(exciting music) - [Announcer] Tonight on "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories," Johnny Spezzano is back in the kitchen with one of WPBS's very own IT wizard and fishermen, Mike Ortiz talks fishing and fileting and what it takes to fire grill the perfect fish dish.

And in EmpowHer Camp at John Dillon Park in the Adirondack Park teaches independent living and survival skills from disabled women mentors.

We'll take you there for the experience.

Also, the "1000 Islands Wanderer," Mitch Beatie visits the 1000 Islands Playhouse in Gananoque for a behind the scenes look at the "Jersey Boys" production.

Your stories, your region coming up right now on "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories."

(exciting music continuing) - [Announcer] "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories" is brought to you by, the Watertown Oswego Small Business Development Center, 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.

(music ending) - Good Tuesday evening, everyone, and welcome to our 100th episode of "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories."

I'm Michael Riecke.

We so appreciate your viewership and look forward to producing the next 100 episodes of "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories."

Out of the Adirondacks tonight unfolds a truly empowering experience where a select group of young disabled women are invited to explore, connect, and learn basic survival and leadership skills.

This week-long mentoring and transformational experience is called EmpowHER Camp.

But as our Jolene DeRosier tells us, their week-long camping experience actually lasts a lifetime.

(upbeat music) - [Person Off Camera] I am looking, here it is!

- [Jolene] Rachel is part of a scavenger hunt.

The rain held off long enough for 10 young leaders to scour the pathways for clues at John Dillon Park in the Adirondacks.

- So have you guys found the clue?

- We found the clue, but it was in a box.

- [Jolene] The game is just one facet of a week long mentorship program for young women and non-binary teenagers with disabilities.

- Some of the things that the young leaders are learning include everything from how to build fire to tie dying, fun camp activities, but also they're learning how to ask for help if they need it.

And learning how to build those independent living skills.

They're also learning how to cook.

They're helping us prepare all of our meals.

So, cutting, prepping, cooking.

- [Jolene] According to 2021 data from the US Census Bureau, people with disabilities make up approximately 13% of the civilian population.

This group includes those with hearing, vision, cognitive, walking, self-care, or independent living difficulties.

Because they are marginalized, their needs are often left unchecked which is why Empowered Disability Network exists: to cultivate young leaders with powerful voices ready to make big changes.

- EmpowHER Camp is a new organization and a new program, but we really thrive on making women be the leaders, making women with disabilities lead, which is not something you see.

And so that is something that I think we're breaking down that stigma of putting women with disabilities in that leadership role.

It is statistically known that people with disabilities are at a higher risk during emergency situations and natural disasters.

And we wanted to bring light to that.

We wanted to show that this is an important topic, and it needs to be addressed.

- Although most people in everyday life do not come across people with a disability, we do exist.

So, a lot of the times there aren't proper protocols in place for when things like active shooters happen.

We, most of the time, everybody I have talked to, the protocol is usually just stick us in a room.

That is not safe.

Being that worst case scenario, if first responders can't get to us, a sitting duck is a dead duck.

So you have to have some type of policy and protocol in place, which is what I have learned.

- [Jolene] These young leaders are working to put those policies and protocols in place locally and nationally, and they work all year long to do it.

Each young leader is paired with a mentor.

After the skill building camp is over, they'll work on a project with their mentor involving inclusive disaster strategies.

And when the year is over, these leaders will head to Washington DC to have their voices heard.

- My project for this next year is going to be surrounding the topic of evacuation procedures for individuals with disabilities surrounding active shooter protocols.

And I'm not sure if that's where they're going to be giving training to first responders and teachers or evacuation chairs.

I'm not really sure what it will look like at the end, but that is what I'm starting off with.

It'll be my first time in Washington, actually, and very first time doing something as big as this.

So yeah, I'm excited, but extremely nervous.

Hopefully I get some type of change going though.

- Just seeing the young leaders in Washington DC, thriving, talking to their senators is huge.

And it may be an hour out of the senator's day, but it's something that I really think that they will remember, because that's not something you see often.

- [Jolene] Advocating for change can happen on a local level too.

- The goal is change.

The goal is to have this project and to implement change in the community that they're in.

It is a year long project, so it's what they can get done in a year.

- [Jolene] These budding leaders stay in touch well after the year is over.

The friendships formed are beyond special.

And for some, a long time coming.

- This is the first time many of these girls have met other people with disabilities.

Even, I think had I had something like this growing up where I could have met other disabled girls my age, and be able to talk with them about whether my disability experience, what is going on for me in school, either related to my disability or not.

