Dryden Is Home

The Month that Was

A month with 5 weekends - five 2 day weekends! What a long month and many highlights.

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2 - Oktoberfest party in Etna

3 - Spent the day with Ravi Walsh of Paradigm Shifts Coaching doing an intensive day of energy work with 11 others at Nature's Song Retreat Center.

4 - Training on referrals with members of the SEEN leadership team

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8 - My cousin Jennifer's wedding in Lake George

9 - Drove from Lake George to Ithaca, entertained mom, aunt and uncle in Ithaca with Arjan

10 - Mom, Uncle Leon, Aunt Jan, Arjan and I toured Ithaca including Varna Pancake Breakfast, Cornell, Ithaca Farmer's Market, The Dog Park, and Taughannock. Later that evening Arjan and I saw the Jerry Garcia Band at the Rongo.

11 - I turned 34! Also, full day of BNI MSP Training and Leadership Training

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13 - Business After Hours at the Cayuga Nature Center

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15 - Departed Dryden at 4:30am for the Adirondacks

16 - Returned to Dryden at 10:30pm from the Adirondacks. It snowed, it was windy, it was cold.

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20 - Presentation to the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce on Referrals

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22 - Finger Lakes Bioneers Conference: The SEER meets the SEEN

23 - Trip to the dump, breakfast at Buzz coffee, leaf mitigation

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25 - Diwali festival of lights dinner at Caryn and Cole's

26 - Town of Dryden Conservation Board Meeting

27 - 3rd anniversary Open house at the Dryden Town Hall, sign unveiling, budget hearing

28 - Taught Module 12 of Certified Networker, "Generating Referrals for Life"; Volunteered at the Tompkins Chamber Annual Auction

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30 - Moved my office from State Street to South Hill Business Campus. Celebrated Halloween eve with Dinner at Northstar Public House, Felicia's Atomic Lounge, Da Westy, and finally Vlad the Impaler's party at 666 Aurora. 

31 - The day is just getting started...

 

Etna to Varna

Paul and me
Originally uploaded by dmakar

Saturday morning, after a few car related complications, my buddy Paul and I embarked on what was planned as an 8 mile canoe trip from the Town of Dryden's hamlet of Etna to the town's hamlet of Varna. To be a little more exact, our plan was to get out of the river near Flat Rock, just west of the town line in the town of Ithaca, near Cornell Plantations.

The first 23 minutes of the journey (10:14am to 10:37am) moved us swiftly and without much danger from the Etna Lane steel bridge (we launched from the muddy shore underneath the bridge) to the Pinckney Road bridge near Campbell Meadows (an 18 acre parcel perhaps soon to be acquired by the town as an open space and recreation area).

After that we had limited trouble making our way from the Pinckney Road bridge (that had graffiti in many spray paint colors written by some folks that either had limited vocabulary or limited creativity) to the route 13 underpass (where a couple fishermen fished and one asked if we were part of a race - this is probably because, as you might see in the photo, Paul and I were by coincidence both wearing orange t-shirts that we acquired when we competed against each other in 2006 at Auburn's The Great Race).

From route 13 we coasted safely to the old steel bridge that in the past delivered vehicle traffic from Monkey Run extension (near Turkey Hill Rd. and Dryden Rd.) across Fall Creek to where Hanshaw road intersects Lower Creek Road. Our trip was only delayed by a large tree that spanned 95 percent of the creek's width. We landed on shore, scouted around a peninsula, and I decided to make a go of the 5 percent gap on my own. Having safely made my way through, I paddled to shore and picked up Paul.

We passed under the old bridge and found the first place where we had to lift the canoe over a tree that was across the creek. A few hundred feet later, on the other shore, we pulled the canoe through what looked to be a swift and dangerous section of the creek that had a large tree parallel to the water.

The creek is high this time of year, compared to about 10 other months. However it is lower than it was just a few weeks ago - and a lot more rocks poke up out of the water. Some don't even have the height (or honor) to show themselves and we had to read the river to spot where they were hidden. Others were better at keeping hidden and our encounters rocked the green plastic Coleman canoe.

Just before we arrived at the fields on rt. 366 (probably a half mile from the Freese Road bridge) we rocked too far and Paul went over. The creek was only about thigh deep there and his paddle escaped his grasp. I jumped over board and pulled the canoe to shore. Seeing that Paul was easily making his way to shore I went after the black plastic paddle chasing it down the dark sandy beach. There was a couple with a dog a few hundred feet ahead watching all of the action and as I approached them they told their dog to fetch the paddle. In this section of river the width was over 30 feet and the depth ranged from ankle to neck deep. The couple and their dog were playing near a giant felled tree and I ran to the left of the tree to the shore beyond and made my way into the more shallow creek. I used the end of my paddle to hook the handle of the other paddle and a minute later I was back at the canoe that Paul was able to guide downstream with the pair of ropes attached to the bow and stern. We carried the canoe around the tree and embarked on what would be the final leg of our morning trip.

