ROY-HART IS TURNING THINGS AROUND

Regular readers of this column know that the education and career-readiness of our youth are important issues to me, hence their recurrence in dozens of my columns over the past decade.

That’s why I was delighted when Royalton-Hartland’s superintendent Roger Klatt asked if I’d like to have a conversation with him and the district’s technology expert Jim Luckman about their strategies and goals.

It was especially meaningful to me because I have a vested interest in Roy-Hart. I’m a product of the school (class of 1993), a resident (I see my school taxes as an investment in my community), and a parent of a three-year old who’s less than a year away from pre-K. 

In the years prior to her birth and still until just last week, I debated with myself on an almost daily basis about what to do with my children’s education? Would I put them in private school or send them to Roy-Hart which was consistently low on Business First’s rankings (75 out of 98 districts in WNY) and has a low graduation rate (a smidge over 77%)?

I left my meeting with Roger and Jim finally having an answer. My kid(s) will be going to Roy-Hart. They made me feel that good about the direction and future of the school district that any reservations I had were gone.

When Roger was brought on as superintendent, it appeared superficially to a lot of residents that it was only a cost-cutting move, since we were sharing him with Barker. That’s not the full story. His goals were to find synergies between the two districts, share the best practices of one with the other, and capitalize and piggyback on the strengths of individuals and programs within each district. Those are tasks that he visibly savors and has a passion for. 

Among his first endeavors was strengthening intervention for students who have troublesome grades, those kids who might have otherwise become the 23% who never graduated. For that, they added a teaching assistant who could focus on the courses where help was needed and they developed a more robust afterschool program while adding a similar one to the mornings, which previously was not available.

As for the majority of students -- those who aren’t at risk of failing or dropping out -- they are also being given the tools to succeed.

In the coming weeks, all buildings on the 3 Roy-Hart campuses will be wireless with a 10 gig broadband system. This strengthens recent investments in the technology infrastructure which has led to a PC in every classroom, laptop carts, rovers (which are mobile smartboards) and the implementation of Ipads (even the pre-k classrooms will be outfitted with those). Similar investments are coming, especially on the heels of the Smart Schools funding approved by New York’s voters in November which will bring well over a million dollars to the district.

All of this brings kids into the age of digital learning, an absolute necessity if they hope to achieve in college (and therefore the workplace).

Online courses were once the refuge of older non-traditional and working college students. But, now, as quickly as technology changes, so are the practices of higher education. Online courses are starting to take over and replace the standard offerings of classrooms and lecture halls. Many college freshmen have as much as a third of their course loads being conducted in an online environment. That can be shocking to an 18-year-old who just spent 14 years in a typical classroom environment with an instructor front and center.

Roy-Hart has begun the first of many endeavors into preparing students for this. Some students in both of Roger’s districts are taking an “introduction to sociology” course through Niagara University while being stationed at their respective high schools. Jim has coordinated the technology as such that the 3 entities can have synchronized and shared conversations facilitated by the home base teacher. It creates a blended learning environment which includes virtual facetime, personal interaction, online learning, and occasional visits to NU so the students can get a feel for research. It’s exactly what students will experience at college, but in their own public schools. They will be ready for what the future brings.

Roger and Jim also shared numerous other goals and aspirations with me that will be presented to the board and the school community in the coming months, all of which focus on improved student performance and career readiness. Based upon the buy-in and efforts they’ve had from parents, teachers, and students there’s no reason to think these other exciting ideas won’t work.

It’s obvious to me that Roy-Hart is on the right path. So are its students. So is my daughter.




From the 17 November 2014 Lockport Union Sun and Journal

EXPLORING THE NIAGARA FRONTIER: Honey bees on the decline in Niagara County — and around the world

We have a bee hive in our orchard that for over 30 years had supported a healthy colony of honey bees. Now, that wooden structure is empty and stands there like a tombstone in memory of the insects.

It’s not just that colony alone that has suffered. For the past few years, our fields and forests have been mostly devoid of honey bees. Where once they were abundant, I now savor their infrequent sightings.

This sort of decline isn’t unique to Eastern Niagara County. Since 2006, most apiaries across the United States have seen their bee colonies decrease by 30 to 90 percent per year. Some hives — like ours — have been totally wiped out.

Twenty-five percent had once been the maximum rate of mortality in northern states that had significant cold-weather die-offs. But, the recent deaths have been occurring everywhere and during the spring and summer when temperatures are perfect and food is plentiful.

