WAMC CE Loses Family Members, Home in Fire

WAMC(FM), Albany, NY Chief Engineer Jim Scholefield lost three family members and his home in a weekend fire.
“Jim is well-liked and respected by the engineers in the Hudson Valley/Capital district of New York and all are greatly saddened by this event. Many have offered to cover Jim’s duties while he recovers from this event,” Bill Draper, chief engineer Clear Channel of the Hudson Valley, told Radio World.
According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, Jim Scholefield, his wife Korrena Salerno and their two children were inside at the time of the blaze Sunday night with Salerno’s mother and younger sister. The couple’s daughter, Salerno’s mother and younger sister were killed, said Lt. Jim Andrews of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
David Galletl, assistant executive director of WAMC, said a member of the radio station’s staff spent the day with the family, according to the Journal. Scholefield has been in broadcasting for more than 30 years, said Draper.
A fund to assist the family has been established at HSBC Bank. For information, visit the Web site www. wamc.org, or make donations by sending them directly to The Scholefield Family Relief Fund, Care of HSBC Bank, 899 Western Ave., Albany, NY 12203.