We hit a lot of shallow areas between that giant tree and the Freese Road steel bridge. Where the creek wasn't shallow it was rocky and fast moving. A short distance after the bridge we made our way to shore and started some exit planning. The creek had one major bend ahead, then some fast water near the Park Park (look it up), the Forest Home trailer park on Forest Home Drive, the foot bridge, the damn, and then flat rock.

We guided the canoe downstream and when we arrived in lower Varna we beached the canoe and headed for my car. On foot we found the river looked calm and flat and easy and from our own on the water angle, we now understood how deceptive water can be.

The trip was worth trying, but it would be dangerous to try without more water. Earlier in the year there would be more water, but the air and water would certainly be colder. This same weekend a year from now might work, but with our close to 10 days of limited rain, we would have to have more precipitation to make this journey safe.

Complete set of photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmakar/sets/72157617061944400/

Certified First Responder: Part 1 = Pass

davem2
Originally uploaded by dmakar

Today I had the practical exam for my New York State Certified First Responder class. On Thursday, January 15th, I'll have a written exam. If I pass I will be a Certified First Responder and I will be able to go on calls for the Varna Volunteer Fire Company and be a bit more active in helping out.

When Arjan and I made lists of things we'd like to accomplish in 2008 - becoming an EMT or a CFR was high on my list. The class for CFR started in September and met about twice a week (Thursday evenings from 6pm to 9pm and Saturday mornings from 8:30am to noon). Our last class was on Saturday, December 20th.

There are volunteer opportunities all over for all kinds of different service. I choose this one because it really fit with where I live, what I enjoy doing, working with others, and a quick showing of results when helping out. The volunteers I've met carry pagers and respond to calls day and night, in good weather and in bad (and we have a lot of bad weather). I'm happy to join them any way I can.

The photo here is from a fire training exercise in March of 2007.
Details online: http://www.varnafire.org

 

Extrication Training

IMG_2635
Originally uploaded by dmakar

Last night members of the Varna Volunteer Fire Company did some hands on training of motor vehicle extrication. We did a number on this car - including window removal, door removal, roof removal, and dashboard opening. We took everything slow and piece by piece, which was good for allowing many different people to try each tool more than once.

Last night was my first experience using "The Jaws of Life" - a line of hydraulic tools including a speader, a cutter, and a ram.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaws_of_life

Growing up my best friend's father was a volunteer in the Town of Berlin Fire Department (in Massachusetts). I used to hear stories of cutting open cars and rescuing trapped people with the jaws of life. These tools are amazing and powerful - but need to be used with caution. When a vehicle needs to be opened up, it will never be used for its originally intended use again.

Its good to be prepared to use these tools before you need to use them in a real accident. Additional training pictures from last night are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmakar/sets/72157605585650357/

Members welcome: http://www.varnafire.org/
Berlin Fire: http://townofberlin.com/fire/

House Pic - March 8th, 2008

House Pic
Originally uploaded by dmakar

An ice storm slammed Dryden, Ithaca, Lansing, Trumansburg, Danby, Groton, all a lot of other places throughout the fingerlakes yesterday. I spent some of the day in the city of Ithaca (taking pictures and shopping) and some of the day on the couch watching "The Wire" and some of the day sitting in the house with Arjan and without any electricity and some of the day picking up and moving large branches from the driveway and some of the day driving in the snow and some of the day handling fire calls for downed wires in the Varna Volunteer Fire District (downed live wires HUM REALLY LOUD).

We went to bed without electricity and wondered how we would keep the house warm without a wood stove or any backup plan to our natural gas furnace that requires electricity to run.

At 6:30am the power came back, I raised the thermostat (the inside temperature had sunk to 51 degrees), shut off all of the lights, and got back in bed under a pile of blankets.

Pictures of the ice on things around the house here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmakar/sets/72157604078386008/

Thursdays at VVFC

IMG_0887
Originally uploaded by dmakar

On Thursday evenings I make my way to the Varna Volunteer Fire Company for weekly truck check and training. Last night we did a station safety tour which was great because we had a few new members who got to see all of the station and every compartment of each truck in one evening.

Each truck was presented by the captain on hand or a chief and the entire tour was provided by Darren. After 15 months in the department it was good to have a refresher to review where everything is. We definitely don't use every piece of equipment for every single call - so these reviews are useful to members no matter how long they've been involved.

The department is always looking for new members to help with EMS, Fire, Fire Police, as well as many other non-fire volunteer opportunities. Check out the website here:
http://www.varnafire.org

Or drop by the station any Thursday at 6:30pm to introduce yourself and see what we do.

(This picture is from last night as Will - the captain of 1942 - showed new members where everything was on our light rescue truck.)

This is a town where...we hold meetings in public!

The Ithaca Journal used their Daily Opinion column from their editor to comment on government meetings - Dryden government meetings to be exact. Some highlights (read the entire editorial):

-About a week ago, we saw a rare occurrence in Tompkins County. A town board — in this case Dryden — broke from its routine and held a regularly-scheduled meeting away from Dryden Town Hall.

