DEC '08 - The Nyack Villager

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26 The Nyack Villager December, 2008 Briefly noted • Back to the drawing board Nebraska legislators are scrambling to fix a recently-enacted “safe haven” law that allows the abandonment of unwanted children at hospitals, no questions asked. As the law does not specify, it allows anybody, not only a parent, to legally surrender custody. e law specifies no age restrictions. e original law, which dealt only with infants, became stalled in debate and was re-written to include teens. So far, 34 children have been legally abandoned, some from other states. One of them is a 17-year-old girl, who fled. Authorities have not found her yet. For more, google safe haven law or Nebraska. • e plastic Era Somewhere out in the ocean floats a ‘sargasso sea’ of plastic bags, according to Richard Wool, University of Delaware professor of chemical engineering. Archaeologists of the future will identify us as e Plastic People and our time on earth will be a snap to study because so much of our stuff will still be here in hundeds of years. row-aways threaten the environment, kill off wildlife and cost millions of dollars in clean up expense. Last month, Connie Coker, Chair of the Rockland Legislature’s Environmental Committee, proposed legislation requiring shoppers to pay a fee for every throw-away bag they receive at check out—a strategy to discourage the use of throw aways while encouraging the use of environmentally friendly reusable bags. e Rockland County Legislature’s Environmental Committee has already held one public hearing on Coker’s proposed legislation; a second is scheduled for Dec 10, at 7:30pm, in the Legislative Chambers at the Allison-Parris County Office Building, 11 New Hempstead Road, New City. Questions: (845) 638-5754. • High season for deer / car crashes Each year, they account for more than 150 human and nearly one and a half million deer fatalities. Experts attribute the problem to the combination of deer mating and migration habits and shortened daylight hours. A car striking a 200-pound adult deer often results in the death of the deer, life threatening injuries to the humans and an average $2,000 in damage to the vehicle. Precautions: • Scan a wide swath of roadside ahead. Slow down when approaching a deer standing near the side of a road and be prepared. If startled, the deer can bolt into your path. Honk your horn and flash your lights to try to scare it away. • Be alert: Where there is one deer, there are often more nearby. • It’s not the best idea to swerve around the deer. You may inadvertently hit another vehicle. It’s often best to brake and stay in your lane. • Be extra careful at dawn and dusk, on hills and curves, where visibility is limited. Use your high beams. • Take deer crossing signs seriously, particularly those installed specifically for this time of year. Be cautious in wooded and agricultural areas where there is little distance between the road and the woods. • Bee Colony Collapse e Bayer Company, best known here for the aspirin they manufacture, is known in Germany, their home base, for their agricultural pesticides. Now, researchers have concluded that the chemical responsible for the recent massive die-off of honeybees is Clothianidin, one of a class of chemicals applied to the seed of sweet corn all over the world. German researchers concluded that nearly 97 percent of honeybee deaths had been caused directly by contact with the insecticide. Why does this matter? Imagine a world without food. Everything that grows depends on bees for pollination. • League of Conservation Voters picks e New York League of Conservation Voters was founded in 1989 as a nonpartisan, policy making and political action organization that works to make environmental protection a top priority with elected officials, decision makers, and voters by evaluating incumbent performance and endorsing and electing environmental leaders to office in NY State. Here are their picks for reelection in our area. All won their contests. US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES • Eliot Engel, 17th District US House of Rep (Bronx, Westchester, Rockland counties) • John Hall, 19th District (Westchester, Dutchess, Putnam, Orange, Rockland counties) STATE SENATE • Ellen Jaffee, 95th District (Rockland County) • Stores may close Watch those store gift cards and credit slips. Some stores informed the Security & Exchange Commission of closing plans for some or all branches between Oct ‘08 & Jan ‘09. A few more details at www.nyackvillager.com Circuit City Ann Taylor Lane Bryant Fashion Bug Catherine's Eddie Bauer Cache Talbots J. Jill GAP Footlocker Levitz Movie Gallery Pacific Sunware Pep Boys Sprint/ Nextel Linens & ings JC Penney Ethan Allen Wilson Leather Sharper Image COMP USA Wickes Furniture Whitehall Piercing Pagoda Zales Disney Home Depot Macys Bombay Lowes K B Toys Dillard's ✫