For some time, the reasons for this frightening extirpation remained unknown, and the moniker of “colony collapse disorder” was placed upon it as a catch-all for what could be either natural or man-made causes. Those days of uncertainty are gone: It was determined over the past couple of years, by independent studies released in prominent journals like Science and Nature, that the root cause of honey bee deaths was the family of pesticides known as neonicotinoids. Last year, those findings were affirmed just across the border by Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs which discovered that 70 percent of the dead bees across the province showed exposure to neonicotinoids.

These insect nerve agents have been used in increasing abundance on corn since 2005 after entering the market in the 1990s (it is now used on most all commercial corn in the United States). That timeline of pervasiveness aligns perfectly with the sudden decline in bee populations.

Produced by Bayer, neonicotinoids are applied directly to the seed and thus become a part of the adult plant, including the nectar and pollen upon which the bees feed. The chemical doesn’t kill bees outright, but it seriously impairs their development and behavior, which accounts for the inability of the bees to feed properly (they waste away), maintain their colonies and replenish them through adequate reproduction.

Other countries are taking steps to combat this scourge. In Canada, Ontario officials have encouraged farmers to inform beekeepers when they are planting, because the dust associated with planting can carry neonicotinoids to wildflowers in adjoining hedgerows as well as lawns and pastures even a few miles away. This would allow the beekeepers to move their stock to another area when planting is underway. But, it does nothing to address the longer-termed problems associated with pollination once the plants grow.

A more powerful means of suppression is taking place in the European Union. Through 2014 and 2015, the use of three specific types of neonicotinoids will be totally banned in the EU. This 2-year moratorium will see a return to 20th century insecticides and a likely resurgence in honey bee populations.

Germany and the United Kingdom passed on the ban and will allow for the continued use of the offending compounds. That’s not any different than what is happing here in the US. Even though federal studies link neonicotinoids to colony collapse, including a report released by the USDA and EPA earlier this month, the government has no immediate plans to limit or ban the use of neonicotinoids -- a major study on the impact of neonicotinoids won’t be made available from the EPA until 2018.

2018 could likely be too late, especially if a ban is determined to be necessary; that in itself could take a few more years. American farmers (especially fruit growers whose trees need more help from bees than field crops do) — and those who consume their produce — need answers and actions now. If bees were wiped out, or something close to it, fruits and vegetables wouldn’t get the pollination they need. Estimates show that the total loss of crops would approach $15 billion per year.

Neonicotinoids are certainly proving to be a bane to the health of the environment, the economy, and the people.

Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller said it best: "All the science is not done, but everything that I have before me ... suggests to me that this is the biggest threat to the structure and ecological integrity of the ecosystem that I have ever encountered in my life, bigger than DDT.”

Scary.




Bob Confer lives in rural Gasport where he puts honey on his Cheerios every morning. He wonders if it will be worth its weight in gold in a few years. Follow him on Twitter @bobconfer or email him at bobconfer@juno.com.


From the 13 November 2014 East Niagara Post

Racial profiling is alive and well

There used to be a joke in Green Bay that if you saw a black man in town you knew he played for the Packers. I adopted that and changed it around a little bit: If you saw a black man in North Tonawanda you knew he worked for Confer Plastics.

That’s pretty much still the case. In a city of 31,000 people, African-Americans represent 0.8% of the population. That diversity rate is similar to neighboring communities like Tonawanda (0.9%) and Wheatfield (0.4%) and a far cry from the numbers in Niagara Falls (21.6%), Lockport (7.2%) or the entire state of New York (15.9%).

A minority is a minority. But when the statistics define you as being unique (less than 1% of the general population) the odds aren’t in your favor --- nor is the general sentiment.

When you don’t look like everyone else in town, you look like you don’t belong and an accusing eye is cast upon you instantly and without question from the public and those who serve the public. Young black men in white communities are marked men.   

My coworkers know that too well. Two recent situations, two of many over the years, show that racial profiling is an integral component of local policing.

One of my black coworkers was driving through Wheatfield when he was pulled over for an expired inspection. During the course of their conversation, the officer asked him this (despite having a clean record): “Do you have something in that car I need to be aware of? Do I have to get the dog?” Would that questioning or attitude have been posed to a white man?

More recently and more significantly, one of my coworkers ventured over the Canal into Tonawanda to grab a sandwich for lunch. A policeman obviously didn’t like the way he looked, because within a minute of getting into his car he was pulled over. The cop told him he looked like a drug dealer, so searched him and his car. There were no drugs. The kid isn’t a drug dealer. Never was. Never will be.     

