By Ashleigh Livingston
When it comes to lodging in the Adirondacks, travelers are given a number of options depending on the experience and level of accommodations they desire. There is everything from roadside motels and quaint bed and breakfasts to rustic lodges and lavish resorts. Depending on which destination is chosen, guests may expect no more than a bed, a shower, and a colored TV; or no less than a valet, a room with a view, and a complimentary bottle of champagne. There are some hotels in the Adirondacks, however, that have been known to provide guests with something they may not have expected—a run in with a ghost.
One such hotel is the Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing, N.Y. Originally opened in 1883 and reconstructed in 1930 due to fire damage, the Sagamore rests on Green Island, surrounded by Lake George. The resort’s promotional Web site boasts the Sagamore’s, “luxury accommodations, extraordinary dining [and] superb fitness and spa facilities.”
But what the Web site does not boast is the resort’s reputation for being haunted.
“The hotel is built on a cemetery from the Indians,” says Hans Visscher, who worked at the resort in the past. “There’re [supposedly] a lot of ghosts around there.”
Visscher, who worked as a captain in the resort’s Trillium Dining Room, which has since been converted into guest rooms, says that guests and employees of the Sagamore repeatedly reported having had a paranormal experience or having seen a ghost in the hotel.
Both Visscher and Kevin Rosa, director of sales and marketing at the hotel, agree that two common thread ghost stories surround the hotel, although their accounts of these stories vary slightly.
According to Visscher, one story involves the ghost of a middle-aged woman wearing a blue polka-dot dress, who has been spotted running around in the hotel’s hallways.
“The people that have seen her say the same thing, so it should be true because they’ve never talked to each other,” says Visscher.
The second common story involves the ghosts of two children who have been heard giggling in the hallways, according to Rosa, though Visscher says it is the ghost of one female child in a white gown that has been seen.
Both men say that they don’t believe the sightings have left guest frightened enough not to return to the hotel; however, Visscher says that one of the hotel’s guest rooms was off limits to visitors when he worked there.
“There is one room that was never rented out, and I forgot the number,” says Visscher, “but [they never used it] because there were always noises. People heard noises at night.”
Though Rosa says that the ghost sightings at the hotel are, “not a spooky thing,” but rather just something that happens, The Sagamore chooses not to advertise its reputation for being haunted.
“[The reputation] doesn’t lose us business, but it doesn’t gain us business,” says Rosa.
Still, some hotels in the Adirondacks have made a point to highlight their supposed live-in ghosts, perhaps in hopes that those intrigued by the paranormal might be more likely to visit.
The BrightSide, for example, a small, rustic inn on Raquette Lake, is very open about its reputation for being haunted.
In fact, the BrightSide’s promotional Web site, www.brightsideonraquette.com, provides visitors with a disclaimer of sorts, which states:
“As with any old, historic building, one of the many aspects of history that always seems intriguing to people is the tales and stories of ghosts. The BrightSide in its many years of serving as a hotel has acquired quite a few over the years and also within the past couple. There have been quite a few instances where our guests, even today, insist that they saw, felt, witnessed, or simply knew that there was ‘something’ there.”
Becky Wood, training coordinator for Fiber Instrument Sales, a company that holds training classes at the BrightSide, corroborates the Web site’s statements, saying that she knows of many credible people who claim to have felt something or even had their bed shake inexplicably while at the hotel, and though she says she has never actually seen a ghost at the BrightSide, she believes they could be there.
“I have spent many nights up there, and I would say there’s something up there,” says Wood.
As for whether or not the hotel’s reputation attracts guests, Wood says, “I think they are intrigued when they come up,” though she adds that the ghost lore certainly isn’t the only reason guests visit the hotel.
Of course, there is much debate about whether ghosts exist at all, let alone whether they haunt the hallways and rooms of these hotels.
Both the Sagamore and the BrightSide have been approached by paranormal groups, hoping to stay at the hotels and investigate the possibility of ghostly presences, which is something both hotels are considering, according to Rosa and Wood respectively.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Plattsburgh Community Garden grows new life
By Kevin Eloi
Doug Butdorf, 38, has been involved in gardening since he was a child. His passion for a healthy environment is unequivocal. As a board member of the Plattsburgh Green Committee, Mr. Butdorf understands the importance of a thriving atmosphere centered on pure, healthy, and natural ways of living. “It’s important for people to start practicing good habits, especially within their own communities. Also, I want to help raise awareness and educate people on how they can help clean up the environment. I’ve been involved in green initiatives such as the Plattsburgh Community Garden for a while and it’s quite fulfilling.”
To the delight of Green Committee board members such as Mr. Butdorf, the Common Council authorized the mayor of Plattsburgh, Donald Kasprzak, to sign a 2-year renewal agreement for the Plattsburgh Community Garden. The garden is located in Melissa Penfield Park and was founded in 2009. “The city formed the Green Committee which got the ball rolling on a community garden,” said Mayor Kasprzak. “People are pursuing more green initiatives and projects like the Plattsburgh Community Garden are a consequence of hardworking people who are pushing to make a difference in their community.”
As the website, www.plattsburghcommunitygarden.org, states, The Plattsburgh Community Garden Group exists to create an allotment style community garden/s that build community, provide an enjoyable and safe place to grow crops, gather as friends, and learn the techniques of successful gardening. As a member of the Common Council that approved the community garden’s 2-year extension, Councilman Michael Kelly is a staunch advocate for all the green initiatives in Plattsburgh and provides a needed voice for the community. Councilman Kelly explained the importance of The Plattsburgh Community Garden. “The community garden helps increase the awareness of living in a healthy environment. Everyone has the opportunity to have a plot of their own. Last year, we started out with 32 plots and now it’s increased to 45. As soon as the paperwork is done, this proposal will take effect immediately.” Doug Butdorf, who is also the garden’s organizer and chief, reiterated the same notion. “Not everyone has a backyard to grow their plants or crops,” he said. “Everyone in the community now has an opportunity to have their own personal garden and at the same time practice healthy eating habits while keeping the environment clean. People have to understand that something as simple as growing your own garden could actually reduce the amount pollutants that damage the air. For instance, the community garden allows you to grow your own fruits and vegetables which mean less petroleum trucks to travel across the country polluting the air while delivering apples or oranges.” Although the garden provides a sense of leisure, that is only a microcosm of the bigger picture. The Plattsburgh Community Garden’s true objective isn’t just to give someone a hobby, but rather to promote a nutritious diet while simultaneously endorsing a green-friendly atmosphere.
The community garden stems from the Plattsburgh Green Committee. As Mayor Kasprzak stated before, the Green Committee initiated all ecofriendly endeavors. The committee’s agenda concentrated on environmental sustainability. Although the Plattsburgh Community Garden is an independent group, the Plattsburgh Green Committee acts as its consultant. “Each organization has its own specific mission,” said Marcia Wolosz, Vice-chairman of the Green Committee. “We have a much broader goal and we focus on different aspects of the community. Our job is to inform the elected officials on the sustainability of the city. Also, we’ve started a program called ‘Green Scarring’ where we evaluate the businesses of Plattsburgh based on how green they are and we encourage businesses to adopt more environment-friendly principles if they have yet to do so.”
A Brooklyn native, Marcia Wolosz is a passionate devotee of all green initiatives. She has been living in Plattsburgh for 26 years and deeply feels the pulse of the city. “I have a day-to-day consciousness about how we impact the environment,” she said. “I always want to educate myself as much as I can on environmental issues, whether through research or other people. With the election of President Obama, the political landscape on climate issues has changed for the better. Groups like our green committee now have leeway to push forward on all sorts of climate-based projects like the community garden. Our group is an evolving group and we desperately want to get the word out.” Aside from the Plattsburgh Community Garden, the Green Committee has been involved in other projects. “We’ve participated in the Earth Day celebration this past year and have worked with groups such as Casella,” said Sarah Cronk, Secretary of the Plattsburgh Green Committee. “We’ve also started a green survey to get a scope on what the community has been doing as far as environmental matters.” The Plattsburgh Community Garden group also held their annual Local Food and Spring Gardening Kick-off on March 20, 2010. The website has more detailed information on the event.
The Garden is fairly young, but it has steadfast become apart of the community’s consciousness. It continues to grow and expand with the help of the people of Plattsburgh. It acts as a beacon to other communities hoping to establish their own organizations and groups to create projects such as the Plattsburgh Community Garden. Groups like the Plattsburgh Green Committee understand their role in regards to the community. "The Plattsburgh Green Committee consists of community members who share the common interest in developing Plattsburgh and its surrounding areas into a more localized, sustainable, and environmentally just region."
Doug Butdorf, 38, has been involved in gardening since he was a child. His passion for a healthy environment is unequivocal. As a board member of the Plattsburgh Green Committee, Mr. Butdorf understands the importance of a thriving atmosphere centered on pure, healthy, and natural ways of living. “It’s important for people to start practicing good habits, especially within their own communities. Also, I want to help raise awareness and educate people on how they can help clean up the environment. I’ve been involved in green initiatives such as the Plattsburgh Community Garden for a while and it’s quite fulfilling.”
To the delight of Green Committee board members such as Mr. Butdorf, the Common Council authorized the mayor of Plattsburgh, Donald Kasprzak, to sign a 2-year renewal agreement for the Plattsburgh Community Garden. The garden is located in Melissa Penfield Park and was founded in 2009. “The city formed the Green Committee which got the ball rolling on a community garden,” said Mayor Kasprzak. “People are pursuing more green initiatives and projects like the Plattsburgh Community Garden are a consequence of hardworking people who are pushing to make a difference in their community.”
As the website, www.plattsburghcommunitygarden.org, states, The Plattsburgh Community Garden Group exists to create an allotment style community garden/s that build community, provide an enjoyable and safe place to grow crops, gather as friends, and learn the techniques of successful gardening. As a member of the Common Council that approved the community garden’s 2-year extension, Councilman Michael Kelly is a staunch advocate for all the green initiatives in Plattsburgh and provides a needed voice for the community. Councilman Kelly explained the importance of The Plattsburgh Community Garden. “The community garden helps increase the awareness of living in a healthy environment. Everyone has the opportunity to have a plot of their own. Last year, we started out with 32 plots and now it’s increased to 45. As soon as the paperwork is done, this proposal will take effect immediately.” Doug Butdorf, who is also the garden’s organizer and chief, reiterated the same notion. “Not everyone has a backyard to grow their plants or crops,” he said. “Everyone in the community now has an opportunity to have their own personal garden and at the same time practice healthy eating habits while keeping the environment clean. People have to understand that something as simple as growing your own garden could actually reduce the amount pollutants that damage the air. For instance, the community garden allows you to grow your own fruits and vegetables which mean less petroleum trucks to travel across the country polluting the air while delivering apples or oranges.” Although the garden provides a sense of leisure, that is only a microcosm of the bigger picture. The Plattsburgh Community Garden’s true objective isn’t just to give someone a hobby, but rather to promote a nutritious diet while simultaneously endorsing a green-friendly atmosphere.
The community garden stems from the Plattsburgh Green Committee. As Mayor Kasprzak stated before, the Green Committee initiated all ecofriendly endeavors. The committee’s agenda concentrated on environmental sustainability. Although the Plattsburgh Community Garden is an independent group, the Plattsburgh Green Committee acts as its consultant. “Each organization has its own specific mission,” said Marcia Wolosz, Vice-chairman of the Green Committee. “We have a much broader goal and we focus on different aspects of the community. Our job is to inform the elected officials on the sustainability of the city. Also, we’ve started a program called ‘Green Scarring’ where we evaluate the businesses of Plattsburgh based on how green they are and we encourage businesses to adopt more environment-friendly principles if they have yet to do so.”
A Brooklyn native, Marcia Wolosz is a passionate devotee of all green initiatives. She has been living in Plattsburgh for 26 years and deeply feels the pulse of the city. “I have a day-to-day consciousness about how we impact the environment,” she said. “I always want to educate myself as much as I can on environmental issues, whether through research or other people. With the election of President Obama, the political landscape on climate issues has changed for the better. Groups like our green committee now have leeway to push forward on all sorts of climate-based projects like the community garden. Our group is an evolving group and we desperately want to get the word out.” Aside from the Plattsburgh Community Garden, the Green Committee has been involved in other projects. “We’ve participated in the Earth Day celebration this past year and have worked with groups such as Casella,” said Sarah Cronk, Secretary of the Plattsburgh Green Committee. “We’ve also started a green survey to get a scope on what the community has been doing as far as environmental matters.” The Plattsburgh Community Garden group also held their annual Local Food and Spring Gardening Kick-off on March 20, 2010. The website has more detailed information on the event.
The Garden is fairly young, but it has steadfast become apart of the community’s consciousness. It continues to grow and expand with the help of the people of Plattsburgh. It acts as a beacon to other communities hoping to establish their own organizations and groups to create projects such as the Plattsburgh Community Garden. Groups like the Plattsburgh Green Committee understand their role in regards to the community. "The Plattsburgh Green Committee consists of community members who share the common interest in developing Plattsburgh and its surrounding areas into a more localized, sustainable, and environmentally just region."
Unique programs salvaged while others downsize in school board meeting
By Amanda Sivan Kaufman
As the Plattsburgh City School Board sat in Duken Elementary at their March 11 meeting listening to several smiling kids talk about their beloved after school program Biz Kids, they were reminded only of the hot topic to follow—budget and finance.
The 7:30 p.m. meeting started with an introduction by three students to the program based on a popular PBS education series that teaches how to balance and make money.
After the presentation the school board started facing ideas on how to handle their budget gap of $2.8 million, deciding that a strong possibility of both program cuts and tax increase.
”If we have activities that they can find someplace else then we should probably be dropping those,” School Board President Clayton Morris said. “I think from here on in we are really going to struggle to do everything for everyone.”