-Last Wednesday, Dryden met at the Varna Volunteer Fire Company. It was the first of at least a few meetings the board will have in different parts of the town (the largest town in Tompkins County). In April, David Makar proposed that the town board should meet at one of the town's four community centers or four fire stations every other month.

-Hopefully, the Dryden Town Board is successful in its pursuit, and other boards — school boards included — follow. It may increase interest in government affairs and allow more community members access to their elected officials.

One of the Varna Volunteer Fire Company members that attended told me later that he had to step outside during part of the meeting - he was number 57 in a room that had the legal fire capacity of 56. He was keeping track and stepped out as others came in.

I was really happy to see a good turn out from the local media, not for me personally, but so that people that couldn't attend the meeting could find out about it from other sources. The Ithaca Journal, Tompkins Weekly, The Dryden Courier and WHCU all had reporters listening and staying late to ask questions after the meeting. There were public hearings, department reports, committee reports and resolution review and passing. I felt good having public participation and it reminded me of the annual town meetings that are held each spring in Berlin, Massachusetts where I grew up. These meetings become informative and educational, but also social and community building. Perhaps the more we understand about actions, the better we can respond to those actions.

I hope that we can continue these public meetings in community centers and fire departments in 2008.

Town Board Meeting

Hi Mom,

Today is an exciting day in Dryden. This morning over breakfast I read an article on the cover of the local section of the Ithaca Journal with the title, "Dryden Town Board to offer insight to local government". The article goes on to mention tonight's July town board meeting at the Varna Volunteer Fire Station. Some details of the article include:

-David Makar, a member of the Dryden Town Board and a resident of Bethel Grove, was concerned his neighbors and other town members did not understand the interworkings of their town government.

-Makar proposed a resolution to the board in April to meet at one of the town's four community centers or four fire stations every other month. Varna, Etna, Freeville and the Village of Dryden have fire stations, while Bethel Grove, Varna, Etna and Ellis Hollow have community centers.

Varna was chosen for the July meeting specifically because of the tensions that exist between the western parts of the town and the rest of the town. Residents of the western hamlets of Varna, Etna, Ellis Hollow and Bethel Grove, among other areas, frequently feel isolated from the town government, Makar said.

-Many residents in that part of town have addresses in the Ithaca ZIP code, Makar said. Their children go to school in the Ithaca City School District, and, by car, they're 14 miles from the Village of Dryden.

If you or dad want to read the full article, you can visit their website and see the article here. The meeting is at 7pm tonight with a tour at 6:30 of the fire station. There has been light rain this afternoon and hopefully that will cool off the building - they don't have air conditioning - so I'll be bringing some water to the meeting. Funny though I guess - - bringing water to a fire station!

In other news, Arjan is having a good time in Turkey - she's been emailing me almost every day. The garden is exploding with peppers, the kitty cat still isn't sleeping through the night (waking me at about 4:30am), and  my trip to see you and dad is still on.

Have a good rest of the week, see you soon!

Dave

Saturday's Controlled Burn

IMG_9001
Originally uploaded by dmakar.

Last June I joined the Varna Volunteer Fire Company. On Saturday I participated in a training exercise hosted by the Dryden Neptune Fire Company. The morning consisted of about 10 or more training evolutions - going into a house through the front door with teams of three fire fighters and extinguishing a fire started in one of the house's rooms. The afternoon was focused on a controlled burn of the house. Both experiences were useful - giving people the chance to see lots of smoke, fire and clouds of steam as the building burned to the ground.

I posted a small set of pictures to my flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmakar/sets/72157600007152259/

The entire set is here on the Varna Volunteer Fire Company website:
http://varnafire.org/ThresherPlaceBurn/

If you are interested in joining a volunteer fire company, try these local links:
Varna: http://www.varnafire.org/
Dryden Neptune: http://www.dryden.org/
Freeville: http://www.frontiernet.net/~wbstrong/home.html
Groton: http://www.grotonfire.net/
Cayuga Heights: http://www.chfd.net/
Brooktondale: http://www.townofcaroline.org/brooktondalefiredept.htm
Slaterville: http://www.townofcaroline.org/slatervillefiredept.htm

Varna Fire CPR Training

This evening the family at the Varna Fire Company reviewed CPR and taught CPR to a few first timers. I hadn't had any CPR training since 1995 when I did the training at Camp Wanocksett and my buddy in the class was Jack, the camp ranger. He was in his late 70's at that point. Tonight 9 members of the company reviewed and practiced CPR with a training method that was much simpler to remember than I had been taught years ago and with a video trainer that displayed exactly what you needed to learn. The two advantages were shorted education time and easier to remember skills.

Earlier this week I said that anyone who had the want and the ability to join the Varna Volunteer Fire Company should come on down to check us out. I think anyone who is interested can work and learn to do the job effectively. Beyond that alone I think that everyone should try to take a CPR class. You never know when it will come in useful and perhaps even save a life.

http://www.varnafire.org/index.html