(Wampsville, NY – Feb. 2012) A Public Hearing was held Monday, Feb. 6, in the Board of Supervisors Chambers in the Madison County Office Building in Wampsville to discuss the proposed Agriculture and Renewable Energy Business Park in the town of Lincoln.

The public hearing was held to provide an opportunity for the public to comment on the completed State Environmental Quality Review and the draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement for the project.

The dGEIS describes the project and potential impacts this project may have on the environment and proposed measures to mitigate potential impacts. The dGEIS and all of its appendices are available online for review and comment at madisoncounty.org.

Written comments regarding issues to be addressed in the dGEIS will be accepted until 1 p.m. March 14. Submit written comments to the Madison County Planning Department, 38 N. Court St., P.O. Box 606, Wampsville, N.Y. 13163, Attention: Proposed ARE Business Park.

Comments may also be emailed to planning@madisoncounty.ny.gov; indicate “Proposed ARE Business Park” in the subject line of the e-mail message.

Dave Evans, director of Nelson Farms, left, and Amanda Hewitt, right, product development manager, pose with Cazenovia resident and entrepreneur, Bob Rose, middle, at Nelson Farms.

 Pictured is Bob Rose’s Thermal Bar. (Photos by Nicolas Murphy)

Morrisville State College News

By Franci Valenzano

(Morrisville, NY – Feb. 2012) You’ve heard about performance bars that give you energy and boost endurance. How about one that’ll keep you warm too?

Introducing the Thermal Bar—an edible performance energy product that enhances circulation to combat the cold. It’s the mastermind of Cazenovia resident Bob Rose, an avid outdoorsman who came up with the idea to help him stay warm while enjoying his favorite activities.

After a frigid day of ice climbing, Rose decided to take his venture into his own kitchen to experiment. He first researched spices that warm the body, then bought and cooked them up into different recipes.

When numerous trials started to produce desired results, Rose reached out for help to fine tune his recipe and move Thermal Bar into the production phase.

He turned to Nelson Farms—an entrepreneurial agri-business incubator and food processing facility, operated by Morrisville State College, that helps budding entrepreneurs turn their ideas into marketable products.

He signed on to become a client and was soon working alongside Amanda Hewitt, product development manager.

In October, Rose’s high-energy bar packed with organic grains, nutrients, anti-oxidants, omega acids and spices hit the shelves at 68 Eastern Mountain Sports stores throughout the country.

He’s heating up the shelves locally too, selling Thermal Bar at the Nelson Farms Country Store, at Buyea’s True Value Hardware on Albany Street in Cazenovia, and in the snack bar at Highland Forest County Park in Fabius. They are also available through the Thermal Bar website at thermalbar.com.

Becoming a business owner wasn’t in the plan for Rose who grew up in Syracuse and after college, pursued a career as an engineer. He joined the National Guard in 1968 and become a pilot flying fighter jets, then later piloted planes for Delta Airlines, before officially retiring in 2007.

But sitting idle has never been in the cards for the 65-year-old adventurer who’s still getting used to his role running a business.

“I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit,” Rose said. “I’m an inventor and a dreamer and I had this idea (Thermal Bar) that I couldn’t ever give up.”

There were others who shared his tenacity. Among them, Nelson Farms, who he credits with taking his “out of the box” idea under its wing and working with him so it could take flight.

“You would not see my product on the shelves if it wasn’t for Nelson Farms,” Rose said. “Not once did anyone say it wasn’t possible or that I couldn’t do it. They jumped into the project with nothing but support and 100 percent encouragement all of the way.”

“We were working on three things at once: the flavor, warming effect, and making it something that would work with our equipment,” said Hewitt who’s been a part of the facility that’s helped nearly 600 businesses bring more than 400 products to market.

Hewitt, a graduate of Morrisville State College’s dietetic technician program, helped Rose tweak the recipe, working on scientific formulas and the taste. Additional staff at Nelson Farms also provided assistance along the way.

That support never waned even when Rose’s product exceeded Nelson Farms’ equipment capacity.

