Vol. 125, No. 17 Alfred, Allegany County, New York State, U.S.A. 14802 Thursday, April 29, 2010
Of the Community. By the Community. For the Community.
Official Newspaper of Town and Village of Alfred and Alfred-Almond Central School District $1
“A pretty darn good newspaper serving Alfred since 1883”
READING The Alfred Sunin Wilmington, NC are (from left) Sarah Broderick (AU ‘09), Peggy Broderick of Hornell (and a staff member of the Alfred University Career Development Center), and Darlene Waight, retired Alfred University employee. Peggy recently visited her daughter Sarah there.
‘Gala of One Acts’
Advanced theater students to stage plays Fri.-Sat.
Page 7
Big week for Saxons
AU softball team makes NCAA regional rankings
Page 19
T he A lfred S un
20 pages
ALFRED—Students at Alfred University have created an offi- cial garden club — the Alfred Society of Horticulture (ASH)
— to develop and maintain com- munity gardens for students and faculty.
The Society plans to plant the gardens this spring, by May 1, using a raised-bed system. The gardens will be located just off the south end of campus, be- tween the Environmental House and the Language House, at 16 and 12 Park Street, respectively, and will accommodate approxi- mately 14, 4-foot x 8-foot gar- den beds. Each bed will be rented to interested students and faculty for $20.
Those who wish to rent a gar- den space can plant whatever
ALMOND--The Alfred-Almond Central School Board of Educa- tion will present the proposed 2010-2011 budget of $11,283,645 at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 4 in the high school auditorium.
Copies of the proposed budget and resolutions are available at the Office of the Superintendent between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. school days.
The tentative 2010-11 spending plan calls for an increase in over- all spending by 3.48%. The school tax levy is expected to be in- creased by 2.34%. According to the “Property Tax Report Card,”
enrollment at A-A is expected to drop from 671 to 635, a 5.37% de- crease.
Residents will vote on the 2010-11 spending plan, for a candidate for election to fill a vacancy on the Board of Education, a proposi- tion to purchase one (1) 66-passenger school bus, and a library proposition, from 1 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, May 18 in the high school auditorum.
Incumbent Board of Education Member Gary Acker of Almond is unopposed in his bid for re-election.
Registration for eligible voters will be held from 2 to 8 p.m. Tues- day, May 4 at the school.
A-A school board will present budget May 4
crop they would like but because the club wants to keep the gar- den organic, they will have to contact members in charge for permission to use any fertilizer.
The club will supply members with tools.
There will also be a garden on the left side of the environmental house that will be a shared gar- den. The club plans to grow tomatoes, broccoli, beans, squash, etc. and hopes to have an herb garden as well. It is antici- pated that the vegetables in this garden will be sold to AVI Fresh, AU’s dining services vendor, to supply local food for students.
“AVI Fresh has offered to front cash, up to $500, for items needed for the garden to help get the project started,” said John J.
IT WAS A GLORIOUS day Saturday for the annual Hot Dog Day Saturday, April 24 in Alfred, with thousands enjoying the bands, games, rides, mud olympics, hot dog launch, fun run and, of course, the feature of the day, the Great American Hot Dog! (Leo Nealon Photo)
Dietrich Jr., director of dining services. That $500 would then be used as credit by AVI. “In the summer and fall, we would be able to use food from the garden totaling up to the $500, based on market price at the time. Once the credit runs out, we would be able to purchase items from the garden at market value,” he ex- plained.
The green house currently lo- cated on the left of the environ- mental house will be used as a classroom for professors who wish to teach students about gar- dening as well as a nursery.
“A community garden is a perfect initiative for Alfred Uni- versity, and I am so excited to see it all coming together,” said
Kathy Woughter, vice president for Student Affairs. “For several years, I’ve had conversations with people about a community garden, but nothing was possible without student interest.
“Thanks to the hard work of Hannah (Scout) Dunbar and Kacie Dean, and the partnership of AVI Fresh, our Physical Plant, and everyone involved with our Environmental House, our stu- dents are soon going to enjoy the educational, nutritional, and en- vironmental benefits of a com- munity garden,” said Woughter.
“Though it will start small, I hope the garden will grow into something that all our students and the Alfred community can be proud of.”
The students currently in- volved in the group are Dunbar, a junior art & design major from Ithaca; Amos Mainville, a junior mechanical engineering major from Fort Covington; Kara Kuntz, a junior environmental studies major from Bardonia;
George Lowden, a sophomore are & design major from Mar- blehead, MA; Ean Rice- Mitchell, a sophomore environmental studies major from Otego; and Eggy Ding, a sophomore art & design major from Cincinnati, Ohio.
Each member will donate a few hours each week to garden maintenance; Mainville will be in charge of maintenance and planting over the summer.
AU students create garden club, to maintain community gardens
2 THE ALFRED SUN, Thursday, April 29, 2010
Alfred State College’s survey- ing engineering technology pro- gram received a visit from Topcon Positioning Systems representatives who hosted a demonstration of Topcon equip- ment incorporating the latest technology in the land surveying field, including Global Position- ing System (GPS), laser scan- ners, and integrated robotic total stations. One of the representa- tives, Mike Neff, is a 1994 Al- fred State grad. Also, through the generous efforts of the Top- con representatives and the cor- poration itself, an equipment donation was made to the sur- veying engineering technology program: a digital level, a total station, and a robotic total sta- tion.
* * *
Last Thursday, Keuka Lake State Park in Branchport was se- lected as the future home of the Finger Lakes Cultural & Natural History Museum. The vote was unanimous with one abstention.
The decision came after a long- term evaluation of 19 sites orig- inally proposed. The Branchport Elementary School, which is presently vacant, has been pur- chased by the Finger Lakes Vis- itors Association for use as the Museum’s base of operation HERBERT “BUD” BERRY
Outstanding tenor who sang at 1964 World’s Fair CANASERAGA--Herbert
“Bud” Berry, 89, of Canaseraga passed away Monday (April 19, 2010). He is survived by his wife, Jeanne of 65 years;
brother, Phillip (Bonnie) Travis;
daughters, Sharyn Canham and Stacey Jordan; beloved grand- children, Jessica, Gillian, Bethany, Steffanie, Becky and husband, Tom; great-grandchil- dren, Katie and Tommy; nieces and nephews.
Bud was a member of the first graduating class of the new Canaseraga Central School in 1939. He was a veteran of World War II and was stationed in Eng- land where he met and married Jeanne. He was a life member of the American Legion Fawcett Post 1582.
Bud worked at the former Foster Wheeler Energy Corp., in Dansville for 24 years in the de- sign department. He was a mem- ber of the Foster Wheeler
“Boilermakers” which was an instrumental and vocal group which sang at the first World’s Fair in Flushing in 1964. During this time Bud was also a mem- ber of the Metronomes, a cham- pionship barbershop quartet.
Bud then went on to earn his Bachelor of Technology degree with honors from the Rochester Institute of Technology and be- came a professor in engineering technologies at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf.