And just talk through some of the things that I didn't really feel comfortable talking to my other peers about who were not disabled.

And having mentors who are also women with disabilities, successful women with disabilities.

- [Jolene] At John Dillon Park in the Adirondacks, I'm Jolene DeRosier.

(music ending) - If you'd like to learn more about the Disability EmpowHER Network, please visit their website at disabilityempowhernetwork.org.

From campfire to woodfire, we head now to the kitchen of North Country Radio personality Johnny Spezzano.

Joined by WPBS staff member Mike Ortiz, the duo teams up to make a traditional pan-fried dish over fire.

(upbeat music) - Hey, come on!

Well, hello.

We went fishing today.

It's Johnny Spezzano, and I'd like to welcome you into my kitchen.

This is Mike Ortiz, and today we're cooking fish with fire.

You know what I'm saying?

Are you ready, Mike?

- Yeah.

- Oh, we had no luck, by the way.

No luck today.

- No, but I saved the day, and went to the grocery store and bought some porgie.

- What did you say?

They call it fishing?

They call it fishing?

- It's fishing not catching.

- [Johnny] Right.

- Yeah, but we- - What'd you get?

What'd you get?

- We got some porgy here that we got from the local grocery store.

Porgy is a white, flaky meat, big scales, a lot of bones but we'll filet those out for one of 'em.

And I believe you want to cook the other one whole.

- I've heard of guys doing this when they're in fishing tournaments.

They don't catch anything, so they go to the grocery store.

- It's a little bit of cheating, but it works.

(Johnny laughing) - Now you have, well, let's get started, okay?

Before we get into the questions, let's get started.

We're gonna actually do some fileting and cleaning of these beautiful fish right here.

- [Mike] Yes, we're gonna clean this one first.

- [Johnny] Okay.

- And then we'll prepare this one for the oven.

And then while that's in the oven, we'll filet this one.

- Yeah, now we are going to cook a whole fish, head and all, right?

- Correct.

- Okay, whenever I travel overseas, they always leave the head on.

- Yes.

- So, how about you?

Do you do the same or- - Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

Depends on the mood.

- All right, all right.

Well, let's get started.

I know that you can pick up your knife and just start digging in.

I know that you moved to the north country, because of your love of fishing.

Isn't that true?

- That's correct.

- So you came here from Pennsylvania originally?

- [Mike] Yep.

- And you found out how great the fishing is here?

- I did, I've been fishing up here for about 35 years and decided to move up here.

I eventually moved up here, got a job at WPBS, and it's just been a, it's been a wild ride ever since.

- That's awesome.

I understand that you, you know, are not only an avid fisherman and a great engineer at WPBS, but you also have your own cottages, right?

- That is correct.

- Yeah, what are their names?

- It's Cabin Fever Cottages, and we rent cabins year round to avid outdoorsmen, whether it be wintertime with snowmobiling, in the fall with fishing, in the spring with ATV/UTV riding up on the Tug Hill.

It's all based on activities on the Tug Hill.

We are right on the Tug Hill in Redfield.

- I love this.

All right, we're getting to work on these fish right here.

So we're gonna, you're cleaning 'er out?

Is it all done or not?

- Yep, it's just cleaned out.

- All right, bring it over here and we're gonna put it on this pan.

Now, I know you've done this recipe before?

- Yes.

- Have you ever cooked it on fire?

- Never.

- All right.

Well, this is gonna be exciting.

We're going to start by removing the fins, because they'll burn in the wood fire.

So, I'm gonna have you take those off, and then a little of the tail too.

I'm just gonna move this over a little.

- [Mike] Oh, okay, sure.

- All right.

This is fun.

I love fishing.

How about the eye, are we leaving it in?

- We're gonna leave that in.

- Okay, that's good.

Is that the delicacy or no?

- Some call it a delicacy.

I do not.

(Johnny laughing) - All right.

It's gotta be good for your eyesight.

So, we have some beautiful lemons here.

And what exactly are we gonna do with these lemons?

- [Mike] We are gonna slice this thing open.

- [Johnny] Okay.

- And then we're gonna put the lemons right in the slices.

- Oh, that should look beautiful.

And then we're gonna cook it with the lemons right with it.

- That's correct.

- Okay.

Now, when you do a slice like this, the benefit is it's gonna help it cook, right?

- [Mike] Correct.

- Yeah.

So, if you ever cook a whole fish in your oven, you should do the same thing.

Can you do this on the grill?

- You could, in a grill, on a smoker.

- Ooh, I'm gonna grab a knife too, and I'm gonna help you.

