Halfway through May and in case you hadn’t noticed, it’s a big month in the television world. It’s a sweeps month which means the local news is in a quest for ratings, which translate into advertising rates.

Haul out those great expose stories about paranormal psychopaths and cold case murder mysteries.

Big season finales, a whole evening of Survivor, the latest Idol, Voice and Dance Star crowned. Unfortunately for some shows, the season finale turns out to be the series finale.

I didn’t realize I was watching the last show of the series last week for several of my shows. The big network axes fell last Friday as the cancellations and renewals of most of prime-time TV were announced.

I am not going to recap who made it and who didn’t. You can find that info all over the Internet as well as encouragement to save niche favorites from permanent cancellation.

That approach has worked a few times, although with the proliferation of cable channels, sometimes a borderline cancellation on a broadcast network finds new life on cable.

If you are into a regular series on TV and the network moves you to Friday night, tell your agent to start looking. Friday evening is not a destination TV night.

Put Survivor or Dancing With the Stars on Friday night and see how long they hold up. Are you going to forego Friday night at the local high school sporting event or Karaoke at the watering hole?

Although some crafty owner would come up with a watching party, followed by demolition derby on the dance floor, or see who could best survive a trip to the restroom.

I am no fan of the so-called reality shows. I could care less about the “bungle in the jungle” or how great the king of the wedding reception dance floor looks.

For my money, most of the idols or voices sound pretty much like anybody else, and without some sort of hook are destined to be the headliners at the Holiday Inn circuit for the rest of their “careers.”

An interesting tactic broadcast networks have adopted is to reuse regular programming to fill Saturday night time slots. I wonder if that isn’t the wave of the future for Friday evenings also.

Cable networks have been doing that with their original programming, showing the new episodes several times during the week in an effort to allow viewers to avoid the necessity to be home at a certain time on a certain evening. Of course, you always can TiVo or catch the show on demand, or via rental.

Perusing the list of last Friday’s cancellations, there are a few I was surprised at and yet realize the shows are flawed in some way; that the actors didn’t seem believable or they didn’t “resonate” with the viewing audience.

In a couple of cases, I feel sorry for some of the folks because they are really fine actors who maybe got saddled with less than the right vehicle to fully utilize their gifts.

Good luck in your next incarnation.

Speaking of long runs, this Saturday, turn and face downtown Harrison and proclaim “Happy 163rd birthday, you old . . .”  May 18, 1850, was the date when Harrison was incorporated as a village in Crosby Township.

The village and surrounding territory wasn’t sliced off of Crosby to form Harrison Township until 1853.

As for me, I’ll be working at my church’s rummage sale on Friday and Saturday.

Because I am the designated chef at St. Jacob’s, I’ll be doing my short- order thing at the lunch counter both days.

Bill Baird is a Whitewater Township resident who writes a weekly column about old movies and Hollywood trivia.

In May 2013, the Harrison Postal Services designated Love INC of Harrison as their partner charity in the annual Postal Services food drive.

This year, postal employees collected 65 bins of canned goods and boxed foods.

All the food items were immediately divided among three food pantries for distribution to families in need in the Southwest Local School District.

I would like the people of Harrison to join the board and Staff of Love INC in thanking and recognizing the Harrison Postal Services for their generosity and compassion for the families in need in this area.

Love INC greatly appreciates the continued partnership with the Harrison Postal Services.

Jeanna Winterhalter
Executive Director
Love INC of Harrison

Editor:
A warning of a scam targeting senior citizens claiming to be from Publishers Clearing House.

A man called me, said his name was Peter Cox, and I had won $2.5 million, and they would be coming to my house to take pictures in the new red convertible I also won.

They asked a lot of questions to be sure you are the right person and need a ID and a green Scratch Card. I said I didn’t have the card, and he proceeded to tell me I needed to go to Kroger’s to get one.

A “green dot money pack paypal scratch card” for $499 to pay the IRS tax (red flag). Publishers Clearing House never asks for money, and you pay the tax on winnings yourself when you pay your taxes.

He proceeds to tell you he will drive you to your bank to verify the check is good. Don’t go with anyone you don’t know. He said don’t tell anyone because they may rob you of the money (red flag).

He said his name was Peter Cox and gave a phone number to call. As soon as he hung up, I called the Sheriff’s office and he said it was a scam.

I also contacted Publishers Clearing House, and they said it was a scam and appreciated letting them know. I gave them all the details. The number of Publishers Clearing House is 1-800-645-9242. Open 8:30-5:30p.m. Eastern time.