Bud was blessed with an out- standing tenor voice and a deep love for music. Among his many performances, he was the tenor soloist in the Messiah, The Re- quiem, Amahl and the Night
during the project’s startup phases. The building will pro- vide 15,000 square feet for busi- ness offices, initial programming and storage for the acquisition of artifacts and collections. Its 13 acre site provides navigable water access to Keuka Lake.
* * *
Alfred State College has re- ceived a gift of $50,000 from Laverne (’56) and Mary Lou Billings of Boynton Beach, FL, to support equipment purchases for the heavy equipment opera- tions program. This is the Billings’ second major gift to the College. In 1999, the Billings contributed $503,000 to create a scholarship endowment.
* * *
Allegany County District of the American Red Cross will offer the following classes dur- ing the month of May: Adult CPR 6-10 p.m. Tuesday, May 11; Infant & Child CPR 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday, May 13; CPR for Professional Rescuer 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, May 15; First Aid 6-10 p.m. Monday, May 17 and Babysitter Training from 9 a.m.
to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 22. Call 585-593-1531 to register.
* * *
E-mail your news items to:
Sunbeams
"IT'S A SMALL TOWN WHEN...
...you dial the wrong number and still talk for 20 minutes."
E-mail items to: [email protected]
OBITUARIES
ALMOND--Children born on or before December 1, 2005 are eligible to enter school in Sep- tember 2010.
On Monday, May 10 at 2:30 p.m. parents and their children in the Alfred-Almond Central School District are invited to at- tend Kindergarten Visitation at A-A. This visitation is open to all children who will be eligible
to enter school in September 2010. Kindergarten registration will be held by appointment only beginning May 12-14 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
If your child is eligible to at- tend Kindergarten in September, 2010 please call the Elementary Office at (607) 276-6525 to con- firm mailing information needed to register your child.
Kindergarten registration May 10 at A-A
Visitors and Down, Down, Down. For years he sang with the Hornell Festival Chorus, the Dansville Community Chorus and the Hornell Area Commu- nity Choir. Most recently he was a member of the Orpheus Chorale. When not singing, Bud was an avid runner which he took up at the age of 50. Among many races, he finished the 8th and 9th Annual International Skyline Marathons.
Upon his retirement, Bud greatly enjoyed wood crafting.
He was well known for his atten- tion to detail and built many construction vehicles and school buses from wood.
There were no prior calling hours. A memorial service will take place at a date and time to be announced by the Hindle Fu- neral Home, Inc., 271 Main St., Dansville. Online remembrances may be left at HindleFuneral- Home.com.
Friends who wish may make memorial contributions to the Canaseraga Ambulance Service, 10 Main St., Box 322, or the Es- sential Club Free Library, 11 Pratt St., both of Canaseraga, N.Y. 14822.
COEN TERRY MOORE Touched the lives of many HORNELL--Coen Terry Moore, 6, of 27 Crosby St., Hor- nell, “received his wings” early Friday morning (April 23, 2010) following a long and courageous battle with neuroblastoma can- cer. Born in Hornell on March 9, 2004, he was the loving son of Adam Moore and Kailey Hamil- ton.
Coen was a kindergarten stu- dent at Bryant Elementary School in Hornell. He loved playing video games with his dad and to cuddle with his mom.
He enjoyed four-wheeling with his grandpa; having breakfast at Burger King with grandma and loved to emulate his uncle Cody.
He had an absolutely wonderful sense of humor and would enter- tain his family and friends with his biting sarcasm. Coen was an extremely smart young man and a “self-proclaimed genius.” He could light up a room with his smile. He touched the lives of many in his brief life and will be sadly missed, but fondly remem- bered by everyone that was for- tunate to know him.
He was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Terry Moore.
In addition to his parents, Adam and Kailey, survivors in- clude his sister, Cadence Moore;
maternal grandparents, John and Wendy Cleveland of Hornell and Russell Hamilton of Wellsville;
maternal great-grandparents, John and Mary Farrell of Duke Center, Pa.; his aunts and uncles, Danielle Hamilton, Regan Cleveland, Cody Cleveland, Nena (Travis) Brown, Daisi Thompson, Danielle Shutes and Evan Lewisi; and his “wife,”
Heather Shaw; two cousins; sev- eral great-aunts, great-uncles and extended family.
The family of Coen Terry Moore will received friends from 3-6 p.m. Tuesday, April 27 at the Dagon Funeral Home, 38 Church St., Hornell, where a
“Celebration of Life” was held at the conclusion of calling hours at 6 p.m. with Deacon Robert McCormick officiating.
A remembrance gathering fol- lowed at the American Legion of Hornell.
Coen’s family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial contri- butions in his name be made to Band of Parents, P.O. Box 335, Dewittville, N.Y. 14728. Memo- rial forms are available at the Dagon Funeral Home.
JOSEPH A. AMATO Former Alfred Station resident
A memorial service will be held on at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 1, 2010 at the Alfred-Almond Bible Church in Almond in re- membrance of Joseph Amato, formerly of Alfred Station. A re- ception will follow the service.
Mig and Jay hope you will at- tend and share your memories of Joe.
! "
THE ALFRED SUN, Thursday, April 29, 2010 3
Quite frankly, we want to keep the dream alive.
Back in 1884, a simple item appeared in the Alfred Sun that said, “Wanted, one thousand subscribers to the Sun.”
That goal suggested by Sun co-founder and legendary Editor and Publisher Frank A.
Crumb, was met before the new
millennium. But now we’d like to keep the dream alive. So we’ve set a goal of 125 new subscribers to mark the SUN’s 125th anniversary.
During Frank Crumb’s Dream Campaign, we offer new subscribers 13 months for the year’s subscription price of $27 ($30 outside of Allegany County). That’s $25 off the news stand price. And you’ll read hometown news and interesting stories found nowhere else!
If you would like to help keep Frank Crumb’s Dream alive, send your name and address or that of a loved one with check payable to “Alfred Sun” to: Frank Crumb’s Dream, c/o Alfred Sun, P.O. Box 811, Alfred, NY 14802. We thank you and Frank thanks
you!
I seem to be stuck in a chocolate rut lately. Whenever I try to think of a new recipe, something chocolate comes to mind. This is doubly strange since I don’t care much for desserts.
This recipe was given to me by my brother many years ago when my children were still small. He probably got it from his best friend, who was a gourmet cook. It is very simple to do and can be quite elegant when served in a fancy dish with whipped cream or perhaps raspberries on top.
Very Easy Chocolate Mousse
1 (12oz.) bag chocolate chips dash of salt 1 egg ¾ c. milk 1 T. brandy (optional)
Put chocolate chips, egg, brandy and salt in a blender. Heat the milk over medium heat. Remove from burner when milk just begins to bubble. Add milk carefully to blender and blend mixture for one minute. Pour into six fancy dishes. Refrigerate for three hours, add your topping, and serve.
SUNNY SIDE UP
By ELLEN SHULTZ Alfred Sun Columnist
In a chocolate rut...is that so bad?
