Webster to Head Cazenovia Arts Organization, Radell to Join Board

(Cazenovia NY) Sarah Helbig Webster has recently been promoted to director of the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in Cazenovia. Webster, previously office manager at the art park, will be responsible for the exhibitions, programming, grounds and administration of the 104-acre outdoor sculpture facility.

She assumes this role following the recent retirement of Joseph Scala, executive director.

Prior to joining the Art Park, Webster was affiliated with the Madison Arts and Cultural Alliance from 2006 to 2010, where she was on its membership committee.

From 2005 to 2007, she was successively vice president and president of a community adult school serving three New Jersey communities. Since moving back to Cazenovia, Webster has served on the board of the Friends of Lorenzo State Historic site, the Cazenovia Lake Foundation and remains active with community organizations.

“Sarah has hands-on experience in developing programs, expanding membership, and engaging the community actively in support of the arts,” said John Hunt, president of the SQHAP Board of Directors. “We look forward to her continuing and expanded role at the Art Park.”

A graduate of William Smith College, Webster resides with her husband David and two children in Cazenovia.

The SQHAP Board also announced the election of Patricia J. Radell to the board of directors. Radell was previously chief financial officer of Liverpool Credit Union in Liverpool. She served as director of finance for the Huntington Family Center in Syracuse from 2007 to 2011.

Her prior experience includes more than 15 years as controller or accounting or financial consultant to local businesses and organizations.

“Patty’s financial background brings an added strength to the board as we plan for the next 20 years of the Art Park,” Hunt said. “Her results-oriented approach has benefited numerous for-profit and non-profit organizations throughout the greater Syracuse area. We are fortunate to have her join the Board.”

Radell is a graduate of SUNY Oswego and resides in Camden.

Park Celebrates Creative Achievements of Cazenovia High School

(Cazenovia, NY – May 2012) Stone Quarry Hill Art Park, a unique, outdoor art and sculpture park, announce its season opening exhibition “Celebrating Creative Achievements of Cazenovia High School,” artistic works from the portfolios of Cazenovia High School art students.

The exhibition will run through Sunday, May 27 in the John and Virginia Winner Memorial Art Gallery.

The gallery is open Thursday through Sunday noon 5 p.m. or by appointment.

The exhibition will feature selected pieces from the portfolios of Paige Biviano, Jessica Bubb, Eric Bushnell, Megan Cooney, Rebecca Hahn, Lacey Homik, Alaina Kelahan, Logan Koennecke, Dylan Muller, Katelyn Parella, Emmajean Spear, Alex Szlamcynski and Molly Woodworth.

MOMS Club Plans Open House

(Cazenovia, NY – May 2012) The MOMs Club of Caz is having an open house to reach out to mothers in the area.  Ever feel like you’re the only mother who stays home? You are not alone!

The MOMS Club is Moms Offering Moms Support. Come for a morning of fun and conversation at Lakeside Park, East Lake Road at 9:30 a.m. on May 9 to learn more. Children are always welcome. Any questions call 315-655-8481.

If inclement weather, the club will meet at Common Grounds, 35 Albany St.

Responds to Mayers

To the Editor:

(Cazenovia, NY) Where to start? Maybe that I was an A-student in science in public school? I was, but that was way back then, and I am just making a point. And that all my life I have relished all things scientific including geology, biology, chemistry, mechanical technology and power sources like rocket motors, outer space subjects such as stars and planetary systems and on and on.

And then regarding me being a fearful person or angry or confrontational? I’ve spoken with several people today, and no one thinks I am any of these things nor saw any of this in my column. What prejudices? My question would be, ‘What is Bill Mayers upset about?

Also I would again say with confidence that a majority of people without a mathematics degree would have a great deal of trouble following a math whiz jotting down complex equations. And remember that the experts in physics do admit that the equations break down under certain conditions. Infinite gravity comes to mind.

Regarding my challenge, the singularity theory (or fact, take your pick) is just one further step back. I happen to be very interested in theories about black holes, neutron stars, singularities, quasars and so forth. So where did the pre-Big-Bang singularity come from? Still thinking inside the box? And what about the obvious subject of the encoding thereof that resulted in an incredibly complicated universe?

A fascinating subject to think about and, for a scientist or any inquisitive person, the ultimate topic that there could be … unless a person is really not interested in the scientific process.

