Assigning Query (Read) Results to Variables

[eluser]nydeveloper[/eluser]
I'm having some issues with this part:

yes, use variables in controller like
private $variable1 ; (set accessibility yourself)

what is the proper syntax for defining said variables in the controller?

I've only been able to successfully declare variables in the controller if they are coming from the URI, or if I'm assigning direct values to them in the controller itself.

In this case they are obtaining their value as part of the results of the db select and get in the model...