I left before the time they were to arrive as I had a funeral to go to and did not wish to be home. When he called back, I had a friend with me.

She answered the phone and let him know I contacted the sheriff and Publishers Clearing House and knew it was a scam. He became angry and threatened to kill us both and our family. Again the sheriff was called and came to make a report.

We also contacted the telephone company and they gave me options. They also want the sheriff report so they can trace the calls.

Report to your telephone company to block the caller or other options they will give you. The scam caller mentioned “seniors” in talking to me. They get information about you on the Internet and target seniors.

Wilma Jensen
Harrison, Ohio 45030

It’s coming. The big Memorial Day weekend. The unofficial start of summer, although it feels like it right now.  Hot, hot, hot. Things to do. Places to go.

This coming Monday, you can observe the annual procession to Glen Haven Cemetery wind its way through downtown Harrison and up Hill Street.

The procession begins at 10 a.m. from Broadway in front of Harrison Elementary School followed by the annual observance at the cemetery.

Other observances in the area include Crosby Township/New Haven this Sunday and the

Miamitown observance on Monday afternoon.
Something else to be aware of on Monday, the Harrison Tree Board will be giving out tomato plants at two locations in Downtown Harrison that morning.

You can get a plant at the Pavilion in the 100 block of Harrison Avenue or at Village Park at the corner of Hill Street and Park Avenue while supplies last.

Also included will be information about the plants and the tree board.

After we get past Memorial Day, the fun really begins.

Harrison Recreation Commission brings back its popular Tuesday night concerts beginning Tuesday, June 4, with One Night Stand.

In a format change this year, the commission has decided to space out the concerts and concentrate on bringing in the more popular bands from years past.

The Rusty Griswolds take the stage June 18, followed by The Renegades on July 9, and closing the series this year, The Menus on July 23.

Free summer movies roll out starting June Friday, 14, and continue every other Friday through July.

Can’t tell you what’s showing because that would violate their license to show the films.

Jim Robertson is a longtime Harrison resident, a member of Harrison City Council, and a weekly columnist for The Harrison Press.

Cities are slow to change in all but one way: traffic patterns. Harrison and Hamilton County have finally been forced to look closely at the local patterns for the sake of the driving public.

There are at least four examples of these problems that need quick attention and probably another half dozen that have the potential to join them, the good Lord willing.

First on the list is Harrison Avenue at Stone Drive, particularly for traffic moving eastward in front of the McDonald’s Restaurant.

Everyone above a certain age remembers when McDonald’s came to town.

It meant that your community had arrived. I was editor of the Batesville Herald Tribune in the mid-1980s when McDonald’s opened a store in that community and clearly remember attending a “tasting party” with all the muckety mucks.

There was such pride as they tried to act impressed by the chicken nuggets.

If McDonald’s came to Harrison today and wanted to set up shop at Stone Drive and Harrison Avenue,, the city engineer would come up with a better way of flowing traffic in and out of the parking lot, which is joined by Kmart and others. (And by the way, is Harrison the last city in the country with a Kmart?)

It doesn’t help that motorists love to help their fellow man by waving other motorists in and out of the parking lot.

Accident waiting to happen
I’d say it was an accident waiting to happen, but as we all know, tons of accidents have already happened.

Two other spots that need attention are at either end of Campbell Drive, at Dry Fork Road and at State Street. Each desperately needs a traffic signal, especially at Dry Fork Road where you take your life in your hands each time you venture out onto Dry Fork.

At State Street, it’s just a long, long wait to get your car off Campbell and head to where you need to be.

The lineup of cars when the businesses on Campbell call it a day is breathtaking in its length.

It’s a shame that Hamilton County and Harrison have to deal with the Campbell Road situations because the biggest influx of cars is headed to beautiful Bright.

There’s even a sign pointing the way to Bright. When someone plants a direction sign, that’s when you know you’ve made it.

I won’t go too deeply into the mess on New Haven Road between Harrison and the interstate because it’s too complex an issue for someone like me to tackle.

With a dozen or so ingress/egress points in that quarter-mile stretch, it’s a marvel that we haven’t reached complete gridlock there.

I was sorry to see that the city’s farmer’s market has gone from a weekly event to just twice this summer, particularly after reading in the Cincinnati Enquirer that Mariemont is starting a weekly Farmers Market with over 20 vendors and it will run each Friday through the middle of October.

Maybe the farmers are just having too tough a time getting into town to make it worth their while.

Bob Hyle covers sports and writes a weekly column for The Harrison Press. He lives in Bright.