I remain as always, engaged, interested and cheerfully looking forward to scientific discoveries as they unfold. Several last points: again, where is the universe? And what was the man’s real name in my previous column about “the universe in a fish bowl?”

Guess I’ll have that drink now. Make it a tall mug of my favorite coffee.

Ron Wright, Cazenovia

Madison County CSA’s supplying their fair share of farm fresh products

(Madison County) The fields are being plowed and the first seeds of the season are being planted. If you’re looking for an alternative method for buying locally produced foods look no further than the Madison County CSA’s.

Over the past decade, Madison County has witnessed a growth in farms that market their products directly to consumers through offering memberships, also known as Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). By participating in a CSA, the consumer pays a membership fee at the beginning of the season in exchange for a weekly share of the farm’s harvest. Madison County has 8 CSA’s to choose from.

Each CSA is unique and works a little differently – some include fruit, meat, and other locally grown and processed products – others include pick your own crops, online ordering and feature on-farm events for the whole family.

Stone Brothers Farm & Greenhouse, a CSA in their second year, provides members with hydroponically grown fresh vegetables during the colder months – including the earliest strawberries of the season! Sommers’ Harvest Farm provides a “Market Share” where you can pick your harvest share right from their table at the Hamilton Farmers’ market. Side Hill Farmers, a new CSA to Madison County this year, is taking orders online for their meat CSA and then delivering each month’s share to a restaurant near you.

Madison County’s Agricultural Economic Development Program recently interviewed Alambria Springs Farm. When asked what separates this CSA from others in the county, owners Brian Musician and Amy Yahna replied, “We offer a larger quantity box for large families or for people that are serious vegetable eaters. We also offer membership into our local buying club if you are a CSA member.”

Being part of a CSA is a fun-filled experience for the whole family. Children can learn about how healthy fruits and vegetables are grown and work with their parents to cook and taste new recipes. At Lucky Moon Farm CSA, you can even get a glimpse of how solar panels are helping farmers to reduce their energy costs.  Many of these CSA’s still have shares available for the 2012 season.

To learn more about a CSA near you, visit madisoncountyagriculture.com.

If you are interested in other ways to support local farms, Madison County has several farmers’ markets. The Village of Hamilton Farmers’ Market opens for the season on Saturday, May 5. The hours of operation are from 8am-1pm.

Cazenovia Farmers’ Market commences the same day and is open from 9am-5pm, and the Town of Lenox Famers’ Market begins later in the season on July 14 and is open from 9am-2pm.

 

Literacy Programs Take on New Challenges

Submitted by Cindy McCall

(Cazenovia, NY) Esther Tial was barely a teenager when she escaped from her small village in war-torn Burma in 2004. Children in Chin villages were being taken from their homes and virtually enslaved by Burmese soldiers, who forced young boys and girls to carry gear and serve them.

This brutality still goes on today according to Tial, who says the soldiers use young children as human shields as they patrol the Chin region.

After a harrowing journey through Thailand, 14-year-old Tial arrived in Malaysia, where she lived for three years with other Chin refugees. Through the sponsorship of the UN and local CNY agencies, she eventually found a safe haven in the small rural village of Cazenovia, where she’s lived for the past two years with a host family.

“Many people have helped me, and I am so grateful to them,” Tial said.

Tial attends an adult literacy program at Cazenovia Public Library that provides her with a combined tutoring program in English as a second language and preparation for the GED (high school equivalency) exam. Hardworking and determined, Esther works long hours at a local restaurant, and keeps in close contact with other Chin Burmese refugees in the CNY area. As she balances work and study, her goal is to receive her GED as well as complete training as a certified nursing assistant.

Like other small towns in CNY, Cazenovia has seen an influx of refugees and immigrants. Cazenovia Public Library literacy coordinators have been working with Syracuse-based ProLiteracy to meet the challenges presented by new learners from diverse backgrounds.

In February, ProLiteracy offered a free training workshop in Chittenango for Madison County literacy tutors, organized by Carla Zimmerman. The workshop, run by Mark Cass and Kofi Adai of ProLiteracy, was aimed at helping tutors develop cultural awareness skills as well as specific teaching strategies for better instruction in library literacy programs.