Weather for the Week
April 19-Apil 25 April Hi Lo Precip. Snow
19 59 29 --
20 65 35 --
21 69 35 --
22 62 26 --
23 63 29 --
24 67 38 .28”
25 49 44 .05”
By DENNIS SMITH Alfred Area Weather Recorder
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ANGELICA--The Main Cen- ter Art Gallery in Angelica will celebrate their second anniver- sary with The Main Event, an
Outdoors Arts & Crafts Fair on Saturday, May 8th, from 10 a.m.
to 5 p.m. The Main Event will be held on Center Street, be-
tween Main Street and Me- chanic Street. That section of Center Street will be closed to through traffic in order to allow attendees to easily roam about.
An assortment of artists, arti- sans and crafters from Allegany County and beyond will be ex- hibiting and selling a variety of handmade works. A sampling of the 20 scheduled vendors for the fair include Cassie Was Here (Artistic Handbags,) Hardwood Creations (wood turning), River's Edge (glassworks) and TLA Designs (jewelry). Also planned is a demonstration of horn carving by Angelica local Elmer Harris, and jewelry maker Joseph Glarner will travel all the way over from Jamestown for his silversmith demonstation.
Pet Portrait painter Bev Rhett of Houghton will be exhibiting her recent portrait of dog Ginger Rogers, a Boston Terrior resid- ing in Bolivar. Ginger herself will be making a special guest appearance between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
For those looking for refresh- ments, the food consession will include wraps and Mexican soda
from 17 Main Bistro in Cuba and fresh made-to-order smoothies by part-time Angelica resident Conrad Bruton. There will also be a stand with fresh produce and flowers, perfect for Mother's Day the next day.
"Last May we held our first outdoor arts fair to celebrate our first year in business," says Joel Kassirer of the gallery. "While the turn-out was great, we unfor- tunately had to close down in the early afternoon because of big winds and a rain storm. Since this year's event is rain or shine, we are hoping the weather gods are going to be on our side that day."
In addition to outside vendors, The Main Center will also have their own booth at the fair, where they will sell authentic movie posters. These original posters are from different the- aters throughout New York State, and include such hit films as "Austin Powers", "Batman Begins," "Dawn of the Dead",
"Elf", "Harry Potter" (Phoenix),
"Legally Blonde" and "The Break-Up", among many others.
The Arts & Crafts fair is being
held during the first day of An- gelica's annual "Main Street in May" festivities. Other events in town that day include a car show, perennial plant exchange, tea tasting, printing demo, store sales and a theatrical production by the Angelica Players.
The Main Center Art Gallery is located at 71 West Main Street in Angelica, off I-86, exit 31.
Current hours are Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sum- mer hours begin on Saturday, June 26th, every day 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
More information on The Main Center Art Gallery is avail- able at 585-466-7ART or www.maincenterart.com .
Casey Robber of Almond will be participating in the Art Fair with her Casey Was Here line of artistic handbags.
Main Center Art Gallery in Angelica offers Outdoors Arts & Crafts Fair May 8
4 THE AlFRED SUn, Thursday, April 29, 2010
To the Editor:
At a TEA Party I attended on April 15th, a young person held up a sign which succinctly stated what the TEA Party movement is about. The sign said “Raise our freedoms, not our taxes.” Many enraged with and opposed to the TEA Party will spot and extract racism in the sign, but any objec- tive American can readily under- stand what the young person’s point was. What she wrote was in- deed true. The raising of taxes par- ticularly for unconstitutional spending decreases freedom.
The latest health care bill with more taxes on the rich does not mean we who are not rich have more freedom. Our freedom is di- minished as well as we must abide by and be under the control of nameless government regulators.
The TEA Party, contrary to what the delusional detractors make it out to be, is about standing up for freedom and rights eroding away with this incessant over- spending and greater taxation im- posed by the party of control now in control of Congress. The legis-
Stand up for freedom
Arizona law not racist Capitalism, socialism
not Ungermann’s group
T he A lfred S un
Official Newspaper of the Village of Alfred, the Town of Alfred and the Alfred-Almond Central School District.
USPS 985-800
764 ROUTE244 AlFRED(TinkERTOwn) SnAil-MAil:PO BOx811, AlFRED, nY 14802-0811
PHOnE: 607-587-8110 FAx 607-587-8113 E-MAil: [email protected]
David L. Snyder, Editor & Publisher
The Alfred Sun is published weekly except for two weeks during the summer by Twin Creek Publishing, Box 811, Alfred, NY 14802.
Second Class Postage paid at Alfred Station, NY 14803.
Member, New York Press Association Member, Alfred Business Association
Contributors:
Anne Acton, Betsy Brooks, Lana Meissner, Elaine Hardman, Tammy Kokot, Doug Lorow, Matt Mueller, Linda Lewandowski, Leo Nealon,
Donna Ryan, Amanda Snyder, Ben Howard, Ellen Shultz, Sherry Volk, Mary Lu Wells, Linda Staiger, Alfred State College, Alfred Uni-
versity, Alfred-Almond Central School and many more.
How to Subscribe or Renew Your Subscription:
$27 a year in Allegany County, $30 outside.
To Order, send a check with mailing address to:
Alfred Sun Subscription, Box 811, Alfred, NY 14802.
For advertising rates, call 607-587-8110, fax request to 607- 587-8113 or e-mail: [email protected]
Of the Community. By the Community. For the Community.
“A pretty darn good newspaper serving Alfred since 1883”
POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to: Alfred Sun, Box 811, Alfred, NY 14802
Frank Crumb’s Dream Subscription Campaign Update
65 down, 60 to go
Back in 1884, a simple item appeared in the Sun that said,
“Wanted, one thousand sub- scribers to the Alfred Sun.” It’s been 125 years since legendary Sun Editor Frank A. Crumb, who was with the Sun from 1883 to 1951, set the millenary goal.
Not knowing of Frank Crumb’s Dream, I, too, had set a goal of 1000 subscribers when I joined the paper in 1976. That goal was finally reached in Jan- uary 1999. But we want to keep the dream alive.
The late Eugene T. Van Horn, who owned the newspaper from 1951 until 1973, told us one time that circulation peaked in the 1960s at 700. It’s now over 900. We’ve added 65 new sub- scribers since Jan. 1, 2009.
We encourage our readers to give a subscription to the Alfred Sun as a gift--it keeps giving week after week, all through the year. During Frank Crumb’s Dream Campaign, we offer 13 months for the price of $27 ($30 outside of Allegany County).
That’s $25 off the news stand price. And you’ll read exclusive hometown news and interesting stories!
We think the Alfred Sun is like a weekly letter from home.
If you would like to contribute to Frank Crumb’s Dream, send your name and address or that of a loved one together with your check payable to “Alfred Sun” to: Frank Crumb’s Dream, c/o Alfred Sun, P.O. Box 811, Alfred, NY 14802. Happy read- ing!--David L. Snyder, Ed. & Pub.
lation Congress is passing is doing nothing more than making gov- ernment bigger and the individual smaller.
No wonder the polls are tanking for Barack Obama and Democ- rats. Recently, Pew Research re- leased research revealing a staggering number of nearly 80%
of Americans expressing distrust of the government in Washington.
I can see why. Just take, for in- stance, Goldman Sachs now sul- lied with scandal! Look who received a vast sum of money, nearly $1 million, from people tied to Goldman Sachs: Barack Obama. Will he return the money?