Superintendent James Short reported that with the recent “favorable” movement of 15 teachers resigning one third of the district’s budget gap has decreased, leaving approximately $1.9 million to solve.
The school board agreed not to cut any programs from the district that are unique to the community such as the Odyssey program and Biz Kids, but other areas such as summer school might have to take a hiatus in order to save money.
No single area such as music or sports will be cut completely, but may have to be downsized according to Morris.
The largest issue the board had with cutting sports was the fear of causing “socio-economic issues” within the community if a sport gets cut, separating kids whose families who have money from being able to play from kids whose families cannot afford a private sport.
The district has the largest sports program that attracts the most kids in a “very vulnerable time in their life,” according to the school board, and cutting the proposed 25 percent from the sports budget would be “earth shattering” for the students.
A possible slight tax increase was discussed, with concern to the local economy and job market. The board agreed that no more than a 2% increase would take place.
As the Plattsburgh City School Board sat in Duken Elementary at their March 11 meeting listening to several smiling kids talk about their beloved after school program Biz Kids, they were reminded only of the hot topic to follow—budget and finance.
The 7:30 p.m. meeting started with an introduction by three students to the program based on a popular PBS education series that teaches how to balance and make money.
After the presentation the school board started facing ideas on how to handle their budget gap of $2.8 million, deciding that a strong possibility of both program cuts and tax increase.
”If we have activities that they can find someplace else then we should probably be dropping those,” School Board President Clayton Morris said. “I think from here on in we are really going to struggle to do everything for everyone.”
Superintendent James Short reported that with the recent “favorable” movement of 15 teachers resigning one third of the district’s budget gap has decreased, leaving approximately $1.9 million to solve.
The school board agreed not to cut any programs from the district that are unique to the community such as the Odyssey program and Biz Kids, but other areas such as summer school might have to take a hiatus in order to save money.
No single area such as music or sports will be cut completely, but may have to be downsized according to Morris.
The largest issue the board had with cutting sports was the fear of causing “socio-economic issues” within the community if a sport gets cut, separating kids whose families who have money from being able to play from kids whose families cannot afford a private sport.
The district has the largest sports program that attracts the most kids in a “very vulnerable time in their life,” according to the school board, and cutting the proposed 25 percent from the sports budget would be “earth shattering” for the students.
A possible slight tax increase was discussed, with concern to the local economy and job market. The board agreed that no more than a 2% increase would take place.
City school district left searching for answers
By Bryan Foti
No one knew what to expect when they filed into the Duken Elementary School for the Plattsburgh City School District Board Meeting. The people soon found out. The plan was to begin to discuss the up-coming budget for the 2010-2011 school year.
The Plattsburgh School District, which was founded in 1811 and has over 1,800 students enrolled with 237 teachers employed. Superintendent James Short opened the meeting with a startling statement saying that New York State would cut state aid to the district. The State has taken away 1.2 million dollars in funding and this leaves the Plattsburgh City School District with about a 2.8 million dollar budget gap. The room irrupted with noise.
After people settled down Short offered a good start to counteract the deficit; he said that 15 teachers will retire at the end of this school year and it will save the school 843,000 dollars and this sum eliminates about one-third of the budget gap. Short then started asking the school board members what they thought was the best way to counteract the deficit. Many different opinions were voiced from raising taxes, cutting programs to possible layoffs.
School Board President Clayton Morris seemed to have his priorities in order because he came with a list that was designed with no teacher layoffs. Morris then expressed his desire to keep class size the same and to keep the current curriculum including engineering and calculus that other districts do not offer.
Assistant Superintendent for Business Jay Lebrun threw out an idea suggesting the district tap into their reserve funds. He suggested that no more than 600,000 dollars be taken out of the reserve. The board members decided that it was safe to take 400,000 dollars out of the fund and they will use that money towards this upcoming budget.
The meeting then moved toward the possibility of sports cuts. Board members then asked Plattsburgh Athletic Director Clifford “Joe” Staves what it would be like if they were to cut 25 percent of the sports department. Staves said that the school would probably lose 6 to 8 sports teams.
The meeting concluded with a lot of confusion and left the school board and the administrative staff with big decisions to make.
The big deficit has left many question marks for the board and the administrative staff to answer. The first question would be weather the community is willing to raise taxes. Short said “if you wanted to complete the budget with just tax raises you would have to increase by about 10.5 percent.” Clearly, that is not going to happen. Short then posed the question to the board “how much would they be willing to raise taxes?” Many board members did not think that raising taxes would be the best way to go. Morris said he would vote for a zero percent raise while others said they go to a one or two percent increase. Two was the highest.
Another question for the board is the possibility of layoffs of teachers. This has already started in the sports department when the school board voted that the school will not pay for assistant coaches and they instead will be volunteers this year. Teachers however are very valuable and according to Short, “we will likely be reducing to 224-229 due to budget effects.” Morris is not in favor of cutting teachers his reasoning is “every person you cut means less people coming into our community. It really puts a loss of young people coming in and working here.”
If the district does decide to layoff some teachers that may lead people to ask whether the size of the class will grow and what will happen to teachers on lower levels will they up to the middle school or high school? Will teachers be teaching more than one subject?
Another question is how the district is going to get the money to make up for the deficit. The retirement from the 15 teachers at the end of the year will help. Morris said at the end of the meeting he would try to personally thank those 15 teachers for helping the district in a time where they need all the help they can get. The reserve fund is another big way the school can get some money.
Lebrun thinks the reserve can help with the upcoming budget. “That is why they are there to be used for times like this.” Lebrun thinks the district can safely take out about 600,000 dollars without hurting the reserves. However the board felt it would be safer to take out 400,000 dollars instead. This still leaves the district searching for answers on how to erase the budget gap.
Patricia Bentley is a member on the school board and she says by far this has been the most difficult budget she has seen. “No question. The deficit is large by any standard and begs a huge array of questions about programs, staff and why we serve.” Short seems to agree with Bentley “I’ve been a Superintendent for over 11 years in two school districts – I would say this year is in the top two of most difficult budgets. This is the most difficult budget Plattsburgh has seen in a long time.”
Sacrifice seems to be the theme that the Plattsburgh district has take en route to creating this budget “we have to pick our spots” Morris says this about making cuts. Morris knows things are going to be cut he states “I take a different approach to it. My approach is how many students it will affect. If I have a two programs that cost the same but one has 20 students involved in it and the other has 100 students involved I would have to cut the program with 20 students because it is more cost effective.”
It seems that Short and Morris get along very well together which should make it easier for a budget to be created. Morris was asked what the hardest part about working with the administrative staff and the rest of his board he responded “there is no hard pat we all work very well together and have a good relationship.” This should be beneficial when Short and Morris finally come up with a proposed budget. It is a very tough time for the Plattsburgh District there will be a lot of tough decisions being made within the next few weeks but all and all the board and the administrative staff feel they will be able to get a budget created that will continue to bring good quality education to the students of the Plattsburgh Community. The next problem will be to get it approved.
No one knew what to expect when they filed into the Duken Elementary School for the Plattsburgh City School District Board Meeting. The people soon found out. The plan was to begin to discuss the up-coming budget for the 2010-2011 school year.
The Plattsburgh School District, which was founded in 1811 and has over 1,800 students enrolled with 237 teachers employed. Superintendent James Short opened the meeting with a startling statement saying that New York State would cut state aid to the district. The State has taken away 1.2 million dollars in funding and this leaves the Plattsburgh City School District with about a 2.8 million dollar budget gap. The room irrupted with noise.
After people settled down Short offered a good start to counteract the deficit; he said that 15 teachers will retire at the end of this school year and it will save the school 843,000 dollars and this sum eliminates about one-third of the budget gap. Short then started asking the school board members what they thought was the best way to counteract the deficit. Many different opinions were voiced from raising taxes, cutting programs to possible layoffs.
School Board President Clayton Morris seemed to have his priorities in order because he came with a list that was designed with no teacher layoffs. Morris then expressed his desire to keep class size the same and to keep the current curriculum including engineering and calculus that other districts do not offer.
Assistant Superintendent for Business Jay Lebrun threw out an idea suggesting the district tap into their reserve funds. He suggested that no more than 600,000 dollars be taken out of the reserve. The board members decided that it was safe to take 400,000 dollars out of the fund and they will use that money towards this upcoming budget.
The meeting then moved toward the possibility of sports cuts. Board members then asked Plattsburgh Athletic Director Clifford “Joe” Staves what it would be like if they were to cut 25 percent of the sports department. Staves said that the school would probably lose 6 to 8 sports teams.
The meeting concluded with a lot of confusion and left the school board and the administrative staff with big decisions to make.
The big deficit has left many question marks for the board and the administrative staff to answer. The first question would be weather the community is willing to raise taxes. Short said “if you wanted to complete the budget with just tax raises you would have to increase by about 10.5 percent.” Clearly, that is not going to happen. Short then posed the question to the board “how much would they be willing to raise taxes?” Many board members did not think that raising taxes would be the best way to go. Morris said he would vote for a zero percent raise while others said they go to a one or two percent increase. Two was the highest.
Another question for the board is the possibility of layoffs of teachers. This has already started in the sports department when the school board voted that the school will not pay for assistant coaches and they instead will be volunteers this year. Teachers however are very valuable and according to Short, “we will likely be reducing to 224-229 due to budget effects.” Morris is not in favor of cutting teachers his reasoning is “every person you cut means less people coming into our community. It really puts a loss of young people coming in and working here.”
If the district does decide to layoff some teachers that may lead people to ask whether the size of the class will grow and what will happen to teachers on lower levels will they up to the middle school or high school? Will teachers be teaching more than one subject?
Another question is how the district is going to get the money to make up for the deficit. The retirement from the 15 teachers at the end of the year will help. Morris said at the end of the meeting he would try to personally thank those 15 teachers for helping the district in a time where they need all the help they can get. The reserve fund is another big way the school can get some money.
Lebrun thinks the reserve can help with the upcoming budget. “That is why they are there to be used for times like this.” Lebrun thinks the district can safely take out about 600,000 dollars without hurting the reserves. However the board felt it would be safer to take out 400,000 dollars instead. This still leaves the district searching for answers on how to erase the budget gap.
Patricia Bentley is a member on the school board and she says by far this has been the most difficult budget she has seen. “No question. The deficit is large by any standard and begs a huge array of questions about programs, staff and why we serve.” Short seems to agree with Bentley “I’ve been a Superintendent for over 11 years in two school districts – I would say this year is in the top two of most difficult budgets. This is the most difficult budget Plattsburgh has seen in a long time.”
Sacrifice seems to be the theme that the Plattsburgh district has take en route to creating this budget “we have to pick our spots” Morris says this about making cuts. Morris knows things are going to be cut he states “I take a different approach to it. My approach is how many students it will affect. If I have a two programs that cost the same but one has 20 students involved in it and the other has 100 students involved I would have to cut the program with 20 students because it is more cost effective.”
It seems that Short and Morris get along very well together which should make it easier for a budget to be created. Morris was asked what the hardest part about working with the administrative staff and the rest of his board he responded “there is no hard pat we all work very well together and have a good relationship.” This should be beneficial when Short and Morris finally come up with a proposed budget. It is a very tough time for the Plattsburgh District there will be a lot of tough decisions being made within the next few weeks but all and all the board and the administrative staff feel they will be able to get a budget created that will continue to bring good quality education to the students of the Plattsburgh Community. The next problem will be to get it approved.
Plattsburgh High School striving for fitness
By Caitlin Fitzpatrick
Plattsburgh High School has been improving the general fitness of their students and staff ever since the physical education department opened its fitness center in 2008.
The center offers students and staff an outlet to develop their fitness goals, while also offering a comfortable and fun environment.
According to Plattsburgh City School District web site, students currently have several different options for exercise while at the center, including walking on the track. The school also offers exercise alternatives such as Dance Dance Revolution for students who do not favor traditional workouts, though individualized fitness programs are still the most popular form of using the center.
“Most of what we do is individualized. We design a program for them,” Lori Latremore, a certified teacher at the fitness center, says.
The center has definitely had a positive impact on students and staff at the school.
Several students have gained confidence by using the facilities and improving their fitness, Mike Bordeau, another certified teacher at the fitness center, says. He also says that by using the center students can prepare for life after high school by learning to make healthy choices.
“It’s another opportunity for students to help learn lifelong fitness,” Latremore adds.
The center also has made it a priority to make fitness an importance in the life of the staff at Plattsburgh High School. In a program called “Commit to be Fit,” staff and faculty meet four times a week to improve fitness and health by using the center.
“A lot of our faculty and staff has made it part of their everyday routine” Bordeau says.
The center provides a good alternative for staff that want to remain fit but don’t have the time or the money for a private gym.
“It’s easily accessible and free and we have some really good equipment,” Latremore says.
The environment between the staff and the students in the center is one that is comfortable and positive as well.
“We have a good environment between faculty and students,” Bordeau says.
The fitness center is open for students and faculty on a daily basis, after school until 4:30. The certified teachers themselves even use the center for their personal fitness routine.
“We both use it,” Latremore says.
“About 40 to 50 percent of people who work here are involved in using the center,” Bordeau adds.
New York state is required to provide kindergarten through grade 12 physical education to students. Although physical education is not required daily, it is a requirement for students in order to graduate.
Plattsburgh High School offers a traditional physical education program to students as well as outside opportunities such as the center and team sports.
In past years the high school had offered primarily team sports as the only opportunity for fitness outside of physical education, but since opening the center more students have been able to participate in exercise programs.
“Not everyone can do that,” Latremore says referring to team sports. “This offers more opportunities to be active.”
Jason Lehmbeck, president of the New York Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, says there is mounting evidence and research that supports physical education and fitness benefits.
“Students that are physically fit achieve more in the classroom and in general have better energy and happier lives than those who are not fit,” he says.
