Opinion-Editorial

Community Outreach Enhances the Lives of Others

May 10, 2012 By margo Leave a Comment

To the Editor:

On Monday, April 30, my husband and I were invited to come to a free weekly meal hosted by Summit Church of Cazenovia. Out of curiosity, we decided to go. I mean, who gives anything out for free anymore, without a price?

The people were more than friendly, and they were happy that we came. Shrimp scampi and broccoli Alfredo were the two top courses, and there were many side dishes, not to mention multiple desserts.

Everything was delicious. I couldn’t believe that the help came from many of the local churches, Cazenovia College and neighbors helping neighbors. “Everyone Is Welcome” read the bulletin board. You are never too old or too young to help, for there were toddlers, teens and adults.

There was one young man 13 years of age who has his parents drop him off so he can help serve every week.

It warmed my heart to find out that this is a weekly event and to see the community come together, share dinner and meet new and old friends alike. In fact, we met a longtime friend we hadn’t seen in years, and I got a lot of information about this wonderful thing called the “Friendship Inn” just by watching and listening.

Lorie Compoli, Cazenovia

Filed Under: Cazenovia, Opinion-Editorial

What’s in Your Tick Bite?

May 8, 2012 By margo 2 Comments

(Wampsville, NY) Ticks can transmit multiple illnesses which can often go unnoticed for months, yet can be devastating for many victims and their families. The summertime brings about warm weather and school vacation, causing higher rates of infection in Madison County and beyond.

Lyme disease is the most common of all the diseases in the United States transmitted by mosquitoes, ticks and fleas, with approximately 20,000 cases reported each year. It most commonly occurs in the Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic and North-Central states. Over the past several years, Lyme disease has spread from the Hudson Valley up through Central New York, with vets and doctors seeing an increase in the number of cases.

Lyme disease is difficult to diagnose because its symptoms are similar to the common flu but highly curable if it is detected in its early stages. The “bull’s eye” rash that sometimes accompanies Lyme disease infection at the site of the tick bite often goes undetected, especially on darker skin tones.

Most cases can be treated with antibiotics when detected early. Medical providers may differ in how they treat this illness. You should contact your medical provider regarding specific treatment options.

A few cases of another tick-borne disease called Babesiosis (pronounced ‘buh-beezee-osis’) have begun showing up in Central New York. The disease, which causes fatigue and flu-like symptoms, can be fatal for those with weakened immune systems. One tick bite can cause both Lyme and Babesiosis infection; however, the treatment for Lyme disease does not attack Babesiosis.

Babesiosis is spread by the bite of certain types of ticks, which carry microscopic parasites that can infect and destroy red blood cells in humans. Many people who are infected by Babesiosis do not show any symptoms, and doctors treating patients with tick bites do not commonly test for the illness. While the infection can be a severe, life-threatening disease, especially in people with other illnesses and the elderly, most people with normal immune systems respond well to treatment.

“Our health department doesn’t always have an exact number of Babesiosis cases because those with the disease could easily be diagnosed with the flu or a general infection that requires simple antibiotics to treat,” said Madison County Health Director Eric Faisst. “Treating Babesiosis with an antibiotic actually cures the disease, and this prevents our health department from keeping an accurate number of those infected. The tests performed by a doctor for Lyme disease and Babesiois should occur at the same time, especially as this illness spreads. We strongly urge patients to talk to their doctors about getting both tests if they think there is a chance they are infected.”

The best way to protect ourselves from insects and the diseases they carry is to take personal precautions to avoid the ticks and mosquitoes of summer:

* Wear light-colored clothing so you can see and remove the bugs and ticks.

* Use and follow the directions on insect repellent packaging carefully.

* Do not use DEET on children under 3 years of age.

* Spray only outdoors and on adult hands that apply the product to children.

* Shower off repellent and check for ticks and bugs when you go indoors.

* Wear a long-sleeved shirt and long pants.

* Tuck pants into socks.

* Stay on paths when hiking, and avoid brushing up against weeds and plants.

