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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.

CREAtuRESOF tHEEARtH

She was sunning herself amidst my coreopsis when my shadow blocked the sun and sent her scurrying into the neighboring greenery. Actually I’m not sure of the gender, so perhaps I am writing about a male garden snake.

Earlier in the week, my daughter had pointed him or her out with the kind of tremor that voices reserve for major catastrophes. “It’s just a garter snake,” I replied.

“They are harmless and besides, it is eating the insets that are feasting on my daisies - or at least I hope so.”

The little reptile was gathering warmth from the flat piece of shale. It is only one of the many critters that inhabit the area near our cottage in Borodino. I waited and watched and, within minutes, his tiny head peeked out from under the spreading yew, no doubt scouting for the shadow maker, me.

I stayed on the other side of the sun and watched the snake him or her curl up again. I couldn’t help but think that as creatures go this one was about as harmless as they get, yet it engenders a lot of fear.

Chipmunks of an undetermined number also live in the area. One is exceedingly tame, bold or both. If you leave food, notably grapes or peanuts on the deck, the little creature will come, even if you are there, even if there are several people there, to gather all that it can fit into its mouth, running off to store, or at least that is what I think it is doing, its unexpected bounty.

The pair of birds that have built a nest under the eaves of the porch is not as trusting. You can watch them from the cover of the nearby trees, feeding their offspring several times each minute, keeping the insects on their side of the building to a minimum, recycling them into baby bird food. If you sit on the porch, however, one or both of the tiny parents will harangue you with loud chirps, refusing to feed the babies while you are there. We have had to abandon the porch for the duration for fear of starving the fledglings.

Pheasants and turkeys have been less visible this summer, but in past years, they have filled in their respective biological niches in the area, flying up in front of your car as you try to navigate what passes for a road on the way to the cottage.

We have even seen eagles, majestically sitting on the highest branches of the trees as the road skims the edge of the gorge that it parallels.

The eagles were gone from the Great Lakes region (which includes the Finger Lakes) for a long time, their absence attributed to the effect of DDT on the shells of their eggs.

I have stopped the car just to watch the giant bird survey the shallows of Skaneateles Lake for fish. Absolutely breathtaking! You can readily see why so many peoples have chosen the eagle as a totem.

A neighbor, several camps to the south, reported two foxes setting up housekeeping under their cottage. Their attempt at removal, playing loud music, apparently only encouraged the pair as the cottagers reported increased activity which another neighbor attributed to (are you sitting down?) the fox trot.

My cottage, as well as those of my neighbors, is also home to any number of field mice, tiny creatures that seek the left behind clothing for warmth in the winter.

It is not unusual for us to find Ramblings clothing we have left in drawers from the shredded for nests where the next empty nest generation of the little rodents Ann Ferro 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, 2023. Maybe it’s at Middletown High School, or at SUNYCortland. In either location, a group of high school players will collect their medals and their plaque as state Class AAA champions.

You read that correctly – Class AAA. Late last month, the central committee of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association approved, for the 2023-24 school year, going to six classes for soccer, basketball, baseball, softball and girls volleyball.

This had been talked about for some time, and whenever it got discussed, it was met in some circles with disdain, a general feeling that, again, the accomplishment of a state title was getting cheapened and that greed was behind the switch.

As with all gripes and complaints, some grains of truth were contained. Adding a Class AAA would make the path easier, at least on the sectional level, for a portion of the largest schools to reach state competition.

Throughout Upstate New York, various sections (including here in Section III) only had a handful of AA-sized schools, especially when compared with the number in Section I (just above New York City) and the two Long Island sections.

Otherwise, numbers released by NYSPHSAA showed that there was plenty of schools in the established classes to continue just as before. Changing enrollment and the status of private schools keep the picture constantly in flux.

And sure, more revenue is generated by having six classes battle for state honors. But there’s also more expense for teams, fans and officials to travel to these events, and any expenditure is bound to be scrutinized since we’re talking about school budgets and taxpayers.

All that said, is this good? Is this necessary?

These are not rhetorical questions, and concerns must be addressed. Still, it’s easy to criticize a plan not yet put into action, since there’s no way you can be wrong, at least for the moment.

More importantly, NYPHSAA has gone through this before.

At the outset of the 21st century, there was, in most sports (including the ones now going to six), four classes for all sports in New York State. Classes A and B were particularly challenging for Upstate New York sections, unless it was lacrosse or ice hockey.

Then, in 2003, a move was made to go to five classes in a vast majority of high school sports (football was already there). The larger schools went to AA.

This change was largely accepted without much fanfare or complaint. Think about it – does Jamesville-DeWitt make their state championship runs in boys basketball, then girls basketball, if they were in a four-class system?

Of course, the big difference was that, at the time, there was plenty of representation in both Class A and AA wherever you looked in the state. That’s not the case with the new Class AAA.

It’s quite easy, and under-

standable, to label all of this as a Random thinning out of the competition, an excuse for more athletes to earn Thoughts state championships and, more Phil blackwell 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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