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

In 2018, the New York State Office of the Aging launched a program to help seniors manage loneliness and depression with these AI creatures.

We'll tell you more about them.

And Mark Alteri of Alteri's Italian Market joins Johnny Spezzano in the kitchen to make a hardy stuffed sausage bread.

Also, Ottawa's own Renee Landry shares more of her powerhouse vocals.

Your stories, your region.

Coming up right now on WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories.

(upbeat music) - [Sponsor Narrator] WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories is brought to you by The Watertown Oswego's Small Business Development Center, Carthage Savings, the J.M.

McDonald Foundation, and the Dr. D. Susan Badenhausen Legacy Fund of the Northern New York Community Foundation.

Additional funding from the New York State Education Department.

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

I'm Stephfond Brunson.

Senior isolation and depression is a fast-growing issue in our nation, further exacerbated by the pandemic.

As part of WPBS's Aging Together in America Project we dig into solutions for our aged population.

Our Joleene DesRosiers joins us with more on one solution that ignited in New York State and has since been replicated in 35 other states.

It's a companion pet program and it's truly making a difference.

Jolene?

- Thanks, Stefan.

As our loved ones age, finding ways to shift their perspective or keep them company when we can't can be a challenge.

But thanks to a program that was launched in New York State in 2018, there's a solution.

In a world where artificial intelligence is moving to the forefront, animatronic animals are fast becoming a powerful solution.

You're about to meet two seniors and their furry robotic pets, and according to the Office of the Aging in Albany, these artificially intelligent creatures have changed feelings of isolation and loneliness by 75%.

(mechanical meowing and chirping) They're small, they're friendly, and they're easy to care for.

You're looking at three animatronic pets manufactured by Joy for All and available to seniors like Ruth Gates of Carthage through the Office of the Aging in Jefferson County.

- My cat's name is Noodles.

I really just looked at 'em and said "Noodles."

(laughing) Hi, Noodles.

- [Joleene DesRosiers] Ruth is one of hundreds of seniors in Jefferson County to be paired with a motion-censored companion.

- What are we gonna do today, huh?

- [Joleene DesRosiers] Noodles eases her loneliness.

Her husband is passed-on and her children are grown.

So when she starts each day, this gray and white ball of fur gives her the comfort she needs.

- [Ruth] Well, when I wake up and Noodles hears me moving around, she makes a little noise, you know, and lets me know that she's awake, too.

And I get up, and come out and just in to my room -- my living room -- and I say, "Hi, Noodles," and she comments back to me with sometimes a little purr or shake of her head, and then I go and get my breakfast, and after I've eaten, I sit here and have prayer and Noodles, and I have prayer, and I talk to her and she purrs and so on.

So throughout the day, I do the same thing.

I pick her up and cuddle her and pet her and put her back down.

Before I go to bed, I tell her "goodnight."

She's just company.

- I get lots of calls from seniors.

They'll call me to tell me what their pet's names are.

I have one senior that will send me a picture of the different outfits they put on their dog.

The family said that was the best thing I did for my mom.

It gives her something to interact with, where I wasn't seeing a lot of interaction.

She would just stare at the TV all day.

Now I see her hands moving.

I see her calmer when it's time to go to bed.

It's something that's there with her.

- They reduce agitation.

They reduce anxiety.

We've seen people come off medications because they're calmer, less depressed.

You know, there's like three buckets of things, regardless of who we are or how old we are, matter to us.

Arts and culture, music, pets.

So we see, you know, we've been collecting videos and pictures for four-and-a-half years of people receiving them.

- [Joleene DesRosiers] Greg Olson, director at the New York State Office of the Aging in Albany says, "the idea to distribute the pets to isolated seniors in New York came to him in quite an endearing way.

- I came across one of these pets really through my eight-year-old daughter.

When I came home from work one day where she had told me that she had ordered one.

I had no idea what she actually ordered.

I thought it was another stuffed animal.

But when I saw it a week later, I was blown away.