Melissa Olster, a personal trainer at the Plattsburgh State University Fitness Center, also says that fitness is an important part of life and helps increase ones overall health in the long-run.
Lehmbeck says specific benefits for young adults and children from fitness also include less illness and better self-confidence.
“Bottom line, we feel very passionate that what we do has an opportunity to impact how we feel everyday of our lives,” Lehmbeck says. “We are committed to improving the quality of life for all kids, not just athletes and we are always seeking better ways of doing that.”
Plattsburgh High School has been improving the general fitness of their students and staff ever since the physical education department opened its fitness center in 2008.
The center offers students and staff an outlet to develop their fitness goals, while also offering a comfortable and fun environment.
According to Plattsburgh City School District web site, students currently have several different options for exercise while at the center, including walking on the track. The school also offers exercise alternatives such as Dance Dance Revolution for students who do not favor traditional workouts, though individualized fitness programs are still the most popular form of using the center.
“Most of what we do is individualized. We design a program for them,” Lori Latremore, a certified teacher at the fitness center, says.
The center has definitely had a positive impact on students and staff at the school.
Several students have gained confidence by using the facilities and improving their fitness, Mike Bordeau, another certified teacher at the fitness center, says. He also says that by using the center students can prepare for life after high school by learning to make healthy choices.
“It’s another opportunity for students to help learn lifelong fitness,” Latremore adds.
The center also has made it a priority to make fitness an importance in the life of the staff at Plattsburgh High School. In a program called “Commit to be Fit,” staff and faculty meet four times a week to improve fitness and health by using the center.
“A lot of our faculty and staff has made it part of their everyday routine” Bordeau says.
The center provides a good alternative for staff that want to remain fit but don’t have the time or the money for a private gym.
“It’s easily accessible and free and we have some really good equipment,” Latremore says.
The environment between the staff and the students in the center is one that is comfortable and positive as well.
“We have a good environment between faculty and students,” Bordeau says.
The fitness center is open for students and faculty on a daily basis, after school until 4:30. The certified teachers themselves even use the center for their personal fitness routine.
“We both use it,” Latremore says.
“About 40 to 50 percent of people who work here are involved in using the center,” Bordeau adds.
New York state is required to provide kindergarten through grade 12 physical education to students. Although physical education is not required daily, it is a requirement for students in order to graduate.
Plattsburgh High School offers a traditional physical education program to students as well as outside opportunities such as the center and team sports.
In past years the high school had offered primarily team sports as the only opportunity for fitness outside of physical education, but since opening the center more students have been able to participate in exercise programs.
“Not everyone can do that,” Latremore says referring to team sports. “This offers more opportunities to be active.”
Jason Lehmbeck, president of the New York Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, says there is mounting evidence and research that supports physical education and fitness benefits.
“Students that are physically fit achieve more in the classroom and in general have better energy and happier lives than those who are not fit,” he says.
Melissa Olster, a personal trainer at the Plattsburgh State University Fitness Center, also says that fitness is an important part of life and helps increase ones overall health in the long-run.
Lehmbeck says specific benefits for young adults and children from fitness also include less illness and better self-confidence.
“Bottom line, we feel very passionate that what we do has an opportunity to impact how we feel everyday of our lives,” Lehmbeck says. “We are committed to improving the quality of life for all kids, not just athletes and we are always seeking better ways of doing that.”
Plattsburgh refusing recess reform
By Melissa Erny
Playworks, a California-based nonprofit organization, is hiring more and more coaches for schools all across the country just for recess periods. These aren’t regular coaches, though. They aren’t there for a young sports team – they’re there to make sure kids do activities that are scheduled out during their free time rather than doing what they want.
Will these changes be coming to Plattsburgh elementary schools any time soon? Local principals say no.
The program is run by what they call a recess coach. They put together physical activities and supervise children as they perform them as a substitute to free time recess. Activities include anything from running around an obstacle course set up by the coach to simply running laps. With this program in place, children must do the instructed activities or they receive disciplinary actions. The level of supervision helps lower the amount of injury occurring on the playground. In a study at the University Heights Charter School in Newark students who work with the program have shown to perform better socially and are less likely to bully.
Carrie Zales, principal of the Oak Street Elementary School, says that recess is already monitored as much as it needs to be. The school doesn’t plan for recess to be run by a coach anytime soon. The school has other programs put into place to correct bullying and they do not feel that more measures are necessary. “We educate our students with the programs: Steps to Respect and Second Step.” These programs already do the job of a structured recess and teach children not to bully and get along with others. “We act on individual cases of challenge with reteaching and consequences.”
Bailey Avenue Elementary School and Momot Elementary School agree with these teachings and neither plan on asking for a recess coach. None of these schools reflect enough problems with bullying for this to be necessary. Children who do bully receive treatment immediately.
There are some who think there could be benefits to a structured recess. Dr. Raymond Havlicek, a Lake Placid psychologist who has dealt with children in the past, thinks the program could be very beneficial and is almost necessary. He doesn’t think that recess is necessary and that this program could benefit in many ways.
“The idea of adding additional structure may be positive for kids,” he says. “The reason is the poor performance.” Though the National Center for Education Statistics listed that the enrollment of children into elementary school has gone up 1% between 2001 and 2006, Dr. Havlicek says students are performing worse than ever. He believes that this additional structure in recess could help them do better in school as well as socially. He says that if children were made to play together then it could be very positive to their peer-structure. Fewer kids would be left out because everyone would be included.
He also says that there would be no detrimental effects on a child’s psyche from the structure a coach may provide. “Children are very robust.” He believes that it will help relieve any stress that children may be facing during recess and would have a positive impact on decreasing bullying in school.
However, parents of children across the country whose schools have already taken on a recess coach are crying out. They say that children need to rest during the day and this makes them come home tired and worn out. In The New York Times, Maria Costa, a mother of three children, says she couldn’t imagine going a whole day without having a break as an adult or a child. Since then recess has now been restored at her daughter’s school. “It’s just not natural.”
Playworks, a California-based nonprofit organization, is hiring more and more coaches for schools all across the country just for recess periods. These aren’t regular coaches, though. They aren’t there for a young sports team – they’re there to make sure kids do activities that are scheduled out during their free time rather than doing what they want.
Will these changes be coming to Plattsburgh elementary schools any time soon? Local principals say no.
The program is run by what they call a recess coach. They put together physical activities and supervise children as they perform them as a substitute to free time recess. Activities include anything from running around an obstacle course set up by the coach to simply running laps. With this program in place, children must do the instructed activities or they receive disciplinary actions. The level of supervision helps lower the amount of injury occurring on the playground. In a study at the University Heights Charter School in Newark students who work with the program have shown to perform better socially and are less likely to bully.
Carrie Zales, principal of the Oak Street Elementary School, says that recess is already monitored as much as it needs to be. The school doesn’t plan for recess to be run by a coach anytime soon. The school has other programs put into place to correct bullying and they do not feel that more measures are necessary. “We educate our students with the programs: Steps to Respect and Second Step.” These programs already do the job of a structured recess and teach children not to bully and get along with others. “We act on individual cases of challenge with reteaching and consequences.”
Bailey Avenue Elementary School and Momot Elementary School agree with these teachings and neither plan on asking for a recess coach. None of these schools reflect enough problems with bullying for this to be necessary. Children who do bully receive treatment immediately.
There are some who think there could be benefits to a structured recess. Dr. Raymond Havlicek, a Lake Placid psychologist who has dealt with children in the past, thinks the program could be very beneficial and is almost necessary. He doesn’t think that recess is necessary and that this program could benefit in many ways.
“The idea of adding additional structure may be positive for kids,” he says. “The reason is the poor performance.” Though the National Center for Education Statistics listed that the enrollment of children into elementary school has gone up 1% between 2001 and 2006, Dr. Havlicek says students are performing worse than ever. He believes that this additional structure in recess could help them do better in school as well as socially. He says that if children were made to play together then it could be very positive to their peer-structure. Fewer kids would be left out because everyone would be included.
He also says that there would be no detrimental effects on a child’s psyche from the structure a coach may provide. “Children are very robust.” He believes that it will help relieve any stress that children may be facing during recess and would have a positive impact on decreasing bullying in school.
However, parents of children across the country whose schools have already taken on a recess coach are crying out. They say that children need to rest during the day and this makes them come home tired and worn out. In The New York Times, Maria Costa, a mother of three children, says she couldn’t imagine going a whole day without having a break as an adult or a child. Since then recess has now been restored at her daughter’s school. “It’s just not natural.”
Figure skating science
By Amanda Delosh
For some figure skating is a way of life with hopes of fulfilling dreams of winning Olympic gold. For others it’s a form of art on ice they can watch and wonder how these jumps and spins can be done. It is not without desire, want, and persistence that figure skating would be what it is today.
Children who live in the North Country tend to be put in skates when they are able to walk, whether they are hockey skates or figure skates. As they progress with each sport injuries may be involved. These injuries can sometimes be minor or major ones. Those triple axels, spirals and spins do not come without consequences. Artistry in skating has taken a back seat to these gasping jumps unfortunately, leaving these young figure skaters fit for injury.
Like gymnastics girls peak at a young age in figure skating. It is a lot easier to throw your body into the air when you weigh 90 pounds and are only five feet tall, compared to someone of 130 pounds and is 5’6. The older you get the harder everything is. The girls on top of the podium winning gold medals at world championships are 12-15 years old; you very rarely see someone who is 30 years old.
Now, if there were a way to solve these injuries, and perfect certain jumps, would it be a good idea to bring forward and use? Today scientists are teaming up to try and accomplish this by a computer and motion sensors attached to a skater’s body. The questions are, how does this work, and will it really help a figure skaters ability to polish their jumps with less injury to their health?
This computer may help skaters but some skeptics say it will take away from the art of figure skating. However, being able to know precise movements that will help their many different moves may change the life of figure skating. This computer, according to the New York Times, “allows researchers to mimic skaters' positions during jumps and calibrate the effect of altering angles of the head, torso, arm and leg.” Imagine struggling for so long to complete one of the most rigorous jumps, and you keep falling after each attempt. Then, with the simplicity of a computer, your frustrations have been solved.
“I think that if they did use that technology it would take away the artistry of skating and the experience skaters get when they accomplish difficult things,” says Samantha DeLosh, an 18-year-old figure skater who has been skating since she was six. She has been a part of one of the best known synchronized skating teams on the Eastern Coast of the United States, The Ice Illusions. This team has skated on to many undefeated years, capturing the all around gold medal in the Eastern Synchronized Skating Championships twice.
“It would come down to, I need to start turning at this moment because science told me to do it. It’s turning into a science equation, and it’s taking away the freedom of skating,” she says. Even though she may seem like she is not for the computer she does say, “I don’t think that people should depend on it, but I think it may be something interesting to try.” She continues saying, “I think they could hold clinics for it, but I don’t think it should become a part of the training.”
But according to recent statistics from the United States Figure Skating Association, the two most common injuries are with the lower back and knee-roughly being 34% and 26%. This statistic is just two of many injuries.
DeLosh says, “Well, for the health of the skater it would be beneficial but not for the health of the sport.” She explains, “I just, I mean yeah it’d be nice, but I think if it started getting too involved and too dominate of skating and the coaching process it will just turn into a science. I think they are creating a figure skater at a scientific stand point where as not from a physical standpoint.”
For so long skating has been something either you are born to do or simply you are not at all made for. “I think it would take away from those who can’t afford it; it would add to if you can’t afford this then what are you supposed to do?” says DeLosh. “It would divide more skaters if you can’t afford the technology, you will fall behind and it would take away from the talent of skating.” Talent is the key to figure skating. Could this new technology be an easy way out to a sport that we all once knew was either pure luck or talent? “Because of this technology they may get ahead of you even if they aren’t as talented,” says DeLosh.
However with the science of skating changing, the judging system is as well. The International Judging System decided to give skaters more challenge during competitions. A couple years ago skaters were able to complete all required jumps within the first minute of their program. Now, they are to continue these powerful jumps throughout their routines. The New York Times says, “Each skill in a performance now receives specific points, requiring more focus. And skaters no longer have an incentive to perform all jumps early in a program before they tire-now, jumps done later earn extra points.”
With this, skaters train harder and a lot more to acquire the physical strength to accomplish this difficult and tiring task. Many skaters by the time they are 10 years old develop bone fractures, muscle complications, torn ligaments, and sometimes injuries that require surgery. A main one discussed earlier is knee injuries. When doing specific jumps, a landing is involved. This landing will take a strain on just one leg. Think about picking off the ice and you’re up in the air only to come back down on just one leg. Skaters tend to replay jumps over and over until they get it right. This is what causes those knee injuries due to the shock absorption occurring when landing.
Another injury in the statistic is lower back or tailbone fractures. These are definitely not a highlight of figure skating. A simple slip or wrong edge can send someone falling on the ice and of course when you fall the most commonplace would be your bottom. Wrist injuries also occur because when falling people have a tendency to put their arms out causing impact on the wrist and elbow. Another common one many skaters will have to deal with all their lives are hip injuries. This injury may not come into effect until they are older, like for example Olympic Gold medalist at the age of 14; Tara Lipinski under went hip surgery when she was 18 years old. The constant landing on one leg puts major impact and causes absorption into that whole side of the body.
These injuries may make some not want to attempt this sport; however, just like any other sport training is required. This training will help with injury if skaters know the proper way to execute jumps. “The accelerometer study is part of a flowering of research on safety and performance,” says the New York Times. They continue saying, “A year-round pursuit for competitive skaters, emphasizes athleticism and endurance more than ever before.” All skaters may not favor this computer, but for those prone to injury it may come in handy.
The research being conducted at this time could lead to new training regiments. These include, “off-ice conditioning and also limiting repetitions of jumps during a practice,” says the New York Times. These researchers look at skating as a whole meaning the physics, exercise, conditioning, and everything that comes with it. Hopefully with the knowledge they gain skating will become safer for young girls and boys, while injury will be less prone to happening.
