Ago in History

BY CindY Bell toBeY

30 Years Ago – march 24, 1993

The “white hurricane” of 1993 only stalled life in Cazenovia for a brief duration, as the dedicated town of village highway crews battled the elements to keep roads passible during the height of the storm.

Jim Brady, who has charge of the Village of Cazenovia highway department, said his men began the war in earnest about 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 13, with five men working around the clock. It was 1:30 p.m. on Sunday before anyone was able to go home for a rest.

They concentrated on the streets first (never mind sidewalks, which became impossible to find).

“We did stop and have coffee at one point,” Brady said, “because the wind was blowing so hard, you couldn’t see the nose of the plow. I was right next to a car one moment and couldn’t see it. We kept all the main street open and then just started all over again. It took us three to four hours just to make one round. We couldn’t get in the dead end with the big plows.”

The snow was five feet deep in Park Street, for instance, and there was literally no place to push it in many instances.

25 Years Ago – march 25, 1998

Cazenovia golfer Dennis Colligan is coming back home to live out his

suBmitted BY lArkin Podsiedlik Cornell cooperative extension madison county agriculture and executive director

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a temporary increase in SNAP, or food stamp, benefits. Those additional benefits ended across the country this month, leaving many families with less money to spend on food, as food prices remain high.

It is still possible to eat healthy on a limited budget and stretch your food dollar. Doing so can lighten your budget, reduce food waste, and help you get creative in the kitchen. Here are some tips from Cornell Cooperative Extension, which offers cooking and nutrition education programs locally and statewide:

In the grocery store, buy in bulk and aim for foods that are minimally processed. When you buy pre-cut meat, fruits, and vegetables, you are paying someone else to do the work for you. For example, a whole chicken or bone-in chicken breast will often cost less than boneless skinless chicken breast. Pre-cut melon is more expensive than a whole melon. Just make sure you have the right kitchen tools – like a sharp kitchen knife – to process foods yourself.

If your budget allows for it, shop in bulk, but only if you can use or freeze the food before it goes bad. The overall price will be higher up front, but it costs less per item, also known as the unit price. Buy things like apples and potatoes in bulk but steer clear of things that will go bad quickly.

Lean on beans! Dried and canned dream of being a professional golfer. Colligan, who grew up on the Cazenovia Golf Club course, was named by club President Ed Ryan and the board as the new golf pro. Colligan’s father was a member of the club for 45 years and was a caddie there in the 1930s and 1940s.

By the time Colligan was old enough to begin swinging clubs, the club has switched from caddies to carts. Colligan said to become a golf pro for a club, one must pass a playing ability test by shooting a certain score over 36 holes.

The score is usually a couple strokes over par.

10 Years Ago – march 20, 2013

Our 4-H group, the Linklaen Shamrocks, have been very busy this month. We have all been making our public presentation posters and practicing our presentations, which were presented at the Morrisville Agricultural building. Judges scored our presentations to decide if they had good visual appeal and were performed well enough to be presented on the district level.

Our group also learned how to make duct tape wallets this month. It was a very fun experience, and the wallets looked very nice.

A few of our 4-H members went to an event called Teen Winter Weekend. It is a great experience because we got to meet new people from all around New York state.

As for community service we gathered gently used sneakers and had them sent to children in Haiti.

5 Years Ago - march 21, 2018 for expanded recreation; let’s set reasonable goals to implement what is feasible in the coming five years.

The Cazenovia High School Mock Trial Team bested West Genesee High School in the third round of competition.

The team now begins the suddendeath rounds that lead up to the finals in the Onondaga County Courthouse. The team is litigating a criminal case involving a charge of disorderly conduct.

In People v. Carson Conners, the defendant is a high school student with poor grades who is accused of “tumultuous and violent conduct and threatening behavior” in school.

The defendant asserts that the charge was merely a ruse to get her suspended during standardized testing so that she should not bring down the teacher’s class average.

