Cazenovia Pilot

Lady Lakers win Section III basketball title

From "dosnogro" in the discussion forum (click here to respond with your own comments):

Congratulations to the #15 state ranked Cazenovia Girls Basketball team! They won the school's first ever girls basketball Section III title last night by defeating Bishop Ludden, 42-39.

Their next game is scheduled for Saturday, March 1, 7 pm, at OCC vs. South Jefferson. This is a HUGE game for Caz. These two team' skills appear to be pretty evenly matched.. The difference in the game just might be the emotional charge they get from their fan base.

S. Jeff is a great program, ranked #2 in NYS, and is well-known for their "Spartan Nation" cheering section. Their fan numbers are large and they are loud.

Caz needs to counter-act this cheering by having our own "Laker Nation" at the game. Please help support this fine group of student-athletes by coming to Saturday's game and cheer loudly for them!

Cazenovia College to Host Security Conference

From Cazenovia College's communications department:

Cazenovia, NY- In conjunction with the West Virginia University VMC/Homeland Security Programs, Cazenovia College will host "Homeland Security Planning for Campus Executives" on Wednesday, March 26 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Hubbard Hall, Seminary St., in Cazenovia, N.Y.

The conference is free and is open to all campus executives at institutions throughout New York State. Because space is limited, registration will be limited to the first 50 registrants.

The workshop, developed for the United States Department of Homeland Security, provides an opportunity for campus executives and key staff members to learn the basics of security planning. It provides an overview for institutions preparing to develop their own security plans, and is designed to strengthen preparedness planning, raise awareness of potential threats and provide useful resources and planning tools.

To register for the conference contact Tom Engelmann, Cazenovia College's director of campus safety, at 315-655-7299, or e-mail tjengelmann@cazenovia.edu.

Winter Cycling in Cazenovia

The Post-Standard has a nice photo today of Andrew and Linda Johnson of Cazenovia biking on Route 13.

Noted Critic of U.S. Agricultural Policy to Speak at Cazenovia Forum

From The Cazenovia Forum comes word about their upcoming event at the Catherine Cummings Theatre in Cazenovia.

CAZENOVIA, NY – The founder of a Washington, DC-based public interest research and advocacy organization will discuss the impact of the U.S. farm bill on our food supply, our environment and family farms at the next Cazenovia Forum lecture, to be held Friday, March 14, at 7:00pm at the Catherine Cummings Theatre on Lincklaen Street in Cazenovia. The event is free and no reservations or tickets are required. A reception will follow.

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Ken Cook, president of the Washington, DC-based Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org), has been touted by national media as being one of the nation’s most influential experts on agricultural and environmental policy. The EWG, which seeks to use the power of information to protect human health and the environment, is perhaps best known in agricultural policy circles for its Farm Subsidy Database, which lists all the nation’s farm subsidy recipients and their share of the $165 billion taxpayers have spent on subsidies since 1995.

The New York Times has credited EWG’s web site and farm subsidy database with helping “transform the farm bill into a question about equity.”

“This is someone who can enlighten us about how our government gives billions in taxpayer-funded agricultural subsidy payments to corporations and wealthy individuals while struggling family farmers in places like Madison County get very little or nothing at all,” said Henry Rutz, co-President of the Cazenovia Forum. “Ken Cook believes U.S. agricultural policy is broken, and you might be surprised to hear whom he thinks is to blame. We’re delighted that he is coming to speak in Cazenovia.”

In addition to EWG’s activities on farm policy, the organization’s research and analysis are major forces in national debates over toxic chemicals, pesticides, and air and water pollution.

Cook is a frequent source of environmental perspective and commentary in national print and broadcast media. In the past year alone, he has appeared on the CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, the Today Show, MSNBC, CNBC, FOX Business News, HD Net’s Dan Rather Reports, and CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360. In addition, he has been featured on NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Market Place in 2007. The New York Times, The Washington Post, Associated Press, Reuters, The Los Angeles Times and The San Francisco Chronicle regularly seek his commentary and perspective on issues.

This is the sixth event in the Cazenovia Forum lecture series, which was founded in 2006 to promote discussion and understanding of critical issues facing our nation and the world today. The Forum has previously hosted Jim Angle, Washington correspondent for Fox News Channel, Thomas Blanton, director of the National Security Archive, Rebecca Lipkin, London-based producer for the Al Jazeera English television network, Tom Ricks, military correspondent for the Washington Post, and renowned genetic ethicist Harvey Bender from the University of Notre Dame.