ProLiteracy has also developed a series of informational packets on refugees arriving in the Central New York community that were made available to Cazenovia Library tutors. The well-researched ethnographies provide a window into different cultures and help literacy tutors better understand the cultural background of new learners from countries such as Sudan or Burma.

More than 41,000 adults in Madison and Onondaga counties live with low literacy skills. In Madison County, 16 percent of the adult population does not have a high school diploma or its equivalent. Among other initiatives, a series of fundraisers will be held to support local literacy efforts.

Grants and donations also help, as ProLiteracy and Cazenovia Public Library programs work together to reach the underserved literacy needs in our area. For more information about literacy needs in Cazenovia and Madison County, call the Cazenovia Public Library at (315) 655-9322.

Trail Maintenance Day at Art Park is May 5

(Cazenovia, NY – May 2012) Jack Miller, Chairperson for the Trail Committee at Stone Quarry Hill Art Park has scheduled a spring work party for Saturday, May 5.  If you would like to volunteer to help the Trail Committee, the work party will be assembling at the maintenance barn, next to the gallery, at 10 a.m.  If you have tools (loping shears, pruning saws and/or weed whips), please bring them with you, and don’t forget a snack or lunch and something to drink.

If weather conditions are not favorable, the work party will be rescheduled for May 11.

The Art Park welcomes volunteers in a number of different areas. If you would like to volunteer, please go to our website www.stonequarryhillartpark.org or call the office (315)655-3196 to see how you can help.

Guided Trail Walks

Cazenovia Preservation Foundation (CPF) will lead the upcoming guided trail walks at Stone Quarry Hill Art Park:

Full Moon Walk

Saturday, May 5

8:00 PM – 9:30 PM

From dusk to dark a whole new population of Art Park residents starts to move and vocalize. CPF Conservation Manager, Judy

Gianforte will guide the walk on the Art Park trails in search of the night life. The walk will be held even if there is cloud cover, however, call 877-1742 to confirm if raining.

Where the Wild Things Are

Saturday, May 12

10:00 AM to noon

Join Naturalist Amy Kochem in exploring the trails and searching for signs of wildlife, high and low. There is alot to be discovered in the woods, and you’ll use all of your senses to do it! Children and families are encouraged to join in the fun.

 

Cazenovia Village Announces May Meeting Schedule

May 7, 2012

7 p.m.: Village board meeting to include Gregg Development’s petition for zoning change for property on Nine Road to South Village, Oscar Soto regarding a proposed Community Recreation Facility, Carpenter’s Barn update, request from the Cazenovia High School Athletic Department to use Lakeland Park May 25 through 31 for its annual canoeing-“Lake Days” unit of instruction and requests for signs to be posted on the Lakeland fence.

May 10

7 p.m.: Cazenovia Lake Watershed Council meeting at the Municipal Building at 90 Albany St.

May 14

7:30 p.m.: Planning Board Meeting to include a request from Gary Wilbur – 7 Sims Lane to add a roof dormer, Rich Huftalen, 19 Hurd St. for an addition, Tops of Town & Country Plaza – Site Plan review, Nice N Easy – Route 20 East – Site Plan Review, Russ Brownback – 9 Albany – resurfacing driveway, wish list – 53 Albany St. – new sign and Sears – Town & Country Plaza – new sign.

May 29

7 p.m.: Historic Preservation/Architectural Advisory Review Committee meeting.

Bruder to Deliver Cazenovia Commencement Address

BruderRon_Official Head Shot

(Cazenovia, NY- May 2012) Ron Bruder, an accomplished entrepreneur and advocate for educational opportunities in developing countries, will address the graduates at Cazenovia College’s 2012 Commencement Ceremony, Saturday, May 12, 10:30 a.m., on the quad.

Bruder, an entrepreneur in diverse fields including real estate development, environmental remediation, medical technology, energy and travel, was deeply affected by the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

After that day, he was ‘driven to make a real impact’ in something other than the private sector. He investigated the circumstances that led to the attacks and discovered the Middle East has the highest youth unemployment in the world.

Bruder was honored by TIME Magazine in 2011 as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the World.

“I was very lucky in my life,” Bruder said in an interview with CNN. “Kids I meet in the Middle East have the same intellect and drive as I had, but don’t have the same opportunities. We can make a radical difference to their lives.”

Bruder earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Adelphi University, a master’s degree in business administration from New York University, and a post-master’s degree in accounting and taxation from Iona College. He lives in New Rochelle in Westchester County.

