News-Journal from Mansfield, Ohio • 3

3 a LOCAL JAMI KINTON NEWS REPORTER Phone: 419-521-7220 Email: jkintongannett.com A VETERAN'S STORY I M. 67 i I- LOCAL NEWS IN BRIEF Fitness center hosts annual Turkey Ride MANSFIELD -The Med-Central Health and Fitness Center, 1750 W. Fourth will host its annual Turkey Ride power cycling class from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Thursday. This program is not recommended for new riders, The program is $1 for members.

Nonmembers must purchase a day pass and pay $1. Call 419-526-8900 to register. The center will be open 7 a.m. to noon Thanksgiving Day, but regular classes will not be held. Alzheimers group offers education program LOUDONVILLE The Northwest Ohio Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association will host a free family education program that explores the emotional stresses of dementia caregiving at 9:30 a.m.

and 2 p.m. Nov. 30 at Colonial Manor Health Care. The program includes viewing of the film "He's Doing This to Spite Me" followed by discussion and a question-and-an-swer period. The film is by noted dementia specialist Daniel Kuhn and explores how to turn around difficult relationships between family caregivers and those with dementia.

To register or for details, call 419-522-5050 or 800-272-3900. World AIDS Day Remembrance planned MANSFIELD North Central Ohio AIDS Foundation will hold a World AIDS Day Remembrance at 7 p.m. Dec. 1 at the First Christian Church, 200 W. Third to remember those whose lives have been and continue to be touched by HIVAIDS.

Refreshments and a time of fellowship will follow the service. For details, call 419-774-4700. a i iiV ll M-r mi I I 111 il x' u. I I Hi 1 a ri.r.-...m Carroll Balser points out where his position was on the PBY Catalina. daniel melogrananews journal Life serving on a PBY Li Michael Delaney nlauc Raku Bop in an yj upcoming "Barney Live" show By Jaml Kinton News Journal MANSFIELD Parents, don't worry.

Baby Bop promises an enjoyable time for guests of every age this Tuesday. Michael Delaney, 23, plays the green sidekick of Barney in the upcoming production of "Barney Live in Concert Birthday Bash!" at the Renaissance Theatre. "Now the majority of the audience is typically children ages I to 5, but it's like a concert, so everyone is going to have a great time. It's definitely tailored to just having a fun, energetic experience," Delaney said. "It includes songs and pieces from the Barney TV show, but it's not really like the show." The production includes about 20 high-energy numbers, nine of which Delaney will participate in.

"Fans of the show will know songs like 'Mr. Knickerbocker' and 'The Baby Bop but there also will be well-known songs like 'If You're Happy and You Know It' and 'The Wheels on the Delaney said. "It's really rewarding. Everyone here really enjoys what they're doing. You can just see the energy coming off the stage.

We've actually had kids forming a little mosh pit screaming, 'Barney! Barney! In a 90-minute program, II cast members tell the story of Barney's birthday celebration. "We sing, laugh and have fun. A lot of the kids especially like it when we go into the crowd for 'The Itsy Bitsy Delaney said. "We get to hug them. It's really fun.

For them, there's no one behind these costumes. It's the real Barney and the real Baby Bop." The show kicked off a year ago. "I still have fun with it," Delaney said. "I get to be a 3-year-old little girl I get to be silly and fun and have the mannerisms of a kid. You can hear kids screaming when I walk out.

It's like I'm Justin Beiber. "We hope everyone will come, have a great time and just dance and sing their hearts out." jkintonnncogannett.com 419-521-7220 IF YOU GO BARNEY LIVE IN CONCERT BIRTHDAY BASH! When: 3 and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Where: Renaissance Theatre, 138 Park Avenue West, Mansfield. Cost: $15, $20, $25, $50.