For information on checking for ticks, insect repellents and more, visit healthymadisoncounty.org/healthinfo/topicsa-z/topic-lyme.htm.

Virginia Zombek is a public health educator specializing in environmental health issues with the Madison County Department of Health.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Madison County Agencies and Organizations, Opinion-Editorial, Wampsville

Good Nutrition is the Best Medicine

May 8, 2012 By margo Leave a Comment

To the Editor:

(Madison County, NY) Age is just a number when it comes to health – and having good nutrition can keep us young. For those of us over age 60, staying healthy is more important than ever, but affording the healthy foods we need is not always easy. Many of us are strapped when it comes to our budgets.

As we approach retirement, balancing our budget, health and life changes can be a struggle.

Doctors remind us that good health depends on healthy food, no matter our age. But those of us approaching our ‘golden years’ especially need good food to stay well or heal well after an injury or sickness. These days, many older New Yorkers find it hard to balance their fixed monthly income with the rising costs of prescriptions, other bills and life’s changes.

Could you or someone you know use a little extra help?

For decades, the Nutrition Outreach and Education Program has helped link eligible New Yorkers with our nation’s largest nutrition support program, the Food Stamp Program. With recent changes, about a million seniors in New York (age 60-plus) may now be eligible for these monthly benefits, but only half get them.

In Madison County alone, almost two-thirds of those eligible to receive benefits do not. Amounts vary depending on household size, income and certain expenses; the average annual benefit for older adults adds up to more than $1,700. Who couldn’t use that to help offset the cost of healthy food?

If you are thinking these days about Social Security and Medicare, you’ve also earned these public benefits, and they are available to all who qualify. They also bring federal dollars back to New York; last year alone more than $5 billion. More than three million New Yorkers now use electronic Food Stamp benefits to boost their food buying power with a plastic card similar to a bank debit card.

Shoppers simply choose the food they need and swipe this benefits card at the check-out counter. It’s private and easy to use. The program automatically deposits benefits into their account every month.

We can help. Our local NOEP coordinator offers free and private benefit estimates and may help guide you through the application process. We offer an experience that is friendly, informative and supportive; feel free to call me at (315) 697-3588, ext. 34.

Jodee Osborne, Nutrition Outreach & Education Program Coordinator, Community Action Partnership for Madison County

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Madison County Agencies and Organizations, Opinion-Editorial

Responds to Mayers

May 5, 2012 By margo 1 Comment

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

Filed Under: Cazenovia, Opinion-Editorial

Farmers Deserve Consideration

May 4, 2012 By margo Leave a Comment

To The Editor:

(Waterville, NY) I am a dairy farmer and have land in the proposed windmill project. I have read about all the “stuff” going on with the windmill project and have said nothing until now. Charlie and I have farmed and taken care of our 535 acres for 45 years. Charlie’s father farmed the same land for 47 years more.

So, between us we have fed the nation for 92 years or more; farming is a tough occupation and life. Most of us never get rich, but we love what we do.

We have planted crops and hayed it into the night and then done chores for half the night to get the job done. We have chopped corn way into the night – and I do mean all night – until the sun came up so that we could get the corn off the hill before a major rainstorm made it impossible to do so.

One year, our light bill actually went down because we were doing so many of our chores after midnight in the off-peak time.

In 1990, our cows contracted a disease, and we lost a third of our dairy. We almost didn’t come out of that one, and we still feel the effects today.

It seems like there were more downs than ups, but the name of the game is survival.

Now we have to suffer huge drops in the price we receive for our milk. Our price has dropped $6 per hundredweight since September. At the same time, our inputs keep going up: taxes, feed, lights, fertilizer, seed, chemicals, insurance, repairs, supplies and everything else keeps going up. It now costs us $200 every time we fuel up one of our four tractors.

It seems as if the government and people who aren’t farmers could give a flying leap. You just go to the store and buy your food; it doesn’t matter where it comes from, right? People need to think about their food supply, or it could take the same route that fuel has. Whenever you get a chance to give a farmer a break, you need to do so.