Once again, the team represented the People with Zane Anthony, Eric Liddell and Megan Schwartz acting as the prosecutors.

In this round, Eva Salzman played the part of Ms. Smith, the teacher. Shea Flannery acted the part of Officer Jones, the school resource officer who rushed to the scene and arrested the defendant.

Glen Hartley was Dr. Crosby, the Assistant Principal who the defense argues has pressured the teachers to improve their test scores.

We don’t have to compromise our zoning criteria to developers who aren’t interested in our goals. We can have economic development that enhances our village. We don’t have to settle for whatever is proposed.

A governance section should be added to the plan. We can streamline government by partnering with the town and county using three criteria: saving money, improving services, and retaining village decision making. We can increase contracting transparency, ensuring contracts are procured/ publicized via a public competitive process that makes it easy to participate. The plan should implement strategies to achieve cost cutting goals. Perhaps convene an independent group annually to review spending and make suggestions for cost cutting. We can make the tax assessment formula less opaque. Let’s collaborate with the town to implement a clear, simple formula which that is easily accessible.

Fayetteville is a lovely village with great schools, parks, cool historic character, excellent services, and many recreational opportunities. Let’s build on our rich history, demonstrate leadership in promoting diversity, do our part to reverse climate change, and wisely marshal our cultural and recreational resources to make us a model for village living in Onondaga County and beyond.

Please join the discussion with your suggestions!

VAn CleArY-HAmmArstedt Fayetteville

Help can’t wait

To the editor: beans are an excellent budget-friendly staple and are one of the healthiest choices you can make. Beans are loaded with fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and are versatile enough to put in anything from black bean tacos to lentil sloppy joes. Rinse canned beans first to cut the sodium, or choose no salt added.

Help can’t wait when emergencies strike — whether it’s for the family huddled on the street after a home fire, the patient needing a blood transfusion, or the military member deployed during a family crisis.

Local American Red Cross volunteers, blood donors and supporters provide relief and hope, helping to ensure that our neighbors never face these and countless other crises alone.

The Red Cross mission would not be possible without these community heroes, and we honor their dedication during our 80th annual Red Cross Month celebration in March.

In the past 12 months, volunteers in Central and Northern New York responded to nearly 300 home fires to provide comfort and support to displaced families; provided more than 3,300 case services to help members of the military, veterans and their families prepare for and cope with the challenges of military service; enrolled about 14,200 people in CPR, first aid, water safety and other lifesaving skills; and collected almost 50,000 units of blood from volunteer donors to support area hospitals and patients in need.

Once you are home from the grocery store, store your food safely so it lasts a long time. You can also get creative to stretch things farther – use stale bread or crackers as breadcrumbs by smashing them in a plastic bag or the food processor. Put fruit that is past its prime into smoothies or muffins or whip up a “must-go” vegetable soup or casserole.

There are plenty of resources avail- able for stretching your food dollar. See if your children qualify for free or reduced-price lunch – school lunch is a great way to make sure your kids are getting a filling mid-day meal that meets nutritional guidelines, and many schools are engaged in Farm to School efforts to serve up yummy, locally-produced meals. lisA smitH, exeCutiVe direCtor american red cross central and northern new york

You can also find your local food pantry by calling 2-1-1, and visit SNAPEdNY.org or cookingmatters.org for recipes and tips for low-cost, healthy and, most importantly, delicious meals.

Call CCE Madison at 315-684-3001 if you need help accessing any of these resources.

The Central and Northern New York Chapter is proud to serve communities in Madison, Herkimer, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.

Local volunteers also deployed to regions throughout the country to help in communities impacted by large-scale disasters like Hurricane Ian and the Western Wildfires.

On behalf of those we serve, we thank everyone who makes our lifesaving work possible.

You can join in their commitment by visiting redcross.org to make a financial donation, schedule an appointment to give blood or platelets, become a Red Cross volunteer or take a class to learn lifesaving skills.

Crossword