Only 14 more days to the Durham Fair!
Volume 16, Issue 22
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
Friday, September 11, 2009
In the end, despite presidential speech, a day like most others
Lyman maze magic
By Stephanie Wilcox Town Times Leading up to the airing of President Barack Obama’s address on Tuesday at noon to schoolchildren across the country, there was lots of news coverage and local conversation about whether or not it should be shown and what the response would be. The 20-minute speech was aired for those in District 13 who wanted to watch it, and the response from administrators district-wide was it went really well. “We have a civics requirement that looks at the office of the president, regardless of who is in the office,” said Superintendent Susan Viccaro. “There were lots of lessons learned.” Particularly, lessons were learned at the high school level where principal Steve Wysowski and assistant principal Andre Hauser had discussions with individual students after the speech. Viccaro said these stu-
dents used critical thinking analyzing the debate on whether or not to show the speech, and in the end they said they really enjoyed it.
“Our kids made quite a few analogies, particularly having to do with the district core ethical values and the lifelong learning standards, with what the president was saying,” said Viccaro.
Each school in the district handled the speech a little differently. For instance, the speech was taped at Brewster School where the students are much younger. Viccaro noted that when their curriculum gets to the core ethical value of responsibility, teachers will use some of the president’s clips for lesson material.
Though logistics made airing the speech tough (there isn’t one big screen in each school to have shown the speech), Viccaro spoke on behalf of all administrators in the district that it was a valuable part of an otherwise regular school day.
Farming challenges include rain (too much or too little) and pests of all kinds By Stephanie Wilcox Town Times
Above, Governor Jodi Rell helps Eli Lyman cut the ribbon officially opening the corn maze on Sept 3. Left, Naomi Rinaldo, Erin Smith and Ryan Rickenbacher were the first three kids through the maze which they declared was a bit easier than some but just as much fun. And Erin should know, as she told our reporter, “I’ve been doing this my whole life!” More on page 20. Photos by Karen Augieri
Peaches contain no fat and no cholesterol, over 10 minerals and vitamins and only 66 calories per cup — a seemingly perfect snack as far as health is concerned, but some are alarmed by their amount of pesticide residue. In fact, one environmental group ranked peaches number one on their “Dirty Dozen” list — 12 fruits and vegetables that retain the highest levels of pesticide based on USDA and FDA data. Does this mean peaches are not so healthy after all? John Lyman III, executive vice president of Lyman Orchards, says peaches by nature are very prone to disease, primarily brown rot, and this in turn leads to multiple applications of fungicides to protect against disease. Pesticides are measured in parts per million or billion which weigh the relativity from one crop to another. The number is higher for
peaches compared to other crop tested, but can still be within the legal tolerance that is carefully established. In fact, nearly all fruits and vegetables in the country fall within the legal tolerances, Lyman says. It’s only occasionally that some don’t, which is why the limits are in place to begin with. Lyman Orchards peaches are sprayed with pesticides within the legal limit. Their apples are in an ecocertified program based on the advanced principals of Integrated Pest See Farming, page 3
In this issue ... Calendar ......................................4-5 Durham Briefs .........................14-15 Libraries ...............................13 & 16 Middlefield Briefs....................12-13 Obituaries.....................................11 Sports........................................23-26 Spotlight .......................................17