And I immediately said to her, "this would be an amazing project to pilot with some of our isolated, older adults that live in their homes."

- [Joleene DesRosiers] Bob Miller of Fulton also has a robo-companion.

(Mechanical Barking) This is Sparky.

And he's most active when Bob is watching TV with him.

- [Bob Miller] What I do now is I have him sitting in a chair when he's turned on, and every time I turn the station, the sensor -- he'll bark.

I learned about my Dog, Sparky, through the Office of the Aging, which was through a woman called Elizabeth Weiner.

- Just came to stop by and see how you're doing.

- All right, checking up on me, huh?

- Always.

- [Bob Miller] My wife was in a nursing home with Alzheimer's -- Advanced case of Alzheimer's.

And I was going through a bad case of depression.

And with all my friends being dead and being isolated where I live she thought this would be a good fit for me to give me some companionship at that time, with my bad case of depression.

- [Elizabeth Weimer] A lot of our seniors don't have neighbors right by.

A lot of our seniors don't have that consistent phone call from somebody to call them.

This is their purpose.

When you think of seniors as they age their only thing to get up for usually is because they either have to go to the bathroom or eat or if they have something to take care of.

So this is their reason, for some of them, to keep going, is they have a pet.

They have something that's gonna show them some kind of an interaction or some kind of, you know, a reason to just keep going, day by day.

- [Interviewer] How many total have been distributed?

- Well, our original pilot was 60 for 12 counties.

We saw a 75% reduction in isolation, loneliness, and pain.

And up until today, a little over 17,000.

- And still going strong.

- Yep.

And my project's been replicated in 35 states.

- Well, she's just cuddly.

Her fur's pretty to pet, and just seems like a real cat when you have it in your arms, you know?

And just makes you feel content and comfortable.

- He's very talkative and he's very active.

He moves on sensors.

So, if you're talking, usually he'll speak up to you.

So at that time, when I was going through this bad case of depression, even though it's a robot, it's just the idea to hear him bark.

It was just the idea that there was somebody else here besides me.

(mechanical chirping) - [Joleene DesRosiers] These animatronic pets are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to programs that help our seniors cope with feelings of depression, isolation, and loneliness.

With just the click of a mouse our aged population has access to a number of programs that help with socialization and education; two things that can shift their disposition dramatically.

- [Greg Olsen] ELLI-Q platform gets set up.

Gogo Grandparent, Pets Together, Blooming Health.

These are all platforms to connect people and to improve their overall health and wellness.

Not a pet per se, but these are interconnectivity platforms like GetSetUp, where you could look at 900 classes on a revolving basis.

Lifelong learning, health and wellness.

What's great about that is all the classes are taught by people over 50 for people who are over 50.

- [Joleene DesRosiers] For more information on animatronic pets, digital platforms for seniors, and local programs in your area, contact the Office of the Aging in your county.

For WPBS Weekly, I'm Joleene DesRosiers.

- I don't know if he's gonna make any sounds, but we'll see.

- This interview is part of WPBS's Aging Together Project, and is produced in association with the New York State Office for the Aging.

For more interviews and stories on senior isolation, visit wpbstv.org.

Comfort food season isn't quite over, and the proof is in the kitchen.

Johnny Spezzano of The Border joins forces with Mark Alteri of Alteri's Italian Market to make two delicious Italian dishes over fire.

(electronic music) - Hey, come on!

(upbeat rock music) Hello.

Or should I say "bongiorno"?

Welcome to Johnny on Fire.

My guest today, here in my kitchen: Mark Alteri.

- Hi everybody.

- Your Watertown's baker, bro.

- Yeah, thanks.

- Yeah.

And of course, Alteri's Italian Market, home of the famous Alteri's bread, which we're not making bread today.

Well, we are.

We're making a specialty bread.

- Specialty bread, right.

- Okay.

Which breads are we making today?

- [Alteri] Okay, today we're gonna make the antipasto bread.

- [Spezzano] Okay.

- [Alteri] And the sausage bread.

