4 Aug. 3, 2022
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Dangerous temperatures
The past few days in Central New York have offered at least a little bit of a respite from the scorching temperatures that have recently dominated our weather pattern. But even with temperatures becoming a little more tolerable there are still dangers posed under certain circumstances when temperatures are running higher in the summer months. Many of these dangers come from something we take for granted and many use on a regular basis, our vehicles. When temperatures rise outside they can increase significantly inside a vehicle even when the windows are rolled down. According to AAA of Western and Central New York, since 1998, 917 children have died from pediatric vehicular heatstroke, including at least 10 deaths already reported this year in the U.S. While an overwhelming majority of these deaths are accidental, such tragedies are often preventable. Temperatures inside of a car, even on a moderately sunny day, can rise 20 degrees in just 10 minutes. Children are particularly at risk of suffering from heatstroke since their bodies heat up five times faster than adults, according to AAA. Below are some important considerations to keeping in mind when it comes to vehicles and the heat according to AAA. Children and heat — follow these simple tips to make sure no child is left in a vehicle: Never leave a child unattended in a car, even for a minute, even if the windows are tinted or down. The same recommendation applies to pets and the elderly. Parked cars: always keep doors locked and windows closed, even when the vehicle is in a garage or on a driveway. Make sure keys are safely out of reach so children can’t enter a car to play. Make sure all children leave the vehicle when you reach your destination. Be certain no one is inadvertently left behind. When you first place a child in a car seat in the back seat of a car, also place your cell phone, purse, or important belongings back there to serve as visual reminders that a child is in the back seat as you exit the vehicle. If you see a child alone in a parked car, immediately call 9-1-1 for emergency assistance. When it comes to pets and heat, it’s best to leave them at home while running errands on hot days. Dogs can’t sweat like humans, causing them to overheat much faster. Rolling down the window does very little to keep them comfortable. There are also some considerations people should make when it comes to the upkeep of their vehicles especially as temperatures run high. Most drivers think battery problems occur primarily in winter, but summer heat can negatively impact your car’s battery even more than the bitter cold of winter. Learn more at AAA.com/Battery. Automobile engines work extra hard in the summer, and it is the cooling system’s job to protect the engine from overheating - proper cooling system maintenance is vital to keep the engine cool. Driving on under-inflated tires not only affects the handling and braking of a vehicle, it also can cause tires to overheat and increase the likelihood of a blowout. Cars need fluids during extreme heat too - drivers should check all vehicle fluids including motor oil, transmission fluid, power steering fluid and brake fluid to ensure they are filled to the appropriate levels so they know they are driving a vehicle that is as safe as possible.
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Creatures of the earth
S
he was sunthe insects on their Ramblings ning herself side of the building from the amidst my coto a minimum, recyempty nest reopsis when cling them into baby Ann Ferro my shadow blocked bird food. If you sit the sun and sent her on the porch, howscurrying into the ever, one or both of neighboring greenery. Actually I’m the tiny parents will harangue you not sure of the gender, so perhaps with loud chirps, refusing to feed I am writing about a male garden the babies while you are there. We snake. have had to abandon the porch for Earlier in the week, my daughthe duration for fear of starving ter had pointed him or her out the fledglings. with the kind of tremor that voices Pheasants and turkeys have reserve for major catastrophes. been less visible this summer, but “It’s just a garter snake,” I replied. in past years, they have filled in “They are harmless and besides, their respective biological niches it is eating the insets that are feast- in the area, flying up in front of ing on my daisies - or at least I your car as you try to navigate hope so.” what passes for a road on the way The little reptile was gatherto the cottage. ing warmth from the flat piece of We have even seen eagles, shale. It is only one of the many majestically sitting on the highest critters that inhabit the area near branches of the trees as the road our cottage in Borodino. I waited skims the edge of the gorge that it and watched and, within minutes, parallels. his tiny head peeked out from The eagles were gone from the under the spreading yew, no doubt Great Lakes region (which inscouting for the shadow maker, cludes the Finger Lakes) for a long me. time, their absence attributed to I stayed on the other side of the the effect of DDT on the shells of sun and watched the snake him or their eggs. her curl up again. I couldn’t help I have stopped the car just to but think that as creatures go this watch the giant bird survey the one was about as harmless as they shallows of Skaneateles Lake for get, yet it engenders a lot of fear. fish. Absolutely breathtaking! Chipmunks of an undetermined You can readily see why so many number also live in the area. One peoples have chosen the eagle as a is exceedingly tame, bold or both. totem. If you leave food, notably grapes A neighbor, several camps to or peanuts on the deck, the little the south, reported two foxes setcreature will come, even if you ting up housekeeping under their are there, even if there are several cottage. Their attempt at removal, people there, to gather all that it playing loud music, apparently can fit into its mouth, running off only encouraged the pair as the to store, or at least that is what I cottagers reported increased activthink it is doing, its unexpected ity which another neighbor attribbounty. uted to (are you sitting down?) the The pair of birds that have built fox trot. a nest under the eaves of the porch My cottage, as well as those is not as trusting. You can watch of my neighbors, is also home to them from the cover of the nearby any number of field mice, tiny trees, feeding their offspring creatures that seek the left behind several times each minute, keeping clothing for warmth in the winter.