The Forum’s events are made possible by large and small donations from local residents and foundations.

Further information can be found on the organization’s website at www.cazenoviaforum.com.

Expanded P&C Grocery

The local P&C grocery store has expanded, as many of you know. The improvements are many and varied, and the store has provided a map of the new layout to help us navigate. I've uploaded it here so that those of you that don't get a chance to get back here often can see some of the differences. Conveniences include bathrooms that don't need to be accessed through the employee break/locker room and a large section for freshly prepared hot and cold foods.

Click on the smaller image to see the larger one in a new window.

Chenango Water Exercise Group: Water Talk

April Cady of Chenango Water Exercise Group sent the following "Water Talk" column for inclusion here. I hope everyone likes it; I've told April that I'll post whatever regular articles she sends.

As I was reading the paper this morning I gazed outside to see the gently falling snow flakes in the air and I thought; “now this is what winter should look like”. As we all know our winter season this year has been a bit atypical in that we have had a lot of rain, sleet, freezing rain, and ice to contend with. Here at the Chenango Water Exercise Group (CWEG) these are some of the most problematic events of Mother Nature we deal with.

As participants come into the building for their morning routines they have to negotiate the treacherous parking lots and walkways. Recently they have been very slippery and dangerous as they use them. For CWEG members it is double jeopardy because a serious fall can cause untold problems and a setback for their health.
Caution is the buzz word this time of year. People slow down a bit as they come and go and when the weather is particularly hazardous, they just don’t come.

I drive a Subaru with full time four-wheel drive but when the slush dominates the roadways I know I feel a bit unsure as I come down Preston Hill to the pool. Slush and ice are much harder to deal with than snow, in my opinion, and I always hope that our participants use sound judgment when deciding whether to venture out on bad weather days. This seems like a good place to once again remind our crowd that if Hamilton Central School is closed due to the weather, then CWEG is as well. Delays on the other hand are the school system’s way of warning us that the roads are treacherous and to use caution when driving. CWEG meets on those delay days, but vigilance is advised because the warning should be obvious.

Our gal-at-the-pool, Heidi, works hard to keep up with the snow and ice that dominates the walkway between Huntington and Lineberry but often it gets overwhelming. I have seen sanding trucks backed up to the doors and spreading the ice melt, but even that refreezes and becomes ineffective. And don’t get me started on “the wall”. Let’s just say that I have seen much more snow, sleet and ice come on the wrong side of the barrier than on the protective side, making the trip up the walk just that more hazardous.

So a word of concern for ALL who negotiate during this crazy winter; take care! Wear the proper footwear, dress warmly so you can take a few extra minutes, don’t rush to get inside despite the cold, we want everyone to get to where they are going in one piece. Make smart choices when the ice and snow come and avoid the problems that occur when there is a fall or even a nasty slip. The winter will come to an end and then we can all ease up a bit when we are on the walks, in the parking lots, or on the roads.

A little Valentine's Day History

From today's Post-Standard:

February of 1934 was a month of only eight days above zero. Dr. Edward Morrow was called to a house on Chenango Street in Cazenovia where mothers delivered their sons/daughters. A little before midnight, with a temperature of 30 below zero, Dr. Morrow delivered a son, David Edward Shephard, to Homer W. and Helen E. Shephard.

My father told me that he had to go out and start his car every half hour so as to make sure the car would start so he could return home. Dr. Morrow received a phone call from the old Oneida Hospital telling him twins were being born and they needed him at the hospital. Well, upon getting into his car, Dr. Morrow discovered that his car wouldn't start and he asked my dad if he would take him to the hospital. Upon reaching the hospital, Dr. Morrow asked my dad how much he could give him for taking him to the hospital. My dad replied, "You just delivered my son, why should you give me money?" Dr. Morrow said, "We'll call it $25 for the delivery and the ride to the hospital."

David E. Shephard
Cazenovia

Wacky Winter Weather Wallops Winterfest

Today is the final day of Cazenovia's 2008 Winter Festival; events included ice skating and the Chilly Chili 5K run/walk. Around 1 PM, a driving winter storm blew through Cazenovia; it featured howling winds and whiteout conditions, quickly dumping 2-3 inches of snow across the area. News10Now has video of the day's happenings, including the snow.

Check out the calendar!