- I'm nervous.

I'm nervous cause I have no idea what I'm doing.

But we are about to dig in.

We're gonna stuff this bread, right?

[Alteri] Yes, sir.

- Tell us about the ingredients.

What are we working with here, and what are we making?

OK, so you're gonna make the sausage bread, right?

So we have our Sicilian sausage that we make.

You've got your mozzarella and your provolone, and on my end we'll make the antipasto bread.

We'll have soppressata in it.

We'll have capocollo, and some ham, and a nice sharp cheddar cheese.

- [Spezzano] Okay.

- [Alteri] And I'll be mixing a little of the mozzarella in mine, too.

- You ready to get started?

- Yes, Sir.

- (clapping) Okay.

What do we do now?

- [Alteri] OK, so we're gonna get the dough.

You're going to form the base, right?

So just stretch it a little bit.

- [Spezzano] Okay.

- [Alteri] Out the width.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Of the sausage.

- [Spezzano] Take my sausage.

- [Alteri] And you're gonna take the sausage, and I'll start with the antipasto, right?

- Okay.

This is exciting.

I've never done this in my life.

And we're doing it here on live, well, sort of live TV.

All right.

So look, I'm gonna do this.

Is that right?

- [Alteri] You got it.

Perfect.

- [Spezzano] I did it right?

- [Alteri] Perfect.

- [Spezzano] Hey!

- Now What?

- So now you're gonna get your cheese.

I'll get my cheese.

- Okay.

Mozzarella for me.

- Yep.

And you'll load it up.

- [Spezzano] Okay.

Oh, now those of you at home who are watching, you can already tell this is going to be incredible.

Is that enough or more?

- No.

Yeah, there you go.

Nice.

- All right.

Okay.

- So now you're gonna get three slices of the provolone and line it right across there.

- Now is that extra special?

Anybody else would stop at the mozz, but not the Alteri's.

I love it.

- [Alteri] And I'll start building mine with the capocollo, now the ham.

- [Spezzano] So, antipasto, I think about going to Arts Jug, all those Sbarro's to get the antipasto platter.

What does "antipasto" mean?

- Okay.

Actually it's the before pasta right?

Before your main dish.

- Okay.

- So it could be... - And these are a lot of the ingredients that are in that.

So you can have this... - So you can make up anything, right?

And we started with the sausage and then I came up with the antipasto, and... - It's my favorite, though.

It really is.

All right, what do I do next?

- So now you're gonna fold, so that -- and I'm gonna try to catch up with you -- but I'm gonna put my roasted roasted red peppers on mine, and then top it with some soppressata.

And you know the best way to have this is good ingredients... - With wine.

- Okay?

And then, yeah, of course, wine.

(Spezzano laughs) But use good ingredients.

And that's what we have right here.

- [Spezzano] Your market -- you guys have a deli there.

- So you've got all of these, - Yeah, yeah.

- some of them imported ingredients.

Okay, what's the water all about?

- [Alteri] So I'm gonna line, so it'll seal properly and that heat it, could come apart.

So you're gonna do the same thing.

- Okay.

- [Alteri] Just clean the edge a little bit.

- Clean the cheese.

All right.

So I'm running a paint brush with water along the Edge.

Okay?

- [Alteri] That's it, yeah.

And it doesn't have to be a lot either.

- OK - Now, so now we're gonna fold it over.

Grab your end.

- OK. - Stretch it right over.

- [Spezzano] You know, I suck at laundry.

- [Alteri] make sure you leave enough -- there you go -- for when we come back.

- [Spezzano] Oh, K. - [Alteri] And you're gonna seal it.

- [Spezzano] All right.

Where do I seal, against the water?

- Right?

Yeah, there you go.

- I am excited.

Look what I've Done.

- Now, flatten out your top, so that the sausage stays flat, yes.

- [Spezzano] OK. - [Alteri] So now you're gonna start it again, right?

- [Spezzano] All right.

(upbeat music) - Do I fold?