The only other entity that put more money into Barack Obama’s campaign coffers was the Univer- sity of California, mired today in financial quandaries. Glad those linked to the University of Cali- fornia had that much money to spend on Barack Obama instead of education.
Mel McGinnis
Open Letter to David Pullen:
For your information, the Alle- gany County Citizens For Re- sponsible Government is a group of residents from around the county. We are a non-partisan group with 50 plus card carrying members. Other residents attend, but are not members. Everyone is allowed to speak and bring up their concerns.
Yes, Mr. Norman Ungermann
Undebatable
The Senate can vote as to whether they want to debate, But they don’t debate; they’ve already decided its fate.
See, a vote on debate is vote yea or nay on the bill,
Thus, approving debate simply means they can pass it at will.
If it isn’t approved, then the bill should soon die a quick death;
So if they just skipped the vote to debate, they could all save their breath.
Because nobody changes their vote by what’s screamed from the floor;
Votes only change by what’s whispered behind a closed door.
—Anon A. Mouse
attends our meetings, but is not a member, I repeat, is NOT A MEMBER, and we are NOT HIS GROUP. At various times we have had four legislators attend and also two men who ran for and were elected last November.
Maybe you should attend one of our meetings and observe how the PEOPLE feel about what is hap- pening with our tax dollars. On second thought, just read the arti- cles by the journalists who attend our meetings. They tell it like it is.
John E. Hughes Cuba
Letter-To-The Editor:
Would it be a surprise to you if I said that there are people in our federal, state, and local govern- ments, including elected represen- tatives, who are looking for ways to weaken and dismantle our So- cial Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Unemployment Insurance and other such programs; all of the programs that were designed to help people who are "in real trou- ble" for one reason or another?
The typical tactics for doing this are to first convince the public to believe that 'socialism' of any kind is 'evil', a foreign conspiracy to un- dermine American values. Then there are the periodic hints of un- substantiated, rampant fraud and waste in those programs, multi- tudes of undeserving people tak- ing unfair advantage of their fellow taxpayers; yet nothing is really done to fix these "phantom"
problems.
These innuendoes resurface with great regularity. If people are told the same untruths over and over again, we are more and more re- ceptive to believing them as truth.
Then comes the introduction of
"new ways," like partial privatiza- tion to supposedly fix everything.
You wonder, "Why?" Exclu- sively, "capitalism," only con- cerned with ever increasing profits, expansion and control, but not with "human welfare," will gobble up any available pool of money it can manage to acquire, no matter what the consequences.
The tax dollars being spent on our
"safety-net" programs are the tar- get of corporate interests in Amer- ica. This is not an issue of
"capitalism vs. socialism," be- cause we need both; our physical survival is dependent upon both.
But, it is, however, a question for every democracy to ask, "Who will decide what programs are im- portant and necessary to us as a people, citizens or corporations?"
Many of the "people" oriented programs from the "New Deal"
era that were put in place, such as the ones that created temporary jobs for ordinary citizens who had been thrown-out-of-work because of the unregulated, financial prac- tices of Wall Street and bankers, were the first to go. Now, doesn't this sound familar?
Just railing at the injustice, in- humanity, ineptness and unfair- ness of our situation is not enough.
We need to begin meeting to- gether, inviting neighbors into our discussions, affiliate with organi- zations that support progressive,
not knee-jerk, changes, listen and contribute, plan, be prepared to continuously contact your elected representatives on issues and throughout all this, act for the good of our nation and its people.
And you thought that democ- racy was simple, just contributing to candidates for elective office, voting and then going home to complain what a mess they have created. Unfortunately, the U.S.
Supreme Court decision of letting corporations have a predominant,
"unequal" voice in the control of our government is a "game changer"; it is no longer a sit- down-job protecting our democ- racy. We must all get together and get involved.
Douglass Turner Alfred To the Editor:
I read recently in the news that Hispanics in Arizona are angry that they may be asked to prove citizenship in a new law in Ari- zona and that this is racism. Pres- ident Obama is going to consider this issue.
Well, enough is enough. I thought when Obama was elected we had proven that we don't care where you are from or the shade of your skin, we care about the quality of person you are. I wish I could address these people.
I grew up on the Canadian bor- der; as a child we were asked where we were born, now we are asked where we live. Actually back then you didn't need a pass- port to go to Canada. With all of the terrorism issues we are dealing with these people have issues with being asked about their nationality status, and are claiming racism.
Racism--what a nasty word. I have never encountered any of it here in Alfred. I did in California as a young girl where my father was a Border Patrol Officer. I went to school in southern CA near the border with mostly Mex- ican children who wouldn't speak English so the teacher spoke mostly Spanish to us, often forget- ting to speak English, and children wouldn't play with us at recess.
One day they locked my younger brother, sister and me (I was 8 at the time) in the underpass tunnel after school. My Mom had to get the Super to let us out.It was a US school and there were only a few Gringos, as we were called, in each class. I still wonder how many of their parents paid taxes.
Do I sound bitter? To this day in 2010, I remember how we were treated in the early ’50s by chil- dren being educated with the hard earned dollars of people like my father who spent days in the Cali- fornia desert, being shot at, jump- ing trains, wading in the All American canal looking for ille- gals entering the US.
I have no problem with people entering this country legally and I will gladly answer any Immigra- tion Officer or Border Patrol Offi- cer questioning my nationality because I know how hard they work to keep our borders safe and how it is necessary to maintain our security and freedom.
Lauren Butler
THE ALFRED SUN, Thursday, April 29, 2010 5
Allegany County Office for the Aging Meals on Wheels & Luncheon Center Menu
Monday, May 3
Applesauce, gelatin, Swiss steak, mashed potatoes, Brussel Sprouts, wheat bread, sugar cookie, diabetic diced peaches.
Tuesday, May 4
Cranberry gelatin salad, roast turkey w/gravy, stuffing, squash, dinner roll, frosted pumpkin bars, diabetic pumpkin pudding.
Wednesday, May 5 Tropical fruit salad, baked ham, whipped sweet potatoes, peas, rye bread, ice cream, diabetic ice cream.
Thursday, May 6
Mother’s Day Special: Tossed salad w/dressing, lasagna, Italian green beans, garlic bread, applesauce cake, diabetic applesauce.
Friday, May 7
Creamsicle salad, tuna casserole, mixed vegetables, Italian bread, fresh fruit, diabetic fresh fruit.
For reservations, call the site coordina- tor or 585-268-9390 or (toll free 1-866- 268-9390) by 2 p.m. on the previous day.ALFRED NUTRITION SITE Union University Church Center, 12 noon
Call Cindy Berry at 607-382-4918.
Monday—Exercises at 10:30 a.m., lunch at noon.
Wednesday—Exercises at 10:30 a.m., lunch at noon. Nicki Jones, VNA.
Thursday—Lunch at noon.
BELMONT NUTRITION SITE American Legion Hall, 11:30 a.m.
Call Lila Johnson at 585-268-5380.
Tuesday—Exercises at 10 a.m., lunch at 11:30 a.m. “National Pet Week,”
“Hug Week.”
Thursday—Exercises at 10 a.m., lunch at 11:30 a.m. “Mother’s Day” & “Flow- ers.” Nicki Jones, VNA.