“We are very proud to assist our clients from the very start to finish to where they are able to get their products produced, packaged and into the marketplace and onto the store shelves,” Dave Evans, director of Nelson Farms, said. “But in this case, to meet these challenges to produce and package this very unique and unusual product, we did not have the exact equipment and therefore could not “fine tune” the product totally for sale. So we recommended a person who could possibly get this accomplished.”

That person was food chemist Dr. Danny Chawan of Srim Enterprises LLC, who further advanced the formulation of Thermal Bar.

“We are very proud to have been instrumental in getting Bob started from the beginning and to be able to work and support him through these years to see his Thermal Bar become such a success,” Evans said.

Word is out about the 230-calorie bar, a mix of carbs, anti-oxidants, omegas and protein that also contains Thermal Blend, a special mix of healthy spices, including grains, soy protein, nuts and oats.

“The effect of our warming spices is the breakthrough element and the basis for our unique performance,” said Rose who consumes a bar whenever he’s ice climbing, ski mountaineering, fishing, or involved in an outside activity.

But outdoor sports enthusiasts aren’t the only ones who can benefit from the bar wrapped in vibrant red and orange packaging designed by Rose’s brother, Don Rose. It’s for anyone who spends a lot of time outside in the cold: construction workers, landscapers, EMTs, hunters, sports fans and anglers.

Rose’s plans for Thermal Bar are heating up and include adding more flavors to his apple cinnamon line and marketing it as product that’s nutritionally beneficial year-round.

Nelson Farms is a unique combination of a business incubator, food product processing facility and hands-on academic classroom. Structured as an LLC of the Morrisville Auxiliary Corporation (MAC), Nelson Farms assists entrepreneurs including Morrisville students and existing private firms with product development, small-scale food processing, marketing and sales and distribution, and is also a Pride of New York distributor for the entire state.

It is located between Cazenovia and Morrisville in the village of Nelson on Route 20 and the corner of Nelson Road.

Franci Valenzano is Public Relations and Nicolas Murphy is marketing assistant at Morrisville State College.

Think Local

By Chris Hoffman

(Sherburne, NY – Jan. 2012) Having lived here for almost 12 years now, I am still amazed at the entrepreneurial ingenuity of the people of CNY.

Yesterday I met with Dan Livingston, Account Manager for a company called Wholeshare.  Wholeshare is an online buying club that makes thousands of organic and natural products available to people who create a group that acts as a wholesale buyer.  Food is delivered directly from the source, so it’s fresher and more affordable, and delivery points and frequency of orders are determined by each group. Products include both made-in-New York items and many gourmet, ethnic and specialty items that are typically difficult to find in local stores.

Wholeshare works with a supplier called Regional Access, based in Ithaca. Founded over 20 years ago by Gary Redmond, a Cornell graduate, organic farmer, and entrepreneur with a passion for nutrition, food, and all things gourmet, Regional Access has been providing ecologically responsible, locally grown food in Upstate New York through its sustainable statewide distribution system.  Their customers still include many of the restaurants, natural food stores and co-ops that started with them in 1990, and today they also serve buying clubs, colleges, grocery stores, local wineries and even the NY Governor’s Mansion on occasion.

Wholeshare currently has 20 distinct buyers groups, and Livingstone tells me his goal is to create 200 groups by the end of 2012.  Anyone can form a group, and a group can be any size that works for you.  Members benefit from cost-saving wholesale prices, especially when products are bought in bulk and then split among the members. The combination of wholesale and bulk pricing makes this a very attractive option.  For example, 25 pounds of organic white flour produced in NYS costs $28.05 or $1.12 a pound – significantly less than what Price Chopper charges for organic flour.

A buying club such as this is particularly good for buying dry goods such as flour and grains, beans, spices and herbs, oils, pasta, nuts and other products that are not available from the local farmers markets and CSA farms.  They currently carry over 800 items produced within New York State.