- Okay, So now, before we fold this one, we're gonna wet it a little bit.

So you don't want it too wet, because then it has the opposite effect.

- Did you already put the oregano on and all that stuff, or no?

- That'll come after.

- That's coming soon?

Oh, I'm excited to find out what happens next.

- [Alteri] So this is the Alteri fold.

Now you're gonna -- I'll prep your Brush.

- [Spezzano] Is there gonna be a Spezzano fold, or not?

- [Alteri] This is a Spezzano fold, right?

- [Spezzano] All right.

- [Alteri] So, take this.

- [Spezzano] All right.

- [Alteri] Brush across the front there, so that's where we're gonna seal.

And now brush the edge of your -- no, no.

- Not too much?

Okay, sorry, sorry, Marky, sorry.

(Alteri laughs) - I'd be fired already.

Sorry, man.

All Right.

- [Alteri] All right.

Now we're gonna fold it back.

- [Spezzano] OK. - [Alteri] And cover it.

- [Spezzano] The Spezzano fold.

- [Alteri] Seal the front.

- [Spezzano] Oh, it's done?

(Alteri laughs) - Whoo!

This under?

- No, we can cut that.

Let me get knife.

You can cut the loose ends there.

- All right.

- [Alteri] OK.

This is what you're aiming for, right here.

- [Spezzano] So get rid of this.

- [Alteri] There you go.

- [Spezzano] OK. - [Alteri] So now we're gonna tuck and seal - [Spezzano] Tuck and seal.

- [Alteri] That's it.

Give it a good seal so it doesn't pop open in your oven.

- Where do I... just do this?

- [Alteri] See, now watch what I do.

I'm sealing it and then I give it a little fold, and the water helps it stay.

- So you wanna seal it 'cause you don't want it to ooze out.

- Correct.

- [Spezzano] Am I right?

- But I'm afraid for yours.

(chuckles) - What?

What's gonna happen?

All right, well, we're gonna find out.

Now, have you ever cooked inside a wood-fired oven before, because that's what we're about to do.

- No, and I can't wait.

- All right.

- All right, so now we're gonna - [Spezzano] He's afraid for mine.

- We're gonna peel it.

We're gonna -- oh, first we're gonna top it, right?

Let me get my brush.

- Okay.

All right.

We're gonna get the peel ready.

- Little top of some olive oil.

- Come over here.

- Yes, sir.

Coming.

- He's getting something, hang on.

- So put yours on the peel.

- Okay.

- And what you're gonna do is a little olive oil on top.

- A little flour or not?

- No, that's fine.

- All right.

- So you're gonna top it a little bit.

- What is this?

- It's a little olive oil.

- I'll let you do it, 'cause I've already, he's already afraid for mine.

(Alteri laughs) - [Spezzano] So this is a little olive oil on the top.

(Spezzano sighs excitedly) - And then what you can do is get the oregano, - Oh-ho-ho.

- And sprinkle it.

Don't go too heavy with it.

- Okay.

- [Alteri] Yeah.

- [Spezzano] Like that?

That good?

- [Alteri] Perfect.

- [Spezzano] More?

- [Alteri] Perfect.

- [Spezzano] All right.

- [Alteri] Now we'll do mine.

- [Spezzano] OK. - [Alteri] Put that there, too.

- Since he's been 12, he's been doing this.

I should sit back and watch.

So yes, you can do this at home.

Stop by Alteri's and get their fresh dough that they have.

They have it in the freezer case, too.

- We have everything for - Or you can meet the dough at home, whatever.

OK. - Yeah, and if anybody - Oregano?

- Yeah, please.

If anybody has any questions, just stop by, ask me, I'll help them out as best I can.

Now you're gonna give them three cuts.

I'll show you.

- I'll let you do it.

- All right.

- [Spezzano] What's this, to vent it?

- [Alteri] Yes sir.

There.

- [Spezzano] OK. - Now we're ready to bake.

- We're gonna put it in the oven?

All right, so what do you normally bake this at when a regular - 400.

