- Have you been a dipper in the past?

- I have not.

And that was a good thing about being a judge, 'cause I couldn't dip in 32 degree water.

- It's a good out.

Yeah, I'm still, I've been outta water for about 50 minutes.

I'm still shivering.

- [Troy] We had over 200 dippers.

We had thousands of people here supporting River Hospital, which is wonderful.

And again it helps with patient care and it helps us provide care at the point of injury.

- [Chris] It's very nice to meet you.

- It's great.

Nice to meet you as well.

- I'm gonna go warm up.

(laughs) - Poetry can be defined as the heartbeat of powerful storytelling.

Tonight, we bring you the talents of Laura Donnelly, an Oswego County-based writer and poet whose imagery and expression is beyond moving.

(light music) - Hi, my name is Laura Donnelly.

I'm originally from Michigan and now live in Oswego, New York.

I'm gonna be reading my poem "Inheritance" from my book "Midwest Gothic".

This poem is influenced in part by the poet and creative non-fiction writer Kathleen Norris.

The poem mentions several names.

These are all women from my family, grandmother, great grandmothers, great aunts, et cetera.

"Inheritance."

"Angie had diptheria and forever her mother's hand checking her forehead calling her in from the fields.

They let her attend school instead of canning tomatoes.

I have her rhubarb and her love of reading at night.

Alice raised six children in a coop they called The Shanty.

She sent them to neighbors with buckets for water, the pump handle wailing across the dirt road.

I have her brown hair.

Imagine it dunked in a tub by the stove to wash when the kids were done.

I have her rag rugs.

Helen was strong and happy and died too young.

I have her China black rim with pink flowers still intact half a century after her death.

Her cancer is a thread my mother picked up.

Each month I feel for its weave.

Eleanor was thought the hardy one.

Her muscles grew top from hauling potatoes.

Her face grew pinched watching her sister leave for school.

As an old woman she read romance novels in the tub.

Eleanor and Angie wore rain bonnets on windy days, tying the plastic tails under their chins to protect their short permed hair.

They stopped going to church.

Walked to the coffee cup on Sunday mornings.

The cafe thick with cigarette smoke.

Sometimes they loved each other dearly.

Sometimes it was all they could do to look up from the table.

Their sisters face suddenly old, and strange, and their own."

- They say it takes a village, and when it comes to parenting, this is most certainly true.

From our sister station WNET, we offer you a minute in the life of a family with two autistic children and how routine help shape them.

(light music) (bright music) - My name is Liz, and my husband Dave and I have four beautiful kids.

John and Jordan are both on the autism spectrum.

With autism you have your set of challenges, but we believe that their brain works in a beautiful way.

Children on the spectrum can become fixated on a particular topic or special interest.

John loves building structures.

Lately Jordan's passion has been baking.

We like to use their interest to help motivate them.

Do you wanna bake cupcakes?

But we can't bake a cupcake until we do this homework.

John and Jordan both struggle with multi-step directions.

The chart really does help them understand what they need to do next.

The whole process of baking has so many wonderful advantages.

It helps support reading and mathematics.

- 11, 12.

- [Liz] 12.

Leaning into their interest has been a great motivator for the boys.

It's helped them with their self-esteem and their independence, but it's also been a great way for us to bond as a family.

(gentle music) - That does it for us this Tuesday evening.

We're taking a break from next week's show to bring you our upcoming membership drive beginning February 26th.

We hope you tune in as we ask our viewers for continued support.

Your support allows us to forge on with the programs you value right here on WPBS.

So, join us again on March 8th for a fresh look inside the stories.

WPBS is proud to present a four-part series that speaks to creating an addiction free community through prevention and treatment.

We'll share a part one with you on March 8th.

Also, they say we don't know what tomorrow holds, but Psychic Nikki of Canada says she does.

Find out what she's predicting for the rest of the year.

Meantime, if you have a story or idea you'd like to see us explore, or you're a poet or musician and would like to be featured, email us at wpbsweekly@wpbstv.org.

Until then, goodnight my friend.

(theatrical music) - [Announcer] "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories" is brought to you by the Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation.

Dedicated to improving the well-being of communities by helping disadvantage children and families.

Online at dmjf.org.

The Watertown Oswego Small Business Development Center, a free resource offering confidential business advice for those interested in starting or expanding their small business.

Serving Jefferson, Lewis, and Oswego Counties since 1986.

Online at watertown.nysbdc.org.

Additional funding provided by CSX, the Oswego County Community Foundation at the Central New York Community Foundation, and by the Richard S. Shineman Foundation.

- "Potatoes.

Her face grew pinched watching her sister leave for school.

As an old woman, she read romance novels in the tub.

Eleanor and Angie wore rain bonnets on windy days, tying the plastic tails under their chins to protect their short permed hair."

(gentle music)