One thing that can really help is a windmill or two. Every year for months I have to worry about where we are going to get the close to $10,000 to pay our taxes. A windmill would take a lot of that burden away.

And I do understand that people might not want a windmill 1,000 feet from their house. On the other hand, it irks me that someone can tell me that I can’t have a windmill because they don’t like the looks of it. I don’t tell them that they can’t plant a tree on their lawn, or that they can’t put up a fence to keep the neighbor’s dog off their lawn because I don’t like the way it looks.

It also irks me that people who don’t live here can come here and raise a ruckus. They need to stay home and take care of their own backyards.

Could it be that the people who don’t have a place for a windmill have so much to say because they don’t stand to get any monetary gain for one? If I am correct, and I might not be, but I think that I read that the town of Madison gets $80,000 a year for the existing windmills. So the additional windmills would provide much more revenue. That’s tax money that we don’t have to pay, folks! It sounds like a no-brainer to me. Heck, we might even get Tinker Hollow Road fixed!

At the Madison planning board meeting April 18, person after person testified that they had moved to their present homes to get away from houses, neighbors and noise. They love the quiet and the views of the hills and farmland.

If a farmer quits planting hay and corn, those views change in hurry. Just take a look at the Hamilton-Madison area, or the North Brookfield area, or Sawmill Road near Oriskany Falls. The crops that grow there now are houses, neighbors and noise. Would they rather look at a windmill or the very thing that they moved away from? Think about it.

I want to commend the board for being farmer-friendly and for looking for ways to keep taxes in line. Windmills definitely fall into that category.

Gretchen Maine, Waterville

Filed Under: Agriculture, Madison, Opinion-Editorial

Library Thanks Volunteers

May 3, 2012 By margo Leave a Comment

To the Editor:

(Chittenango, NY) The Sullivan Free Library in Chittenango would like to thank everyone who helped on the grounds of the library on Community Betterment Day Saturday, April 26.

The Chittenango Lions and Leos Clubs cleaned up all around the building and parking lot. Bartlett Tree Experts of East Syracuse donated their services to prune flowering trees with the two clubs working to remove the branches. The Chittenango DPW removed the branches and other debris.

All of this help combined with the ongoing efforts of the Chittenango Garden Club helps keep the library looking as beautiful outside as it does inside and is much appreciated by the library and the people who use it.

Karen Fauls-Traynor, Library Director

Filed Under: Chittenango, Libraries, Opinion-Editorial

On the Bus to Hardscrabble Wind Farm

April 28, 2012 By margo 3 Comments

Think Local

By Chris Hoffman

Last Sunday, I took a bus trip along with 37 other folks, destination Hardscrabble Wind Farm in Fairfield, a little over an hour’s ride northeast of Hamilton. In addition to the people on the bus, a caravan of private vehicles followed.

Madison Town Supervisor Ron Bono, Madison Planning Board Chair Roger Williams, Madison Town Council Members Jim Lundrigan and Brad Dixon, and Hamilton Town Council members Chris Rossi and Carolyn Todd rode with us on the bus. The trip was organized by Madison Matters, a citizens group formed in February to educate people about the proposed 36-turbine wind farm in the Town of Madison.

We arrived at the home of Jimmy Salamone and were joined by Carol Friesel and her husband, as well as Fairfield Town Supervisor Henry Crowfoot. Salamone’s house sits amidst rolling hills and is surrounded by towering wind turbines in every direction. We stood on his front lawn in silence, and listened to the repetitious sound of the turbine blades turning and the steady hum of the turbine motors.

Salamone told us in no uncertain terms that since the turbines became operational 14 months ago, life as he knew it in this idyllic, pastoral area of rural Upstate New York suddenly ceased. The turbine noise never stops, and it is perhaps its utter relentlessness that is its most annoying and inescapable feature. The red lights on the turbines, required by the FAA for safety reasons, disturb the serenity of the nights with flickering strobes every time the blades pass over their beam.