Each group appoints a local coordinator who meets the delivery truck and communicates with members of the buying club.  Individual members order online through the Wholeshare website and pay for their orders with their own credit cards or electronic checks, so coordinators don’t have to get involved with the financial end of administration.  A minimum order must total $350, which is significantly less than most buyers clubs.  Once the minimum is reached, the order is processed and delivered immediately. Additionally, there is no frequency minimum, so your group can set up deliveries for once a week or once every few months, based on what works best for your group.

The user-friendly website allows groups to set up a variety of automatic communications options, depending on what best serves the group’s needs, so there’s not a lot of work involved other than dividing up an order once it arrives.

In combination with becoming a member of a local CSA and/or shopping at both the summer and winter farmers markets, this is a smart way to support NYS farmers, growers, and producers year-round in a way that saves you money and ensures that you are consuming healthy, safe food.

If you would like more information about starting your own Wholeshare group, Livingstone is more than happy to answer your questions and even make a presentation.  He can be reached by email at dan.livingston@wholeshare.com.

Chris Hoffman lives in the village of Sherburne in her 150+ year-old house where she caters to the demands of her four cats, attempts to grow heirloom tomatoes and herbs and reads voraciously. She passionately pursues various avenues with like-minded friends to preserve and protect a sustainable rural lifestyle for everyone in Central New York. 

(Washington, DC – Feb. 1, 2012)  Congressman Bill Owens joined with Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) to bolster small businesses and ensure the federal government makes good on its promise to foster an environment in which entrepreneurs can hire and expand.

Owens and Graves introduced H.R. 3850, the Government Efficiency through Small Business Contract Act of 2012, legislation that holds agencies accountable if they do not reach congressionally mandated goals to award federal contracts to small businesses.

“This legislation will ensure that Washington lives up to its promise to give local small businesses the opportunity to put the unemployed back to work,” said Owens. “I am glad to see a bipartisan effort that builds on my previous efforts to hold federal agencies accountable for failing to meet their obligations to local small business owners.”

H.R. 3850 increases the current government-wide small business contracting goal from 23 percent to 25 percent and introduces penalties on agencies and their executives if these goals are not met.  For example, agencies that fail to report their contract awards 120 days after the end of the prior fiscal year would be barred from carrying out any pilot programs in the subsequent year.  Additionally, senior executives at federal agencies that fail to achieve their small business procurement goal would be barred from taking sabbaticals the following year or receive any incentive awards.

H.R. 3850 builds on a similar effort from Owens, who introduced H.R. 3779, the Small Business Growth and Federal Accountability Act, on January 19th.  Owens’ legislation would decrease an agency’s procurement budget by 10 percent each year it fails to meet its small business contracting goals.

Congress set a goal in 1997 that 23 percent of all federal contracts would be awarded to small businesses.  While each federal agency is permitted to set its own small business procurement goals in consultation with the Small Business Administration (SBA), the sum of all agencies’ goals must add up to 23 percent.  However, federal agencies typically fail to meet their small business contracting goals and there are currently no penalties for these shortfalls.

(Chittenango, NY – Feb. 2012) This year, the village of Chittenango will celebrate its bicentennial. Town Historian Dick Sullivan, bicentennial committee chairman, and co-chairman Charlie Albee will be addressing the Greater Sullivan Area Chamber of Commerce to outline the many events that are planned to celebrate this historic occasion.

Chamber member and Ten Pin Restaurant owner Marrianne Finocchiaro will host the Chamber’s breakfast meeting Feb. 7 at 7:30 a.m.. This Chamber meeting is open to the public.

The breakfast buffet is $7. The Sullivan Chamber would like to invite everyone to attend this important informational bicentennial meeting.

Events of Historical Note

By Matthew Urtz

(Cazenovia, Wampsville, NY – Jan. 2012) History has a way of documenting those who impacted the past in visible ways, but not as often those who otherwise influenced. Investors are very rarely remembered when we talk about discoveries, yet without their financial backing, some of the most important inventions in American history would not exist.

Thus is the case of former Cazenovia resident Benjamin Brewster. He helped develop one of the largest companies in the U.S., supported and reorganized transportation for millions of people, and yet very few know his name amongst contemporaries.

