I am still surprised at the apparent apathy of people to submit video and photos to our Web site.

It is such a good opportunity to showcase video and photos from the recent floods. We have seen an upsurge of contributed photos in recent days, but video submissions are still slow.

To submit videos these are the steps:

Go online at thetelegraph.com
Click on Start Here under latest submitted videos.
Create a free Brightcove account by following the on-screen directions.
Select a video from your hard drive and click upload video.

I also encourage people to submit photos. On The Telegraph home page look for the Community drop down and click on submit photos, then put a caption in and hit the browse button to find their art file, then hit upload.

Both processes are very simple and I hope people will take advantage of the availability.

The Telegraph has a limited staff and is trying to cover the highlights of the flood, but with your help can show much more. If you have a flood story tip, I suggest you call the newsroom City Desk at (618) 463-2576 or me at (618) 463-2560.

The news that broadcaster Tim Russert had died last week hit me hard.

I was recovering from LASIK surgery on Friday when I heard the news. I couldn’t see any of the highlights on CNN about his death, just listen, because my eyes were closed for six hours after the surgery.

It gave me some time to reflect and think about Russert’s impacting career. Russert was a member of NBC’s Meet the Press team for 17 years. The show is TV’s longest running show and has always filled gaps in the business.

He was found present during presidential debates and many on-air types of situations involving politics. Russert always tried to provide balance in his programming and questioning, something not present each day in television. He never forgot his roots and where he started his career.

One person said he provided deep knowledge and research into his programming. I know that will be missed.

At only 58, Russert seemed too young to die, but he leaves behind a legacy in journalism. I don’t think he will be forgotten any time soon and I will sure miss his style of journalism.

I would appreciate hearing from others about the loss of broadcaster Tim Russert.

On Friday of last week I took the plunge and had LASIK surgery on both of my eyes.

For years, I haven’t been able to see properly without glasses or contacts. On Friday, almost miraculously, that all seemed to change.

The surgery was not difficult. The hardest part of the whole surgical process was the anticipation, then the few minutes it took to go through with the process.

During the actual laser process of the eyes, I was asked to look at red and green dots several times, while the device did its thing on my corneas. Anyone who has had the procedure would know what I am talking about. My sense of smell has been what has gotten me through life and I could catch a scent of the burning of my cornea — not a pleasant thought.

I also won’t forget the computer saying, 27 seconds for the first cornea altering and 19 seconds for the second. Those were the longest 46 seconds of my life.

The six hours of waiting to open my eyes after surgery was an interesting process. I napped for about an hour and a half and listened to CNN the rest of the time. I was sad to learn of newsman Tim Russert’s death during the waiting period.

My wife, Victoria, and two girls, Savannah and Sierra, were wonderful during the process. I am a lucky man to have the three of them always watching out for me. Sierra even fed me at dinner because I couldn’t open my eyes. I’m sure they won’t forget that time with dad.

At first, my vision was cloudy, but now three days into it, each day my sight continues to improve. I keep grabbing for my glasses and trying to take my contacts out at night.

I hope I continue to progress and I am extremely thankful to be able to see without contacts and glasses.

I would like to hear your experience with LASIK if you have had one. Please send me a response to my blog if you have a personal story to tell.

Connor Broyles, 10, is on his way to becoming a national face in the fund-raising efforts for the American Diabetes Association in my opinion.

Broyles had another successful lemonade stand on Friday night at Alton High, raising more than $2,000. The money also is still coming in for the event.

Leslie Smith, Connor’s mother, told me about a gentlemen who filled out a raffle ticket on Friday night, who had tears in his eyes. As the gentleman walked closer, he told her about losing his 22-year-old son last July to diabetes. His son had encountered a blood sugar low and never woke up.

“That moved me,” Smith said. “It was very emotional.”

It’s an amazing story that a young man, only 10, can become one of the fund-raising leaders for the regional diabetes efforts. He has done the fund-raising totals with a simple concept – a lemonade stand – and collected thousands of dollars for diabetes research.