As for an experienced skater like DeLosh, this computer sensor may be helpful she thinks, but at the same time may be taking away the artistry of skating, and the pure talent this sport is all about. “Obviously it would be good to look into if you are getting injured, then you should go look into it,” says DeLosh. However, she continues saying, “If you’re a perfectly fine skater you shouldn’t be using this to base your skating off of, use it as a rehabilitation I don’t think it should be used frequently.”
DeLosh says, “Figure skating has been around for so long, why change it now when it’s about the raw talent of practice and putting your all into something, don’t let a computer start telling you what to do.”
For some figure skating is a way of life with hopes of fulfilling dreams of winning Olympic gold. For others it’s a form of art on ice they can watch and wonder how these jumps and spins can be done. It is not without desire, want, and persistence that figure skating would be what it is today.
Children who live in the North Country tend to be put in skates when they are able to walk, whether they are hockey skates or figure skates. As they progress with each sport injuries may be involved. These injuries can sometimes be minor or major ones. Those triple axels, spirals and spins do not come without consequences. Artistry in skating has taken a back seat to these gasping jumps unfortunately, leaving these young figure skaters fit for injury.
Like gymnastics girls peak at a young age in figure skating. It is a lot easier to throw your body into the air when you weigh 90 pounds and are only five feet tall, compared to someone of 130 pounds and is 5’6. The older you get the harder everything is. The girls on top of the podium winning gold medals at world championships are 12-15 years old; you very rarely see someone who is 30 years old.
Now, if there were a way to solve these injuries, and perfect certain jumps, would it be a good idea to bring forward and use? Today scientists are teaming up to try and accomplish this by a computer and motion sensors attached to a skater’s body. The questions are, how does this work, and will it really help a figure skaters ability to polish their jumps with less injury to their health?
This computer may help skaters but some skeptics say it will take away from the art of figure skating. However, being able to know precise movements that will help their many different moves may change the life of figure skating. This computer, according to the New York Times, “allows researchers to mimic skaters' positions during jumps and calibrate the effect of altering angles of the head, torso, arm and leg.” Imagine struggling for so long to complete one of the most rigorous jumps, and you keep falling after each attempt. Then, with the simplicity of a computer, your frustrations have been solved.
“I think that if they did use that technology it would take away the artistry of skating and the experience skaters get when they accomplish difficult things,” says Samantha DeLosh, an 18-year-old figure skater who has been skating since she was six. She has been a part of one of the best known synchronized skating teams on the Eastern Coast of the United States, The Ice Illusions. This team has skated on to many undefeated years, capturing the all around gold medal in the Eastern Synchronized Skating Championships twice.
“It would come down to, I need to start turning at this moment because science told me to do it. It’s turning into a science equation, and it’s taking away the freedom of skating,” she says. Even though she may seem like she is not for the computer she does say, “I don’t think that people should depend on it, but I think it may be something interesting to try.” She continues saying, “I think they could hold clinics for it, but I don’t think it should become a part of the training.”
But according to recent statistics from the United States Figure Skating Association, the two most common injuries are with the lower back and knee-roughly being 34% and 26%. This statistic is just two of many injuries.
DeLosh says, “Well, for the health of the skater it would be beneficial but not for the health of the sport.” She explains, “I just, I mean yeah it’d be nice, but I think if it started getting too involved and too dominate of skating and the coaching process it will just turn into a science. I think they are creating a figure skater at a scientific stand point where as not from a physical standpoint.”
For so long skating has been something either you are born to do or simply you are not at all made for. “I think it would take away from those who can’t afford it; it would add to if you can’t afford this then what are you supposed to do?” says DeLosh. “It would divide more skaters if you can’t afford the technology, you will fall behind and it would take away from the talent of skating.” Talent is the key to figure skating. Could this new technology be an easy way out to a sport that we all once knew was either pure luck or talent? “Because of this technology they may get ahead of you even if they aren’t as talented,” says DeLosh.
However with the science of skating changing, the judging system is as well. The International Judging System decided to give skaters more challenge during competitions. A couple years ago skaters were able to complete all required jumps within the first minute of their program. Now, they are to continue these powerful jumps throughout their routines. The New York Times says, “Each skill in a performance now receives specific points, requiring more focus. And skaters no longer have an incentive to perform all jumps early in a program before they tire-now, jumps done later earn extra points.”
With this, skaters train harder and a lot more to acquire the physical strength to accomplish this difficult and tiring task. Many skaters by the time they are 10 years old develop bone fractures, muscle complications, torn ligaments, and sometimes injuries that require surgery. A main one discussed earlier is knee injuries. When doing specific jumps, a landing is involved. This landing will take a strain on just one leg. Think about picking off the ice and you’re up in the air only to come back down on just one leg. Skaters tend to replay jumps over and over until they get it right. This is what causes those knee injuries due to the shock absorption occurring when landing.
Another injury in the statistic is lower back or tailbone fractures. These are definitely not a highlight of figure skating. A simple slip or wrong edge can send someone falling on the ice and of course when you fall the most commonplace would be your bottom. Wrist injuries also occur because when falling people have a tendency to put their arms out causing impact on the wrist and elbow. Another common one many skaters will have to deal with all their lives are hip injuries. This injury may not come into effect until they are older, like for example Olympic Gold medalist at the age of 14; Tara Lipinski under went hip surgery when she was 18 years old. The constant landing on one leg puts major impact and causes absorption into that whole side of the body.
These injuries may make some not want to attempt this sport; however, just like any other sport training is required. This training will help with injury if skaters know the proper way to execute jumps. “The accelerometer study is part of a flowering of research on safety and performance,” says the New York Times. They continue saying, “A year-round pursuit for competitive skaters, emphasizes athleticism and endurance more than ever before.” All skaters may not favor this computer, but for those prone to injury it may come in handy.
The research being conducted at this time could lead to new training regiments. These include, “off-ice conditioning and also limiting repetitions of jumps during a practice,” says the New York Times. These researchers look at skating as a whole meaning the physics, exercise, conditioning, and everything that comes with it. Hopefully with the knowledge they gain skating will become safer for young girls and boys, while injury will be less prone to happening.
As for an experienced skater like DeLosh, this computer sensor may be helpful she thinks, but at the same time may be taking away the artistry of skating, and the pure talent this sport is all about. “Obviously it would be good to look into if you are getting injured, then you should go look into it,” says DeLosh. However, she continues saying, “If you’re a perfectly fine skater you shouldn’t be using this to base your skating off of, use it as a rehabilitation I don’t think it should be used frequently.”
DeLosh says, “Figure skating has been around for so long, why change it now when it’s about the raw talent of practice and putting your all into something, don’t let a computer start telling you what to do.”
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Charitable giving to churches during tough times
By Anthony Magliulo
Economically, times have been rough on many of us of late, but how has this affected charitable giving where churches are concerned? And, does the season of Lent have any effect on giving?
Father Timothy Canaan, pastor of St. Johns and the Newman Center said it was a little lower, but there wasn’t much of a change seen. “People have not been stingy with the Lord,” he said. On the other hand Pastor Britt Vickstrom of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer says that the recession has hurt giving. John Millington, pastor of the Ellington Wesleyan Church says that that he has seen no difference. Lent does not really seem to have an effect on charitable giving, at least in monetary terms.
Even with the amount of giving remaining roughly the same, is it enough? According to Ronald Rene, campus youth minister, it may not be. It’s not so much that people may be giving any less, in fact on the whole they are giving about the same, but it is that inflation has been on the rise. This causes expenses to skyrocket, and a church, just like anything else, costs money to operate and to be maintained.
Monsignor Robert Aucoin, principle of Seton Academy says that the general public’s idea of what giving is needs to be changed, and that people need to be educated about giving. He said that “A true sense of giving is based on the need of a person to give.” Both Aucoin and Vickstrom spoke of people saving up money to give instead of giving what was left over. To Aucoin, monetary giving could also be seen as a form of fasting. He said “The idea behind fasting is to learn to do without so that you can learn to do.” This way you can discover how much more you can do because of God’s grace.
Giving does not necessitate monetary giving either. Father Canaan spoke of doing extra things to help those in need, such as volunteering. He also mentioned looking for ways to put your talents to use in order to help others.
Economically, times have been rough on many of us of late, but how has this affected charitable giving where churches are concerned? And, does the season of Lent have any effect on giving?
Father Timothy Canaan, pastor of St. Johns and the Newman Center said it was a little lower, but there wasn’t much of a change seen. “People have not been stingy with the Lord,” he said. On the other hand Pastor Britt Vickstrom of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer says that the recession has hurt giving. John Millington, pastor of the Ellington Wesleyan Church says that that he has seen no difference. Lent does not really seem to have an effect on charitable giving, at least in monetary terms.
Even with the amount of giving remaining roughly the same, is it enough? According to Ronald Rene, campus youth minister, it may not be. It’s not so much that people may be giving any less, in fact on the whole they are giving about the same, but it is that inflation has been on the rise. This causes expenses to skyrocket, and a church, just like anything else, costs money to operate and to be maintained.
Monsignor Robert Aucoin, principle of Seton Academy says that the general public’s idea of what giving is needs to be changed, and that people need to be educated about giving. He said that “A true sense of giving is based on the need of a person to give.” Both Aucoin and Vickstrom spoke of people saving up money to give instead of giving what was left over. To Aucoin, monetary giving could also be seen as a form of fasting. He said “The idea behind fasting is to learn to do without so that you can learn to do.” This way you can discover how much more you can do because of God’s grace.
Giving does not necessitate monetary giving either. Father Canaan spoke of doing extra things to help those in need, such as volunteering. He also mentioned looking for ways to put your talents to use in order to help others.
If there’s snow, they will come
By Ashleigh Livingston
With property values down and unemployment rates up, it may seem an unlikely time to relax and have a little fun. But what do New Yorkers do when they’re strapped for cash and the economy is on a downhill slope? It seems they strap on their ski boots and hit the slopes.
New York state has had more than 4.1 million skier visits this year, according to Scott Brandi, president of Ski Areas of New York Inc., a trade association that represents 40 of New York state’s 48 ski areas.
Brandi said that while national ski areas have been hurt by the recession, New York state ski area sales are up anywhere from 2 to 5 percent, with the Catskill region faring the best because of the abundance of snow it’s received this winter.
For the ski industry, the presence of snow and good ski weather is more of a concern than the status of the economy, explained Ted Blazer, president and CEO of the Olympic Regional Development Authority, which operates Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington, N.Y.
“When there is snow, people want to ski,” said Blazer, adding that although Whiteface skier visits are down slightly from last year, he expects that by the end of the ski season those numbers will come out even with or slightly ahead of last year.
Many suspect that the reason statewide ski resorts are faring so well despite the dismal economic outlook is because skiers are skiing closer to home. Chad Orton, e-marketing manager at Tours de Sport, a travel agency that offers discount ski and snowboard vacations at resorts across the country, explained that most people drive to eastern ski resorts, while western resorts generally require air travel, which can get costly.
“[The recession] has been tough on ‘destination’ resorts—places people have to get in a plane to go visit for an extended time, so restaurants and hotels in places like Colorado and Utah have been hurting. You’re seeing healthy skier-visit numbers at eastern resorts--places people can drive to for a relatively cheap ski fix,” said Joe Cutts, eastern editor of Ski Magazine, in an e-mail.
In addition to the close proximity of ski resorts for New Yorkers, Brandi credited the integrity of the skiers themselves as being part of the reason the state’s resorts are faring so well.
“Our skiers are passionate,” he said. “They are still going to ski; they are just going to stay closer to home.”
One such skier is Stacy Sweet of Chazy, N.Y., who said she typically skis about six to ten times a year at Titus Mountain in Malone, N.Y., and that the state of the economy has not affected the amount or frequency of her ski visits.
“Skiing is a great outdoor activity in the winter, when there’s not much else to do around here,” said Sweet. “I love it. I’d give up shopping before I’d give up skiing.”
For those skiers who need a little more motivation than just some snow and a mountain to get them on the slopes, Blazer suspects that the recent Olympic games may be just the inspiration they need. He added that the large amount of press that Lake Placid, N.Y., has received due to the games can only help to attract skiers to the nearby Whiteface Mountain.
But while regional ski resorts appear to be enduring the nation’s economic recession quite nicely, not every aspect of the ski industry has been so lucky.
“It’s been a tough time for manufacturers and retailers, who are selling fewer skis than normal,” said Cutts.
Although skiers are still skiing, many aren’t spending extra money on new equipment or the latest in designer ski wear.
But new skis or not, it seems that New Yorkers haven’t let the economy keep them off the mountains. And although temperatures are warming up and spring is in the air, Brandi said the ski season is not over yet.
“Last year [Ski Areas of New York Inc.] had a bad March because of weather, this year we are postured to have one of the best Marches ever,” said Brandi.
With property values down and unemployment rates up, it may seem an unlikely time to relax and have a little fun. But what do New Yorkers do when they’re strapped for cash and the economy is on a downhill slope? It seems they strap on their ski boots and hit the slopes.
New York state has had more than 4.1 million skier visits this year, according to Scott Brandi, president of Ski Areas of New York Inc., a trade association that represents 40 of New York state’s 48 ski areas.
Brandi said that while national ski areas have been hurt by the recession, New York state ski area sales are up anywhere from 2 to 5 percent, with the Catskill region faring the best because of the abundance of snow it’s received this winter.
For the ski industry, the presence of snow and good ski weather is more of a concern than the status of the economy, explained Ted Blazer, president and CEO of the Olympic Regional Development Authority, which operates Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington, N.Y.
“When there is snow, people want to ski,” said Blazer, adding that although Whiteface skier visits are down slightly from last year, he expects that by the end of the ski season those numbers will come out even with or slightly ahead of last year.