400.

All right.

We've checked our temperatures using our thermometer.

And we're close enough.

You ready?

- (laughs) Yes, sir.

- Okay.

Here we go.

Can't wait.

All right.

(upbeat music) - Mark, while we're waiting for the bread to cook in there, I want to ask you a couple of questions.

You guys opened this Italian market in the middle of the COVID outbreak, but yet so successful.

Tell me about some of the other things you had there besides your world-famous bread.

- Okay.

So, in our deli, we have our domestic and imported meats and cheeses.

We make three types of sausage right there.

We have the best meats in town.

We do frozen ready to-go dinners.

That's been a huge hit.

- I had the chicken riggies last week.

- Delicious, huh?

- Real good.

- What about dessert?

- OK, so we bring in Italian pastries from Syracuse.

- Cannolis?

- Cannolis, pasties... - Pasties!

- You name it.

And they've all been a huge hit.

We've been blessed with what we've been doing.

- Well, I'll tell you what, you've been doing this for a long time.

When I moved to this town 30 years ago, there was two bakeries.

There was Alteri's and Spaziani's.

- Yeah.

And, and that's our lineage.

The Spaziani's -- my mother was a Spaziani.

- What!

- And so now my two boys make the fifth generation.

Over a hundred years we've been bringing this bread.

- [Spezzano] Same recipe.

- To the north country.

The same recipe.

We do it the same way.

- So good.

Now I will say that you mentioned your boys; fifth generation.

- Yeah.

- I know that Callo, I got to talk to him, he's been to Italy on like a food tour to learn more about the craft.

- Yeah, he took a month off, went to Italy.

He gets into that stuff.

He gets more into the cooking end of it.

Italian foods and Nello dived right into baking bread, and he took over like a master.

And because of those two, we're here.

- What I love is it's authentic, it's small-town, it's local, and it's nostalgic.

A hundred plus years of Alteri's bread and the new Alteri's Italian Market.

Well, what do you think?

Time to check and see how our sausage and anti pasta bread are doing?

- Let's do it.

(upbeat music) - Oh, Marky... - [Alteri] Nice, huh?

- Whew.

Which one's mine?

- (laughing) Good one.

You did a great job.

- (laughs) Not bad, right?

- Yeah, it's great.

- Not bad.

So we have an antipasto and a sausage.

Which one's which?

- [Alteri] Sausage.

- [Spezzano] Sausage.

- [Alteri] Antipasto.

- [Spezzano] Not bad.

God, look at this, it's so beautiful.

All right, you wanna dig in?

- Let's cut it.

- It's gonna be hot.

It's fresh out the oven.

I got a cutter here.

You want -- I'll do it.

- No, go ahead.

- OK, here we go.

(cutting crisp bread) Look at this.

- [Alteri] Mmm.

- Do another piece (cutting bread) for you.

- [Alteri] Look at that.

Nice, huh?

- [Spezzano] All right.

Now sausage.

(cutting bread) Just to be fair.

- [Alteri] You smell that?

- [Spezzano] That's beautiful.

I feel like you should try my bread and I should try yours.

- Okay.

Fair enough.

- So you got the sausage bread.

Now you could obviously add some oil -- fresh olive oil.

- A marinara sauce.

- Look at these.

- That'd be perfect with that.

- Imported meats in there.

Okay.

I'm gonna take the first bite.

- Hot, huh?

- (moans) Nothing like fresh bread.

- Yeah.

- Oh, amazing.

All right.

Try the Johnny piece.

(upbeat rock music) - Can I come work in the bakery?

- Oh, yeah, you're in.

- I'm in?

I love this.

Well, thank you, guys.

This will be my last Johnny on Fire 'cause I'm going to work for Mark Alteri.

Thank you so much for tuning in.

Visit them over on Bradley Street in Watertown and tune in to the Dinner at Johnny's podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks for joining us in the kitchen for Johnny on Fire.

- Salut.

It's good, isn't it?

- [Spezzano] Real good, bud.