Brewster was born in Norwich, Conn., June 30, 1828. His lineage traced back to the Mayflower to Elder William Brewster. He attended local schools and, after graduation, moved to New York City to become a clerk. Like many Americans, the gold rush called to him and in 1849, he packed up and headed west, setting up a store and later investing in numerous businesses on the west coast.

In 1863, Brewster married Elmina Dows. Her father James Dows was from Cazenovia. Dows moved out to San Francisco shortly before Brewster did and carried on a similar business. Brewster and Elmina’s family included seven children (three died while infants).

For 25 years, the couple stayed on the west coast and amassed an incredibly large fortune before deciding to return east in 1874.

Upon his return, he became involved with John D. Rockefeller and helped organize the Standard Oil Company, becoming one of the first shareholders. He also invested and worked with a number of railroads, helping restructure the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railroad Company and was associated with building the Manhattan Elevated Railroad in New York City. He became the vice president of the Island and Pacific Railroad and was director of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad.

He also served as the director for the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, as well as the International Navigation Company, which made trans-Atlantic passenger steamships.

His ability to turn around businesses was legendary.

Brewster enjoyed vacationing during the summer in Cazenovia and first purchased property in 1887 from L.W. Ledyard on what is today Ledyard Avenue (Route 20 in the village). Shortly after he purchased the property, he built a new summer home on the estate and named the home “Scrooby,” the name of the house Elder Brewster relinquished to move to the New World more than 250 years before.

“Scrooby” is now the Brewster Inn in Cazenovia.

Brewster suffered a stroke in Cazenovia in August 1897. He held on for a few weeks, dying Sept. 4, 1897, at the age of 69. His funeral was held in Cazenovia, and his pall-bearers included John D. Rockefeller, former Treasury Secretary Charles S. Fairchild, and former New York Governor Roswell P. Flower.

He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Cazenovia.

Sources cited: Herndon, Richard. “Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Leaders in Business and Professional Life in and of the State of Connecticut.” New England Magazine, Boston, MA. 1898. Pages 287-288. Madison County Deeds Collection

Matthew Urtz is Madison County Historian. He can be reached at matthew.urtz@co.madison.ny.us, (315) 366-2453 and by becoming a fan of Madison County, NY History on Facebook. For more information, visit madisoncountynyhistory.com.

(Washington, DC – Jan. 19, 2012) Congressman Bill Owens introduced legislation this week to ensure that federal agencies provide more work for small businesses, allowing them to hire and expand in New York.  There is a congressionally mandated goal that 23 percent of all annual federal contracts are awarded to small businesses, but that goal is regularly ignored.  H.R. 3779, the Small Business Growth and Federal Accountability Act, would decrease an agency’s procurement budget by 10 percent each year it fails to meet its small business contracting goals.

“Small businesses are a major driver of economic development, so it is critical that federal agencies be held accountable for giving New York entrepreneurs the tools they need to create jobs and grow the economy,” said Owens. “This legislation will do just that and ensure that Washington lives up to its promise to foster an environment of success for small businesses. When federal agencies fail to meet their small business goals, I call on the Appropriations Committee to direct the savings from their reduced budgets towards paying down the federal debt.”

Congress set a goal in 1997 that 23 percent of all federal contracts would be awarded to small businesses.  While each federal agency is permitted to set its own small business procurement goals in consultation with the Small Business Administration (SBA), the sum of all agencies’ goals must add up to 23 percent.  However, federal agencies typically fail to meet their small business contracting goals and there are currently no penalties for these shortfalls.

According to House rules, discretionary spending is provided for through the annual appropriations process. Under House Rule X, the Appropriations Committee is responsible for directing the rescissions of appropriations or transfers of unspent balances from federal agencies.  H.R. 3779 would allow the opportunity for the Appropriations Committee to direct additional funds to pay down annual deficits.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) and SBA Office of Inspector General both issued reports in 2010 noting that many small business contracts are actually going to larger corporations either because a company misrepresents itself or the small business grows or is acquired and the agency fails to take note of those changes.