He was humiliated, scared, and visibly shaken by the experience. You can’t blame him for any of those emotions (or for harboring other ones) because it was patently obvious that he was checked out only because of his skin color.

Despite the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, blacks across America, not just here in Western New York, are still being treated like second class citizens.

Among the most damning examples of this was the conduct of the Los Angeles police department as determined in a federal study issued less than 10 years ago. It’s a city where blacks represent just under 10% of the population.  Per 10,000 residents, the black stop rate was 3,400 stops higher than the white stop rate. Relative to stopped whites, stopped blacks were 127% more likely to be frisked and 76% more likely to be searched. Frisked blacks were 42% less likely to be found with a weapon than frisked whites and consensual searches of blacks were 37% less likely to uncover weapons, 24% less likely to uncover drugs, and 25% less likely to uncover any other type of contraband than consensual searches of whites.

That’s LA. What about a place that considers itself more compassionate and progressive? How about Connecticut? Even there, racial profiling runs rampant.

In a study released in September that analyzed the statewide traffic stops in the period of October through May, it was found that Connecticut police made 370,000 traffic stops. Blacks made up 14% of the stops, even though they comprise less than 8% of the population. Hispanics, which are 9.7% of that state's population, made up 11.8% of all traffic stops.

Racial profiling is a national epidemic. It doesn’t matter if it’s gritty Los Angeles, squeaky-clean Connecticut or blue collar New York – it’s everywhere. But sadly, beyond the usual people like the ACLU or the NAACP, very few discuss the matter with earnestness and demand the same of their law enforcement agencies.

It’s especially frustrating because Christians will routinely post to Facebook and take to radio and TV to rail against the profiling and mistreatment of their religion’s believers in Middle Eastern countries, counting it as one of the greatest sins on Earth. Yet, their darker-skinned neighbors, friends, and coworkers are treated the same way here in America (the land of the free) -- in their own communities -- just for their complexion alone and no one is raising a stink.

We’re all one people and the majority needs to realize that of the minority.  



From the 10 November 2014 Greater Niagara Newspapers    

EXPLORING THE NIAGARA FRONTIER: Boxelder bugs — coming to a home near you

With the first snowflakes of the season flying last weekend, Mother Nature is really ramping up her preparedness for the coming 5 months of winter weather. Gray squirrels are building their caches, woodchucks are putting on fat, and boxelder bugs are trying to get into people’s homes.

Boxelder bugs are very common insects in Eastern Niagara County. Like their name indicates, they eat boxelders, which are a type of maple tree. Boxelders are unusual in that they don’t have the large single leaves like the maple of the Canadian flag. Instead, boxelders have numerous leaflets which cause them to look almost like an ash tree. The giveaway that it’s a maple is the seed; It’s carried and spread in the same way that other maples are – with fruits that are affectionately known as “helicopters” or “whirlybirds”.

Boxelder bugs use their tubelike mouth to pierce the seeds of boxelders and other maples. They do little
damage to the plants or their populations as made evident by how quickly boxelder trees can take over
disturbed soils and pastures as they grow back into forests.

Boxelder bugs are approximately a half-inch long with a black or dark brown body. The edges of their wings are red as are their wing veins.

The boxelder bug’s favorite food is the seeds found in 

boxelder “whirlybirds.”

Like stink bugs and assassin bugs, they are one of the true bugs. Too often the word “bug” is used on insects that really aren’t bugs (like beetles). They come from a family of bugs called rhopalidae, which is the scentless plant bug family. Unlike the stink bugs which they resemble, they lack scent glands, so they won’t stink up the place when squashed, although they still have a slightly disturbing smell when stepped on. It’s just nothing on the scale of a stink bug, which can be nauseating.

On sunny, warmer days (50 degrees plus) in late-October and November you will notice groups of these insects, ranging from a few to a few dozen, collecting on the outside of your garage or house. They are doing that to keep warm in the short-term (by huddling and soaking in the rays) and the long-term (they are really trying to get into your house to survive the winter). They have a special affinity for white houses and will hide under the siding or find the smallest holes possible to enter the home.

These insects are not pests in the exact sense of the word – they don’t damage plants, they don’t bite people or pets, and they don’t spread disease. But, they are pests in every sense of the word – there is nothing so bothersome in the fall as these bugs collecting on your window sills and even making it into your homes. A bug is a bug and are unwelcome guests in any home.

Various insect control agencies suggest that you eliminate them manually from your home (picking them up or vacuuming them). To prevent them from getting in, they suggest caulking or sealing or putting on weather strips. Some folks even go so far as to suggest removing boxelder trees from your yard (which is overkill). Likewise, insecticides are a little over-the-top for this insect and a waste of money.

