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News 7 Today

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Welcome to the News 7 Today page of WDAM.com.  If you have an idea for a future interview on our program, please send it to us at news7today@wdam.com and include your name and phone number for verification purposes as well as the words "News 7 Today Interview Request" in the subject line. You may also fax your interview request to us at 601-450-7777; please include the words "News 7 Today" on the cover sheet. Thanks for starting your mornings with News 7 Today on WDAM. 

Domestic Abuse Family Shelter: Hats Off To Hattiesburg  This benefit gala  takes place December 5th from 7:00pm-10:00pm at the Holiday Inn Express in Hattiesburg.  For more details, visit www.domesticabusefamilyshelter.org or call 601-268-0724.

Southern Miss Symphony Orchestra's Holiday Choral Spectacular   Takes place December 1 at 7:30pm at Main Street Baptist Church.  Admission is $22.  For more details, visit www.usm.edu/symphony or call 601-266-5418.

Stay Safe Hotline  To share school safety concerns confidentially, e-mail
staysafe@officeofhealthyschools.org, visit www.healthyschoolsms.org or call, toll free, 1-866-960-6472.

Christian Services' Community Thanksgiving Dinner   Takes place November 24 from 11:30am-1:00pm at their center at 301 East 2nd Street in Hattiesburg.  For more details, call 601-582-5683.

Santa Shops Petal First   Promotion takes place November 20 and 21 at several merchants throughout the city of Petal.  For more details, contact the Petal chamber of commerce at www.petalchamber.com or 601-583-3306.

Salvation Army of Hattiesburg  For more details on upcoming events, visit www.salvationarmyhattiesburg.org call 601-544-3684.

HHS presents "The Good Doctor"  Performances take place November 15 at 2:00pm, November 16 at 7:30pm and November 17 at 7:30pm.  To make reservations, call 601-582-8900.  Visit www.tigerforensics.org for more details.

Fire Safety  For more on our series of interview with Billy Russell, a fire education officer with the Northeast Lamar VFD, visit www.northeastlamarfire.com or call 601-264-0510.

Hats  For more on October 29th's interview with Jo McDivitt from Today's Mississippi Woman, e-mail todaysmswoman@comcast.net or call 601-466-8806.

H1N1  For more information on this virus, visit www.apic.org, www.cdc.gov and www.influenza-info.org .

Identity Theft  If you feel you may be a victim of identity theft -- or want to report suspicious activity -- visit http://www.ftc.gov/idtheft or http://www.ago.state.ms.us or contact your nearest law enforcement agency.

Christian Services: Angel Food For more details on this and other ministries from Christian Services, visit http://www.christianserve.org or call 601-582-5683.

Work at Home Email Scam  Jim Hood, Mississippi's attorney general, says a "work at home" email scam pretends to offer a job in the accounts receivable department of Ashley Furniture.  The hoax email asks for personal information, including bank information.  Computer records show the email comes from Nigeria and is not connected to Ashley Furniture.  To report an email scam, call the consumer protection division at 1-800-281-4418.

ADP  For more details on First Friday breakfasts and other ADP-related activities, www.theadp.com or 601-296-7500.

Price Gouging  If you believe you've been a victim of price gouging, call the Mississippi Attorney General's office toll free at 1-800-281-4418.

Community Calendar   Please send community announcements at least two weeks in advance to calendar@wdam.com (and include the words "Community Calendar" in the subject line).  You may also send your announcement to one of the following U.S. mail addresses...

Community Calendar
c/o News 7 Today
P.O. Box 16269
Hattiesburg, MS 39404

Community Calendar
c/o News 7 Today
P.O. Box 835
Laurel, MS 39441

Please include your name and phone number for verification purposes because we do not react to anonymous correspondence.  No phone calls please.  We cannot guarantee public service announcements will be included in a News 7 Today broadcast.  Breaking news and/or weather deverlopments may take precedent.   We appreciate your understanding in this matter.

Pride Of The Pine Belt   If you'd like to see someone honored in this weekly feature, please e-mail Colleen Donovan at cdonovan@wdam.com and include the words "Pride Of The Pine Belt" in the subject line.