In the winter, the red light reflects off the white snow and can be seen for miles. Salamone has talked to a realtor about selling his property, and the realtor told him his asking price is about $90,000 too high now that the wind turbines have been installed. A neighbor has simply moved away, without even trying to sell his property, because he couldn’t stand living under the turbines.

Deer and other wildlife, once prominent throughout the beautiful hills surrounding his home where he has lived for decades, have almost disappeared. Neighbors who used to be friends have become estranged, pitted against each other because of the tactics of Iberdrola, the company that installed the wind turbines.

Salamone has filed a class action lawsuit against Iberdrola that claims the effects of the turbines constitute a nuisance.

Crowfoot spoke at length to the group about how difficult the permitting process is for town board members who have little or no experience with such massive industrial projects. This, of course, is precisely why certain areas are targeted by the energy companies, because they intentionally look for townships that have no zoning and weak land use regulations, hoping to entice strapped municipalities with the promise of jobs and PILOT payments (payments in lieu of taxes). These same companies lure ill-informed landowners and struggling farmers with lease payments, offering what amounts to significant amounts of money to people already living on the edge, knowing many cannot afford to turn down “free money.”

As people became more comfortable with one another, and started asking questions of the Fairfield residents, it was abundantly clear that everyone who lives near these turbines deeply regrets their presence and the fact that they did not know enough early on to stop the project. They spent their Sunday afternoon with a group of strangers from the Town of Madison to share their experiences and knowledge, painfully earned through the wisdom of hindsight, so perhaps another such travesty in Upstate New York could be prevented before it’s too late.

As we were preparing to leave, one Fairfield resident offered these parting words: Tell your Town Council members that they must choose between having an industrial energy facility as its focal point, or having a place where people live in order to raise families, start businesses, participate in the local economy, and pay taxes. Because you can’t have both. If you allow the wind farm to be built, you will lose residents, you will lose your properties, school populations will dwindle, and your tax base will erode. And once you issue a permit, there’s no turning back. You can’t undo it.

On the bus ride home, people were quiet and pensive for the most part, and I’m sure foremost in their thoughts was the prayer that the Town of Madison’s officials heard the message, and will make the right decision when it comes time to issue or deny a special use permit to the proposed Rolling Upland Hills Wind Farm.

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.

Filed Under: Madison, Opinion-Editorial, Sherburne, Think Local

Sharing a Personal Experience, Part 2

April 28, 2012 By margo 2 Comments

From Here & Back Again

By Jim Coufal

The new urologist, part of group “B,” came in and the first thing I said before anything else was that I wanted to discuss risks and alternatives and reminded him of my reluctance because of the 2008 incident. He seemed confused, and I said to him that it was covered on the medical history that I had sent in.

I repeated what had happened and he made a brief acknowledgment and then basically sloughed it off. S..t happens.

He then told me he was going to do a digital rectal exam (DRE), have some tests and proceed from there. I politely asked him if he could use language that brought me into the decision-making process about what was going to be done to my body, and not just tell me.

He seemed taken aback. His response, which became his mantra, was that that is what urologists do, expanded to when one goes to an urologist that is what one should expect to have done.

He seemed to imply that I was refusing to have the procedure done, and I explained that he misunderstood what I was saying, trying to get across that I wanted to be treated as a whole person and not an out-of-whack gland. He insisted he wanted to be my urologist, but continued wanting to proceed to the DRE then and there, without any further discussion.

I was polite, although my wife tells me I got a bit loud (I have a loud voice to begin with, and I’m also hard of hearing), certainly never threatening, although Carol said I was a bit snarky. Finally, by mutual consent, Carol and I got up, I shook the doctor’s hand and said ‘thanks but no thanks,’ and started to leave.

As we were leaving, he said that no doctor in his group practice would ever take me as a patient. This didn’t seem to be a big deal, as there are usually only several doctors in such groups, but read on to find out differently.