BOLIVAR NUTRITION SITE Fire Hall 12 noon
Call Carolyn Hackett at 585-928-2672
WHAT’S COOKIN’?
The Alfred State College Outdoor Recreation Club (ORC) spent Sunday, April 25 morning clean- ing up garbage from the creek that runs through campus along with the main street from Com- munity Bank to the Alfred Post Office. Along with wet, muddy feet, they were able to collect enough trash to fill the back end of this small truck. Thank you to everyone who helped with the spring clean-up: Caroline Santiago, RA (from left) in Townhouses; Ashley Kehoe, director of civic engagement and student leadership programs; Andy Bayus, co-adviser ORC club; Jacob Bayus, secretary ORC club (back left); Tim Riehlman, treasurer ORC club; Morgan Presher, guru man ORC club; Ryan Johnstone, rec room equipment ORC club (back right); Marty Gotwalt, presi- dent ORC club; Lucas Bayus; and Rebecca Osterhout, friend of the ORC club. Missing from photo were Andrew Catlin (still picking up bottles and cans) and Kathy Bayus (taking photo).
Monday—Exercises at 11 a.m., lunch at noon.
Wednesday—Exercises at 11 a.m., lunch at 12 noon.
Thursday—Lunch at 12 noon.
CANASERAGA NUTRITION SITE Canaseraga Fire Hall, 11:45 a.m.
Call Barb Welch at 607-295-7301.
Tuesday—Exercises at 10:30 a.m., Lunch at 11:45 a.m., “Bingo.”
Thursday—Exercises at 10:30 a.m., Lunch at 11:45 a.m. “Pet Picture Con- test” & “National Pet Week.” Blood pressure clinic.
CUBA NUTRITION SITE AA Arnold Community Center, 12 noon
Call Linda Nelson at 585-968-2397 Monday—Exercises at 10:30 a.m., Eu- chre, Cards, Dominoes, Puzzles at 11 a.m., Lunch at noon, “National Pet Week-Bring Photo of Pet-Present or Past.”
Tuesday—Euchre, Cards, Dominoes, Puzzles at 10:30 a.m., lunch at 12 noon. “Audrey Hepburn’s Birth Anniver- sary.”
FILLMORE NUTRITION SITE Fillmore Fire Hall,, 12 noon Call Maggie Brown at 585-737-5609 Monday—Exercises at 10:30 a.m., Lunch at noon, Cards, Jigsaw Puzzles, Euchre.
Thursday—Exercises at 10:30 a.m., Cards, Jigsaw Puzzles, Euchre. Lunch at noon.
FRIENDSHIP NUTRITION SITE Community Center, 12 noon Call Office for the Aging 585-268- Tuesday—Exercises 9390 at 10:45 a.m.,Lunch at noon. Crafts at 1:00 p.m.
Thursday—Exercises at 10:45 a.m., Lunch at noon. Crafts at 1:00 p.m.
WELLSVILLE NUTRITION SITE Community Center, 12 noon Call Donna Fiegl at 585-593-7665.
Monday—Stretch at 9 a.m., Bingo at 10:30 a.m., Lunch at noon, Euchre at 1 p.m.Wednesday—Games 10 a.m., Lunch at noon, Euchre 1 p.m.
Thursday—Stretch 9 a.m., Bingo at 10:30 a.m., Lunch at noon, Bridge at 1 p.m.
Friday--Bingo at 10:30 a.m., Lunch at noon, Pinochle at 12:30 p.m.
WHITESVILLE NUTRITION SITE Whitesville Fire Hall, 12 noon Call Voni Mattison at 315-878-2507.
Monday—Exercises at 10:45 a.m., Lunch at noon, “Mad Lib.”
Tuesday—Lunch at 12 noon. “Cartoon- ists Day.”
Wednesday—Exercises at 10:45 a.m., Lunch at 12 noon, “Mother’s Day Cele- bration.”
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS
Last week I received an e-mail that referred me to an article in the Business First of Buffalo news journal. The title of the article was “Small Allegany County Posts a Big Number.” The opening sentence declared “Allegany County is setting the economic pace for all of New York – in at least one category, anyway.” The rest of the article dealt with the recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Eco- nomic Analysis relating to “total personal income”, also referred to as TPI. The good news is that TPI in Allegany County grew by 7.3%
from 2007 to 2008. The second best TPI growth in New York State was in Jefferson County with 6.2%. The national median TPI growth was 4.3%. This is encouraging, and I want to congratulate the work- ers and citizens of Allegany County on their outstanding progress.
This is especially impressive given the difficult economic climate during the period covered by this Report.
The progress identified in this Report shows that some of the efforts by our County Economic Development Office and Industrial Development Agency are bearing fruit. We need to continue and in- crease our efforts in the area of economic development. Such efforts can and do make a difference. I commend John Foels, Wendell Brown, Sherrie Grugel and the others who are making a difference in this area.
However, there is another dimension revealed by this data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Even with our outstanding 7.3%
growth in total personal income we still rank dead last in TPI in New York State. We have been making progress since 2000. In eight years our TPI has increased 35.7%. We now have an average per capita income of $26,033. This proves we can make significant progress.
It also shows that we have a long way to go before we can consider our job to be “well done”.
It is easy to complain about things that we don’t like. It is harder to figure out why things aren’t working properly, and even harder to figure out what changes we should make. The Report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis contains a wealth of data. That data contains some clues about why the economy here is struggling. The average TPI for counties in Upstate and Western New York are mostly grouped in the range of $28,000 to $35,000. Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Steuben, and Wyoming Counties are only slightly bet- ter off than we are. If we continue our robust TPI growth we may be able to catch up or surpass some of our neighboring counties.
The real problem is that the New York City metropolitan area has most of the wealth. The TPI for New York City outside of Man- hattan is in the high $30,000 range. Westchester County’s TPI is
$77,192. Suffolk County and Nassau County on Long Island have TPI of $50,000 and $65,000 respectively. The only county outside of NYC with TPI over $45,000 is Albany County, which is like an extension of NYC. Manhattan has TPI of $120,766, which is almost 5 times our TPI. Maybe that is not too surprising given its position as the financial capital of the world. What is unacceptable is that the entire metropolitan area is also doing very well, while the remainder of the state, except Albany, is doing poorly.
This data shows that the problem is structural rather than simply circumstantial or coincidental. The political power in the State is now focused in New York City. Our State government is treating all of Upstate New York as second-class citizens. I don’t know if this is intentional or because they simply don’t have any idea about the reality of life outside of the Big Apple. I am convinced we can com- pete economically in a fair contest. Unfortunately, Albany and NYC have stacked the deck against us. This needs to change. If it doesn’t it may be time to secede.
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ALFRED--The final Aman- dine Club meeting for the season will be a luncheon catered by Jill Grigg. It will be held at 1 p.m.
Thursday, May 6 at the Alfred Seventh Day Baptist Parish House. The cost of the luncheon is $10 and reservations should be made with Amanda Snyder 587-8420 or Mary Huntington 587-9239 by Monday, May 3.
The Thought for the Day will be given by Thelma Palmiter.
All women from the Alfred area are invited to attend.