The Small Business Growth and Federal Accountability Act would also require federal agencies to give preference to small business when awarding contracts. The SBA generally defines a small business as ranging from a maximum of 500 to 1,500 employees, depending on the industry and type of product manufactured, which is in turn independently owned and operated.

(Jan. 17, 2012) Tops Friendly Markets and Wegmans have teamed up with the Food Bank of Central New York again this year to help eliminate hunger in our community through the Check Out Hunger Campaign.  Tops Friendly Markets and Wegmans stores throughout central and northern New York will accept $2, $3 and $5 donations beginning Jan. 22.

Through the Check Out Hunger program, customers can have store cashiers add the donation to their grocery bill at the check-out with all proceeds going directly to the Food Bank of Central New York.

The campaign runs through the following dates:

Tops Friendly Markets – Jan. 22 to Feb. 11

Wegmans – Jan. 22 to Feb. 25

“We are thankful for great corporate partners like Wegmans and Tops Friendly Markets.  Their support of our year-round hunger relief efforts, especially through the Check Out Hunger campaign, means that we are able to continue to distribute nutritious food and provide nutrition education in our 11-county service area,” said Thomas Slater, executive director at the Food Bank of Central New York.

For more information regarding the Food Bank of Central New York or Check Out Hunger, please contact Lynn Hy at 437-1899 ext. 147 or lhy@foodbankcny.org.

Public hearing planned for Feb. 14 board meeting

(Hamilton, NY – Jan. 2012) At its monthly meeting held Tuesday Jan. 10 the Hamilton Village Board of Trustees began the legislative process that could lead to the village establishing its own natural gas utility.

By unanimous vote, the board established the village as the lead agency for a required environmental quality review (SEQR) of the project, and reserved time at its Feb. 14 meeting for a public hearing on plans for the utility. The public hearing will begin at 7 p.m. in the Village Courthouse at 60 Montgomery St.

If the Board enacts legislation establishing the utility at its February meeting, as expected, village voters will be asked to ratify the legislation during a special referendum that could be held as early as April 17.

Similar in function to the municipal electric utility that has operated in Hamilton since 1895, a municipal gas utility would be the village agency that negotiates with suppliers, oversees the construction and operation of facilities to pipe natural gas into the village, and deals with gas customers.

Hamilton Mayor Margaret Miller said that a feasibility study conducted for the village cited three favorable conditions for establishing a gas utility: The ready availability of gas from major pipelines within 10 miles (Tennessee Gas Pipeline and Dominion Transmissionʼs pipeline both follow Route 20 north of the village); the presence within the village of three potential major users who have expressed interest in converting to gas (Hamilton Central School, Community Memorial Hospital, and Colgate University); and the village’s experience in successfully operating municipal utilities for electricity, water and wastewater and a municipal airport.

Village Administrator Sean Graham, who participated in the feasibility study, said that natural gas offers a variety of benefits for the village. Because gas is the least expensive source of readily available energy, converting would save operating expenses for users, he said.

Having the less expensive energy source available is also an attraction for businesses that might consider locating in the village, Graham added. And because gas creates fewer emissions than other fossil fuels being burned in the village, Graham said air quality will improve.

Miller said the project could be undertaken at no expense to village taxpayers, and would be financed by municipal bonds that would be repaid with proceeds from the sale of gas. She said village representatives would be meeting with interested groups and circulating materials to village residents in the coming weeks to explain the gas project in greater detail.

(Hamilton, NY – Jan. 2012) Carrie Blackmore and Matt Whalen, owners of Good Nature Brewing, located on Milford Street in Hamilton held a soft opening Jan. 12. The two offered tastings of their own specialty craft beers and sold growlers to go.

Good Nature will be doing a “Tap Take Over” at the Colgate Inn to celebrate the first Madison County brewery on Jan. 27 at 5:30 p.m. They will be serving five specialty beers. (Photo by Margo Frink)