The next morning I tried to locate another urologist. Trying to stay away from Syracuse, I looked east toward Hamilton, Rome and Utica. I called a practice in Utica, call it group “C,” and was treated politely. But when I gave my name I was told they had received notice that I was not to be accepted as a patient by any doctor in their group. Closer investigation found that Groups A, B, and C all work under the umbrella group “AA.”

Further, the umbrella group contained group practices from Cortland to Utica, Liverpool to Fayetteville and others. While said umbrella group may not be a monopoly of urologists in Central New York, they clearly are an oligarchy. What power they have.

In one of those interesting coincidences that occur throughout life, a letter writer in today’s Post-Standard (Mary Lou Bender, April 9) says, “I am aware of a medical practice group in the area that sends letters to its patients threatening to discharge you as a patient if you do not have diagnostic tests they ‘deem to be necessary.’”

I’ve been blackballed for asking to be able to discuss the risks and alternatives and have a voice in my own treatment, not just be told. I never refused to have a DRE, but rather that a discussion be had in the vein of Dr. David Katz of the Yale Prevention Research Center, who said, “Make your standard of care better than standard – ask good questions. By doing so, you can help ensure that you and your doctor are always diligent and choosing wisely – together.”

The right to a second opinion seems to be a standard; it was never suggested that I seek one before proceeding.

This week a group of nine medical specialty boards recommended fewer medical tests. Reporting on this, Roni Caryn Rabin said, “The recommendations represent an unusually frank acknowledgement by physicians that many profitable tests and procedures are performed unnecessarily and might harm patients.”

Dr. John LaPook wrote that, “An important new study … should lead to far fewer prostate biopsies.”

Dr. Gonzalez E. Diaz listed the possible biopsy complications as septicemia, infections, hemorrhages, tumor dissemination, bladder perforation, urinary obstruction, severe pain, stokes, perineum abscesses, erectile dysfunction, loss of desire and reduced sexual activity.

And doctors are continually called upon to treat patients as whole persons, not bad joints or infected organs, not just pieces-parts.

I didn’t fail to ask the questions: I was never given the chance. I did ask for a discussion of risks and alternatives and, from the above this seems totally reasonable, yet one doctor has the power to blackball me across Central New York.

Something isn’t right. The doctor didn’t give me a DRE, but he has given me the finger.

It could happen to you.

Jim Coufal of Cazenovia is a part-time philosopher and full-time observer of global trends. He can be reached at madnews@m3pmedia.com.

Filed Under: Cazenovia, From Here & Back Again, Opinion-Editorial

Grazing Management in the New ‘Normal’

April 28, 2012 By margo Leave a Comment

The Grass Whisperer

By Troy Bishopp

(Town of Eaton, NY) As a veteran grazier, I’m concerned about the phrases, “The 300 year flood, Peak Soil, Peal Oil, Climate Change and The New Normal” frequently heard in the news. Should I discount them as just an anomaly, or should I be planning on how this will affect my grazing operation?

For me, it boils down to a simple concept: keep the soil covered with perennial, highly diverse, biologically active pastures; however it has taken me 48 years of farming to become a true believer and holistic planner in this.

It’s rather embarrassing to admit I missed this mark as a “yute,” while continually being stumped by a grazing system always headed in the path of what Andre Voisin termed; untoward acceleration, where each successive grazing period provides less forage and the rest period is shortened until the rotation collapses.

Grazing Consultant Jim Gerrish says grazing too short is the biggest problem in production.

With hairline receding and the prospect of a sixth generation farming here, I found the “Ah ha!” moment I needed 12 years ago in a hurricane and in the mirror. The forces came together after a long dry spell followed in earnest by a five-inch rain.

As I flashed a picture of my swollen, muddy stream, I turned the lens to wipe off the rain and I caught my reflection, this was my fault.

This single event of losing topsoil put me on the path to become a better grazier and, in turn, a better land manager.