Phone: 419-522-2726. Online: www.mansfield tickets.com. Ohioans more likely to smoke tobacco DAYTON (AP) A new study shows that more than one in four Ohioans smoke cigarettes one of the highest rates in the nation. The Dayton Daily News reports that about 26 percent of Ohioans smoked cigarettes in 2011, matching the rates of Missouri, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas. The information comes from a recent study by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

Kentucky was the only state with a higher rate 29 percent. Ohio is the only state with a comprehensive smoking ban and a rate above 25 percent. In Mansfield, I "1 SUBMITTED I PHOTO Barney, friends to play DAILY CALENDAR TODAY BLOODMOBILES Blood Collection: 800-GIVE-LIFE. Shelby Senior High School, 109 W. Smiley Shelby.

8 a.m.-2 p.m. Red Cross Chapter House Blood Collection: 800 RED-CROSS. Mansfield Community Building, 39 N. Park Mansfield. 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR SCRAP Recycling Trailer Madison South Elementary School, 700 S. Illinois Mansfield. 2-4 p.m. -Fun Center Chordsmen open house: Give barbershop-style singing a try. Guests will have plenty of opportunity to sing.

First Congregational Church, 640 Millsboro Road, Mansfield. 7 p.m. MEETINGS Richland County Transit Board: Richland County Transit Bus Garage, 232 N. Main Mansfield. 8:30 a.m.

Congressman Bob Gibbs' Staff: Staff will provide assistance to constituents. Mount Vernon Public Library 201 North Mulberry St, Mount Vernon. 1 1 a.m.-2 p.m. Plymoirth-Shiloh Local School Board: Plymouth-Shiloh Board of Education office, 365 Sandusky St, Plymouth. 6 p.m.

Shelby City Council Committee of the Whole town hall forum: To meet with the citizens of Shelby. Shelby City Hall council chambers, 5 Water St, Shelby. 6:30 p.m. Crestview school board: Crestview Middle School, 1 575 Ohio 96, Ashland. 7 p.m.

Madison Township Trustees: Madison Township Hall, 817 Expressview Drive, Mansfield. 7 p.m. Shelby City Council: Shelby City Hall council chambers, 43 W. Main St, Shelby. 7 p.m.

Lexington Local Schools Board of Education: Lexington High School, 103 Clever Lane, Lexington. 7 p.m. Colonel Crawford school board: William Hannah Crawford School, 2303 Ohio 602, North Robinson. 7 p.m. Lexington Village Council: Lexington Village Hall, 44 W.

Main St, Lexington. 7:30 p.m. 419-884-0765. Pioneer Career and Technology Center board: Pioneer Career Technology, 27 Ryan Road, Shelby. 7:30 p.m.

Sharon Township Trustees: Sharon Township Hall, Sutter-Roush Room, 23 E. Main St, Shelby. 7:30 p.m. TUESDAY COMMUNITY CALENDAR Food Pantry: Bring a photo ID. Diamond Hills Baptist Church, 647 S.

Diamond Mansfield. 1 :30 a.m. Free meal: Main Street United Methodist Church, 230 S. Main St, Mansfield. 6-8 p.m.

SENIOR EVENTS Senior Citizen Luncheon: Ohio-Michigan Spirit Day. Come dressed in your blue or scarlet. Reservations required: 419-589-21 14. St. Mary's School, 1630 Ashland Road, Mansfield.

$3. 12:15 p.m. YOUR NEWS Email your calendar items to yournews mansfieldnewsjournal.com. By Ron Simon News Journal MANSFIELD -The sun rarely shines in the Aleutian Islands. Fog can be awful and damp cold is the norm.

Sometimes a fierce wind called a Williwaw may blow in from the Pacific at 1 10 miles an hour. Far out on this island chain is a place called Adak. Navy Machinist Mate Carroll W. Balser spent 23 months there during World War II as part of a crew of a Navy PBY Catalina. A PBY is an acronym for a U.S.

