The video is shown to families considering joining Stepping Stones. It’s also used for educational purposes at the medical center.

The Tellys are similar to the Emmys, but are for commercials, videos and cable television shows that don’t appear on major broadcast networks. Entrants pay a fee to enter their work. After judging, the winners are presented with silver or bronze Tellys, based on their scores.

Although Burger’s award-winning videos are made for a select audience, the Vancouver resident has been involved in shows that many viewers may recognize.

He worked for three years for CNN as an editor in Japan. He moved to CBS in New York in the late 1980s as a producer for the weekend evening news. He also worked for “60 Minutes” from 1990 through 1994.

Eye on the mountain

Charlie Crisafulli has spent more than half his life studying Mount St. Helens.

He’ll share some of his expertise on Oregon Public Broadcasting’s “Oregon Field Guide” series in a segment airing at 8:30 p.m. Thursday on cable channel 10.

To make the show, the 50-year-old U.S. Forest Service research ecologist spent three days and two nights with a camera crew documenting the evolution of Spirit Lake and other areas in the blast zone.

To ensure the coverage was complete, Crisafulli and the cameraman also shot footage while diving in Spirit Lake.

“What’s going to be interesting for the viewers is getting a close-up of what is happening at Spirit Lake,” said Crisafulli. “Hearing the sounds underwater that the logs floating on the lake make is going to be eerie.”

Vince Patton, producer of the 14-minute segment, said Crisafulli, who has lived near Yacolt for 18 years, was the perfect guide.

“Charlie has such a wonderful ability to explain science in a way anyone can understand,” Patton said.

Celebrating abroad

Clark College music director Donald Appert, 55, is in Slovakia this week preparing to conduct three concerts with the Slovak State Orchestra.

Appert said the concerts are part of International Teachers Day, celebrated in Europe on Friday.

His trip is part of an exchange program that had Julius Klein, artistic director for the Slovak State Orchestra, in Vancouver last month, leading the Clark College Orchestra in a concert.

It’s the third time Appert has traveled to Slovakia. He was there in 2003 and 2005 to conduct the state orchestra.

Mike Bailey’s column appears ­Mon­days and Wednesdays. Reach him at 360-759-8050 or mike.bailey@columbian.com.