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Prayers And Good Thoughts Go Out To Meteorologist Recovering From Stroke

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By WALT BELCHER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 20, 2008

When it comes to hurricane coverage, you have to admire Dick Fletcher's tenacity.

The first time I saw him in action was back in 1985, when Elena pounded our coast and dumped a ton of rain on us.

Fletch was on the air with marathon coverage. He stayed on as long as he could. His own family had to evacuate, and his two cats were holed up with him at WTSP, Channel 10.

It was hazardous duty because WTSP is on Gandy Boulevard in a flood zone. There have been times when the whole staff had to evacuate, including when Hurricane Charley hit in 2004.

Fletcher had to work out of a makeshift studio without all the razzle-dazzle of computer graphics. He just rolled up his sleeves and did it the old-fashioned way.

He has said that he thrives under pressure.

He's weathered a lot of storms, and now he's in a St. Petersburg hospital after suffering a stroke on Monday. His wife, Cindy, has been asking that viewers keep him in their prayers.

In an interview after he had a stroke in 2003, he told me that it happened one afternoon when he lost control of his eyes and became disoriented just before he was supposed to go on a 4 p.m. newscast.

"I didn't realize I was having a stroke," Fletcher said.

There had been other warning signs that he missed, he recalled. He didn't make it onto the air that day.

He said he had been getting regular checkups, losing weight, keeping down his cholesterol and getting plenty of exercise. But he said doctors suspected he may have had some minor strokes before that day.

He said he was grateful that it didn't happen while he was on the air or while he was driving. He recovered and was back on the air within two weeks.

Fletcher is a nice guy, and we hope to see him back at work soon.

MYSTERY WOMAN: Kellie Martin reprises her role as bookstore owner and amateur sleuth Samantha Kinsey in another "Mystery Woman" movie for the Hallmark Channel.

Her next film, "Mystery Woman: Redemption," airs at 9 p.m. March 1.

THE RICHES: The writers strike has resulted in shortened seasons for two FX series, "Dirt" and "The Riches."

Even though the strike has ended, FX has decided just to run seven episodes of the two dramas rather than resume production this season. The future of both series is in doubt.

"The Riches," about a family of con artists, starring Minnie Driver and Eddie Izzard, will return on March 18.

"Dirt," starring Courteney Cox as the ruthless publisher of a tabloid gossip magazine, will begin its seven-episode run on March 2.

Of the two, "The Riches" enjoyed critical acclaim. Izzard and Driver star as husband and wife grifters who have assumed the identities of a deceased suburban couple.

FOX DATES: Fox has announced that new episodes of the romance-crime drama "Bones" will return April 14. Also, the network's popular "House" will return April 28 with new episodes.

The network also has a new short-run comedy, "Unhitched," featuring Rashida Jones ("The Office"). She hangs out with three unattached, thirtysomething male friends in Boston who are attempting to restart their romantic lives. It begins March. 2.

The main male pal is Jack (Craig Bierko), who is newly divorced.

Two dramas debut March 10: "Canterbury's Law" stars Julianna Margulies ("ER") as a driven, workaholic lawyer, and "New Amsterdam" stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as John Amsterdam, who has lived in New York since it was New Amsterdam.

He's a former Dutch soldier who risked his life to save an American Indian medicine woman. She rewarded him with a curse - he can't die until he meets the one person he is destined to love.

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