Many suspect that the reason statewide ski resorts are faring so well despite the dismal economic outlook is because skiers are skiing closer to home. Chad Orton, e-marketing manager at Tours de Sport, a travel agency that offers discount ski and snowboard vacations at resorts across the country, explained that most people drive to eastern ski resorts, while western resorts generally require air travel, which can get costly.
“[The recession] has been tough on ‘destination’ resorts—places people have to get in a plane to go visit for an extended time, so restaurants and hotels in places like Colorado and Utah have been hurting. You’re seeing healthy skier-visit numbers at eastern resorts--places people can drive to for a relatively cheap ski fix,” said Joe Cutts, eastern editor of Ski Magazine, in an e-mail.
In addition to the close proximity of ski resorts for New Yorkers, Brandi credited the integrity of the skiers themselves as being part of the reason the state’s resorts are faring so well.
“Our skiers are passionate,” he said. “They are still going to ski; they are just going to stay closer to home.”
One such skier is Stacy Sweet of Chazy, N.Y., who said she typically skis about six to ten times a year at Titus Mountain in Malone, N.Y., and that the state of the economy has not affected the amount or frequency of her ski visits.
“Skiing is a great outdoor activity in the winter, when there’s not much else to do around here,” said Sweet. “I love it. I’d give up shopping before I’d give up skiing.”
For those skiers who need a little more motivation than just some snow and a mountain to get them on the slopes, Blazer suspects that the recent Olympic games may be just the inspiration they need. He added that the large amount of press that Lake Placid, N.Y., has received due to the games can only help to attract skiers to the nearby Whiteface Mountain.
But while regional ski resorts appear to be enduring the nation’s economic recession quite nicely, not every aspect of the ski industry has been so lucky.
“It’s been a tough time for manufacturers and retailers, who are selling fewer skis than normal,” said Cutts.
Although skiers are still skiing, many aren’t spending extra money on new equipment or the latest in designer ski wear.
But new skis or not, it seems that New Yorkers haven’t let the economy keep them off the mountains. And although temperatures are warming up and spring is in the air, Brandi said the ski season is not over yet.
“Last year [Ski Areas of New York Inc.] had a bad March because of weather, this year we are postured to have one of the best Marches ever,” said Brandi.
Divorce rates yield prenups for unmarried couples
By Amanda Sivan Kaufman
Lynn Duquette, 49, of Clinton County lives an unusual life. She has never been divorced, almost never fights with her husband, and when it comes to sorting out household chores there is no exchange of words, the work just gets done.
While this life sounds ordinary, the Center for Divorce and Reform estimates that 40 percent of all marriages end in divorce in the United States as of 2009.
Despite this statistic, Duquette said she never thought about getting a prenuptial agreement, an “explosive trend” according to a report by the New York Post among couples today.
Glens Falls family law attorney William Nealon said that he infrequently has to do prenups, but when he does the most common items discussed are pensions and equities.
“It’s really a way that a party can assure himself or herself that previously acquired assets can go where they might want them to go in the event that a relationship falters,” Nealon said.
The thought never occurred to Duquette when she was living with her husband before marriage, but she said she would not discuss it if she had to do it over again.
“I knew that once I got married I wanted to stay married,” she said. “We don’t have a lot of property or a lot of belongings, so there wouldn’t be a lot to divvy up.”
After 25 years of marriage this August, she said she believes the choice she made is right and discussing a prenup is unromantic. But if “knock on wood” something did happen and she and her hubby would split, Duquette does not imagine that deciding who gets what would be an issue between them.
The US Census Bureau reported that the number of unmarried couples who are living together went up 88 percent between 1990 and 2007. The New York Post report attributes the prenup trend due to this.
Matthew Hewson and Hillary Sponable, both 20, fall into the category of an unmarried couple getting the agreement. They are not engaged but consider marriage a possibility.
Hewson promised his grandmother he would never sell or lose the 200 acres of land in Beekman Town she left him, something he wants to protect no matter how much he trusts his girlfriend.
Sponable said she has no interest in his “swamp.”
“The prenuptial agreement isn’t for her, I trust her. It’s for the lawyer that she’ll hire (in case of a divorce) to make the settlement because he’ll naturally point to the land to make the settlement for the money that we need,” Hewson said. “I don’t trust lawyers.”
The land in question is no joke according to Sponable, who said her boyfriend loves the land so much he told her that when he found people growing illegal narcotics on it he shot one in the leg.
“Well, I didn’t necessarily shoot anyone,” he said with a laugh. “I might have joked that I shot somebody but I didn’t shoot anybody. But it’s a much better story to tell your girlfriend when you’re first dating her that you blew someone apart, but in reality it didn’t happen.”
Hewson stands by the notion that “love and business don’t mix” and that getting the agreement is not unromantic but something important for couples to do as preparation. If the two have children, he doesn’t believe visitation would be an issue in the case of a divorce because both of them would be connected to their offspring.
Sheryl Maxwell, a Plattsburgh divorce and family law attorney, said that for married couples, children come first when discussing separation settlements often involving living arrangements and child support.
“(Prenuptial agreements) don’t leave room for any nasty surprises,” Hewson said.
Lynn Duquette, 49, of Clinton County lives an unusual life. She has never been divorced, almost never fights with her husband, and when it comes to sorting out household chores there is no exchange of words, the work just gets done.
While this life sounds ordinary, the Center for Divorce and Reform estimates that 40 percent of all marriages end in divorce in the United States as of 2009.
Despite this statistic, Duquette said she never thought about getting a prenuptial agreement, an “explosive trend” according to a report by the New York Post among couples today.
Glens Falls family law attorney William Nealon said that he infrequently has to do prenups, but when he does the most common items discussed are pensions and equities.
“It’s really a way that a party can assure himself or herself that previously acquired assets can go where they might want them to go in the event that a relationship falters,” Nealon said.
The thought never occurred to Duquette when she was living with her husband before marriage, but she said she would not discuss it if she had to do it over again.
“I knew that once I got married I wanted to stay married,” she said. “We don’t have a lot of property or a lot of belongings, so there wouldn’t be a lot to divvy up.”
After 25 years of marriage this August, she said she believes the choice she made is right and discussing a prenup is unromantic. But if “knock on wood” something did happen and she and her hubby would split, Duquette does not imagine that deciding who gets what would be an issue between them.
The US Census Bureau reported that the number of unmarried couples who are living together went up 88 percent between 1990 and 2007. The New York Post report attributes the prenup trend due to this.
Matthew Hewson and Hillary Sponable, both 20, fall into the category of an unmarried couple getting the agreement. They are not engaged but consider marriage a possibility.
Hewson promised his grandmother he would never sell or lose the 200 acres of land in Beekman Town she left him, something he wants to protect no matter how much he trusts his girlfriend.
Sponable said she has no interest in his “swamp.”
“The prenuptial agreement isn’t for her, I trust her. It’s for the lawyer that she’ll hire (in case of a divorce) to make the settlement because he’ll naturally point to the land to make the settlement for the money that we need,” Hewson said. “I don’t trust lawyers.”
The land in question is no joke according to Sponable, who said her boyfriend loves the land so much he told her that when he found people growing illegal narcotics on it he shot one in the leg.
“Well, I didn’t necessarily shoot anyone,” he said with a laugh. “I might have joked that I shot somebody but I didn’t shoot anybody. But it’s a much better story to tell your girlfriend when you’re first dating her that you blew someone apart, but in reality it didn’t happen.”
Hewson stands by the notion that “love and business don’t mix” and that getting the agreement is not unromantic but something important for couples to do as preparation. If the two have children, he doesn’t believe visitation would be an issue in the case of a divorce because both of them would be connected to their offspring.
Sheryl Maxwell, a Plattsburgh divorce and family law attorney, said that for married couples, children come first when discussing separation settlements often involving living arrangements and child support.
“(Prenuptial agreements) don’t leave room for any nasty surprises,” Hewson said.
Season of Lent
By Bryan Foti
It is a Wednesday afternoon and the church bells are ringing. People are filling into the pews at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in downtown Plattsburgh. This is no ordinary Wednesday mass, this day it is Ash Wednesday, and this marks the beginning of the season of Lent.
Lent is the 40-day period that leads up to Easter. It includes Holy Week, which is the week that the Christian lord Jesus Christ dies. Lent also has some traditions that parishioners in the church follow. One tradition is to abstain from eating meat on Friday’s during the Lenten season. Another major tradition is sacrifice. Many people will give something up during Lent weather it is candy, cigarettes, or watching less TV. Nevertheless, what these Plattsburgh parishioners may not realize is that there is more to Lent then just giving something up and not eating meat; there is so much going on in the Religious Community during the Lenten Season.
When people think about Lent they think it is about honoring the death of Jesus Christ. Lent actually has nothing to do with the death of Christ at all. Monsignor Joseph Abuin who served as Priest from 1955- 2000 and currently lives at the rectory at St. Peter’s Church in Plattsburgh states, “The purpose of Lent is a period of preparation of those who are entering the church.” During Lent church allows people who have not received the sacraments of Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation to study and explore their faith though prayer, reading, and religious education. They will be accepted into the church by receiving these sacraments at the Easter Vigil, which takes place the night before Easter Sunday. Therese Moen is the Director of Religious Education at St. Peter’s Church in Plattsburgh and she helps these people in preparing for Baptism, Communion, and Conformation. When asked about her main message when instructing her classes about Lent she said “my main message is that Jesus Christ is the way, truth, and life.” Meaning that the way Jesus lived his life is the way that we should try to live our lives.
Moen also runs the RCIA program at St. Peter’s which helps people prepare for the sacrament of Reconciliation during Lent. The first thing that they will go over is the three scrutinizes which according to Moen “is where you stop and reflect on social sins.” They then go on to learn about reflections on Water, and the Rising of Lazareth which represents resurrection.
Another misconception about Lent is that the number 40 means the number of days that Jesus walked in the desert. But according to Abuin it has nothing to do with that at all “the number 40 is a Jewish spiritual number which means many. If you look in the bible it rained for 40 days in the Noah’s Ark story, it took the Jewish people 40 years to find the holy land.” The number 40 symbolizes the long perpetration in preparing to receive the sacraments at the Easter Vigil.
Abuin says that all Catholics during Lent should practice strong Christian life beliefs and the best way to do that is through prayer and penance. Penance is doing something good daily. Aubin says “it takes a lot of self control and will-power.” Lent gives Catholics a great chance to increase their faith with God. Attending daily mass and daily prayer are the best ways to increase one’s faith during the Lenten season according to Abuin. When it comes time to renew the baptismal vows that every Catholic does on Easter Sunday, “you have to mean it” says Abuin.
During the Lenten Season, it is said that you should sacrifice something that you like however, here in the Plattsburgh Community the parishes have a different meaning of sacrifice. Father Timothy Canaan is the Pastor at St. John the Baptist Church located in downtown Plattsburgh. He says that you should still give something up. For example let’s say a person gives up watching TV; the person should not sit at home, and act; like a bump on a log. The person should be pro-active with the free time given to him. Canaan suggests he should go to a soup kitchen, read, or do something productive with the time. At St. Peter’s Abuin agrees with Canaan saying that volunteering time and attending daily mass is much more productive then just sacrificing something during the Season.
During the Lenten Season, the parishes in the Plattsburgh Community get into the action by holding many fun and beneficial activities. Deacon Mark Bennett who is the Spiritual Life Director for St. Peter’s explains some of the programs that they offer. The first program that St. Peter’s offers is a scripture study called Why Catholics. In this program, the parishioners study readings from the passion, which is story about the death of Jesus Christ. They also read about the resurrection story. St. Peter’s has the Stations of the Cross every Friday during Lent. Bennett raves about the Women’s Mediation Group that meets throughout lent saying “we get very good attendance here, 35 to 40 is the low and 100 being the high. The women really like this program.” Moen says that St. Peter’s offers Lenten reflections and a Cry Hope program that people involved with the parish can get involved in. When asked on how the community embraces Lent she says, “Father John (pastor at St. Peter’s) does a very nice job of decorating the Church, and gets the word out by preaching.”
St. John the Baptist Church offers it own programs during Lent as well. Just like St. Peter’s St. John’s offers the Stations of the Cross every Friday evening. Canaan offers the sacrament of Reconciliation every day from 3p.m. to 4 p.m. during Lent. The church has a book club that is currently reading “The 7 Last Words of Christ” during this Lenten Season. Next the church offers a Soup and Share program where people sit down have a meal and reflect on prayer. For the last 20 years St. John’s has been decking out their parishioners by giving them a pin that symbolizes lent to wear on their shirts. This year’s theme is “Journey to the Cross.”
It is easy to see how people can get immersed in the Lenten sprit. However, the Churches are not the only ones promoting Lent. Seton Catholic Central School came into existence in 1989 and currently has 180 students enrolled with 36 of them being international students. Stephen Tartaglia is a Guidance Consoler at the school. Tartaglia says the school gets involved with the Lenten culture “for one the morning prayers have more of a Lenten theme, and we decorate the walls in purple to represent Lent.” Seton Catholic normally has mass in their gym on Ash Wednesday. This year they were unable to do so because Ash Wednesday was during President’s week and the students were off from school. The school offers a Campus Ministry Club that does canned-food drives during Lent to give to the poor.
The Churches in Plattsburgh try their best to educate and offer programs to increase the faith of their parishioners. Canaan says “Lent is like a retreat it gives us a journey of 6-weeks to grow closer to our lord and give us new life.” When Bennett was asked how he tries to get the message of Lent across to his parishioners he says “you try to make one or two points. Make them quick and effective and relate them to what they are doing in their daily lives.”
It is a Wednesday afternoon and the church bells are ringing. People are filling into the pews at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in downtown Plattsburgh. This is no ordinary Wednesday mass, this day it is Ash Wednesday, and this marks the beginning of the season of Lent.