Amandine Club luncheon
6 THE ALFRED SUN, Thursday, April 29, 2010
ALFRED--On Sunday, May 2, all are invited to participate in the Alfred Rod and Gun Club Turkey Shoot, to be held at the Rod and Gun Club located off Route 244 near Five Corners. Starting at 11 a.m., those wishing to participate in the shoot may sign up for target events using a variety of firearms. There will be juvenile as well as adult competitions.
Winners will walk away with their choice of turkey or ham. There will be a limit of three first place prizes. There will be food by "Mc- Donna's" including Donna Rogers’ famous chicken wing chili. There will be raffles for donated items as well as cuts of meat. Proceeds will support hunter's safety, conservation and hunter's education.
FREE 18” Strand Freshwater Pearls with Mother’s Ring purchase
Rings must be ordered by Saturday, May 1.
There certainly were dozens of photos taken on beautiful Hot Dog Day 2010. Bob Volk wandered about and took a few. This view down Saxon Drive, where the Fun Bun Run and Walk had begun earlier, captures the spirit of enjoyment as villagers, visitors, and students turned out to meet, greet, and play in the perfect weather.
Rod & Gun Club plans Turkey Shoot
ALMOND--The Alfred Al- mond Central School Alumni Association will be offering scholarships to AACS students to attend sports and fine arts camps this summer, it has been announced by Lee A. Ryan, AA AA president.
“Since 1987, the alumni asso- ciation has granted more than
$15,000 in Jim Baker Sports Camp Awards to underclass- men, assisting them in attending sports camps of their choice dur- ing the summer,” Ryan ex- plained. It was established in 1987 to honor Jim Baker, ’61, a 3-year letter AACS athlete and member of the AA AA executive board prior to his passing.
A Viet Nam vet who served aboard the USS Franklin D.
Roosevelt, Jim later pursued a career in law enforcement, serv- ing as a police officer for the Vil- lage of Alfred and finally as a New York State Trooper. After declining health caused his re- tirement as a NYS Trooper, he worked with the Allegany County Association for Retarded Children (ARC) program in Al- fred, passing away in 1987. The Ed Ormsby family, along with his late mother, Mildred Baker, and his brother, D. Philip Baker,
A-A Alumni Assn. offers camp funds
Learning from a Cohocton resident’s wind experience
By KIM DONIUS
ALFRED--The community is urged to attend the next Wind En- ergy meeting, Thursday, May 20, 7 p.m. In addition, the May 13, Al- fred Town Board meeting at Shaw Road at 7pm will ask Alfred Station and Alfred residents to present information and petitions to the town board. All are welcome to attend and express your views.
At the April 15 meeting of the Wind Energy informational meet- ing John Anderson began by clarifying that Alfred State College would adhere to local town laws for any part of the project on state property. It was reported by town board member, Mary Stearns that the planning board has approved a preliminary wind energy law. The draft is now with the town's lawyer for review. It will come back to the board for changes and eventually a public hearing will be held.
Currently the turbine’s setback is 2640' (one-half mile) from non par- ticipating residences and 1500’ from a wetland. (A non participating residence is one without an industrial wind turbine on the property)
A report on property economic considerations presented a study done for Texas rural land. It was researched and presented by Bob Donius. A photo presentation with written commentary is available at: http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/impact-of-wind-turbines- on-market-value-of-texas-rural-land/ You can also find this presen- tation by linking to the wind energy information on the Alfred village website - www.alfredny.org.
Donius’ main points included: property values within a larger area around a wind farm increase, but as you shrink the radius, values begin to decline. This area, the “negative impact zone” is the area within a two mile radius of an industrial wind turbine (see attached picture). In Alfred, a 2 Megawatt size turbine, (400' high to tip of raised blade) would be located little more than one-half mile from Al- fred village, depreciating property within that radius. Donius stated that while there is an unequal impact on landowners, there is no mech- anism for proportional compensation. There should be some method of protecting the property value of homeowners near the leased prop- erties.
Cohocton resident, Jim Hall, a key figure in establishing the Co- hocton Wind Watch website, provided information and news in op- position to industrial wind turbines in the Cohocton area and to the corporate-community process that transpired in order to establish wind turbines in Cohocton.
Hall's main points included:
* there are 50 industrial turbines in Cohocton; 15 turbines are within one and one-half mile of his home.
* recent appraisal has dropped by nearly 50%.
* when property values decline there is less incentive to keep property up.* the often stated number of homes that can be powered by Cohocton turbines is a myth. The capacity factor or how much energy is produced compared to the turbine's maximum output is not exceeding 12% .
* Wind corporations are in the industry for the subsidies, tax breaks and green credit payments.
* community members must ask what will happen when the wind energy corporation chooses to walk away. Who's responsible? Who will pick up the pieces?
* he stated that it's a myth that taxes will always go down.
* Cohocton’s PILOTS were not forthcoming as arranged by a Host Com- munity Agreement.
* the financial arrangements established in their host agreements have not been met. There is a bureaucratic deadlock and the people of the town cannot obtain the financial records.
*The cost of Cochocton’s (First Wind) corporation was $5 million to put up single turbine. ($3M is more often quoted).
* Cohocton installed Clipper turbines, which are not working well.
Some turbines will have to come down.
Jim Hall discussed his experience of noise. Noise is the greatest in winter when the wind is stronger; noise can be a real problem at a greater distance as the sound is "thrown" well beyond turbine location.
In Cohocton, sound distance is 550’ from the road and the distance from which they measure setback is from center point of turbine to residence is1563’.
’54, were instrumental in setting up the fund to honor Jim’s love of sports and competition. Phil indicated that Jim believed “that life is just one turn around the track . . . . and in sports, as with life, the goal is to compete fairly and honorably and always at the highest level of performance.”
“Because of the popularity of the Jim Baker Sports Camp Awards, the board has recently decided to establish a Fine Arts Camp Awards program, with the initial funding provided by the Frances Burke Nash bequest.
Purpose will be to give assistance to AA students who wish to at- tend a music, theatre or arts camp during the summer,” he said.
A member of the AACS Class of 1943, Fran was assistant edi- tor of the Alcen, and was active in Chorus, First Aid, Leaders’
Club, Library Club, and Press
Club. She and her husband, George, lived in Hornell after his retirement from the US Marine Corps, and she was a loyal AA Alumni Association booster.
Applications for the camps are available at AACS, and the deadline for them to be returned is Friday, May 7. Mrs. Bonnie Booman. AACS art teacher, will be distributing and collecting the fine arts camp applications.
Kert Decker, AACS athletic di- rector, is handling the sports camp applications. If you wish to donate to either of these awards programs, or if you have any questions, please notify Lee A. Ryan, 276 6760, [email protected], or use the dues/donation/reserva- tion form found in the back of 2010 AA AA newsletter which is expected to be mailed out to alumni the first week in May.
Alfred Wind Energy Notes
A periodic column to inform Alfred residents of the ongoing findings of a wind energy study group.
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Moonlighter
Restaurant Guide...10 Entertainment...8-9 Classified Ads...13 Public Notices...13 Years Ago...14
Alfred Sun’s Second Section--Entertainment, Classified Advertising, Etc., Etc.