It is not unusual for us to find clothing we have left in drawers shredded for nests where the next generation of the little rodents have been born and reared. They are far less intrusive as the weather warms and while they may make a nocturnal foray into the innards of the house seeking any left our food, they generally stay out of the bureaus and our clothing in the summer. I must confess that ever since I watched the movie, “The Secret of NIMH,” all mice seem to be Mrs. Brisbee and while I am careful about their, how shall I put this … exhaust, I can only see them as tiny families trying to survive. It has occurred to me that we often interact with the wildlife in our environment with violence, seeking to eliminate them with poison, traps and such. If I stop and think a bit, they … the snakes, the birds, the chipmunks, squirrels, mice and such … are simply being what they are, trying to make it through their short existences as they were designed, dare I say it, by God. None of them sells drugs, builds weapons of mass destruction, wages war or intentionally harms others except as genetically programmed for survival. While I can’t be sure of this, not one of them has caused harm by gossip or ego. It always amazes me that we require animals, not blessed with human intellect, to behave better than humans. Maybe, as I get older, I am more attuned to the fragility of life and its value. At least, I hope that I am. Ann Ferro is a mother, a grandmother and a retired social studies teacher. While still figuring out what she wants to be when she grows up, she lives in Marcellus with lots of books, a spouse and a large orange cat.
Is six classes too many?
November, generated by having 2023. Maybe it’s at six classes battle for Random Middletown High state honors. But Thoughts School, or at SUNYthere’s also more exPhil Blackwell Cortland. In either pense for teams, fans location, a group of and officials to travel high school players will collect to these events, and any expentheir medals and their plaque as diture is bound to be scrutinized state Class AAA champions. since we’re talking about school You read that correctly – Class budgets and taxpayers. AAA. Late last month, the central All that said, is this good? Is committee of the New York State this necessary? Public High School Athletic AsThese are not rhetorical quessociation approved, for the 2023-24 tions, and concerns must be adschool year, going to six classes for dressed. Still, it’s easy to criticize a soccer, basketball, baseball, softball plan not yet put into action, since and girls volleyball. there’s no way you can be wrong, at This had been talked about for least for the moment. some time, and whenever it got More importantly, NYPHSAA discussed, it was met in some cirhas gone through this before. cles with disdain, a general feeling At the outset of the 21st century, that, again, the accomplishment of there was, in most sports (includa state title was getting cheapened ing the ones now going to six), four and that greed was behind the classes for all sports in New York switch. State. Classes A and B were parAs with all gripes and comticularly challenging for Upstate plaints, some grains of truth were New York sections, unless it was contained. Adding a Class AAA lacrosse or ice hockey. would make the path easier, at least Then, in 2003, a move was made on the sectional level, for a portion to go to five classes in a vast majorof the largest schools to reach state ity of high school sports (football competition. was already there). The larger Throughout Upstate New York, schools went to AA. various sections (including here in This change was largely acSection III) only had a handful of cepted without much fanfare or AA-sized schools, especially when complaint. Think about it – does compared with the number in SecJamesville-DeWitt make their state tion I (just above New York City) championship runs in boys basketand the two Long Island sections. ball, then girls basketball, if they Otherwise, numbers released by were in a four-class system? NYSPHSAA showed that there was Of course, the big difference was plenty of schools in the established that, at the time, there was plenty classes to continue just as before. of representation in both Class A Changing enrollment and the and AA wherever you looked in status of private schools keep the the state. That’s not the case with picture constantly in flux. the new Class AAA. And sure, more revenue is It’s quite easy, and under-
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SKANEATELES - JORDAN - ELBRIDGE - MARCELLUS - CAMILLUS
standable, to label all of this as a thinning out of the competition, an excuse for more athletes to earn state championships and, more importantly, for their parents and friends to brag about it and brandish it. As usual, the truth is more complicated. In many of the classes little, if any change will be noticed, either at the sectional or state level. Some schools might get added of subtracted, but not wholesale upheavals. Also, none of this applies to football, cross country, lacrosse, field hockey or track and field. Presumably they will stay with three, four or five classes, because that’s justified by their numbers. What needs to be remembered, too, is that these were changes meeting widespread approval from sectional directors. Baseball, softball and soccer had unanimous support, and none of the others had more than three no votes among 11 sections. Besides, high school sports isn’t only about what championships are earned by some. It’s about the experiences gained, and lessons learned, by all, the kind of lessons about life and society not found in a classroom or written in an exam. True, the best athletes will add to their trophy cases and medal collections, even more so in a sixclass system than in a five-class system. For the others, though, the enrichment of their lives is a permanent victory, and needed not be found in any plaque or award. Phil Blackwell is sports editor at Eagle News. He can be reached at pblackwell@ eaglenewsonline.com.
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