Watercolors on Display

New Woodstock Free Library news

By Norm Parry, library director

(New Woodstock, NY – May 2012) Watercolors by the members of the Cazenovia Watercolor Society will be on display at the New Woodstock Free Library May 2 through May 31. The exhibit will be open for viewing during all regular library hours.

A reception for the society will be held at the library from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 5; members of the society will demonstrate watercolor technique during the reception. The exhibit and the reception are free and open to the public.

According to library events coordinator Nancy Edwards, the watercolor society was the first organization to exhibit at the library’s newly renovated present location, 2106 Main St., 16 years ago. The society has held an exhibit at the library every year since then.

The Cazenovia Watercolor Society was organized in 1980 to establish a working group of area artists interested in learning more about the medium of watercolors.

Calendar of Events

May 2 through 31: Cazenovia Watercolor Society Exhibition

May 5, 10 a.m. to noon: Reception for Cazenovia Watercolor Society

May 8, 11 a.m.: Story Hour – We Love Our Moms

May 15, 11 a.m.: Story Hour, Dinosaurs

May 22, 11 a.m.: Story Hour – Fairy Tales

May 29, 11 a.m.: Story Hour – Veggie Time

All events are free and open to the public. For more information about these or other library programs and events, call (315) 662-3134 or visit midyork.org/newwoodstock.

Kreamer to Present ‘Emotion in the New Workplace’

(Cazenovia, NY – May 2012) How people cope with emotional issues at their jobs will be the topic of the next Cazenovia Forum lecture, as author Anne Kreamer discusses her latest book, “It’s Always Personal: Emotion in the New Workplace,” Friday, May 4, at 7 p.m. at Cazenovia College’s Catherine Cummings Theatre on Lincklaen Street.

The event is free; no reservations are required. A reception will follow the talk.

To research her book, Kreamer spent two years travelling around the country speaking with experts and working Americans about the feelings and emotions that people experience at their jobs.

Local Meat Heads to North Syracuse

Nesticos sign cropped

(Madison County, NY – April 2012) The sandwich board outside Nestico’s Restaurant says “MEAT HERE.” And the banner inside says “Meat your grandmother would recognize.”  Nestico’s Restaurant on Route 11 in North Syracuse is hosting the Side Hill Farmers’ meat CSA, and residents north of Syracuse are going there to pick up their delivered packages of locally-grown, pasture-based meat.

“Our banners make you laugh,” says Canastota farmer and CSA coordinator Kimber O’Mara, “but they also make you think.  It’s like we’re going back in time, providing simple meat from local farms.”

This spring, Side Hill Farmers, a cooperative of livestock farmers in Madison County, has started a local-meat-delivery service, where CNY residents can go on-line and order packages of the Cooperative’s own beef and pork.  Then, once a month, Side Hill Farmers delivers the orders to central pick-up locations in communities in the Syracuse region.  By hosting this local-meat CSA, Nestico’s has provided a location for residents north of Syracuse to pick up their meat orders.

Restaurant owner Peter Nestico explained that he likes to support local products, particularly food.  And, he says, like the farmers that are supplying this meat, “I’m a small businessman, and I want to support other small businesses.”

Many foodies are familiar with vegetable CSAs (which stand for “Community Supported Agriculture”) wherein consumers buy shares in a farm’s production.  The Side Hill Farmers’ meat CSA is similarly structured, so that consumers buy shares of the Cooperative’s meat production.  Kimber O’Mara explains that the meat shares are primarily beef, with pork as an option, and everything is pasture-raised and natural.  The meat CSA members will also be able to buy pasture-raised chicken starting in May, and as well as the usual Madison-County-produced eggs, butter and other local farm goodies.

“Getting our meat is really easy,” she says.  “On the Side Hill Farmers website, customers select a monthly meat delivery package, pay online via PayPal, select the community they’d like their order delivered to (and this now includes North Syracuse), and then once a month, on a set date, the order is delivered to the hosting pick-up site in the selected community.  It’s pretty simple.”

The Side Hill Farmers meat CSA officially launched in January; other delivery sites include Fayetteville, Downtown Syracuse, Hamilton, and Cazenovia.

For more information, call 677-9040 or visit contactus@sidehillfarmers.com.