I'm gonna cut some lemon.

We want just straight slices?

- [Mike] Yep.

- Okay.

Fish and lemon go very well together, because it it kind of freshens things up.

- And we're just gonna shove these right in.

- Now, though we didn't have any luck today while we were fishing, you did have luck at the supermarket, 'cause we've got two gorgeous fish.

So, we're gonna prepare this fish in two different ways.

We're gonna prepare it like this whole, and we're also going to filet and fry as well in the wood-fired oven.

So, man, this is looking good already.

All right, let's put it on the pan.

Okay, could we put a couple of these in?

- Yep, yep.

- [Johnny] Put it around here like this.

A little squeeze over.

- [Mike] I love it.

- This is, see, this is the kind of cooking I like, because it's just simple.

- Yep, and you can't mess it up.

- You can't mess it up.

All right, let's put it in.

(upbeat music) (music ending) All right, all right.

Now while that's in there, we're gonna keep an eye on it, but it's probably gonna keep an eye on us.

- Ha ha.

- Okay, we're gonna filet this little porgie, and then we're gonna batter it.

We've got an egg wash. We've got some flour and some bread crumbs, some lemon, got some Old Bay.

So, I've never fileted a fish before.

So, I want you to show me how to do this.

- All right, to filet the fish, you're just gonna cut into the back, and the backbone's right across the top.

We're gonna stay right above that backbone, follow the backbone all the way back and then just cut through.

And then we're gonna just follow the bones and you'll hear the knife skimming along the bones.

- [Johnny] Okay.

- [Mike] As I'm doing that.

And I'll get started right now.

- All right.

- It's just a little poke and just right along the back.

- So, how many times have you done this along the shore?

Cooked it on a wood fire?

- Never.

- Really?

- I have never cooked along the shore.

- Oh my goodness.

Well, we're gonna have to try that next episode.

We'll try that for sure.

- Do that and then we just kind of go down.

Lemme cut this.

Okay.

And then we just kind of go down, and you'll hear along the bones.

- [Johnny] Oh yeah.

- And you're just gonna keep, it's tough.

Bones are tough.

And there's a pin bones, you can see the pin bones in there.

And I'm just going right along this line here.

Just keep working it.

- Who taught you how to do this?

- My brother taught me probably 40 years ago, 50 years ago.

- That's a good brother.

- That's one filet.

And we'll just flip it over.

Do the whole thing backwards.

(upbeat music) (music ending) - All right, so we got some filets.

Now what about, is there skin on the other side?

- Yep, what I'm gonna do is I'm just gonna take this, a little different knife here, and I'm just gonna follow the skin.

- [Johnny] Okay.

- When holding it with my fingers here.

And just kind of- - [Johnny] Beautiful.

- That's one.

And you can also see how thick the skin is on these fish.

- Yeah, thick skin.

Yeah, yeah.

So what's your favorite fish to catch in the north country?

- In the north country, I love salmon fishing, because while you've got the world famous Salmon River here.

- [Johnny] Yeah.

- But I've also learned there's a lot of really, really fishable tributaries which have less people, less crowded.

- Are you gonna tell us about 'em?

They'll get crowded.

- I could tell you, but it's a secret.

I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you.

- Yes, right, they always say that.

- And you'll notice on here, also there's these little pin bones.

- [Johnny] Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.

- [Mike] Start right here.

So, what we do is you just follow that- it's called the bloodline.

Just cut 'em right out.

- Let's talk about your job at WPBS.

You work in the engineering department, right?

- I do.

- Are you the guy who has to go out to that big TV tower?

- I do have two TV towers.

One in Copenhagen, one in South Colton.

And I help keep those running.

- [Johnny] Yeah.

- Those will transmit our, what's called over the air signal to anybody who has an antenna at their house.

They can pick up our signal on channel 16.1, 2, 3, or 4.

Or if you're closer to Copenhagen or South Colton, rather, it's 18.1, 2, 3, and 4.

- Okay, well, we're thankful for you, 'cause if if it weren't for you we wouldn't have this show on the air.

So, we do appreciate it.

All right, so we got a nice little egg wash here.

You want to hit 'em with the Old Bay before we put 'em in the egg wash or not?

- Sure.

- All right.

So, grab the Old Bay seasoning.

I mean, I love Old Bay, right?

- Who doesn't?

- If you're cooking fish, you can't go wrong.

Anytime you use this, this is the traditional flavoring, a fish for decades.

It's just got all the right ingredients.

So, it's a good spice for fish.

Okay, all right.

So, we'll egg wash 'em.