Mississippi Seen   Airs Wednesday mornings on News 7 Today ; walt@wlbt.net is Walt Grayson's e-mail address.

Operation Iraqi Freedom and War On Terrorism   Coverage continues on NBC News, WDAM.com and News 7. 

Here are some websites and addresses related to the war in Iraq we've mentioned on News 7 Today ...

• www.centcom.mil - United States Central Command Home Page – This site offers the official statements of the status of the war.  The site is fully searchable and also offers a links page that has dozens of government, military, and newspaper sites online. 
• www.operationdearabby.net - This site allows you to send email messages to our troops in support of their efforts.  You can send messages to troops from your state or city.  You can pick what branch of the military you wish to send a message to.   You can also read messages that have been sent to troops from across the world or in your state.
• www.defendamerica.mil - You can send a virtual thank you to our troops at this site.  Click on the Support Our Troops Button if you wish to send them your thanks for defending our freedom.
• www.operationuplink.org - This website allows people to donate calling cards to keep military personnel in touch with their families.  Operation Uplink purchases phone cards and distributes them to servicemen and women.
• www.usocares.org - This official website for donating care packages to soldiers.  You can donate $25 at this website, which will give a soldier a personal care package.  You have the option to include your name.  The care package contains an assortment of items specifically asked for by the soldiers such as disposable cameras, calling cards, sunscreen, razors, shampoo, and toothpaste.    
• www.treatsfortroops.com This is the website for the Colorado-based Treats for Troops.  You can visit their site to find out how to send a care package to a soldier in Iraq, or if you know a soldier who'd like to receive one.
• www.operationac.com  Soldiers from Monticello heading to Iraq will have some relief from the desert heat -- thanks to Frankie Mayo of Washington, DC.  Operation AC, founded by Mayo, sends air conditioning units to our troops in Iraq.
• www.freedomcalls.org For service members overseas and their relatives, sharing in everything from milestone family events to everyday conversation is limited to the rare phone call or long-awaited letter.  But, Freedom Calls is using technology to change that.  The organization is uniting families free of charge with the help of satellite communication and the internet.
• David Bloom - The NBC News correspondent died April 6, 2003, while covering the war in Iraq.  His death was not combat-related. 
  • NBC News has set up an email address and P.O. Box for viewers who want to send messages of sympathy to the family of David Bloom.  You can convey condolences to the Bloom family by e-mailing bloomfamily@nbc.com or you can write to: The Bloom Family, c/o NBC, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY, 10112.
  • If you'd like to contribute to the David Bloom Children's Trust, set up to help provide for the education of his three daughters, Christine, Nicole and Ava, send your donations to: David Bloom Children's Trust, c/o Latham & Watkins, 885 3rd Avenue Suite 1000, New York, NY, 10022.
  • David Bloom's widow, Melanie, is speaking out about Deep Vein Thrombosis -- the condition that took David's life -- in hopes that others can prevent a similar tragedy.   For more, visit www.preventdvt.org -- the website for the Coalition to Prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis.

More information on stories News 7 Today has aired related to the events of September 11, 2001...

• American Red Cross: Visit www.redcross.org or call 1-800-HELP-NOW to donate money via your credit card. You may also mail a check or money order to a local chapter of the Red Cross. Please include the words "September 11, 2001 Attacks" on the envelope as you send your check to one of these addresses.
  • American Red Cross, PO Box 2913, Laurel, MS, 39442.
  • American Red Cross, 606 Hutchinson Avenue, Hattiesburg, MS, 39401.
• Salvation Army: Their national number is 1-800-SAL-ARMY.  Locally, their phone numbers are...
  • 544-3684 in Hattiesburg.
  • 428-4232 in Laurel.
• Remembering The Victims: One of our viewers e-mailed us about this website. The viewer writes it's a website that gives the many victims of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Pennsylania a name and a face. Visit http://www.legacy.com/nytimes/Sept11.asp for more.
• Flag of Remembrance:    Mindy Kombert and Sherry Kronenfeld are coordinating an effort to have pictures of victims from the September 11, 2001, attacks on America displayed in a special American flag.  For details on this project, visit www.flagofremembrance.com on the web.