PAGE A-6 THE POST-STANDARD Friday, April 8, 2011

LOCAL NEWS

Welcome
to the
Onion State?
State senator ‘boldly’ Other state symbols
suggests pungent bulb as Fruit: apple.
Muffin: apple muffin.
state’s official vegetable. Beverage: milk.
Animal: beaver.
By Debra J. Groom Bird: bluebird.
Staff writer
Fish: fresh water, brook
They’re pungent. They cook trout; salt water, striped
up well. They grow abundantly bass.
in thousands of acres of rich Flower: rose.
New York muckland. Insect: nine-spotted
So, why shouldn’t the onion ladybug.
be the state’s official vege- Reptile: snapping turtle.
table? Shell: bay scallop.
Tree: sugar maple.
State Sen. David Carlucci, a Bush: lilac.
Democrat who represents
Rockland and Orange coun-
ties, says it should be. He has Onion facts
introduced a bill in the state Top onion counties, by
Peter Chen / The Post-Standard Senate to name the onion the acres planted: Oswego,
JAZMINE BARR, 11, (left) and Asaiah Ford, 10, both fifth-graders at Salem Hyde Elementary School, learn about state’s official vegetable. Orange, Genesee
chemistry and what happens when things freeze or solidify at a Time Warner Cable Connect A Million Minds ‘‘We need to promote local- Other onion counties:
event, at the Syracuse Center of Excellence. ly grown produce,’’ Carlucci Madison, Orleans, Wayne,
Yates, Steuben

Engineering Ice Cream

said. ‘‘There is a rich history
and culture of onions in New State rank: 6th in country
York state. After meeting with Total acres planted:
the onion growers in my dis- 12,500
Cash value: $39 million
trict, I saw there was no offi-
Source: U.S. Census of
cial state vegetable and they Agriculture 2007
thought it was a great idea.’’
Only 11 states have named
Hands-on science is sweet when you can eat your work an official vegetable and the
onion has top honors in Geor-
ganic soil known as muck.
Orange County has the most
gia (the Vidalia), Texas muck in the state, followed by
By Lorenzo Arguello Onondaga County Resource Recovery to school officials describing why they (sweet), Utah (Spanish sweet) Orleans-Genesee counties, Os-
Contributing writer Agency to learn about composting and wanted to be part of the program. and Washington (Walla Walla wego County and Madison
Fifty fifth-graders from Salem Hyde environmental sustainability. ‘‘As much as I love teaching them sweet). County. There are also patches
Elementary School in Syracuse re- What the students enjoyed most was in the classroom, they learned so much Oswego County tops coun- of muck in Cayuga, Onondaga
ceived hands-on experience in science, making ice cream using liquid nitro- in one day that I don’t think they ties in the state for growing and Oneida counties.
math and engineering at the Syracuse gen because of the steam it created and could’ve learned in the classroom,’’ onions. Grower Morris Sorbel- ‘‘We’re New Yorkers and
Center of Excellence Thursday. Holtsbery said. lo, of Granby, said the New we’re known to be a bit bold,’’
the fact that they got to eat the ice York onion, and especially
cream, said Laurie Holtsbery, fifth- The event was part of Time Warner said Judy Queale-Dunsmoor, a
Children learned how to make ice Cable’s Connect A Million Minds those grown in Oswego Coun- co-owner of New York Bold
grade teacher at Salem Hyde. ty, are far superior to others in
cream using liquid nitrogen, explored Week, a national philanthropic effort onion consortium in Oswego
the binary code involved in wireless Most of the young people on the trip by the company to foster kids’ interest the United States. County. ‘‘Our motto is we’re
communications with Time Warner were science fair winners. The rest in science, technology, engineering ‘‘The Vidalia is not a cook- onions with attitude. We’re all
Cable engineers and worked with the were chosen after submitting an essay and math. ing onion. If you cook it, about the New York-grown
there’s no taste and it turns to onion. We grow some of the
mush,’’ he said. ‘‘Ours, when best onions in the world and to
cooking, it retains the taste in recognize that as part of New

School communities help ailing teacher

Benefit Saturday to raise
money for Kristen Caron’s
medical expenses.
By Elizabeth Doran
Staff writer
Two local school commu-
nities are joining efforts to
sponsor a fundraiser for La-
Fayette English teacher Kris-
ten Caron, who is battling
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(Lou Gehrig’s disease).
Caron, 39, recently took a
leave of absence form her job
as an English teacher at La-
Fayette Junior-Senior High
School. Since telling students, school community, are spon-
the food you eat. And when York state is wonderful.’’
you cut them, they’re pun- And while New York on-
gent.’’ ions are unique, the state actu-
He said Spanish onions are ally grows more corn than any
close to New York onions, but
their parents and staff about soring a major fundraiser Sat- a college fund for her two chil-
the Empire State variety is
other vegetable. This may have
her diagnosis last summer, the urday. The event will run from dren,’’ said Tim Hogan, who
community 1 to 6 p.m. at the International graduated with Caron from more flavorful. led state Sen. Michael Nozzo-
lio, R-Fayette, to introduce a
and school Pavilion at the New York State Corcoran. And, he said, they are good
bill seeking to designate sweet
has rallied Fairgrounds. The goal at the event is to for you. A 2004 Cornell Uni-
corn as the official vegetable.
around her, The event will feature music attract more than 1,000 people. versity study suggests many Cayuga County, which pri-
sponsoring by The Delinquents, a disc Tickets are $20 for adults, onions, including three variet-
ies grown in New York (yel- marily is in Nozzolio’s district,
several fund- jockey, food, drinks and a raf- $10 for students and children is the No. 1 county in the state
raisers. fle of about 180 gift baskets under 12 are free. Tickets can low, Northern Red and shal-
be purchased at the door or on lots) are high in phenolics and for acres of corn, both sweet
Caron is a and door prizes. The grand and silage.
1989 gradu- prize is an iPod2. Other prizes her website, www.carinforca- flavonoids, antioxidants that
ate of Corco- ron.com . help prevent cancer. Anyone who wants to weigh
are a 42-inch television and a in can go to the New York
Caron ran High Wii game console. Caron and her husband, The onion with the lowest
phenolic content is the Vidalia, Farm Bureau’s Facebook page
School, where her husband ‘‘Kristen’s spirits are good, Matt, have two children,
now teaches and coaches Madeleine, 7, and Ethan, 5. the Cornell study shows. (https://www.facebook.com/
and she has a great sense of New York counties that #!/NYFarmBureau) and vote
hockey. humor, but we really want to They live in Syracuse, two
blocks from Caron’s parents. grow onions are primarily re- for onions, sweet corn or an-
Corcoran staff and friends, help her with her medical ex- gions with the black, rich, or- other vegetable.
along with the LaFayette penses, and we’d like to set up Contact Elizabeth Doran at
edoran@syracuse.com or 470-3012.

ROLLING THUNDER

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