Weeks of April 29-May 5, 2010 ALFRED SUN, PO Box 811, 764 Route 244, Alfred, NY 14802 607-587-8110
Clay not likely material for lace...(with one exception)
ALFRED—Alfred University students in the Directing II class taught by Dr. Becky Prophet, professor of theater, present a smorgasbord of plays, “Take 5/Take 6, Thursday, April 29 through Saturday May 1, in the C.D. Smith Theatre, Miller Per- forming Arts Center, on campus.
Eleven advanced theater stu- dents will each direct a short play for this gala of productions.
The plays will be divided into two groups. The first group will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 29, and Saturday May 1.
The second group will perform at 7 p.m. Friday, April 30, and 2 p.m. Saturday May 1.
In order to view all 11 produc- tions, the playgoer would have to attend on two different days.
Admission is open to the public
free of charge.
Group one, the “Take 5” per- formances, consists of Melanie Baker, a senior theater and Eng- lish major from New York City directing “The Universal Lan- guage” by David Ives; Chris Hanretty, a junior theater major from Port Chester directing
“Ferris Wheel” by Mary Miller;
Humberto Bonilla, a senior the- ater major from Brooklyn pre- senting “Kingdom of the Spider by Nick Zagon; Elin Dehuvyne, a senior theater major from Sacramento, CA presenting
“Anything for You” by Cathy Celesia; and Tyler Cummins, a junior theater and English major from Arundel, Maine directing
“The Problem” by A.R. Gurney.
Group two, the “Take 6” per- formances, includes Harold By ELAINE HARDMAN
Alfred Sun Reporter ALFRED--Clay is not likely material for lace. Lace delicately floats while clay lands with a thud. Clay is stiff but lace con- forms. Clay is not suitable for lace except in the Kate Roberts’
studio where clay is lace and lace is clay and a person almost wants to don white gloves and a hoop skirt and sip sweet sas- safras tea. One might pretend the white powder there is confec- tioner’s sugar from the kitchen and not alumina hydrate because Kate has redefined lace.
Kate is preparing for her Sen- ior Thesis Show at Alfred Uni- versity where she will present 3 clay/lace dresses–each repre- senting a character from the film, Gone with the Wind:
Melanie, Scarlett and Belle.
How does one come to decide to build clay/lace dresses?
Kate’s work with clay started in summer camp at home in Greenville, South Carolina. Art is important in Greenville in school and in the community.
The summer program there is Explore the Arts and Kate went to that program when she was in elementary school. In high school, she took academic classes in the morning but spent afternoons at the Fine Arts Cen- ter in elective art classes.
The Fine Arts Center offers vi- sual arts, writing, film and video,
dance, drama and music per- formance programs. Positions in the programs are hard to earn but Kate made it through the audi- tions and was accepted so she worked there in a clay class of 9.
She was hand building then and her hands are still at it.
Kate said that she likes to work with her hands. She de- fines herself as a tactile person and says that using her hands keeps her focused. She’s always making things.
She likes working with clay because “you don’t really know what you’ll get from a kiln fir- ing. Will you be challenged by it or will you be content?”
Kate said that while she does- n’t wear lace clothing but she very much likes lace. She likes the line quality of lace and the drawings within lace. She’s been studying Italian and Irish lace because many of the designs have stories behind them. Her first explorations into clay lace were with doilies. That hap- pened last year when she took a tile class with Anne Currier.
A grad student helped Kate with research to work out a clay body suitable for piping clay lace. She began using a frosting bag to pipe clay onto surfaces drawing doilies. The first dress she made, the only one she has put together totally so far, is an open-work lace dress designed around the story and character of
Melanie Hamilton. During the work with lace and the explo- ration of tile and lace clay, she thought about what her work was about and was more and more drawn to understanding
the plight of women and women's rights.
She had beautiful material and wanted to test its limits. She said, “I’m not sure how I de- cided on making a hoop skirt but I entered senior year deciding that was something I wanted to make. It started out as just one dress and I was using Gone with the Wind as a point to reference.
As I looked further into it, I re- alized there wasn't just one story to tell from just one woman. The project grew to 3 dresses, three characters.”
The bodice of the first dress hangs in Kate’s workspace and shows in the photo. It’s held to- gether by wires and hoops. The skirt is flat and also built over hoops - about 25 pounds of clay and wire. The clay loosely de- fines a Southern ball gown, once brilliantly white but turned creamy over time, with an old Hollywood feel.
Kate needed help to work out the measurements and angles to convert her drawing to 3-D pat- terns and molds so she went to Carlo Sammarco, Alfred’s re- search associate/raw materials technician. Sammarco has a computer program (Rhino) that helped work out the dimensions of the skirt which is made of 72
parts (I think).
The next dress was Scarlet’s - a blue dress, weathered gray. It is more substantial than Melanie’s dress with some open lace but with fancy ruffles that move toward solid reflecting Scarlet’s character. In order to deal with the challenges of life Scarlet had to become less open and lacy, “more male,” as Kate see it. More self reliant and firm.
The third dress, Belle’s dress, is a once vibrant red gone pale rose. It has solid panels over heavy wire hoops with a skirt both ruffled and flat. Belle’s dress is still waiting for time in the kiln and there was just one week of work time left at the time of our talk.
Kate sees her work as an ex- ploration of the roles of women in society. She has friends who went to college with the goal of finding a husband. She grew up with the demands of Southern formality that directs pearls be worn to Sunday dinner and con- siders prim and proper to be highly desirable. When I met her, Kate wasn’t wearing pearls nor did she seem focused on much beyond her work.
Kate recently showed in the student show at the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts conference in Philadelphia where she was awarded the Regina Brown Un- dergrad Fellowship. The prize,
$1800, is designated to help her brand herself. She plans to use the prize to develop a website and buy more materials to make more dollies. Kate learned last year that they are desirable Christmas ornaments and hopes that she can sell enough of them to help her continue to make sculptures.
Kate just had a job interview for a possible summer job. If that doesn’t happen, she’ll go home and work on her branding and make doilies. Student teach- ing will take up her time this fall.
Originally the idea of teaching was sort of a back up but she might be getting more interested in a steady job, health insurance, benefits. Adventure is nice but so is security.
Senior thesis shows open at 4 pm on Saturday, May 8 from 4- 7 all around Alfred University.
Find Kate on the second floor of Harder Hall in the painting area.
In the past there have always been maps to help one find all the many shows opening that evening.
KATE ROBERTS in her studio, has redefined lace...and clay.
Muntner, a junior theater and po- litical science major from Stam- ford, CT directing “Dancing in the Afternoon” by Chris Mann;
Anna Kowalczuk, a junior the- ater major from Scarsdale pre- senting “Pillow Talk” by Peter Tolan; Emily Dowd, a senior theater and psychology major from Arcata, CA directing “Bor- rowed Parts” by Walter Wykes;
Ramona Kingsley, a senior the- ater major from Wellsville di- recting “Railing it Uptown” by Shirley Lauro; Johnathan Hamolsky, a junior theater major from Rindge, NH presenting
“Funeral Parlor” by Christopher Durang; and Javier Pritchard, a junior undecided major from Wyandanch directing “Frog Loves Christy” by Ann Wuehler.