But I needed a better plan, more measuring and monitoring and long-term goals. I am lucky to live in an era with access to knowledge from influential grazing notables: Andre Voisin to Newman Turner, Darrell Emmick to Jim Gerrish and Allan Savory to Greg Judy, to name a few

This has led me to think about grazing in a more holistic, management-driven style predicated on a triple bottom line mentality and stop blaming the animals for over-grazing.

“Create the farm you want” is a quote I like in approaching the upcoming grazing season. Like any good game of chess, it starts with a tactical plan. I start by planning (hypothetically) on my 12-month grazing chart (in pencil) before I go into Mother Nature’s domain, around specific financial, production, environmental and family goals.

I plan in recovery periods, certain grazing strategies for each field, expected dry matter intakes and plan back from major events such as my daughter’s wedding, droughty times, breeding, bluebird fledging, frost and stockpiling dates. This futuristic decision-making and constant monitoring allows me to think deeply about what’s ahead and works nicely with my experience and gut feelings to make management changes sooner and level out the new norms of weather.

You’re probably thinking, easier to plan than to implement. But the impetus for the organic farmer is if you run out of grass you’re out of options. We’ve got to get in the mindset that it takes grass to grow grass and stop being scared of wasting a little grass if you want top performance for your animals and soil.

I do agree that the forage should be trampled, harvested or clipped 60 days before the first frost to enable possible extended grazing of rested plants.

My observations over 26 years of grazing on our farm are this: rain now comes down in buckets and we need to catch it all for the uncharacteristic dry periods that are happening.

On our farm, the shorter always vegetative sward of plant species of yesteryear has given way to a taller, more mature grazing style with a higher grazing residual (four inches) and, in turn, longer rest periods, averaging 45 days for last season.

This has changed my naturalized sward into having a more prairie-like composition which have deeper, stronger roots and puts more litter on the ground to feed the soil microbes.

Having stronger, more vibrant plants has also increased our graze-able days by two weeks in the spring and two months in the fall. This strategy in conjunction with stockpiling has raised our farm’s organic matter from 3.4 to 4.6 percent over the last three years, which has essentially drought-proofed the farm while sequestering the big rain and adding resiliency to the whole farm system without buying expensive inputs.

I’ve been monitoring Brix levels of plants and the cows that eat them and continue to see higher energy levels in more mature swards later in the day, especially in young blossoms and leaf tips. To garner more of this production, I move animals one-third of an acre in the morning and two-thirds in the afternoon. The difference can be seven brix in the early morning and double that by 3 p.m.

Capturing this free energy just takes moving a fence. I’m also hearing many farmers having good success spraying raw milk on pastures to raise the energy.

Grazing for energy and not towards Jerry Brunetti’s “funny proteins” has been a learning curve, but also good for the wallet as it takes less expensive grain and baleage to even out the animal’s diet and production. At the same time, it allows the plant roots to rest and add mass in the soil, which stimulates soil life and increases water holding capacity.

Probably the most often-overlooked question of grazing management in the new normal is: What are you managing toward and why?

Without tangible sustainable goals, you may fall prey to buying prescriptions that fix problems without addressing root causes.

In my humble opinion, making money from grazing is absolutely about keeping the soil surface covered with diverse swards and soil life, collecting solar energy while sequestering moisture and carbon. One only has to remember 2011 to see this is a great strategy for the future.

How do you get it done? Create farm family goals that incorporate the triple bottom line, plan out in detail how to make these goals happen, question everything, measure and monitor progress often, join a mentoring team, record your results and, most of all, have fun honing your grazier’s eye because the world needs more pasture-based systems.

Troy Bishopp is grazing specialist for the Madison Co. SWCD/Upper Susquehanna Coalition. He can be reached at (315) 824-9849 ext. 110, troy-bishopp@verizon.net or thegrasswhisperer.com. Republished courtesy Horizon Organic’s Producer Post Newsletter.