One natural treatment that is suggested by some is spreading diatomaceous earth outside, and even inside, your home (use food-grade so it’s safe for family and pets). It’s not a pretty death for insects when you think about it, though. The diatoms get into an insect’s joints and give it so many cuts it dies over time. Diatomaceous earth also eats away at exoskeletons and causes insects to dry up.

My advice? Do what you can to keep them outdoors and vacuum any of the (hopefully) very few stragglers that get into your home. Do not cut down your boxelder trees — they are attractive shade trees when they mature and the enjoyment you get from them far outweighs the couple of weeks of annoyance you get from boxelder bugs.



Bob Confer live in rural Gasport, in a yard full of boxelder trees. Luckily, the bugs prefer his shed over his house. Follow him on Twitter @bobconfer or email him at bobconfer@juno.com

From the 06 November 2014 East Niagara Post

A look at Proposal One: Redistricting

This three-part series concerning New York’s statewide ballot items concludes this week with a look at Proposal One, which reads as follows:

“The proposed amendment to sections 4 and 5 and addition of new section 5-b to Article 3 of the State Constitution revises the redistricting procedure for state legislative and congressional districts. The proposed amendment establishes a redistricting commission every 10 years beginning in 2020, with two members appointed by each of the four legislative leaders and two members selected by the eight legislative appointees; prohibits legislators and other elected officials from serving as commissioners; establishes principles to be used in creating districts; requires the commission to hold public hearings on proposed redistricting plans; subjects the commission’s redistricting plan to legislative enactment; provides that the legislature may only amend the redistricting plan according to the established principles if the commission’s plan is rejected twice by the legislature; provides for expedited court review of a challenged redistricting plan; and provides for funding and bipartisan staff to work for the commission. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?”

This change to the State Constitution was proposed in response to allegations from the electorate and government watchdog groups that the redistricting process in New York State was corrupt and broken and being used only to serve the needs of the elected and not the electors, ensuring that the party in power was given a district with a voter make-up as such that long-term job security of the incumbent was a given. To anyone even remotely familiar with the makeup of their districts, this was both true and patently obvious.

The best example of this locally was the now defunct (as of 2013) 28th Congressional district that was held by Louise Slaughter. It was gerrymandering at its finest – and most ridiculous. The district was shaped like an earphone and it kept Democrat strongholds Niagara Falls and Rochester held together by a thin strand of lightly-populated Republican towns along the Lake Ontario shore. This guaranteed a tight grip by Slaughter or any other Democrat who would have run in her place.

Such manipulation would allegedly be curtailed under the proposed change to Constitution which would strip the Legislature of holding the primary responsibility in setting-up districts, passing it on to a special commission.

The redistricting commission would be composed of ten members, two each appointed by the temporary president of the senate (the language of which reflects only the current make-up of a divided Senate), the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the senate, the minority leader of the assembly and an independent committee of eight legislatively-appointed members (the two appointed by that committee could not have been enrolled in the top two political parties in the state in the five years prior).

According to the State’s abstract, the proposed amendment would establish principles to be applied in creating districts, which must be drawn consistently with the requirements of the federal and state constitutions and federal statutes. These principles includes the direct statement that districts cannot be drawn to discourage competition or for the purpose of favoring or disfavoring incumbents or other particular candidates or political parties (which obviously has never been the case).

New to this proposal, too, is the requirement that the commission hold twelve public hearings across the state during the process of redistricting, ensuring public participation.

After consolidating such input, the commission would send a redistricting plan to the Legislature, given that seven out of ten commission members have approved the plan. Then, other-anti-corruption measures kick-in which indicate what the make-up of the “yea” votes must be if one party controls both houses.

The commission must then submit its redistricting plan for the Assembly and the Senate in one bill and the Legislature must vote upon that single bill without amending it.

If the plan does not pass the Legislature and get the Governor’s approval or a veto override, the commission must submit another plan. If the second plan does not pass the Legislature and get the Governor’s approval or a veto override, the Legislature can amend the second plan as it deems necessary. So, there’s always a slim chance we’ll be right back where we were. It’s a lot to of change to consider.

It’s not a perfect proposal, but it’s a start and a long time coming. It’s up to you and your fellow voters to determine if it passes muster.




From the 03 November 2014 Greater Niagara Newspapers  

A look at Proposal 3 – Smart Schools funding

In his State of the State Address this past January, Governor Andrew Cuomo introduced a concept called “Smart Schools”, a program through which school districts could improve their technologies and communication infrastructure in order to meet the ever-changing demands of education and job preparedness when it comes to twenty-first century gadgetry.