Lent is the 40-day period that leads up to Easter. It includes Holy Week, which is the week that the Christian lord Jesus Christ dies. Lent also has some traditions that parishioners in the church follow. One tradition is to abstain from eating meat on Friday’s during the Lenten season. Another major tradition is sacrifice. Many people will give something up during Lent weather it is candy, cigarettes, or watching less TV. Nevertheless, what these Plattsburgh parishioners may not realize is that there is more to Lent then just giving something up and not eating meat; there is so much going on in the Religious Community during the Lenten Season.
When people think about Lent they think it is about honoring the death of Jesus Christ. Lent actually has nothing to do with the death of Christ at all. Monsignor Joseph Abuin who served as Priest from 1955- 2000 and currently lives at the rectory at St. Peter’s Church in Plattsburgh states, “The purpose of Lent is a period of preparation of those who are entering the church.” During Lent church allows people who have not received the sacraments of Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation to study and explore their faith though prayer, reading, and religious education. They will be accepted into the church by receiving these sacraments at the Easter Vigil, which takes place the night before Easter Sunday. Therese Moen is the Director of Religious Education at St. Peter’s Church in Plattsburgh and she helps these people in preparing for Baptism, Communion, and Conformation. When asked about her main message when instructing her classes about Lent she said “my main message is that Jesus Christ is the way, truth, and life.” Meaning that the way Jesus lived his life is the way that we should try to live our lives.
Moen also runs the RCIA program at St. Peter’s which helps people prepare for the sacrament of Reconciliation during Lent. The first thing that they will go over is the three scrutinizes which according to Moen “is where you stop and reflect on social sins.” They then go on to learn about reflections on Water, and the Rising of Lazareth which represents resurrection.
Another misconception about Lent is that the number 40 means the number of days that Jesus walked in the desert. But according to Abuin it has nothing to do with that at all “the number 40 is a Jewish spiritual number which means many. If you look in the bible it rained for 40 days in the Noah’s Ark story, it took the Jewish people 40 years to find the holy land.” The number 40 symbolizes the long perpetration in preparing to receive the sacraments at the Easter Vigil.
Abuin says that all Catholics during Lent should practice strong Christian life beliefs and the best way to do that is through prayer and penance. Penance is doing something good daily. Aubin says “it takes a lot of self control and will-power.” Lent gives Catholics a great chance to increase their faith with God. Attending daily mass and daily prayer are the best ways to increase one’s faith during the Lenten season according to Abuin. When it comes time to renew the baptismal vows that every Catholic does on Easter Sunday, “you have to mean it” says Abuin.
During the Lenten Season, it is said that you should sacrifice something that you like however, here in the Plattsburgh Community the parishes have a different meaning of sacrifice. Father Timothy Canaan is the Pastor at St. John the Baptist Church located in downtown Plattsburgh. He says that you should still give something up. For example let’s say a person gives up watching TV; the person should not sit at home, and act; like a bump on a log. The person should be pro-active with the free time given to him. Canaan suggests he should go to a soup kitchen, read, or do something productive with the time. At St. Peter’s Abuin agrees with Canaan saying that volunteering time and attending daily mass is much more productive then just sacrificing something during the Season.
During the Lenten Season, the parishes in the Plattsburgh Community get into the action by holding many fun and beneficial activities. Deacon Mark Bennett who is the Spiritual Life Director for St. Peter’s explains some of the programs that they offer. The first program that St. Peter’s offers is a scripture study called Why Catholics. In this program, the parishioners study readings from the passion, which is story about the death of Jesus Christ. They also read about the resurrection story. St. Peter’s has the Stations of the Cross every Friday during Lent. Bennett raves about the Women’s Mediation Group that meets throughout lent saying “we get very good attendance here, 35 to 40 is the low and 100 being the high. The women really like this program.” Moen says that St. Peter’s offers Lenten reflections and a Cry Hope program that people involved with the parish can get involved in. When asked on how the community embraces Lent she says, “Father John (pastor at St. Peter’s) does a very nice job of decorating the Church, and gets the word out by preaching.”
St. John the Baptist Church offers it own programs during Lent as well. Just like St. Peter’s St. John’s offers the Stations of the Cross every Friday evening. Canaan offers the sacrament of Reconciliation every day from 3p.m. to 4 p.m. during Lent. The church has a book club that is currently reading “The 7 Last Words of Christ” during this Lenten Season. Next the church offers a Soup and Share program where people sit down have a meal and reflect on prayer. For the last 20 years St. John’s has been decking out their parishioners by giving them a pin that symbolizes lent to wear on their shirts. This year’s theme is “Journey to the Cross.”
It is easy to see how people can get immersed in the Lenten sprit. However, the Churches are not the only ones promoting Lent. Seton Catholic Central School came into existence in 1989 and currently has 180 students enrolled with 36 of them being international students. Stephen Tartaglia is a Guidance Consoler at the school. Tartaglia says the school gets involved with the Lenten culture “for one the morning prayers have more of a Lenten theme, and we decorate the walls in purple to represent Lent.” Seton Catholic normally has mass in their gym on Ash Wednesday. This year they were unable to do so because Ash Wednesday was during President’s week and the students were off from school. The school offers a Campus Ministry Club that does canned-food drives during Lent to give to the poor.
The Churches in Plattsburgh try their best to educate and offer programs to increase the faith of their parishioners. Canaan says “Lent is like a retreat it gives us a journey of 6-weeks to grow closer to our lord and give us new life.” When Bennett was asked how he tries to get the message of Lent across to his parishioners he says “you try to make one or two points. Make them quick and effective and relate them to what they are doing in their daily lives.”
Local schools taking steps to improve nutrition
By Caitlin Fitzpatrick
Local schools in Plattsburgh are taking steps to improve the nutritional value of the food served in cafeterias in order to promote a healthier lifestyle for children and young adults. With the issue of childhood obesity coming into light because of First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to stop the growing problem, nutrition in schools has become more of a priority.
Charlene O’Connor, food service director for Plattsburgh City School District, says the schools are providing students with more fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grain products.
“I will purchase whole wheat pasta for the fiber. We have to meet a certain percentage of fiber,” O’Connor says.
She also says how the schools have made simple but important changes such as switching from sugary syrups to fruit juice with canned and cup fruits.
According to the lunch menu, although the schools still serve such items as pizza and nachos, they also serve a vegetable and a fruit at every meal and whole wheat bread for sandwiches and hamburgers.
However, eating healthier sometimes means more money to spend. Mary Lou Megarr, Second Vice President of the Plattsburgh Teachers Association, says that “balancing the nutritious value with the budget is a tricky preposition.”
Although the schools may not offer the most health conscious meals, she does believe that the “schools are doing everything they can to offer nutritious meals and snacks to children while trying to stay in the black financially.”
Megarr also says in order to not waste food cafeterias “can only have fresh fruits and vegetables that keep for long periods of time such as apples, bananas, carrots and oranges.”
O’Connor says that although the schools do still use processed foods in some the items served they are slowly “weaning off”.
“We used to buy chicken nuggets all the time and we just stopped,” she says, giving an example of how changes are being made over time.
MaryAnn Petrilena, president of the advocacy group Better School Food, believes that parents need to get involved as well in order to make sure that their children are receiving adequate nutrition through the schools.
“The best way for parents to monitor the food their kids eat at school is to ask the school to put in a bar code system which lists the food they eat and parents can go online and review the account,” Petrilena says.
Better School Food is an advocacy group that was created by a nutritionist to help parents and educators from all over the country create awareness of the connection between good health and good food.
Petrilena also says parents should conduct “honest and constant discussions at home, review the monthly menu and ask questions.”
Parents can get involved, but an issue remains as to whether children will eat healthier when at school without parental guidance.
“When kids have to decide between something unhealthy and something healthy they will usually choose something unhealthy,” Petrilena says.
But Megarr states as well that “substituting wheat rolls and bread for white is a great way of adding fiber without kids really even realizing they are eating healthier foods.”
Although strides have been made with the nutrition offered in local schools, changes still need to be made.
“I would like to see some of the cereals offered in the morning breakfast program changed to more grains, less sugar,” Megarr says.
According the American Dietetic Association, children usually get enough protein during lunch and dinner, but often lack getting the important ingredient during breakfast. They offer such suggestions as adding eggs and nuts to breakfast items in order to change this trend.
However, O’Connor says that compared to an older version of the cafeteria menu there have been big nutrition changes that the schools should be recognized for including “less processed foods” and “more fresh than canned or frozen.”
She also adds that schools are “offering more entrees and more choices” than ever before.
Local schools in Plattsburgh are taking steps to improve the nutritional value of the food served in cafeterias in order to promote a healthier lifestyle for children and young adults. With the issue of childhood obesity coming into light because of First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to stop the growing problem, nutrition in schools has become more of a priority.
Charlene O’Connor, food service director for Plattsburgh City School District, says the schools are providing students with more fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grain products.
“I will purchase whole wheat pasta for the fiber. We have to meet a certain percentage of fiber,” O’Connor says.
She also says how the schools have made simple but important changes such as switching from sugary syrups to fruit juice with canned and cup fruits.
According to the lunch menu, although the schools still serve such items as pizza and nachos, they also serve a vegetable and a fruit at every meal and whole wheat bread for sandwiches and hamburgers.
However, eating healthier sometimes means more money to spend. Mary Lou Megarr, Second Vice President of the Plattsburgh Teachers Association, says that “balancing the nutritious value with the budget is a tricky preposition.”
Although the schools may not offer the most health conscious meals, she does believe that the “schools are doing everything they can to offer nutritious meals and snacks to children while trying to stay in the black financially.”
Megarr also says in order to not waste food cafeterias “can only have fresh fruits and vegetables that keep for long periods of time such as apples, bananas, carrots and oranges.”
O’Connor says that although the schools do still use processed foods in some the items served they are slowly “weaning off”.
“We used to buy chicken nuggets all the time and we just stopped,” she says, giving an example of how changes are being made over time.
MaryAnn Petrilena, president of the advocacy group Better School Food, believes that parents need to get involved as well in order to make sure that their children are receiving adequate nutrition through the schools.
“The best way for parents to monitor the food their kids eat at school is to ask the school to put in a bar code system which lists the food they eat and parents can go online and review the account,” Petrilena says.
Better School Food is an advocacy group that was created by a nutritionist to help parents and educators from all over the country create awareness of the connection between good health and good food.
Petrilena also says parents should conduct “honest and constant discussions at home, review the monthly menu and ask questions.”
Parents can get involved, but an issue remains as to whether children will eat healthier when at school without parental guidance.
“When kids have to decide between something unhealthy and something healthy they will usually choose something unhealthy,” Petrilena says.
But Megarr states as well that “substituting wheat rolls and bread for white is a great way of adding fiber without kids really even realizing they are eating healthier foods.”
Although strides have been made with the nutrition offered in local schools, changes still need to be made.
“I would like to see some of the cereals offered in the morning breakfast program changed to more grains, less sugar,” Megarr says.
According the American Dietetic Association, children usually get enough protein during lunch and dinner, but often lack getting the important ingredient during breakfast. They offer such suggestions as adding eggs and nuts to breakfast items in order to change this trend.
However, O’Connor says that compared to an older version of the cafeteria menu there have been big nutrition changes that the schools should be recognized for including “less processed foods” and “more fresh than canned or frozen.”
She also adds that schools are “offering more entrees and more choices” than ever before.
Are North Country airports taking next big step?
By Melissa Erny
Airports around the world are adding more and more security by placing new devices called full body scanners into action. International airports have become a main location for the technology, but it is still uncertain whether local airports – Plattsburgh International Airport, Albany International Airport and Burlington International Airport – will be getting the technology.
The Transportation Security Administration placed 150 of these new scanners into airports across the United States at the beginning of 2010 because of the attempted Christmas Day attack that occurred on a flight to Detroit. The TSA says that the technology can catch things a metal detector misses and would be able to replace pat-down searches. At the end of January, they announced 300 more of these scanners would be purchased and distributed, but had no comment on where they would be going.
Thomas Long, manager of the Plattsburgh International Airport, would not comment as to whether or not he knew if any of these full body scanners coming to his airport. Similar walls were put into place by management at the Albany International Airport, Burlington International Airport and the Burlington division of the TSA, blocking any information saying if scanners will be coming to the North Country region in the near future. “We cannot make a comment at this time,” a representative from the Burlington TSA said when asked to be interviewed on the matter. He said the only information available on the scanners can be found on the national TSA website, http://www.tsa.gov.
There is still some hope for those in the area who want full body scanners to secure their travel and willing to drive about 70 miles to get it. In Montreal’s January 22 newspaper, The Gazette, Mathieu Larocque, a spokesman for the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, announced that they are in the process of putting 11 full body scanners in the Montreal International Airport. The timeline is still unclear for when they will be up and running, but Larocque says they hope these scanners will be ready come this spring.
Full body scanners are backscatter machines that use millimeter waves to take a 3D X-ray image of their body. Passengers step into it one at a time with their hands over their heads, fingertips touching, while it scans the image. The idea is for them to replace metal detectors and physical pat-downs.
Before the Christmas Day terrorist attempt, the amount that the images revealed and who was viewing them concerned many people and was a major reason for why more were not already in place.
For those worried about what an image reveals, the new technology has developed so that scans blur the passenger’s face and he or she appears to be no more than a chalk outline. It focuses mainly on areas where items are frequently concealed. They reveal items that metal detectors cannot, like plastic or chemical explosives and nonmetallic weapons hidden in pockets or strapped to a person’s body. Machines can also show guns, knives and other metallic objects that metal detectors catch.
