12 minute read
leTTerS
This is the perfect time of year to turn our thoughts to food, family and gratitude. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our community – individuals, churches, schools, groups and organizations, as well as nearby farms, local businesses and our many dedicated volunteers – for your generosity and kindness.
With your help and the amazing support we receive from the Food Bank of CNY, we have been able to provide well over 30,000 meals in the past year to over 300 FM neighbors. The FM Food Pantry has been providing year-round help to community members facing hunger for over 20 years. We couldn’t fulfill our mission without you.
It may be surprising to learn that many FM families struggle to make ends meet and are food insecure – and it has become even more challenging for some with today’s higher prices and increasing housing and energy costs. Life is unpredictable – none of us knows when we might need assistance due to job loss, family dynamics, accident or injury – life happens to us all. The pantry is here to help ensure our neighbors have enough food during difficult times.
Currently, 40 percent of our registered households are families with children and 35 percent are senior households. The families who visit our pantry – be it once, a few times or on an ongoing basis – are so appreciative of the support they receive, and we are so glad to be able to provide assistance.
The pantry is located at 122 E. Seneca Street in Manlius, behind and below Pavone’s Pizza, in a space generously donated by the Pavone family. The rear of the building can be accessed by Flume Road or Mill Street.
To receive food: If you or someone you know needs food or would like to inquire about FM Food Pantry assistance, please reach out to Director Pam O’Malley at 315-682-3688, fmfoodpantrycny@ gmail. com or stop by in person during client hours. Services are confidential, and client privacy is of utmost importance. While taking that first step of contacting us may feel uncomfortable, we want to reassure anyone who might need our services or who has been thinking of calling us that it is ok to ask for help – that is why we are here. The pantry is open for clients Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 to 2 p.m. and 5:30-7 p.m.
To donate: If you or your organization would like to contribute to the FM Food Pantry, please: l Send monetary donations to our mailing address: FM Food Pantry, PO Box 626, Manlius, NY 13104 (and check if your employer has a donation matching program!) l Bring non-perishable food items, household paper products, personal hygiene products and/or monetary donations to the FM Food Pantry on Mondays 10-11:30 a.m. or Thursdays 10:30-11:30 a.m. The Manlius Public Library also has a pantry donation box. l Donate to the Food Bank of CNY and request that your donation be allocated to Fayetteville Manlius Food Pantry’s food line of credit account. This enables us to purchase more food from the Food Bank. Each dollar donated buys 3 meals! Mail donations to: Food Bank of CNY, 7066 Interstate Island Road, Syracuse, NY 13209.
For more information about us visit fmfoodpantry.org.
Editor’s note: Submitted by the FM Food Pantry.
FROM THE MAILBAG
No lockers?
To the editor:
Did you know that Cazenovia high school students are not assigned lockers? I was surprised when I called like an aging soccer mom to inquire why my two foreign exchange students didn’t have them. I was informed that only eighth graders were given lockers and that older students had to request one.
I remember back in the day, when the first thing you did upon arriving at school was to go to your locker to drop off your winter jacket, hat, and gloves, and all the heavy textbooks that you would not need for the first few classes. Today, kids carry all that stuff with them as they go through their day. My locker was a reflection of my bedroom at home - usually a totally mess. But it was my home away from home.
When one of my students came downstairs on the morning of our first visible snow wearing only a hoodie, I commented that it is no longer sweater weather but full jacket weather. That is when I found out that neither of my exchange students were assigned lockers. I called the school and was informed of the new normal.
Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer the old normal and think it’s preferable for the school to assign a locker at the beginning of the school year and not expect the kids to go through the process of requesting one.
PAT CARMeli
Cazenovia
Pedestrian safety
To the editor:
Rural communities such as Cazenovia offer safe, scenic, and neighborly-minded travel opportunities for pedestrians and other modes of transport, including vehicles. Yet there are many locations where pedestrians jeopardize their safety trying to cross the street. Equally, motorists aren’t always clear on local protocols and traffic laws related to pedestrian crossings.
The challenge is three-fold: 1) inconsistent signage and placement of crosswalks 2) pedestrians who selectively choose where to cross the street regardless of nearby signage and 3) a driving culture that places motorists atop the hierarchy of transport. Look around, as this is not entirely unique to Cazenovia. Signage and crosswalk placement are inherently inconsistent due to varying standards and roadway jurisdictions. For example, Route 20 is subject to NYS DOT design standards, Chenango Street falls under Madison County standards, and crossings along local neighborhood streets are signed by the village and town. This leads to confusion by both pedestrians and motorists, since “right to cross”— legally and behaviorally—differs for stop signs, traffic signals, painted crossings, and non-intersection crossings. The situation worsens in compromised driving conditions such as snow, fog, and other low visibility, all too common in Cazenovia.
In rural communities, solutions such as placement of additional signage or flashing lights are common but mostly ineffective. More signage leads to visual clutter for drivers, which worsens the problem. Local roadways are already speckled with signs that are non-compliant with design standards. Flashing lights do provide advance warning for drivers but can decrease awareness at crossings without lights. Flashing lights are costly and require maintenance, adding to already burdened roadway costs. Rather, configuring design standard compliant crosswalks, reducing speed limits, modifying local street stop signs, utilizing static devices such as cones, and fostering a pedestrian-friendly culture are effective ways to increase safety for pedestrians and motorists alike.