It was his most specific reference in regard to education as all other educational matters discussed during the speech were nebulous both in terms of scale and funding. At the time, he earmarked $2 billion in funding to be distributed to the schools. His steadfast focus on this idea continued through the year, as he had a commission created and empowered by spring which reached out to administrators in the ensuing months and then held symposiums throughout the state this fall.

In the final development of the Smart Schools program it was determined that this money would be specifically expended on capital projects related to the design, planning, site acquisition, demolition, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or acquisition or installation of equipment for the following types of projects: To acquire learning technology equipment or facilities including, but not limited to, interactive whiteboards, computer servers, and desktop, laptop, and tablet computers; To install high-speed broadband or wireless internet connectivity for schools and communities; To construct, enhance, and modernize educational facilities to accommodate pre-kindergarten programs and provide instructional space to replace transportable classroom units; and To install high-tech security features in school buildings and on school campuses.

Such a major undertaking will cost every bit of that $2 billion and, as many have said, likely more in the years that follow. The initial amount has already been apportioned and here is what Niagara County’s school districts will be receiving if the proposal were to be passed:

Barker: $596,160
Lewiston-Porter: $1,354,745

Lockport: $4,274,931
Newfane: $1,670,935
Niagara Falls: $8,865,240
Niagara-Wheatfield: $2,707,858
North Tonawanda: $3,332,873
Royalton-Hartland: $1,197,557
Starpoint: $1,591,338
Wilson: $1,158,784

 

As zealous as Cuomo’s agenda is, it’s using money that New York State doesn’t have. In order to make it work, the state would have to borrow the $2 billion. Under the State Constitution, general obligation bonds must be approved by the voters.

So, that is how we’ve come to Proposal 3 on the November ballot, which reads as follows:

“The SMART SCHOOLS BOND ACT OF 2014, as set forth in section one of part B of chapter 56 of the laws of 2014, authorizes the sale of state bonds of up to two billion dollars ($2,000,000,000) to provide access to classroom technology and high-speed internet connectivity to equalize opportunities for children to learn, to add classroom space to expand high-quality pre-kindergarten programs, to replace classroom trailers with permanent instructional space, and to install high-tech smart security features in schools. Shall the SMART SCHOOLS BOND ACT OF 2014 be approved?"

The last time a bond came before voters was 9 years ago when 55% of New Yorkers approved the $2.9 billion Renew and Rebuild Transportation Bond Act, half of which went to NYS Department of Transportation projects across the state and the other half which went to Metropolitan Transportation Authority projects in the New York City metro area.

If an almost $3 billion bond that pitted upstate against downstate in 2005 passed, there’s a considerable likelihood that a mostly non-controversial matter such as schoolroom technology will garner two-thirds favor. But, at the same time, the vote for the Smart Schools bond could see a vote as close as 2005’s – in either direction, though – since many New Yorkers are becoming debt-averse as an outcome of the Great Recession.

The decision is entirely up to you. Do you want to improve the schoolroom technologies of our youth in hopes of turning around an underperforming educational system or do you want to forgo that potential gamble knowing that once they become adults they will have to pay the debt we undertake now?            

EXPLORING THE NIAGARA FRONTIER: Pine siskins – the invasion is coming

In the winter of 2012-2013 pine siskins, little birds from the Far North, invaded the United States by the hundreds of thousands. During most winters they are just casual visitors to the States and could be considered uncommon. But, something happened to the pine cone crop in Canada during 2012, right at the same time that the siskin population exploded. It was the perfect storm. The hungry birds were driven south to fill their bellies.

For many bird watchers, it was a once-in-a-lifetime irruption (which is really the more appropriate word for “invasion”). That winter at my bird feeder I had them by the dozens. Reports from around the country had them at many feeders by the hundreds.

Last year, amidst one of the most brutal winters in memory, I counted just one siskin in my yard all season. It was kind of a letdown, as I had grown to enjoy their company the year prior.

Pine siskins have patches of yellow of their wings and tails. (PHOTO

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

This year is shaping up – and quickly at that – to be a repeat of 2012. In irruptions of years past, my first encounters with siskins in Niagara County would usually occur around Thanksgiving. But, here it is the third week of October and they are already here. Last weekend, my parents’ feeder was first visited by a dozen of the cheerful birds who have stuck around.