Broyles wants to be a diabetes physician, his mother told me. I can see one day, young Connor becoming a young man who does gallantly work toward assisting others with his illness in the medical profession and working toward a cure. Through the efforts of Connor Broyles and others like him, one day we will have a cure for diabetes.

Each day, times are changing at The Telegraph.

We are encouraging schools to e-mail honor roll and colleges to e-mail Dean’s list information to  schools at thetelegraph.com. We have a designated area set up to receive the material. If the information is e-mailed in a Microsoft Word format, we will publicize the information at The Telegraph Web site under Community, Honor Rolls.

We have nearly an unlimited space potential on the Web, so we are capable of publishing the honor rolls and Dean’s list info almost as soon as we get it. For those who don’t know it, our Web site is averaging more than 1.8 million Web views a month, so there is a good chance the honors rolls will be viewed.

We also encourage readers to submit letters to the editor via e-mail to  dan_brannan at thetelegraph.com. It’s the easiest way to send them and process the information.

If you have questions, e-mail at my listed e-mail address above.

On Saturday, I traveled to Quincy with former Telegraph reporter Ande Yakstis to conduct interviews with John Larry Ray, another one of James Earl Ray’s brothers.

Before the trip, I didn’t have any idea of what to expect, but it was a fascinating day. I enjoyed going to Quincy and seeing the quaint river town. It was even better than I had envisioned.

John Ray provided considerable information we hadn’t heard before. I think we could have talked into the night, but we had to finally call it quits so we could get back to the Alton area.

John recently released his new book, “Truth At Last,” which features his views on what happened during the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in April 1968.

We concluded the day with a trip to Ewing, where the Ray family lived for about a decade on a 56-acre farm. Ewing is a community of fewer than 500 residents. When we pulled into town, I almost had to get out of my car to get three dogs out of the road. Two beagles had decided they owned the road, I think. I guess it’s safe to say Ewing is a slow-paced town, especially when it appears dogs take command of the roads.

We visited cemeteries in the town where much of the Ray family had lived and were given quite a history lesson about the family and their past.

I am curious whether any of our readers have read John Ray’s new book and, if so, what kind of thoughts they have about it?

We are planning articles about the trip to Quincy for next Sunday’s and Monday’s newspapers, so I hope readers and viewers will check those out.

For those who want to read the new John Ray book, it’s available at Borders and by visiting his Web site, www.Johnthetruth.com.

Crowded emergency rooms became a debated topic at a Freedom Communications conference on Tuesday.

I am attending the weeklong content meeting with other Freedom associates in San Antonio, Texas, and this topic was personal because of a recent experience.

One person talked about how six emergency rooms have closed in a California community, greatly influencing other similar facilities.

With the closing of emergency rooms, the ones left are becoming more and more clogged, those in attendance at the meeting said.

My daughter, Sierra, recently had an allergic reaction, so I had a personal emergency room situation to talk about.

Emergency room officials rushed us in quickly and she received proper attention. Without that kind of attention, she could have been in dire shape.

In our situation, we didn’t have an hour or two we could wait in the E.R. facility; we had literally a few minutes or seconds. I can’t begin to express my appreciation for the work of ambulance personnel who were first on the scene to help during my daughter’s allergic reaction. An experience like this one sure brings back home their importance.

Emergency rooms are called that for a reason – they are designed for “emergency” situations. When people typically go to an emergency room, they have just a few minutes left for help. Some at the conference talked about how immigrants and some illegal immigrants are using E.R. facilities as medical clinics. I didn’t find that the case in Alton, but I do know it exists outside the area.

I think emergency rooms are important. I realize it even more after my recent experience.

What do you think needs to be done to make E.R. facilities more functional here and nationwide? Do you realize the importance of the emergency rooms? Do you think some use E.R. facilities for what they should be using regular medical clinics?

I received a letter from Linda Smith, a member of the board of directors of the American Lung Association, this week.