The process takes two different security guards; one assisting the passenger and running the machine, and one closed in a walled off room where they can only see the image and not the person. The guard viewing the images cannot take a cell phone or camera in with him and images are not saved or able to print. When the screen guard notices something unusual, he alerts the guard assisting the passenger to check them further.
Unfortunately, the technology still takes around 15 seconds to scan one passenger, making it slower than using metal detectors. Though the TSA insists that in some instances the technology is actually faster. For persons who would usually have to go through a metal detector multiple times due to some medical devices, they would only have to go through the full body scanner once.
According to the TSA, the millimeter wave technology these scanners use is less than what you are exposed to while using a cell phone. The backscatter machines used also pose no threat to a person’s health. The X-ray technology is equivalent to what someone gets from riding on a plane for two minutes, says the TSA.
Physical pat-downs are still offered for anyone who is still unsure or afraid of the technology.
Airports around the world are adding more and more security by placing new devices called full body scanners into action. International airports have become a main location for the technology, but it is still uncertain whether local airports – Plattsburgh International Airport, Albany International Airport and Burlington International Airport – will be getting the technology.
The Transportation Security Administration placed 150 of these new scanners into airports across the United States at the beginning of 2010 because of the attempted Christmas Day attack that occurred on a flight to Detroit. The TSA says that the technology can catch things a metal detector misses and would be able to replace pat-down searches. At the end of January, they announced 300 more of these scanners would be purchased and distributed, but had no comment on where they would be going.
Thomas Long, manager of the Plattsburgh International Airport, would not comment as to whether or not he knew if any of these full body scanners coming to his airport. Similar walls were put into place by management at the Albany International Airport, Burlington International Airport and the Burlington division of the TSA, blocking any information saying if scanners will be coming to the North Country region in the near future. “We cannot make a comment at this time,” a representative from the Burlington TSA said when asked to be interviewed on the matter. He said the only information available on the scanners can be found on the national TSA website, http://www.tsa.gov.
There is still some hope for those in the area who want full body scanners to secure their travel and willing to drive about 70 miles to get it. In Montreal’s January 22 newspaper, The Gazette, Mathieu Larocque, a spokesman for the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, announced that they are in the process of putting 11 full body scanners in the Montreal International Airport. The timeline is still unclear for when they will be up and running, but Larocque says they hope these scanners will be ready come this spring.
Full body scanners are backscatter machines that use millimeter waves to take a 3D X-ray image of their body. Passengers step into it one at a time with their hands over their heads, fingertips touching, while it scans the image. The idea is for them to replace metal detectors and physical pat-downs.
Before the Christmas Day terrorist attempt, the amount that the images revealed and who was viewing them concerned many people and was a major reason for why more were not already in place.
For those worried about what an image reveals, the new technology has developed so that scans blur the passenger’s face and he or she appears to be no more than a chalk outline. It focuses mainly on areas where items are frequently concealed. They reveal items that metal detectors cannot, like plastic or chemical explosives and nonmetallic weapons hidden in pockets or strapped to a person’s body. Machines can also show guns, knives and other metallic objects that metal detectors catch.
The process takes two different security guards; one assisting the passenger and running the machine, and one closed in a walled off room where they can only see the image and not the person. The guard viewing the images cannot take a cell phone or camera in with him and images are not saved or able to print. When the screen guard notices something unusual, he alerts the guard assisting the passenger to check them further.
Unfortunately, the technology still takes around 15 seconds to scan one passenger, making it slower than using metal detectors. Though the TSA insists that in some instances the technology is actually faster. For persons who would usually have to go through a metal detector multiple times due to some medical devices, they would only have to go through the full body scanner once.
According to the TSA, the millimeter wave technology these scanners use is less than what you are exposed to while using a cell phone. The backscatter machines used also pose no threat to a person’s health. The X-ray technology is equivalent to what someone gets from riding on a plane for two minutes, says the TSA.
Physical pat-downs are still offered for anyone who is still unsure or afraid of the technology.
Diversity in area classrooms
By Kevin Eloi
U.S.A.! U.S.A.! We hear the proverbial chants time and time again. Whether it’s during the Olympics or any other national event, our patriotism is as visible and obvious as the color of the sun. It can be argued that we are a competitive nation with an ego the size of Mount Everest. We want to win plain and simple. While some may say we’ve conquered the fields and courts, it can also be said we’re losing the battle in one particularly important area; the classroom.
Within the field of education there are many underlying factors that determine the success or failure of students. One key element regarding this paradigm is the distinction between foreign students and domestic students, particularly those who hail from Plattsburgh. Is there a leveled playing field in the arena of education when it pertains to domestic and international students? Educational officials in the city of Plattsburgh have a sense on the peerless environment created through the influx of foreign influence.
In a remote area such as Plattsburgh, diversity can play an essential role in breaking down cultural and social barriers. Education, though regarded as a footnote for either, still plays an instrumental role in distinguishing the now diverse atmosphere of the North Country. J.W. Wiley, the Director of Center for Diversity, Pluralism, and Inclusion (CDP) at SUNY Plattsburgh, praised the effort of foreign students while urging more focus and maturity on the part of students in Plattsburgh. “Students from abroad are much more mature have a much better work ethic,” he said. “They rarely inject themselves into our culture initially which makes them isolated from the distractions that students from here face. It’s unfortunate because students in Plattsburgh are more privileged and have far more resources than students from abroad. Also, international students have a bigger investment in their education which motivates them to do well.” Mr. Wiley’s point is in direct correlation with a December 2006 report done by Andreas Schleicher, Directorate for Education, Organization for Economic Co-operation, and Development. Although the report was done on a national basis, it provides insight on Mr. Wiley’s inferences regarding the performances of foreign students on a local level. According to Mr. Schleicher, the findings indicate that that immigrant students report similar or higher levels of positive learning dispositions compared with their native peers. Internationals often report higher levels of interest and motivation in mathematics and more positive attitudes towards schooling.
While many may agree with J.W. Wiley’s insinuations, others take a different angle to comprehending the differences between domestic and foreign students. “People don’t understand that education is the first priority in most cultures,” said Cody McCabe International Student Services Staff Staff Assistant Director. “Outside of learning the language and fitting into the culture, they have no disadvantages in adapting to Plattsburgh’s educational system.” However, Mr. McCabe didn’t condemn local domestic students for their lacking in the performance department. “Our culture doesn’t stress education enough. College is practically mandated in most cultures whereas it’s considered a choice in ours. There is an array of choices out there besides pursuing an education. Education is viewed as a task on a checklist. Students shouldn’t take the process of education for granted.”
The International Student Service is the primary authority in foreign student affairs. They coordinate the process of recruiting international students and aiding them with adjustments to SUNY Plattsburgh. The program has brought many bright young men and women to the city of Plattsburgh and they have not disappointed.
One of those students is Prince Thomas, a 19-year-old freshman at SUNY Plattsburgh. A business major from Antigua, Prince is among the many devout individuals that I.S.S. is proud of. He maintains a 3.9 GPA, he is a proud member of Club Caribbean, and also made the Dean’s list this past semester. While a typical weekend for a college student involves venturing downtown to hot spots such as The Green Room, Crazy Horse, or Peabody’s, Prince strays far away those conventional norms. On a Saturday night when half of Plattsburgh is letting loose from a stressful work week, you’ll find Prince in his room clinging to a book as if it were his first-born child. His enthusiasm for education is apparent and he understands the opportunity that is before him.
“My educational system back home is much tougher than the current one I’m in,” he says. In Antigua, our system is structured off the British which makes it harder and stricter. I don’t have much of a choice because my tuition is coming straight from my parent’s pocket. It adds to my focus and determination. I think American students, or at least the ones I see in Plattsburgh, are too lazy and are being spoon-fed education. They lack the go-getter mentality.”
Many of the public officials in the city seem to adhere to the same point. There is a gap, whether great or small, that separates Plattsburgh students from internationals. “We embrace all walks of life in the community of Plattsburgh,” says Glen Hurlock, Principal of Plattsburgh High School. “However it is important that we find a balance so that academic performance isn’t based on domestic or foreign attributes.”
There are some tangible dynamics that can cause such a gap continuously grow. Catrillia Young, an Associate Director at I.S.S., elaborated on the specific elements that distinguish the academic prowess of Plattsburgh-born and domestic students. She’s traveled abroad to many different countries recruiting students for Plattsburgh. “Their preparation is a lot different from ours,” said Ms. Young. Their system is more lecture-based whereas the U.S. is more hands on. Also, International students are further ahead in Math and Science."
These assertions may hold ground, but American students are better-rounded in many other areas. In various cultures, extracurricular activities are frowned upon. For example, Springdale Delhi High School in India is very narrow in terms of educational opportunities. Students at the institution choose their major in high school rather than college and it is extremely formal unlike the leniency that we are accustomed to here in Plattsburgh. Interestingly, in Paris there is a college, The New Sorbonne, where attendance is obsolete. Students are just required to take a final exam.
While many have made their own suppositions regarding whether domestic students are losing ground to their international counterparts, some have suggested ways to bridge the gap. Instigating dialogue amongst both parties would be a sufficient starting point. Domestic and foreign are merely labels with vague connotations when it comes to the classroom.
“It simply shouldn’t be about that,” said Prince Thomas. I’ve been here for almost a year and I’ve made great friends in Plattsburgh. When I walk into Hawkins, I don’t see American or foreign students. I see just students. It should never be about nationality but rather each individual’s inclination.
U.S.A.! U.S.A.! We hear the proverbial chants time and time again. Whether it’s during the Olympics or any other national event, our patriotism is as visible and obvious as the color of the sun. It can be argued that we are a competitive nation with an ego the size of Mount Everest. We want to win plain and simple. While some may say we’ve conquered the fields and courts, it can also be said we’re losing the battle in one particularly important area; the classroom.
Within the field of education there are many underlying factors that determine the success or failure of students. One key element regarding this paradigm is the distinction between foreign students and domestic students, particularly those who hail from Plattsburgh. Is there a leveled playing field in the arena of education when it pertains to domestic and international students? Educational officials in the city of Plattsburgh have a sense on the peerless environment created through the influx of foreign influence.
In a remote area such as Plattsburgh, diversity can play an essential role in breaking down cultural and social barriers. Education, though regarded as a footnote for either, still plays an instrumental role in distinguishing the now diverse atmosphere of the North Country. J.W. Wiley, the Director of Center for Diversity, Pluralism, and Inclusion (CDP) at SUNY Plattsburgh, praised the effort of foreign students while urging more focus and maturity on the part of students in Plattsburgh. “Students from abroad are much more mature have a much better work ethic,” he said. “They rarely inject themselves into our culture initially which makes them isolated from the distractions that students from here face. It’s unfortunate because students in Plattsburgh are more privileged and have far more resources than students from abroad. Also, international students have a bigger investment in their education which motivates them to do well.” Mr. Wiley’s point is in direct correlation with a December 2006 report done by Andreas Schleicher, Directorate for Education, Organization for Economic Co-operation, and Development. Although the report was done on a national basis, it provides insight on Mr. Wiley’s inferences regarding the performances of foreign students on a local level. According to Mr. Schleicher, the findings indicate that that immigrant students report similar or higher levels of positive learning dispositions compared with their native peers. Internationals often report higher levels of interest and motivation in mathematics and more positive attitudes towards schooling.
While many may agree with J.W. Wiley’s insinuations, others take a different angle to comprehending the differences between domestic and foreign students. “People don’t understand that education is the first priority in most cultures,” said Cody McCabe International Student Services Staff Staff Assistant Director. “Outside of learning the language and fitting into the culture, they have no disadvantages in adapting to Plattsburgh’s educational system.” However, Mr. McCabe didn’t condemn local domestic students for their lacking in the performance department. “Our culture doesn’t stress education enough. College is practically mandated in most cultures whereas it’s considered a choice in ours. There is an array of choices out there besides pursuing an education. Education is viewed as a task on a checklist. Students shouldn’t take the process of education for granted.”
The International Student Service is the primary authority in foreign student affairs. They coordinate the process of recruiting international students and aiding them with adjustments to SUNY Plattsburgh. The program has brought many bright young men and women to the city of Plattsburgh and they have not disappointed.
One of those students is Prince Thomas, a 19-year-old freshman at SUNY Plattsburgh. A business major from Antigua, Prince is among the many devout individuals that I.S.S. is proud of. He maintains a 3.9 GPA, he is a proud member of Club Caribbean, and also made the Dean’s list this past semester. While a typical weekend for a college student involves venturing downtown to hot spots such as The Green Room, Crazy Horse, or Peabody’s, Prince strays far away those conventional norms. On a Saturday night when half of Plattsburgh is letting loose from a stressful work week, you’ll find Prince in his room clinging to a book as if it were his first-born child. His enthusiasm for education is apparent and he understands the opportunity that is before him.
“My educational system back home is much tougher than the current one I’m in,” he says. In Antigua, our system is structured off the British which makes it harder and stricter. I don’t have much of a choice because my tuition is coming straight from my parent’s pocket. It adds to my focus and determination. I think American students, or at least the ones I see in Plattsburgh, are too lazy and are being spoon-fed education. They lack the go-getter mentality.”
Many of the public officials in the city seem to adhere to the same point. There is a gap, whether great or small, that separates Plattsburgh students from internationals. “We embrace all walks of life in the community of Plattsburgh,” says Glen Hurlock, Principal of Plattsburgh High School. “However it is important that we find a balance so that academic performance isn’t based on domestic or foreign attributes.”
There are some tangible dynamics that can cause such a gap continuously grow. Catrillia Young, an Associate Director at I.S.S., elaborated on the specific elements that distinguish the academic prowess of Plattsburgh-born and domestic students. She’s traveled abroad to many different countries recruiting students for Plattsburgh. “Their preparation is a lot different from ours,” said Ms. Young. Their system is more lecture-based whereas the U.S. is more hands on. Also, International students are further ahead in Math and Science."