If you are wondering if you might have siskins in your hard, look skyward to the tree tops for flocks of six to 30 tiny birds. Their manner of flight quickly identifies them. Whenever travelling in flocks, they quickly bunch up when taking off, then just as quickly separate into undulating single entities.

Siskins are finches that sort of look like sparrows. They are much smaller than your typical sparrow (the house or English sparrow) and are closer in size to the diminutive chipping sparrows you have in your yard in the summer. To most, they would seem almost non-descript, with a dark wing and a brown and white streaked body. What gives them away is the small patches of yellow on their wings and at the base of their tails.

Siskins have a unique call, quite unlike other members of the finch family. Roger Tory Peterson’s A Field Guide to the Birds describes it as “a buzzy shreeee” – it’s an upwardly-inflected high-pitched sound that often competitively devolves into a coarse version of the same.

To bring siskins to your yard and keep them there this winter you need to feed them seeds. Black oil sunflower seeds won’t do it. Their small, pointy breaks cannot crack such larges seeds. Instead, they need little ones like nyjer/Niger seed (often called thistle although it is not a thistle). Those seeds are best offered through a standard tube feeder or better yet a special thistle feeder that is a tubular mesh wall through which the siskins pull the nyjer seeds.

The birds are very social. Bring one to your feeder and he’ll bring his friends, who will bring his. In an irruption such as the one underway, you should have at least a dozen at your feeder every day most all day.

You won’t regret it once you do. Siskins are ridiculously tame. In the winter of 2012-2013 I would routinely walk right up to the feeder to visit them and the birds would continue to eat with my face just inches from theirs. You can quickly train them, too, to eat out of your hand. They will even be accustomed to your habits of when you feed them. They will wait for feed time and scold you if you are off schedule.

This all makes the pine siskin a great “gateway bird” for kids. Introduce them to the wonders of these birds – let them see them up close and personal and feed them out of their hands – and you can get a child more interested in nature and less interested in video games and TV. A love of the outdoors starts somewhere, and siskins actually make for a good starting point. Who knows – these friendly cherubs might even rekindle your love affair with nature.



Bob Confer lives in rural Gasport where he sometimes finds birds like siskins to be more approachable than human beings. You can follow him on Twitter @bobconfer or email him at bobconfer@juno.com.


From the 23 October 2014 East Niagara Post

The importance of voting on proposals & a look at Proposal 2

Editor’s note: This is the first of a 3-part series looking at the statewide proposals on New York ballots

This November voters across the region will take to the polls in great numbers to select a successor to Senator George Maziarz. For the first time in 20 years, it’s a real contest. That race in combination with a variety of statewide campaigns (Governor, Attorney-General, Controller) certainly ensures that November 4^th has the attention of the electorate.    

But, despite that action at the polls, will they take the time to properly study the other items on the ballot – Proposals 1, 2, and 3 – so they can make an educated decision on this important matters? Or, will they do as they have so often in the past and ignore those items completely? 

 

It all comes down to this: Americans love their politics, but they hate policy.

Politics is sexier. They can see candidates battle mano a mano at the debate podium and in dirty television advertisements. Voters dig that conflict, and they also relish the fresh ideas that come from incumbents and challengers this time of year (although those concepts are rarely acted upon in the earnestness promised). 

For reasons antithetical to the above, voters don’t involve themselves with the nuances of public policy. It can be really dry, a boring collection of legalese and regulations. People don’t care about that.

Look no further than 2013’s general election. With the heavily-contested casino proposition on New York ballots you would have thought turnout would be phenomenal. It wasn’t. Of almost 11.8 million voters in the Empire State, only 2.8 million – or 24% - cast their “yea” or “nay” for casinos.     

I, on the other hand, find policy more attractive than politics. It is policy that really affects our day-to-day lives. The way an elected official looks or behaves? That sort of stuff is meaningless when it comes to our economy and personal rights.      

So, I am trying once again to get people to look at their ballots in that fashion. This year, as with last, I will be spending the next few weeks breaking down each ballot item so you can turn your attention to these important matters and attend to your civic responsibilities dutifully.

This year’s series will look at the proposals not in numerical order but rather in increasing level of controversy, so the deepest and most important matters are saved for last and fresher in your head on Election Day.

There’s really no controversy to be had when it comes to Proposal 2 which reads as follows:

The proposed amendment to section 14 of Article 3 of the State Constitution would allow electronic distribution of a state legislative bill to satisfy the constitutional requirement that a bill be printed and on the desks of state legislators at least three days before the Legislature votes on it. It would establish the following requirements for electronic distribution: first, legislators must be able to review the electronically-sent bill at their desks; second, legislators must be able to print the bill if they choose; and third, the bill cannot be changed electronically without leaving a record of the changes. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?