I'm experimenting with an online calendar for the Pilot. I'm putting Cazenovia-related events there, so if you have one please send it to me for inclusion. Meanwhile, the definitive source for event information in the Cazenovia area remains the Greater Cazenovia Area Chamber of Commerce's event listings page. Thanks, everyone!

"Star Wars" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" Films to Play at Cazenovia College Theater

From Cazenovia College:

The Catherine Cummings Theatre at Cazenovia college will present "Star Wars Episode 1" with a special presentation on digital animation, at 3 p.m., on Saturday, Feb. 9, and "Pirates of the Caribbean: at the World's End," at 3 p.m., on Saturday, Feb. 16.

Admission for each movie is $4.

"Star Wars, Episode 1" begins with a special presentation by Alyson Markell, who spent 11 years working for Industrial Light Magic, a division of Lucas Digital (George Lucas, creator of Star Wars).

Markell sculpted computer generated creatures for special effects blockbuster movies, including "Star Wars," "Pirates of the Caribbean, the Harry Potter series, "Jurassic Park" and others. Markell will explain how a creature is taken from the initial design through animation and then to the big screen.

Through a special agreement between Buyea's True Value and the Catherine Cummings Theatre, free popcorn will be offered at both movies.

The Catherine Cummings Theatre was named for Catherine Cummings Gorman, a 1925 graduate of Cazenovia College who loved theatre, in recognition of a $1 million gift to the College by the Gorman Foundation of Sherrill, N.Y.

This is great - I hope the theater shows more movies, I really think Cazenovia could support a decent second-run theater!

It's Super-Duper-Tsunami Tuesday! Will You Vote?

New York State's Republican and Democratic parties hold their presidential primaries today. I'm registered, but not with either party, so I can't vote. Check out the poll or add a comment below and let us know what you think of the election!

Enjoy!

Cazenovia School District Survey Results

Update: I received a letter today from Mr. Dubik. In it, he thanks me for calling the error to his attention. Mr. Dubik requested that the survey company revise the document, and he has had the revised version put on the district web site with comments on the page indicating that it was changed. Kudos to him for his prompt and very professional response. Thank you, Mr. Dubik.

My original message follows below:

I wasn't able to attend the recent public hearing about the school district's survey results. But I did finally get around to reading their report this morning. It has some interesting observations about the district, the schools, and the board. The crux of the survey was the athletic improvements, since the issues the district had with communicating its plans would up driving the need for a survey. And in this regard the survey failed. The page that breaks down the community's opinion of the current state of athletic facilities and fields has a factual error and its summary leverages that error to push the need for improvements again.

I wrote a letter to the superintendent of schools this morning; I am posting it here in case anybody's interested in the details.

[January 29, 2008]

Mr. Dubik:

As a parent of a child in the Cazenovia Central School District, I was one of the 476 people who completed the district’s recent survey. I was just reading the results on the district web site, and on page 32 there is a curious statement:

Nearly half of all respondents (43%) either disagree or strongly disagree that the current fields and facilities offered at Cazenovia Central Schools are adequate. Most in need (among mentions from the community) are the football fields, baseball and softball fields, and all outdoor fields (in general).

According to the graph on the very same page, the “Strongly Disagree” response was 13%, and the “Disagree” response was 20%, for a total of 33%, or approximately one in three respondents. Those who “Strongly Agree (28%) or Agree (30%) make up 58% of the respondents. Instead of “nearly half” disagreeing that the facilities are adequate, it is far more accurate to suggest that the vast majority of taxpayers believe that the athletic facilities are adequate.

The rest of the report has numbers and claims that seem accurate. Page 32, which is really the heart of the matter since the district would not have commissioned this survey without the controversy over its facilities improvement plans, continues to show the bias and poor communication for which the board and the district have been called to task repeatedly.

I urge you to post the corrected version of the numbers immediately, and to publicly apologize for the district’s continued attempts at obfuscation in pursuit of improvements to its athletic facilities.

Very sincerely,

Jim Jurista
Cazenovia, NY

For what it's worth, I am very pleased with the quality of education, support, and services that my child receives in the district. Beyond the board's "irrational exuberance" about the athletic field improvements - exuberance which has led to no small amount of community tension - I think the district is doing a great job.

The full report, in PDF format, is available on the district's website.

Popular Cazenovia Musician Dies

Steve Cook, a musician in the popular duo The Gonzales Brothers, died in his sleep on Saturday. Services were held yesterday at St. James Roman Catholic Church in Cazenovia. Steve's obituary also appeared in the Syracuse Post-Standard.