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Small Business Growth

German family winery taps into zero-alcohol trend [Video]

Alcohol-free drinks are becoming ever more popular, especially with health-conscious younger people — a trend cheered by a small German winery based in a Rhine Valley castle. While demand for zero-alcohol beer has risen strongly, the family business is betting on similar growth in the wine sector, using a technique it pioneered more than a

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Home Based Business

Anderson neighbors say hunting season means feeling unsafe [Video]

Typically, the creeks branching off Broadway Lake in Anderson County are quiet. But since duck and geese hunting season started Nov. 23, neighbors say they’ve been in for a rude and early awakening from dawn until dusk. They tell WYFF it could be the death of them, literally. “No one’s been shot yet, but I’m worried that someone will,” said Cheryl Ivey, who has lived here for five years. “We have a lot of people fishing and kayaking now.” “I could get shot paddling over here and not over there. So, it’s a safety issue. If you were out here, you’d be running for that hills if they were firing,” said Roy Ivey, a neighbor of no relation to Cheryl Ivey.The body of water along Getsinger Drive is considered a creek and is connected to Broadway Lake just around the bend. “You can’t hunt within 200 yards of people’s homes to the left of that line,” said Cheryl Ivey about the bend. “But to the right on other line? Game on.”Here, there’s no regulation. Someone could shoot at geese or ducks no matter how close to a home, as long as they are still in the water or on the county-owned portions of the banks.It has made living in this area complicated. Cheryl Ivey says dead or injured geese regularly fall onto private property. “No, it happens often,” she said. “We had one in our yard last year that obviously had got a shot wing, and we tried to help it, try to put it down, and it escaped.”Roy Ivey uses his canoe to pick up litter on the banks. He says he’s accidentally wandered into the line of fire. “The DNR came out, accused me of disrupting a legal hunt, and was basically going to put the cuffs on me,” Roy Ivey said.Neighbors tell us they would be happy if a regulation passed and required hunters to stay 300 yards from houses. “And if they would enforce it, we’d be in better shape,” Roy Ivey said.In the meantime, they showed our crew that they have been to several local and state officials for help. According to Roy Ivey, “Nothing has happened.”We reached out to those officials with Anderson County, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Rusty Burns with Anderson County tells us they don’t want any residents to be or feel unsafe, so they are once again taking a deep dive into what can be done on their end legally.SCDNR and the sheriff’s office tell us their hands are tied unless someone breaks the law. As of now, they haven’t heard of any hunters in the area doing so. The best way forward, they say, may be through a state law.

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Home Based Business

Cause of fire at former Elan School undetermined, officials say [Video]

The Maine Fire Marshal’s Office said investigators were not able to determine the cause of the fire that destroyed a building at the former campus of the Elan School.The Nov. 17 fire leveled a vacant one-story building in Poland. Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss confirmed to Maine’s Total Coverage that the extent of damage to the building left the fire marshal’s office unable to identify the cause.Poland Fire Chief Thomas Printup said on the day of the fire that he was suspicious of the fire’s origin.”There’s no power in the buildings. At this point, it seems like a questionable occurrence,” Printup said.The Elan School, which closed in 2011, was known as a place for troubled teenagers. The annual fee for parents was $55,000 per child.The private, for-profit boarding school that was opened in 1970 by psychiatrist Gerald Davidson and Joe Ricci, the former owner of the Scarborough Downs race track.Former students have come forward over the years to say they were victims of physical and emotional abuse. One former student produced a documentary about the Elan School called “Last Stop.”In 1982, 15-year-old Phil Williams Jr. died when witnesses said he was forced to take part in a boxing match with another student. Maine’s Total Coverage spoke with Williams’ sister, Pam Newell, in 2016 when the Maine State Police opened an investigation into his death.”I thought it was a wonderful place. I thought they were helping my brother. I thought he was coming home,” Newell said. “He came home all right, in a box.”Williams’ death certificate states he died of a brain aneurysm. No charges were ever filed in connection with his death.The Elan School was also mentioned in the murder trial of Michael Skakel, the nephew of Ethel Kennedy. Testimony during Skakels trial in 2002 indicated he confessed to classmates while at Elan, telling them he killed his neighbor Martha Moxley in Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1975. Skakel was convicted, but the conviction was later overturned.Following the fire, all that remains of the Elan School are six empty, boarded-up buildings sitting on 33 acres of land near Upper Range Pond.Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.Previous coverage:

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Home Based Business

Potential traffic calming coming to Bay View after hit-and-run [Video]

There are new calls for street safety improvements along Kinnickinnic Avenue in Bay View a month after a hit-and-run crash seriously injured a woman.Cara Corder, a 33-year-old Vanguard restaurant employee, was hit by a vehicle while trying to cross the street on Oct. 26 near Kinnickinnic Avenue and Rusk Avenue. A family member previously told 12 News that Corder underwent surgery to remove her spleen and suffered a bleeding liver, a broken arm and a brain injury.Despite the severity of her injuries, Corder was recently released from a hospital to recover at home. “Even with a neck brace on and just beat up, she’s still cracking jokes. She’s so funny. So that’s that gives me hope,” said Vanguard’s owner, Chris Schulist. People in the neighborhood hope her story drives home the need for change on the busy stretch of road between Holt Avenue and Fulton Street.In a meeting Monday, residents were able to place sticky notes with concerns along a printed-out version of Kinnickinnic Avenue. Some changes being considered include raised sidewalks, curb extensions, bump-outs and pedestrian refuge islands.”The crash data shows over 20 crashes in that area,” said Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic, adding that neighbors are concerned. “They worry about the racing here. And on 794, the reckless driving people just not caring like they used to. They’re worried about walking on the streets, biking, they’re worried about their children.””I know we’ve had some issues where we’re trying to cross the street, getting to school, and there’s people coming in the bike lane, even if the crossing guard is there,” said Kelly Hayden, who lives on Kinnickinnic Avenue. “The bigger issue is the stolen cars that people are stealing and being on the street. So I don’t know if these traffic calming measures will be effective.”Schulist has similar worries and hopes this conversation can help address reckless driving in the city.”This is getting everyone talking about it because all these people are sick of this. So this is good. It’s a step in the right direction,” Schulist said.The earliest construction could begin on traffic calming changes is 2026. Detectives are still searching for an unknown suspect, or suspects, in Corder’s case. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Milwaukee police at 414-935-7360 or, to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 414-224-Tips or P3 Tips.