I want some hot peppers in mine.

- [Alteri] Yeah.

Oh, with with the sausage.

It'd be perfect.

- WPBS values and honors local and regional musicians.

Tonight we introduce you to Renée Landry, a vocalist hailing from Ottawa.

Here she is with her original tune, "Flatline".

(soft music) ♪ I'm so tired hearing everybody's point of view ♪ ♪ They tell me who to be and what to do ♪ ♪ I used to think I had the whole world ♪ ♪ in the palm of my hand, but that world is gone ♪ ♪ I dried up the land ♪ ♪ And the sun don't shine in the sky much anymore ♪ ♪ Storm clouds are rolling in, bring on the storm ♪ ♪ And everybody tells me "chin up and carry on" ♪ ♪ But I've had enough, and I can't go on ♪ ♪ 'Cause I used to think that I could drag this heavy load, ♪ ♪ but I don't feel that I can do it anymore ♪ ♪ I just want to hang my head and cry ♪ ♪ Please just leave me alone ♪ ♪ I swear that I'm doing fine ♪ ♪ Love has ripped out my heart as I lay here ♪ ♪ Ready to flatline ♪ ♪ I swear I'm doing OK ♪ ♪ I laugh and slap on a smile ♪ ♪ But I just want to lay down here, ♪ ♪ Feeling sorry for the denial ♪ ♪ If only for awhile ♪ ♪ Everybody wants to live the American dream, ♪ ♪ From rags to riches, what's on the screen ♪ ♪ But I'm so tired of all the abuse, ♪ ♪ So I'm moving on.

I need a different view ♪ ♪ Well I used to think that I could drag ♪ ♪ This heavy load, but I don't think that ♪ ♪ I can do it any more ♪ ♪ I just want to hang my head and cry ♪ ♪ Please just leave me alone ♪ ♪ I swear that I'm doing fine ♪ ♪ Love has ripped out my heart as I lay here ♪ ♪ Ready to flatline ♪ ♪ I swear I'm doing OK ♪ ♪ I laugh and slap on a smile ♪ ♪ But I just want to lay down here, ♪ ♪ Feeling sorry for the denial ♪ ♪ If only for awhile ♪ ♪ Breathe into me ♪ ♪ I just feel so incomplete ♪ ♪ Who's this I see?

♪ ♪ In the mirror staring back at me ♪ ♪ Please just leave me alone ♪ ♪ I swear that I'm doing fine ♪ ♪ Life has ripped out my heart as I lay here ♪ ♪ Ready to flatline ♪ ♪ I swear I'm doing OK ♪ ♪ I laugh and slap on a smile ♪ ♪ I just want to lay down here feeling sorry ♪ ♪ For the denial ♪ ♪ If only for awhile ♪ ♪ Whoah-oh-oh-Oh ♪ ♪ If only for awhile ♪ ♪ Oh-Oh ♪ ♪ Whoa-Oh ♪ ♪ If only for awhile ♪ ♪ If only for awhile ♪ ♪ If only for awhile ♪ - That does it for us this Tuesday evening.

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

WPBS visits the Office of Addiction Services and Supports in Albany, to learn more about effective treatment programs accessible to those struggling with addiction.

And a global movement makes waves in Kingston.

Discover Dress for Success, a program for women in need, ready to thrive in work and life.

Meantime, we want to tell your story.

If you or someone in your community has something, meaningful, historic, inspirational, or educational to share please email us at wpbsweekly@wpbstv.org and let's share it with the region.

That's it for now, everyone.

We'll see you again next week.

Goodnight.

- [Narrator] WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories is brought to you by the Watertown Oswego Small Business Development Center, a free resource offering confidential business advice for those interested in starting or expanding their small business.

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Additional funding provided by the J.M.

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♪ I laugh and slap on a smile ♪ ♪ But I just want to lay down here ♪ ♪ Feeling sorry for the denial ♪ ♪ If only for awhile ♪ (piano plinks) (guitar plucks)