Filed Under: Agriculture, Eaton, Opinion-Editorial

Responds to The wRIGHT Way

April 26, 2012 By margo 1 Comment

To the Editor:

(Canastota, NY – April 2012) In response to Ron Wright’s query, I’d like to offer a reasoned response. Ron demands to know “Where did all this stuff come from?” and goes on to demonstrate his lack of understanding of science, physics and cosmology.

Well, he’s not alone; those are all very demanding disciplines.

So here’s the simplest answer: in the beginning, before the “Big Bang,” everything that is was all in a very incredibly dense lump called a “singularity.” How big was it? How small was it? Well, since things like feet, miles or parsecs had not been invented yet, we have nothing with which to compare it.

Saying it was the size of a child’s marble or bigger than an aircraft carrier would be meaningless. It was there. And when that famous bang took place – well, just look around you: all of this stuff – every last bit of it – was all in that singularity.

We don’t need to, as Ron suggests, assemble a long list of physicists and mathematicians; we already know what the majority of them think about “the beginning.” They do publish their opinions in places like Scientific American and a raft of professional journals.

There is an aspect of Ron’s query that’s a bit troubling. He comes across as angry and confrontational. Or perhaps it’s not anger, but fear. Perhaps the correct answer threatens one or more of Ron’s most deeply held prejudices.

I admit, when something threatens mine, I get a bit tetchy, too. But then I have to step back and say something like “How important is this, really? Is it going to spoil my day to have to accept that I might have been mistaken? Is it going to take away my savings account or my physical well-being?”

Why is this topic so important to Mr. Wright? Hmm. One of the more delightful bits of “all this stuff” is called Guinness. Perhaps Ron would appreciate a chance to put his feet up and enjoy a tall glass of that lovely dark liquid – the “black stuff,” as it’s called in Ireland.

Might mellow him a bit…

William D. (Bill) Mayers, Canastota

Filed Under: Canastota, Cazenovia, Opinion-Editorial

Against Drilling

April 21, 2012 By margo Leave a Comment

To the Editor:

Madison County Supervisors recently urged people to seek legal advice before selling energy rights; a warning too late for many. Land agencies have been using deceptive tactics on unsuspecting landowners for years; signing people up for as little as $2 an acre in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Land agents who show up at people’s homes with mineral rights contracts in hand have attempted to get people to sign leases giving up all their mineral rights vs. gas drilling rights, they have not honored their verbal promises, and in some cases “…companies try to record improper documents all the time, including adding five-year extensions to leases that explicitly rule them out” (Cortland County Clerk).

In 2011, a gas industry memo was made publicly known in which land agents were instructed on how to talk to homeowners: “don’t mention groundwater contamination or lost property values; downplay natural gas drilling is believed to be a greater threat then oil drilling; and describe hydraulic fracturing drilling process as ‘radioactive free,’” even though the memo concedes that is not accurate.

Two recent state Supreme Court rulings affirm communities have the right to ban drilling in its jurisdiction. Our townships should now have the courage to pass appropriate zoning ordinances; however, town boards in Madison County have failed to even enact moratoriums to protect us from these unethical and borderline illegal activities by land agents.

Call and ask your town supervisor why.

Gas exploration is risky; your property, your rights and your future property values are at risk. Neighboring communities will be affected, as well.

Selling or leasing of mineral rights is a critical decision; landowners could inadvertently lose control of their property. As drilling permits can be issued at any time upon the lifting of the state moratorium, wouldn’t it be wise for our townships to put a hold on hydrofracking and protect us?

Linda Steffen, Canastota

Editor’s note: Madison County Board of Supervisors Chairman John M. Becker has issued numerous public warnings to seek legal counsel specializing in mineral rights issues before signing anything regarding property rights; the recent advisory relates to sale of mineral rights, as opposed to lease of mineral rights, which has been typical until recently. Land agents frequently are independent operators who sell the leases they collect to the highest ‘bidder,’ and are not affiliated with any particular gas exploration company. Hydraulic fracturing is one type of drilling method to extract natural gas and does not cover all facets of natural gas exploration or production.