Okay, now everybody has their own technique.

We're gonna drop 'em in the flour.

Okay.

And then we've got some breadcrumbs here.

I'm gonna let you do the next filet, 'cause you can show me how you do it.

- I do pretty much the same thing, except I will go back for a second wash after the flour.

- [Johnny] Of course you will.

I've heard about guys like you.

- [Mike] Yeah, double dipping.

- Yep, so we're gonna put 'em in our hot oil that I have in the oven right now.

I'm gonna grab a mitt here.

All right, as you can see, we have a cast iron skillet filled with oil.

Be careful around oil.

We don't want any fires.

- You dropped the hot coal.

- Oh, hot coal?

Oh, well, we'll just step on it.

Now, it's done.

Thanks, bud.

All right, so we're gonna drop these in.

- Yep.

(upbeat music) (music ending) - So things are cooking away.

I want to talk to you a little bit more about some of the great fishing here in the north country.

I mean, people come from- we have a bass masters tournament here locally.

- We do up on the St. Lawrence.

- Yes, yeah, yeah.

- And then there's salmon fishing.

- Salmon River, Spring Steelhead, Spring Brown Trout.

Then there's also fishing on Lake Ontario.

My cabins, when they book in the fall for fishing, we are booked all of September all of October, all cabins every day.

- Where do people come from?

- All over the country.

I have regular guests that come from West Virginia, from Maryland, from obviously Pennsylvania.

Majority of them come from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, all over North Carolina, Florida.

- This is the spot for sure.

- Yes.

- Now the fried fish isn't gonna take long.

So, let's take a look and see how it's doing.

Yeah.

Look at this.

- [Mike] Too bad there's not smell-a-vision.

- I know.

So here's our filet.

It's too bad we couldn't catch anything today.

We sort of did, but we- All right, now let's get the baited fish out, Mike.

Well, look at this.

So, is there gonna be a taste difference between our filet and our whole fish?

- There will, you're gonna get the breading, the coating on this, and the oil flavor into this one a lot more.

This is gonna be more of a lemony, plain fish flavor.

- Wow, so, if people wanted to find out more about your cottages, your cabins, and it's in Redfield, New York.

- We are in Redfield, New York.

You can find us on Facebook, Cabin Fever Cottages of Redfield.

We have four family cottages that you can rent.

Each sleep six or seven people, depending on which cabin.

We also have a rec room, we have a fire pit.

We have everything you need if you're coming up here.

Just bring your food and your beverages and everything else is in the cabin.

- So, I think what you need to do is you need to add a wood-fired oven to the cottages.

- I am seriously thinking about it right now.

- Yeah.

So much fun.

Anything you can cook on a campfire or in your own oven, you can cook here.

So we've really served up some great stuff.

Now we gotta go check on the corn.

(upbeat music) (music ending) Look at this spread.

Oh my gosh.

- I'm hungry.

- It's been a long day, right?

All right, so let me ask you a question.

We got our whole fish here.

We got the beautiful lemons in there.

What's the best way to serve it?

I mean, do you just- - Best thing to do is just pretty much plop it on a plate and then you pick at it.

- Just pick at it, right?

- Yep.

- Like chicken.

- Yep.

- Chicken barbecue, all right.

And then we got our fried, our fried fish as well.

So, let's try it, okay.

So, I'll tell you what, we'll give you a filet.

Okay, I'll take a filet, all right.

And you want lemon?

- [Mike] No, I'm gonna, I'm gonna- - [Johnny] You can go the go the, okay.

And then do we, can we just cut it?

- [Mike] Let's see.

- Just cut into it, look at that!

Ooh.

Which end do you want?

- I'll take this end.

Actually cut it again, right here.

(Johnny laughing) - I was gonna taste the eyeball.

- [Mike] Oh, good luck.

- [person off camera] No!

- Not bad.

I say it's good for your vision.

- I'm just gonna take your word for that one.

- All right, well, let's try it out.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Delicious.

- Absolutely delicious.

- It's got that lemony flavor.

I'm gonna try the fried fish now.

Mmm.

Always good, my man, to fishing stories.

We did the best we could today.

- We did, but we made the best of it and it came out good.

- Yes, we did.

Well, listen, (upbeat music) thank you so much for watching "Johnny on Fire."

It's been a fun episode.

- We did good.

We didn't burn ourselves, right?

- Nope.

- And thank you so much for thinking about going to the supermarket to get the fish.

- Well, I had to have a backup plan going.

- Yeah, well, you have to, right?

When you're a fisherman, you gotta be prepared.

- Yep.