Navy medium to heavy twin amphibi ous aircraft. "Adak is about 500 miles west of Dutch Harbor," Balser recalls. "We were so far west that we were in the Far East." An Aviation Machinist 3rd Class, Balser was Balser during WWII part of an eight-man crew of one of two PBYs stationed at the Navy's small base on Adak. "The Army had a larger base and airfield. They made that field longer and longer until they could land a B-29 on it," Balser said.

"The seas were so rough that the big ships like the air-craffc carriers couldn't operate there. Not even cruisers. "The only Navy ships were destroyers, and a Williwaw put one of them on the beach despite it having two anchors down." The Catalina's job was to fly long patrols at sea to locate Japanese submarines or to rescue American airmen whose planes were downed during times of fog or high winds. "We rescued one pilot who was flying a P-40 fighter. When you were in the water there you had at best 30 minutes to live.

He had been in 10 minutes but couldn't grasp anything. So we landed and launched a life raft. "Once we had him in the plane, we stripped and dried him and put him in a sleeping bag for the trip home." The pilot survived that crash but lived only another week. "It was foggy and he crashed into a mountainside," Balser said. Weather conditions were so bad the PBY crew could only fly now and then.

As for submarines, they encountered just one. "We dropped our depth charges on it and a lot of junk came up to the surface. Did we get it? Maybe?" he said. He said one of the depth charges that hung from the wings came loose during a land- row, with his crew mates on the When the war ended, Balser couldn't find work back home. So he came north to Mansfield to work at the Westinghouse plant.

He did go back to his hometown to marry his wife, Maxine, in 1948. The couple moved to their home on Melody Lane 45 years ago. They spent winters in Florida after his retirement. She passed away in 2000. Their two sons, Michael and Thomas, live in Florida.

There are five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. These days Balser enjoys country and western music concerts and still does his own lawn mowing. He is a past commander and life member of American Legion Post 16 and a life member of the 40 et 8. He was among the World War II veterans who took part in the most recent Veterans Day parade. "I didn't walk.

I rode," he said. His most recent experience was taking part in an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., on Oct. 2, 2010. "I think that's the greatest honor a World War II veteran can receive," he said. He still remembers the hundreds of people at Columbus who greeted him and eight other veterans who got off their airplane there.

"Channel 10 was there, and I got a hug from our co-pilot, a lady," he said. These days Balser, 87, is busy keeping up the property and dining out with friends. He is beginning to hate Ohio winters, but at least he doesn't have to put up with Williwaws. Ron Simon is a retired reporter, award-winning columnist and a veteran. He can be reached atronsimonneo.rr.com.

Carroll Balser, far right in the front PBY Catalina. submitted photo ing at the base. "It just bounced and we kept on going. When the plane stopped, we got out and ran, but that thing never went off," Balser said. In addition to terrible weather, the men at Adak had to deal with boredom.

"In the 23 months I was there, I never had leave," he said. "There was a little building where we could buy two bottles of green beer for a quarter and there were movies every night." But when the Williwaws hit, then men sheltered in their Quonsethuts. "One wind was so strong is pushed down one end of our hut right down to the beds," he said. "After that we packed dirt high around the edges of the hut to keep the wind out." Fuel heaters were provided in each hut that housed eight to 10 men. In addition to flights to sea, Balser's PBY, named the "Daisy June" was used to fly in occasional USO entertainers.

One of them was movie actor Errol Flynn. "He was OK. I just remember he was a big, tall skinny guy," Balser said. A farm kid, Balser was a native of Letart Falls on the Ohio River. Except for an occasional ferry ride over to the West Virginia side, Balser had never been far from home.

Not long after his high school graduation, his draft notice arrived and he was assigned to the Navy. "We cut our 11 weeks of basic training at Great Lakes down to seven weeks," he said. Then it was off to Norfolk to train for duty aboard an amphibious PBY and then west to Whidbey Island, before taking the long flights to Dutch Harbor and lonely Adak. .1.