Filed Under: Canastota, Environment and Nature, Government & Politics, Madison County Agencies and Organizations, Opinion-Editorial

Sharing a Personal Experience, Part 1

April 21, 2012 By margo Leave a Comment

From Here & Back Again

By Jim Coufal

(Cazenovia, NY) I want to share a personal experience that I hope will make you think about your relationship with your doctor. Let me be clear, I am not a medical doctor, but I have been a patient. I offer no medical advice, but I do suggest that you learn to be your own advocate.

In late August 2008, I went to the office of a urologist, part of a group practice I’ll name “A.” My PSA had been rising and my regular doctor wanted a prostate needle biopsy performed, and so it was. There was no discussion of risks or alternatives at the urologist’s office, he just did the procedure.

The next morning I got up, ate breakfast, waived bye as my wife went off to work, and then I made the bed. As soon as I had finished that little task I started sweating, shaking and going weak. I thought lying down might help, so I opened the bed and crawled in.

After several minutes I was getting worse, not better, so I staggered out of bed toward the kitchen. Fortunately my granddaughter was home that morning, and I said to her, “Call 911,” and flopped into a chair.

The next thing I remember is being loaded into an ambulance.

I awoke three weeks later, after spending that time in the intensive care unit in a coma. That was followed by eight days in regular care in a heavy stupor, three weeks in residential physical therapy facility, and eight months in three-times-a-week non-residential therapy.

When I got out of the hospital, I couldn’t walk, couldn’t tie my shoes and couldn’t get into or out of bed on my own I was so proverbially “as weak as a baby.” While I’m reasonably good now, I have never regained the strength or endurance I had before this episode.

The IC doctors, the lawyers later involved and the “referee” doctors later involved all agreed. I had incurred septicemia (blood poisoning) as a result of E. coli being introduced into my bloodstream during the biopsy procedure.

Would I have had the procedure done had I know such a risk existed?

Interesting question because you are caught between a rock and hard place. In this case, if I wanted to know if I had prostate cancer, the procedure was recommended. But to have the procedure done you must sign a consent form, and who knows without a lawyer present what rights you are signing away.

The fact is the risks or alternatives were never explained to me, so my suggested lesson number one is quite simple, ask.

I started the procedure to sue the doctor by hiring a medical malpractice lawyer, but after two years, it hadn’t gotten very far. The “referee” doctors who examined the case (paperwork only, I never spoke to them) found the doctor had followed protocol, and the lawyer told me that made it impossible to get a court to take the case.

So I never got a settlement; I never even got a potted plant or a card. S…t happens.

Since that initial episode my PSA has continued to go up, and recently my regular doctor recommended another prostate needle biopsy.

The facts are, I have an enlarged prostrate which leads to high PSA, the procedure described plus a previous one were negative for cancer and, as I think should be obvious, I am more than a bit gun shy about having it done again.

But I finally agreed to consider it, and I allowed my regular doctor to make an appointment for me with a different urologist – but with a clearly stated notice that I wanted a real discussion of risks and alternatives before any procedure was done.

In early April 2012, I had this new appointment, accompanied by my wife who was such an advocate for me during my troubles of 2008 that she received high praise from the doctors.

And I honor the emergency room doctors, nurses and staff who saved my life.

After the usual preliminaries, I met with a physician’s assistant in an examining room. It got off to a bad start because, in going over the prescriptions I currently take, she read from a list of drugs I don’t take, including one I have never taken. I asked her why she did not have the list on my medical history form sent to the doctor’s office about 10 days prior, as per instructions.

She was confused and made a remark about working from laptop computers isn’t always so easy. Finally, she went and got a staff member; they talked, exhibiting much confusion about what was supposed to be where, who was supposed to enter the data and so on. My wife and I agreed later that we were each ready to pack it in and leave at that point, but we didn’t.

To be continued.

Jim Coufal of Cazenovia is a part-time philosopher and full-time observer of global trends. He can be reached at madnews@m3pmedia.com.

Filed Under: Cazenovia, From Here & Back Again, Opinion-Editorial

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