These assertions may hold ground, but American students are better-rounded in many other areas. In various cultures, extracurricular activities are frowned upon. For example, Springdale Delhi High School in India is very narrow in terms of educational opportunities. Students at the institution choose their major in high school rather than college and it is extremely formal unlike the leniency that we are accustomed to here in Plattsburgh. Interestingly, in Paris there is a college, The New Sorbonne, where attendance is obsolete. Students are just required to take a final exam.
While many have made their own suppositions regarding whether domestic students are losing ground to their international counterparts, some have suggested ways to bridge the gap. Instigating dialogue amongst both parties would be a sufficient starting point. Domestic and foreign are merely labels with vague connotations when it comes to the classroom.
“It simply shouldn’t be about that,” said Prince Thomas. I’ve been here for almost a year and I’ve made great friends in Plattsburgh. When I walk into Hawkins, I don’t see American or foreign students. I see just students. It should never be about nationality but rather each individual’s inclination.
North Country's Vitamin D deficiency
By Amanda DeLosh
Spring is just around, which means summer is even close. Birds are chirping in the air, blue skies gleam across the sky and the best part of it all, the sun is starting to shine so brightly and warming our faces.
After a harsh-cold winter with gloomy dark skies following everyone like shadows, it’s time for everyone to start feeling good. However, could there be some underlying cause affecting North Country people from being more healthy and active in the wintertime?
Some say yes, and others say it’s just the wintertime laziness coming into play. Living in Upstate NY means a lot of snow, ice, and Plattsburgh’s favorite, the wind off Lake Champlain that seems to come in all directions when walking down the street. Vitamin D, the drink milk equals strong bones campaignee, hits hard when people are exposed to less sun and performing less physical activity. Jorunn Gran-Henricksen, a nutrition professor at Plattsburgh State says, “Vitamin D helps regulate calcium in the body.” She continues saying, “If you don’t have it, it won’t absorb calcium as well from food.” Once fall hits people seem to migrate into there houses and hibernate for all of winter, which the end result would be less physical activity, unless of course.
“The further North we live, the harder it is to get Vitamin D,” says Gran-Henricksen. “The sun has to be a certain strength to get the right amount,” she continues. She explained how there are certain times of the year when the sun is its strongest. “Almost the middle of March to mid October is stronger, compared to other months throughout the year.” Gran-Henrickson says that it is good to be outside for about 15 minutes to get the proper amount of sunlight for Vitamin D.
“The last 15 years Vitamin D is becoming more involved with helping regulation of cell growth, and the maturation of cells along with immune cells, to fight cancer, and blood pressure regulation,” says Gran-Henricksen.
There is isn’t anymore sun gleaming from the warm blue sky, all there is are mixtures of overcast gray skies that seem very depressing, unless of course, you’re a vampire, but even vampires need strong bones. Garrett Billings, a former student at North Country Community College in Saranac, says, “I would say that if no one had told me I didn't have a Vitamin D deficiency problem I would think I had depression.” He continues to say, “And from someone who's been on anti-depressants and they didn't heal all of my symptoms, I’m glad it was caught because you wouldn't believe how much a vitamin can change a life when it's in need.”
As everyone can see, once the weather starts getting nicer, people start coming out of the woodworks and there is more activity outside with people smiling and laughing and just having a great time in the sun. There’s a sense of relaxation, a mood of happiness, and an altogether feeling of relief the winter is finally over.
Billings noticed in just a short period of time how much his life changed after taking Vitamin D. “ Well I just starting taking them but I’ve noticed a difference already,” He adds, “I take on before bed and one when I wake up in the morning and when I wake up I feel a little more rested and when I take one in the morning I feel like it gives me a little bit more energy throughout the day.”
Of course, everyone is different so different dosages will be needed in order to help this vitamin deficiency. Many researchers are finding new and exciting news. Vitamin D, the nutrient the body makes from sunlight and is also found in milk and fish, is said to build bones, strengthen the immune system and lower risk of diabetes as well as kidney and heart disease. All of these illnesses are somewhat controlled by a little vitamin D?
Many people are probably wondering now what the symptoms are. Symptoms of a Vitamin D deficiency can range from muscle pains, low energy and fatigue, sign of depression, mood swings and having sleep problems. These may all seem like normal signs of just about everything, more than likely living in the North Country having these symptoms will entail having this deficiency.
Kindsley Dodson, from Lake Placid, NY, has lived in the North Country her whole life. Not until hearing these questions has she realized that having a Vitamin D deficiency could definitely affect more people in living here. “Not being around the sun for about 5 months out of the year will definitely take a toll on people,” Dodson says. “Especially when we get such little sun, I know I tend to miss it and when it does come out you just, feel better.”
Checking to see if someone has this deficiency is very important for North Country people especially. Just a routine check-up will do the trick to get blood-work, and one will soon find out. “The symptoms are so vague it could be anything diagnosed, so checking blood levels is the best way,” says Gran-Henricksen.
There are many things that people can do to help regulate their Vitamin D intake. As described by Gran-Henrickson, “In mid March-October be outside for 15 minutes, also having three cups of milk per day is close to the Vitamin D amount you will need, and one other thing is eating fish, especially salt water fish, two times a week.”
There are ways to prevent this deficiency from occurring, and that basically means, eating healthy; getting enough protein in throughout the day. Also, taking a multivitamin will fill any gaps in you nutrition system, and if you can some type of healthy sun exposure, making sure to use the proper protection of SPF. All of these tips will help in the long run, and if people are still unsure taking a vitamin D supplement will help ease the curiosity of, “do I have a deficiency?”Living in the North Country may be peaceful as families look out their windows into the beautiful Adirondack Mountains, but staying healthy is something everyone should make sure they do. So, when children come home from school and start playing with their milk at dinner time saying, “hey mom, look I have a milk mustache!” at least you know they are one step closer to having a healthy immune system.
Spring is just around, which means summer is even close. Birds are chirping in the air, blue skies gleam across the sky and the best part of it all, the sun is starting to shine so brightly and warming our faces.
After a harsh-cold winter with gloomy dark skies following everyone like shadows, it’s time for everyone to start feeling good. However, could there be some underlying cause affecting North Country people from being more healthy and active in the wintertime?
Some say yes, and others say it’s just the wintertime laziness coming into play. Living in Upstate NY means a lot of snow, ice, and Plattsburgh’s favorite, the wind off Lake Champlain that seems to come in all directions when walking down the street. Vitamin D, the drink milk equals strong bones campaignee, hits hard when people are exposed to less sun and performing less physical activity. Jorunn Gran-Henricksen, a nutrition professor at Plattsburgh State says, “Vitamin D helps regulate calcium in the body.” She continues saying, “If you don’t have it, it won’t absorb calcium as well from food.” Once fall hits people seem to migrate into there houses and hibernate for all of winter, which the end result would be less physical activity, unless of course.
“The further North we live, the harder it is to get Vitamin D,” says Gran-Henricksen. “The sun has to be a certain strength to get the right amount,” she continues. She explained how there are certain times of the year when the sun is its strongest. “Almost the middle of March to mid October is stronger, compared to other months throughout the year.” Gran-Henrickson says that it is good to be outside for about 15 minutes to get the proper amount of sunlight for Vitamin D.
“The last 15 years Vitamin D is becoming more involved with helping regulation of cell growth, and the maturation of cells along with immune cells, to fight cancer, and blood pressure regulation,” says Gran-Henricksen.
There is isn’t anymore sun gleaming from the warm blue sky, all there is are mixtures of overcast gray skies that seem very depressing, unless of course, you’re a vampire, but even vampires need strong bones. Garrett Billings, a former student at North Country Community College in Saranac, says, “I would say that if no one had told me I didn't have a Vitamin D deficiency problem I would think I had depression.” He continues to say, “And from someone who's been on anti-depressants and they didn't heal all of my symptoms, I’m glad it was caught because you wouldn't believe how much a vitamin can change a life when it's in need.”
As everyone can see, once the weather starts getting nicer, people start coming out of the woodworks and there is more activity outside with people smiling and laughing and just having a great time in the sun. There’s a sense of relaxation, a mood of happiness, and an altogether feeling of relief the winter is finally over.
Billings noticed in just a short period of time how much his life changed after taking Vitamin D. “ Well I just starting taking them but I’ve noticed a difference already,” He adds, “I take on before bed and one when I wake up in the morning and when I wake up I feel a little more rested and when I take one in the morning I feel like it gives me a little bit more energy throughout the day.”
Of course, everyone is different so different dosages will be needed in order to help this vitamin deficiency. Many researchers are finding new and exciting news. Vitamin D, the nutrient the body makes from sunlight and is also found in milk and fish, is said to build bones, strengthen the immune system and lower risk of diabetes as well as kidney and heart disease. All of these illnesses are somewhat controlled by a little vitamin D?
Many people are probably wondering now what the symptoms are. Symptoms of a Vitamin D deficiency can range from muscle pains, low energy and fatigue, sign of depression, mood swings and having sleep problems. These may all seem like normal signs of just about everything, more than likely living in the North Country having these symptoms will entail having this deficiency.
Kindsley Dodson, from Lake Placid, NY, has lived in the North Country her whole life. Not until hearing these questions has she realized that having a Vitamin D deficiency could definitely affect more people in living here. “Not being around the sun for about 5 months out of the year will definitely take a toll on people,” Dodson says. “Especially when we get such little sun, I know I tend to miss it and when it does come out you just, feel better.”
Checking to see if someone has this deficiency is very important for North Country people especially. Just a routine check-up will do the trick to get blood-work, and one will soon find out. “The symptoms are so vague it could be anything diagnosed, so checking blood levels is the best way,” says Gran-Henricksen.
There are many things that people can do to help regulate their Vitamin D intake. As described by Gran-Henrickson, “In mid March-October be outside for 15 minutes, also having three cups of milk per day is close to the Vitamin D amount you will need, and one other thing is eating fish, especially salt water fish, two times a week.”
There are ways to prevent this deficiency from occurring, and that basically means, eating healthy; getting enough protein in throughout the day. Also, taking a multivitamin will fill any gaps in you nutrition system, and if you can some type of healthy sun exposure, making sure to use the proper protection of SPF. All of these tips will help in the long run, and if people are still unsure taking a vitamin D supplement will help ease the curiosity of, “do I have a deficiency?”Living in the North Country may be peaceful as families look out their windows into the beautiful Adirondack Mountains, but staying healthy is something everyone should make sure they do. So, when children come home from school and start playing with their milk at dinner time saying, “hey mom, look I have a milk mustache!” at least you know they are one step closer to having a healthy immune system.
State receives 'C' for its dental coverage for kids
By Katherine Clark
A study done by the Pew Center on the states, The Cost of Delay: State Dental policies fail one in five children, concluded that about two-thirds of states do not have key policies set up to meet the dental needs for children that need it the most.
The Pew Center organized states by the number of benchmark requirements it met, New York State met four out of eight, with a grade of a C.
“In New York 33.7% of children with Medicaid see a dentist, that’s one in every three kids that get to see a dentist annually,” said Laurie Norris, Campaign manager for the Pew trusts.
Poor dental health can lead to a number of problems for children and even follow him or her into adulthood if not treated. In severe cases of untreated dental problems cause children to miss school due to pain, lost days at work, or even death.
In 2007
The eight benchmark policies that the Pew Center has graded states in are procedures that have been proven in practice to be effective and cost efficient.
Where NYS failed to make the grade was State provided fluoridated water. Having fluoridated water is one of the most effective public health services for teeth.
Counteracting tooth decay, fluoridated water would only cost about a $1 invested, communities could save $38 in dental treatments costs according to the Pew Center. To make the grade, 75 percent of all NYS water supply in community systems, not including well water, would have to be fluoridated. In New York only 73 percent of water is fluoridated.
NYS has also failed to provide sealant programs in at least 25 percent of high-risk schools. Sealant, clear, plastic coatings applied by a hygienist or a dentist has been recognized by the Center for Disease Control as one of the best preventative strategies for preventing cavities to children in a low income family.
A study done by the U.S. Surgeon General conducted in 2000.
“New York State conducted a study on third graders and found that 33.1 percent of New York State third graders have untreated cavities, that means that they’re walking around with holes in their teeth and probably in pain,” said Norris.
A study done by the Pew Center on the states, The Cost of Delay: State Dental policies fail one in five children, concluded that about two-thirds of states do not have key policies set up to meet the dental needs for children that need it the most.
The Pew Center organized states by the number of benchmark requirements it met, New York State met four out of eight, with a grade of a C.
“In New York 33.7% of children with Medicaid see a dentist, that’s one in every three kids that get to see a dentist annually,” said Laurie Norris, Campaign manager for the Pew trusts.
Poor dental health can lead to a number of problems for children and even follow him or her into adulthood if not treated. In severe cases of untreated dental problems cause children to miss school due to pain, lost days at work, or even death.
In 2007
The eight benchmark policies that the Pew Center has graded states in are procedures that have been proven in practice to be effective and cost efficient.
Where NYS failed to make the grade was State provided fluoridated water. Having fluoridated water is one of the most effective public health services for teeth.
Counteracting tooth decay, fluoridated water would only cost about a $1 invested, communities could save $38 in dental treatments costs according to the Pew Center. To make the grade, 75 percent of all NYS water supply in community systems, not including well water, would have to be fluoridated. In New York only 73 percent of water is fluoridated.
NYS has also failed to provide sealant programs in at least 25 percent of high-risk schools. Sealant, clear, plastic coatings applied by a hygienist or a dentist has been recognized by the Center for Disease Control as one of the best preventative strategies for preventing cavities to children in a low income family.
A study done by the U.S. Surgeon General conducted in 2000.
“New York State conducted a study on third graders and found that 33.1 percent of New York State third graders have untreated cavities, that means that they’re walking around with holes in their teeth and probably in pain,” said Norris.
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