- But listen, if you get a chance, check out all the episodes at wpbstv.org.

There's amazing episodes with a multiple assortment of guests.

And we'll see you out on the water, all right?

- You will, thank you.

- Remember to cook with fire.

All right, let's have some more.

Hmm, this is really good.

I love fish.

Hmm.

(music ending) - As summer comes to a close, we offer the final installation of Mitch Beatty, the "1000 Islands Wanderer."

Tonight he visits the 1000 Islands Playhouse in Gananoque for a behind the scenes look at the "Jersey Boys" production.

(horn honking) (soothing music) - [Someone Off Screen] Five, six, seven, eight!

(people singing to piano) - What's going on, guys?

Welcome back to another episode of "1000 Islands Wanderer."

I'm here with my buddy Thomas.

- What's up, guys?

- We are inside the rehearsal hall right now for the upcoming play, "Jersey Boys."

(choir singing to piano music) So, one of the common misconceptions is that the sets a lot of people believe are brought in from somewhere like Toronto or Montreal, but they're actually all built right here in Gananoque in the same space as where the rehearsal hall is as well.

- No stuff zone.

- Literally stuff.

- Is that not stuff?

That's some stuff outside of the building portions.

There's also the rehearsal hall, which you can maybe hear them right now.

(people talking over each other indistinctly) - You have one of the second phrase of "Who Loves You."

- Like that bunny on TV with the battery.

And it just keeps going and going.

(piano playing) Chasing the music, trying to get home.

♪ Who loves you pretty baby ♪ ♪ Who's gonna help you through the night?

♪ ♪ Who loves you pretty- ♪ - Guys, I can vlog, but there's no way I can perform like these guys.

So, huge kudos to these guys.

(piano music playing) All right, that was cool to check out just a little bit of what the behind the scenes, what it takes to get one of these plays going.

So I'll be back in a couple weeks to see the end result at the Playhouse.

Thomas, we're gonna have to pay your way.

- I'm hoping to be back.

I think I'm gonna pay my way in to support these guys.

- Cool, we'll see you guys at the main show.

We just finished dinner here on King Street at (indistinct) Mediterranean and we are headed to the show.

Looking right out to the St. Lawrence.

- I am Brett Christopher, the managing artistic director of the 1000 Islands Playhouse.

The 1000 Islands Playhouse operates here in this waterfront venue, Canada's Dockside Theater for six months of the year, runs end of May all the way till now, till the end of October.

And we do seven productions back to back to back.

So, we run about 220 performances consecutively through the summer.

And we have 350 people, generally sold out.

But we enjoy tourists from all over the place, and certainly all of our friends in the region.

From Brockville to Kingston to (indistinct).

- What's some advice?

Stick to what you know.

Rob a bank.

(upbeat music from "Jersey Boys") (indistinct rapping) ♪ Sheri ♪ ♪ Baby ♪ ♪ Woo ♪ ♪ Woo ♪ ♪ Woo ♪ (audience applauding) - Those guys absolutely killed the show.

I would for sure give it a 10 outta 10.

Give us a rating outta 10.

- 10.

- 10?

- It's 10.

- 12.

- 12?

Geez louise, that's impressive.

(music ending) - That does it for us this Tuesday night.

Join us next time for a fresh look, "Inside the Stories."

We sit down with Randy Forbes, the clinical Director of Integrated Outpatient services at the Credo Community Center in Watertown to discuss Narcan training and substance abuse outpatient services.

Are you looking to shift careers or perhaps find a new job in your current field?

Canadian job coach M. Michelle Nadon has three powerful tips that can help you up-level your process to land the job of your dreams.

Meantime, if you have a story idea you'd like us to explore, we'd love to learn more.

Drop us an email at WPBS Weekly at wpbstv.org, and let's share it with the region.

That's it for now, everyone.

Have a safe evening.

We'll see you next episode.

- [Announcer] "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.

Serving Jefferson, Lewis, and Oswego Counties since 1986.

Online at watertown.nysbdc.org.

Additional funding provided by the J.M.

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

- [Johnny] We will give you a filet.

Okay, I'll take a filet.

All right, and you want lemon?

- [Michael] Oh, I'm gonna, you can go the- - [Johnny] Okay, and then, can we just cut it?

Let's see.

- [Mike] Just cut into it.

- Look at that!

Ooh, which end do you want?

- I'll take this end.

Actually cut it again right here.

(Johnny laughing) - I was gonna taste the eyeball.

- Oh, good luck.

- [person off camera] No!

- Not bad.

I'd say it's good for your vision.

(soothing music) (music ending)