Alfred University theater students to direct
a smorgasbord of one-act plays this week
8 THE ALFRED SUN, Thursday, April 29, 2010
Many years ago, when my son was in diapers and I was a new and inexperienced father, I spoke with a visiting poet about the chal- lenges of fatherhood. Among them was the challenge of pushing a diaper pin through several layers of cloth without sticking it into my son.Gray-haired and world-weary, the poet was himself the father of four grown children. “With our firstborn,” he reflected, “I used to worry about that. But by the time the fourth one came along, I just pushed the pin in and hoped for the best.”
I suspect that the poet was exaggerating, or tailoring his reflec- tion for comic effect. But his remark has proved memorable, perhaps because it illustrates the degree to which second, third, and fourth experiences differ from the first. The first time around, we may be fully attentive, whether out of fear or wonder or concern. By the fourth, we may be indifferent or complacent. What once was fresh has become old hat.
To restore our initial wonder is a central aim of Zen practice.
What Shunryu Suzuki Roshi famously called beginner’s mind is no other than the capacity to experience the world freely and openly, without prior judgments or self-centered agendas. In Zen Mind, Be- ginner’s Mind, he puts it this way:
Our “original mind” includes everything in itself. It is always rich and sufficient within itself. You should not lose your self-sufficient state of mind. This does not mean a closed mind, but actually an empty and a ready mind. If your mind is empty, it is ready for any- thing; it is open to everything. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few.
Meeting the world with “original mind,” we bring a receptive aware- ness to whatever we encounter, holding our memories and precon- ceptions in abeyance. Original mind, Suzuki goes on to say, is the mind of boundless compassion. To return to original mind is to open ourselves not only to our immediate surroundings but also to the in- terdependent, ever-changing web of life.
But how is one to do that? By what means are we to meet the fourth—or five hundredth—experience of a repeated action with
“original mind”?
In her book Everyday Zen, Charlotte Joko Beck offers this advice:
A zendo is not a place for bliss and relaxation, but a furnace room for the combustion of our egoistic delusions. What tools do we need to use? Only one. We’ve all heard of it, yet we use it seldom. It’s called attention.
Attention is the cutting, burning sword, and our practice is to use that sword as much as we can. None of us is very willing to use it; but when we do—even for a few minutes—some cutting and burn- ing takes place. All practice aims to increase our ability to be atten- tive, not just in zazen but in every moment of our lives.
What the burning sword cuts through, Beck subsequently explains, is delusive conceptual thought. By paying close and continuous at- tention, we come to realize that “the conceptual process is a fantasy;
and the more we grasp this the more our ability to pay attention to reality increases.”
Egoistic delusions are many, but few are more pervasive or po- tentially harmful than the illusion of sufficient expertise: of already knowing it all, or all that is relevant to the occasion. Whether the activity be pinning a diaper or chopping an onion, managing a port- folio or diagnosing an illness, the “expert’s mind” may well be closed to possibilities. It may also misperceive the facts, jump to conclusions, or ignore conflicting evidence. Cutting through the self- centered concept of expertise, the sword of attention clears a path toward the unknown, unprecedented reality before us. Burning away conceptions and misconceptions, prejudices and expectations, it en- ables us to encounter the present moment on its own terms rather than impose our own. “Don’t-know mind,” the Korean master Seung Sahn liked to call it. “Only don’t know!” Difficult to cultivate and even more difficult to maintain, it is essential to the practice of Zen.
______________________________________________________
Ben Howard is Emeritus Professor of English at Alfred University and leader of the Falling Leaf Sangha, a Zen practice group in Al- fred. The Falling Leaf Sangha meets every Sunday from 7:30-8:45 pm in room 301 of the Miller Performing Arts Center on the Alfred University campus. Newcomers are welcome.
‘Why Localism Matters’
topic at First Fridays
By LAUREL BUCKWALTER Special to the Alfred Sun ALFRED—Alfred 21st Cen- tury Group will hold the first celebration of the recently re- stored 1900 Strick and Zeidler baby grand piano at 4 p.m. Sun- day, May 2 in the 1890 Fire- men’s Hall Theater, Alfred Village Hall, 7 West University Street, Alfred.
Featured at the event will be a concert of music provided by a group of singers directetd by Laurel Buckwalter. The group got together this semester to sing just for the fun of it while there was no AU Chorus to sing in.
The group which has several punsters has named itself the Al- fred Volunteer Choir Company (or in southern accent: the Alfred Volunteer Chwahr Company).
The group’s motto: Always on stand-by ready to sing. The singers include Cecilia Beach, Janna Buckwalter, Dot Martelle, Charlotte Maubert, Susan May-
berry, Linda Staiger, Zoe Coombs, Mary McGee, Marie Snoreck, Maggie Thomas, San- drine Touzet, Marion Weaver, John Buckwalter, Nancy Fur- long, Tim Cox, Steve Crandall, Tom McDowell, and Dave Toot.
Accompanist is Patricia Wig- gers. The program includes a wide variety of styles from a Kyrie by Mozart to Route 66, a French chanson to a medley of the Beach Boys.
Steve Crandall will perform
“Embraceable You” by Gersh- win. Nancy Furlong and Mag- gie Thomas will sing the Josh Groban hit “You Are Loved”.
All are invited to enjoy an hour of great music followed by refreshments.
Retired AU professor and for- mer Alfred resident William B.
Crandall donated the red ma- hogany piano which had be- longed to his first wife Mary to the 1890 Firemen’s Hall Theater in the Village Hall. Contribu-
Alfred Vol. Choir Co. offers concert
tions of 50 people from Alfred or with Alfred connections includ- ing a large sum from Bill Cran- dall raised the $16,000 needed for the restoration in about two and a half years time, quite an achievement for a small town like Alfred! The very handsome piano is perfectly suited for this historic space. Laurel Buckwal- ter was the chair of the Piano Project.
The second celebration of the restored piano will be at 4 p.m.
Sunday, June 13 when the offi- cial commemorative wall dis- play will be unveiled with Bill Crandall in attendance. Pianists of all levels and styles from the area are asked to volunteer to help celebrate the occasion.
Contact Laurel Buckwalter at [email protected] or 587- 8090 to be on the program or for further information.
ANDOVER--The Mustard Seed Inn and B&B in Andover will host a “Localism Night” at the regular FIRST FRIDAYS program with Batavia's Bill Kauffman at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 7. Bill will speak on “Why Localism Matters.”
Bill is the author of nine books including Bye Bye, Miss American Empire to be pub- lished by Chelsea Green on July 4. Earlier books include award- winners Dispatches from the Muckdog Gazette: A Mostly Af- fectionate Account of a Small Town's Fight to Survive (Henry Holt) and Look Homeward America: In Search of Reac- tionary Radicals and Front Porch-Anarchists. Bill resides with his family in his native Genesee County, New York.
The Mustard Seed Inn and B&B is located at 13 East Center Street, in Andover. As is our usual custom, please remember to bring a non-perishable food item or personal care product for donation to the Andover Food Pantry. Call Mary and Anthony Lipnicki at (607) 478-5329 for further information.