This is the twenty-first century. Going electronic on state bills is a logical step in so many ways, a modern day upgrade of the print-only language of the 1938 iteration.

In 2012, both houses of the state legislature introduced a combined 16,102 bills. The Senate and Assembly would print up their version of the bill and issue a copy to the office of each legislator – 150 assemblymen and 63 senators. Only 571 bills passed both houses that year which means all other proposed bills were moot and thousands upon thousands of multi-page documents were thrown out (realize that the state budget alone is almost 3,000 pages). That’s a lot of wasted paper, toner, staffing and money. The total cost to taxpayers for printing these bills is $53 million per year according to Assemblyman Jim Tedisco.         

It should be noted that when looking at the language of the full text of the proposal, the amendment does not scratch the requirement that the legislators should have access to the bills for 3 days prior to the vote.

This Constitutional amendment -- albeit for something simple -- is necessary and wise. It streamlines government and saves money and, in process, the environment. 1,700 tons of bills went to the recycle bin last year which, as some cynics would say, is right where they belong.   



From the 20 October 2014 Lockport Union Sun and Journal

EXPLORING THE NIAGARA FRONTIER: Niagara County’s strangest wildflowers

In elementary school everyone is taught that all plants are photosynthetic and get their sustenance from the sun and that in itself is what distinguishes plants from fungi and other organisms.

That’s not really correct.

Most all plants do contain chlorophyll — but, not all of them. There is a very small minority of plants that don’t; of the 315,000 species of plants worldwide, 3,000 fall in that category.

These plants, called saprophytes, are incapable of getting their energy from the sun and must get it elsewhere, either from other plants or some sort of symbiotic relationship with another organism.

Often strange looking and lacking the green hues that go hand-in-hand with chlorophyll, they are quite interesting.

Eastern Niagara County is home to 3 woodland saprophytes. We will briefly discuss each of them.

Indian Pipe

Indian Pipe (Photo by Bob Confer)

The Indian pipe can be found growing in dark, rich-soiled woods of the area during the months of August and September.

Almost ghost-white, it is an eerie looking plant with translucent stems and scaly leaves and a solitary flower. As the plant matures and reaches about four to six inches in height, the flower nods, hence the name Indian pipe — it looks just like a smoking pipe!

These plants get their nutrition from a fungus that grows on or around its roots. These fungi conduct their own nutrition of getting food from tree roots. The Indian pipe’s roots ingest that energy directly from the fungus. Since the fungus must make up from the energy lost to the Indian pipe, that makes Indian pipe a parasite.

Indian Pipes are very sensitive and fragile. If you touch them or bruise the plant, the damaged areas will turn black and rot away. So, admire them with your eyes and not your hands – you won’t hurt them that way. They also blacken naturally as the plant matures and dies.

Squawroot

Squawroot (Photo by Bob Confer)

The squawroot is a member of the disturbingly-named family of wildflowers called broomrapes. This plant can be also be found in dark woodlots in the area, always around older oak trees.

Squawroots appear as yellow/tan plants that look almost like upturned pine cones, three to six inches in height.

They typically appear in small clusters of two to as many as 10 plants.

It blooms in July in Niagara County and dies after two or three weeks. The ugly brown remnants will remain in the woods for up to two more months. The plant is a perennial – so don’t pick them. They will come up again next year.

Squawroots get their nourishment from the root systems of oak trees.

Beechdrop

Beechdrop (Wikipedia
Commons)

The beechdrop comes from the same family as squawroots. It can be found in the same dark forests during the months of August, September and October.

Most people would consider their appearance to be unremarkable and won’t notice them in the woods.

They look like very thin brown sticks sticking straight up from the ground and can grow from a half-foot to a foot-and-a-half in height.

If you have a magnifying glass handy while hiking you will see that the small flowers are actually quite exquisite.

Beechdrops, just as their name implies, get their nourishment from the roots of beech trees (they do not harm them in the process). Because of that, you should appreciate them while you can. In 15 years there might never be another beechdrop in Niagara County because, as was mentioned in an earlier installment of Exploring the Niagara Frontier, beech trees are battling a deadly disease that is wiping out whole stands of these beautiful trees across the county.

If you are out in the woods and encounter any of these three plants, take the time to appreciate them. They are interesting in appearance and their very method of existence defies everything you’ve ever thought you knew about flowering plants.