Thoughts on the recent election by Melanie Rock It’s 10am. My five-year-old is engaged in kindergarten gym class antics, her three-yearold sister is nestled into the cozy confines of her preschool, and I have been crying intermittently for hours. Barack Obama is the President Elect of the United States of America. An African American. A man of mixed heritage—black father, white mother, like me. A man whose parents’ marriage was not recognized by Virginia state law at the time of his birth, he won the electoral and popular votes in that same state last night. e achievements of his campaign have taught us so much about ourselves. Our new public image, of our country as a whole, serves to empower nations of people and speaks volumes about the state of the American dream. Because he won, our children are living in a new world. My crying jag started at 11 o’clock last night, after the girlies were finally asleep. We had reveled long past bedtime, at a neighborhood gathering, where young children watched animated blockbusters on one screen, and adults sat glued to the rolling returns on another, surfing the cable and network news stations, accepting the early projections with cautious optimism; the children periodically asking, “Did he win yet?” their excitement fueled by a sugary buffet, as much as by the auspicious indicators on screen. At about 10 o’clock, Pennsylvania and Ohio turned blue on the big maps. I deflected the glassy-eyed exchanges of friends and neighbors. e pundits declared that McCain would need a mathematical miracle to win, but I was not about to believe it was a done deal, not after what happened the last time. It was too early to celebrate. At 10:45, we dragged our pajama-clad babes up to their beds. eir little brown bodies fell limp, free of tension, anxiety, and the anticipation of a New Day. At 11 o’clock, I sat in the big chair across from our living room TV, watching, while my husband disappeared behind the internet. en a voter alert flashed: Obama is the projected winner of the presidential election. Could it be? I scrolled madly through reporting channels, MSNBC, CNN, even Fox, and found them all in agreement: McCain was about to deliver his concession speech. IT WAS REAL! Jesse Jackson’s tear-streaked face, “(his) heart overflowing with joy and hope,” conveyed the immense swell of emotions so many of us shared. Remembrances of the countless martyrs, and survivors, who had brought us to this place. e generations of black Americans who were now witness to the unthinkable, in the best possible light: a black family is headed to the White House. While some folks feel that Obama isn’t black enough, it seems to me that he’s precisely black enough. e diplomatic practice of living biracial in America is great leadership training. Belonging to both sides of a nation’s internal battles, life itself embodies a volatile junction. Commanding the tenacity and selfreliance to sustain a successful career in public service on these terms, Barack Obama is uniquely qualified to run our complex, multicultural nation with compassion, empathy, and calm. He has spent a lifetime collaborating across the aisle. My five year old knows we supported the Obama campaign. We explained to her that he was the smarter of the candidates, that he had the best ideas for fixing the problems in our country. e topic of race never entered our little chats, until this morning, on the drive to school. I pointed out to her that our new president is African-American, and that I am, and that she is too. And suddenly we were thrown into a dialogue about racial identity, reminiscent of conversations I had with my own parents, but in the context of a completely unfamiliar reality. I spent thirty-plus years responding to society’s demands that I define my ethnicity, decode my own racial identity, decide which race labels of the day best suit my mixed-race status. My children are so young, they don’t know that people judge, and are judged, according to skin color. ey see that people look different, and they really don’t care. is election presents the possibility that we, as a people, are capable of seeing with those eyes, and acting with that mindset. I want to believe that we, as individuals, are free to define ourselves through our actions, our words, and our combined efforts, exempt from prejudice. Any parent would want that for their children. Today, it feels very possible. Melanie Rock is a writer of words and songs, and is a volunteer music curator at Riverspace. ✫ Dear Readers— e Nyack Villager is collecting brief comments (50—100 words each) on the recent election and what it means to you. Whether you’re a red (R) or a blue (D), whether a first time voter or haven’t missed an election in fifty years, we’d love to share your thoughts, signed or not. Please send them to— info@nyackvillager.com anks, Jan Haber, Editor The Nyack Villager December, 2008 27
Page 1 and 2: TheNyack Villager ® An independent
Page 3 and 4: In this issue Departments 3 REPORTE
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Page 9 and 10: NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK John Stickler
Page 11 and 12: Dr. Segall’s new offices Veterina
Page 13 and 14: Community Notes Tell The Villager a
Page 15 and 16: Community Notes start on page 13 Ce
Page 17 and 18: Community Notes start on page 13 In
Page 19 and 20: 34th Annual Pottery Show & Sale e A
Page 21 and 22: subvert truth. Featuring veteran ac
Page 23 and 24: • Cherish the Ladies Irish-Americ
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DEC '08 - The Nyack Villager

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