As a pedestrian, bicyclist, motorist, and licensed professional civil engineer, I keenly observe transportation patterns and behaviors. Implementation of these attainable and sustainable measures would increase safety, encourage walking, and help add to a sense of community for all that are out and about in bucolic Cazenovia.
PeTeR RAdoSTA, P.e.
erieville
Grateful to Conole
To the editor:
I am extremely disappointed that the candidate who knows Central New York the best, Francis Conole, was not elected. I believe that he would have brought an important national vision as well as local and regional appreciation and commonly held values to the position. I am very grateful to you, Mr. Conole, for the integrity, vision, and values you’ve displayed in your life and in your campaign and thank you and wish you very well whatever the future holds.
However, now that Brandon Williams is our representative, I hope that those who supported him and those of us who did not can be both supportive in ventures for the common good and will challenge him will be able to work together for the benefit of all.
I certainly hope that he will abandon any semblance of the denialism of the validity of the past presidential election and any legitimization of events of Jan. 6. May he see that the values of Central New York – including Madison, Oneida, his slice of Oswego and Onondaga counties- have a rich history of socially progressive thought and centrist politics.
May we pledge the dual sided coin of support and loyal opposition that will continue to serve best needs of all peoples of Central New York.
dAve PASinSki
Fayetteville
Having trouble reading greens?
A few weeks ago, I read a good article about “Reading Greens”. I have read a lot of good articles about “Reading Greens” in the last year. However, when the subject matter of the article comes from, arguably, one of the best putters of all time, I pay more attention. Most of you probably don’t even recognize the name Dave Stockton. He joined the PGA Tour in 1964 and didn’t win his rst of “11” PGA Tour events until 1967. In 1970, he won his rst “major”, the PGA Championship. Arnold Palmer was runner-up. ere were a few other golfers who played on the PGA Tour in the 70’s you might remember because they also won the PGA Championship…Jack Nicklaus in 1971, Gary Player in 1972, Nicklaus again in 1973, Lee Trevino in 1974, and yes, Jack Nicklaus in 1975. In 1976, Stockton won again. Quite remarkable! I remember watching the nal round of the 76’ PGA and observing all of the above mentioned great players “wither on the vine” as Stockton put on one of the nest clinics of “clutch putting” durning the nal round, I had ever seen. Dave continued to compete on the PGA Champions Tour where he won an additional 14 times. A er his playing career, Stockton became one of the most sought a er golf instructors to PGA Tour players, including Phil Mickelson, Rory Mcllroy, Adam Scott, J.B. Holmes, Justin Rose, Morgan Pressel, Suzann Pettersen and Yani Tsing, among others. It’s time to focus on what Dave Stockton has to say about “good and bad putters”. Stockton says….“ e real separator between ‘Good and Bad Putters’ comes in their judgement: their ability to read greens and to estimate the speed needed to hit the putt”. Step 1. Take In Your Surroundings - “ e rst step of your green reading starts as you’re walking up towards the green to get an idea of the undulations within the green. You’ll feel it with your feet…what the green is doing. ere’s something to be said for walking up, thinking of where the water is going to drain, the slopes…your learning things. Speci cally, start hunting for the lowest point around the hole. It’s going to come in handy for what’s next”. Step 2. Read e Putt From the Low Side - “When you rst get to the green and are trying to gure out which direction your golf ball is going to move, start by standing in the lowest point of the hole. I always start at the low side of the putt, never on the high side. It’s like reading a book. You don’t tilt the book away from you, you tilt it towards you. Standing on the low side will give you an entire good look at the entire break of the putt”. Step 3. Divide e Putt Into irds - “I break every putt into thirds. For a 6 putt, that means…three…two foot putts. By breaking the putt into its three component parts, you’ll be able to focus speci cally on each area of the putt. It will simplify things and yet you will still walk away with a more detailed read”. Step 4. Find e ‘New’ Center of the Hole - “Once you make the decision on how the putt is going to break, stand behind the hole, directly in line with your ball. Your goal for doing this is to nd, the new center of the hole. If your putt is going to break from right to le , the center of the hole is going to be more on the right side. I’m trying to pick a spot where a ball is going to enter the hole”. He suggests practicing this by placing a tee in the new center of the hole, and one about a foot past the hole, in line with the rst tee. is will help you conceptualize how the putt is going to travel before, during and a er the hole”. I don’t want the ball to roll past the second tee. Step 5. Focus One Inch In Front of Your Golf Ball - “Stand directly behind your ball and walk into your putt looking at a spot one inch in front of your golf ball. We’re trying to create a process where we don’t get many ‘red lights’. It will focus your mind but also, give you feed back about whether you hit the putt on the line you intended to, or not. If your ball rolls directly over the spot on the line you’ve picked, that’s all that matters. e ball may not end up in the hole every time, but you can take solace that you have given it your best shot”. I don’t know what your reaction will be a er reading “Stockton’s ‘5’ Steps to Reading Greens” but I challenge you to nd another one better. I haven’t !…and I have been looking for a long, long time. ank you Mr. Stockton! Absolutely brilliant!
Perry Noun is the former executive director of the Northeastern NY PGA as well as a competitive amateur golfer and winner of the New York State Super Senior Amateur Championship. Perry Noun can be heard on “Tee Time With The Pronoun” on... News Radio 570 WSYR and 106.9FM.
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