Bob Confer lives in rural Gasport where he has to get nutrients from other living organisms because he, too, is not photosynthetic. Follow him on Twitter @bobconfer or email him at bobconfer@juno.com


From the 02 October 2014 East Niagara Post

Exploring the Niagara Frontier: Squirrels taking flight in Niagara County

It used to be, even going back to the early 1990s, that flying squirrels were considered rare visitors to
Niagara County. Well, the times have changed and so has the flying squirrel population.

I went almost 30 years having never seen these any of these interesting creatures. Then, starting about 10 years ago, I began to see them in good numbers.

On all occasions I saw them at dawn or dusk while up in a deer stand.

The first time, I was perched up in a tree on a dark windy morning and leaves were flying through the air at me. One leaf came in at a slow speed that defied the laws of physics and I thought to myself “what was that about?” Soon enough, the leaf showed that it wasn’t a leaf. A curious flying squirrel climbed the trunk just inches from my face to investigate. He would glide to the ground, climb back up to look eye-to-eye, then glide back to the ground. He did this about 6six times.

Two years later, I encountered a family of them at dusk from a different tree stand. They were equally playful and inquisitive ... and cute. It was a good half hour of playtime between them and me that I’ll never forget.

Numbers on the rise

Flying squirrels are increasing in number in Niagara County. (PHOTOS

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS)

Flying squirrels are nocturnal, which is why most people have never seen them. But, that doesn’t account for their past invisibility to active outdoorsmen like me. They actually weren’t here in any real numbers.

But, flying squirrels are seeing their numbers change because of the changing economy and lifestyle (and therefore environment) in Niagara County.

Up until the mid-twentieth century, small family farms were extremely abundant across the County. But, in the late-1950s things changed. The small farms began to be sold off or those families left agriculture as manufacturing grew in Niagara Falls and Lockport and blue-collar jobs popped up in Buffalo’s northtowns.

Those abandoned farms went back to what they were before the colonists set foot on American soil – forests. Those expanding woodlands and the aging oak and hickory trees in them make for great habitats for flying squirrels. They now have sprawling woodlots that they can populate.

They don’t really fly

Despite their name, flying squirrels don’t fly like bats do. They actually glide.

There is a loose membrane of skin that runs from the front legs to the rear legs. When they leap from a branch, they spread their legs. That membrane then becomes a parachute and sail (some folks would say glider wing). They can “float” for up to 80 yards — yes, not 80 feet, but 80 yards!

Where to find them

Technically, they're "gliding squirrels."

The species that you’ll encounter in Niagara County is the southern flying squirrel. Its cousin the northern flying squirrel prefers coniferous and mixed woods. You will find our flying squirrels in most any woodlot that’s over 5 acres in size and has numerous trees 40-feet or taller in height. They make their nests in tree cavities made by woodpeckers at heights between 20 and 30 feet.

Make sure that forest has good numbers of nut-bearing trees like beeches, hickories, and oaks. Like any squirrel, that’s what they eat. But, it should be noted that flying squirrels are also more carnivorous than other squirrels, eating insects like katydids, cicadas, and moths in huge numbers.

What they look like

Flying squirrels really can’t be confused with gray & red squirrels or chipmunks. They are unique.

They are very small, somewhere between the size of a chipmunk and red squirrel and have a very silky fur that is tan or cinnamon above and white below. If you see one resting during the day (which is not very likely) you will really notice the membrane folded and hanging loosely between the legs.

Their eyes are ridiculously large which helps them to see at night and really adds to their cuteness. Those eyes glow bright red when a flashlight is shined upon them.

How to see them 

To see flying squirrels, do as I did. Get up in a tree stand before the sun comes up or stick around a few minutes after it sets. It puts you in their airborne territory during the times when they like to be out and about.

Even if you are not a deer hunter and count yourself as a nature lover, spend some time in a deer stand. You will be amazed at the amount of wildlife you will see — flying squirrels are just a little bit of that experience.

You can also attract these critters to your bird feeder. They absolutely love peanut butter. They might come to it with your yard light on at night, but they will be more likely to eat there if the light is off.

How would you see them then? Many naturalists swear by putting a red light next to the feeder. That light won’t bother them and you’ll still be able to see them.

Flying squirrels are really taking off on the Niagara Frontier. One could almost say they are becoming common. If you’ve never seen one, there’s a very good chance you will someday soon.



Bob Confer lives in rural Gasport where he wishes he could fly like a squirrel. But, then again, he’d probably look goofy with a membrane of skin between his arms and legs. Follow him on Twitter @bobconfer or email him at bobconfer@juno.com.


From the 16 October 2014 East Niagara Post