Smith, who is an R.N. from Edwardsville, pointed out that life expectancy of American women is dropping, due in part to increased smoking rates.

Cancer is becoming the leading cancer killer among women and more women are dying from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD). Many with COPD also suffer from emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Smith wrote me and said:

“Currently, we are without federal legislation to regulate manufactured tobacco products, including how the tobacco companies market their deadly products. This year, the U.S. Congress has an opportunity to stop the tobacco industry’s harmful practices and protect our children. Congress is considering bipartisan legislation that would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory authority over the tobacco industry.”

Smith went on to say that the support of U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, D-Collinsville, is needed in the bipartisan legislation to regulate the tobacco industry.

Another point by Smith that is staggering is that more than 1,100 minors begin smoking every day in this country. Most of those lives will be shortened as they age and suffer from cardiovascular diseases and COPD.

I am not a big proponent of government regulations of this and that, but we should consider some of what Smith is saying in regard making sure children are protected.

We need to educate our children of the perils of smoking. I have spoken with my two young children numerous times about what happens when a person smokes. If we talk enough about it, maybe when the peer pressure comes, they will think before they puff.

I also encourage women and men alike to consider tossing away their cigarettes. By doing so, it will make a huge difference in your life.

I’d like your thoughts on the legislation proposed over the tobacco industry and perspectives on smoking. If you smoke, why do you? Do you worry about the health risks?

During the recent Lincoln activities in town, 120 guests visited My Just Desserts in Alton for a Saturday program on Mary Todd Lincoln, celebrating the woman.

Ann Badasch, owner of My Just Desserts, hosted Donna McCreary, an author and historian from Southern Indiana, who has written three books on Mary Lincoln at the event. McCreary gave an interesting presentation about the former wife of President Abraham Lincoln.

For about nine months, Badasch prepared recipes and worked on the project. She was fortunate enough to have people drive from Chester, Springfield and St. Louis to hear McCreary speak and eat the period recipes.

The cookbook included recipes during the Lincoln era and some from the Victorian Era.

“We served spring mix salad with pickled beets and onions, salad, fresh oranges, pineapple and coconut, potatoes, maple syrup glazed carrots, filet of beef, chicken, homemade breads, maple syrup glazed carrots and two desserts, both Mary Lincoln recipes,” Badasch said. “I got such a kick out of seeing all the Lincolns around town that day. Traffic was stopped to watch them. It was a wonderful event for the city. This is something I really enjoy doing.”

I wanted to personally commend Badasch for this effort. I know it took a lot of research and effort on the part of her and her staff to put such an event together.

I also think Brett Stawar, of the Alton Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau and others who volunteered and coordinated the Lincoln events deserve a lot of credit.

I took my two children to the event and I think it will be something they will always remember. I will always keep my pictures of my two kids with the different Lincoln impersonators in Lincoln Douglas Square in Alton.

If you have a memory from the event, please e-mail my blog.

I have been writing about once a month, it seems, trying to get people to publish their own video and photos to The Telegraph Web site.

So far, video is coming in slower than photos. Some are getting the hang of sending photos. But video, well, my theory is some are simply afraid to give it a try.

Here is what to do to send video:

1. Go to thetelegraph.com.

2. Click on Start Here under latest submitted videos.

3. Create a free Brightcove account by following - the on screen directions.

4. Select a video from your hard drive and click upload video.

It’s that simple, folks. I can think of 100 different video topics for people to send items. One would be video from a child’s activity. Another could be upcoming graduation videos. Another might be a video from summer recreational baseball or softball. How about video from a school or church musical?

When we have breaking news events like a car crash, a fire, and a contributor obtains video, those would also be something people would view. Breaking news video attracts more views than any other.

I challenge those in the area to respond and take advantage of an excellent free service we offering. Once the video is published, it will be there for all your friends and family to see.

If you have problems sending, contact Everett Hicks, of The Telegraph, at (618) 463-2594 and he can walk you through the process.