JUly ClayInsider 2010
Eaglenewspapers
Sports
ATTENTION IMPORT OWNERS! The boys and girls of FORD IS NOW A TOP summer little league CONSIDERATION FOR VEHICLE SHOPPERS NATIONALLY. By Susan Lindsley
• Ford didn’t take the government bailout. • Fusion has the best in class fuel economy rating for any mid sized hybrid vehicle besting Toyota Camry by 8 mpg city. • Focus was named the most significant vehicle at the Detroit auto show. • Ford has the north American car of the year! • Focus is an Autoweek pick for best cars for college! • Fusion has the best in class fuel economy of 34 mpg with it’s 4 cyl. engine. • Ford has the Motor Trend car of the year!
The Sync system is just amazing! You have to experience it for yourself!
F-SERIES IS THE NUMBER ONE SELLING PICK-UP FOR 33 YEARS IN A ROW! FORD NOW HAS QUALITY THAT HONDA AND TOYOTA JUST CAN’T BEAT . . . PERIOD!
HAVE YOU DRIVEN A FORD LATELY? Try a different direction . . . . Get all this and more at Fred Raynor Ford Lincoln Mercury Route 3 West in Fulton.
Just 15 minutes from Clay!
Fred Raynor . . . 43 years providing quality sales and service to Central New York. Give us a shot! Low country over head with big city volume = more savings with less stress. Fred raynor’s
FORD • LINCOLN • MERCURY
extend a paw . . . and adopt a pet today
Located at Fred Raynor Ford/Lincoln/Mercury
ROUTE 3 WEST • FULTON, NY
1 877-9-TRUCKTOWN or 592-2222
extend a paw . . . and adopt a pet today
See League on page 11
Farm From page 1
05216
Take Route 481 North to Route 3 West. Go 1 mile, across from Walmart. From Baldwinsville take route 48 to Route 3 West and go 1 mile, across from Walmart
The dirt flying as you slide into base, the sound the bat makes when it connects just right with the ball, the smell of the hot dogs, the cheers from the crowd. Yankee Stadium? Even better, it’s the sights and sounds of your own child playing and learning about baseball from the ground up, literally. A very small number ever make it to Yankee Stadium or other stadiums for that matter, but as most major leaguers can tell you, they got their start somewhere on a small field in their hometown. The Derek Jeters of the world had no idea what could happen when they first stepped up to the tee in their first tee ball game. Everyone started somewhere, learning the game, honing their craft, developing their skills, whether it was an actual baseball field or a grass field with a dirt diamond. For a lot of town of Clay children, that field is located right on Verplank Road, just north of route 31, where the Seneca River North Little League plays. The Seneca River North Little League typically has about 550 children, both boys and girls, in their league. The children come from the Clay, Baldwinsville and Liverpool. It
is entirely supported by the parents and sponsors. For years, the league was only for baseball. But in 2009, they started offering fast-pitch softball too. Their nine and 10 year old girls’ softball team even competed in the State Tournament last year. In little league, children can start off with tee ball. This is a way to promote fun, learn the basics of baseball and work on their skills. The children hit the ball off a tee. The next step up is single A, which has live pitching by a coach. Again, they work on improving their skills, teamwork and how to play safely. In double A, which is for 8-10 year olds, the children have live pitching from other children. They play different positions and build on their experience. In triple A, which is for nine to 11 years old, the children have been developing their skills along the way, some having been participating since tee ball. It’s a system that lets the children develop their skills and confidence gradually as the divisions get more competitive. Depending on the division, there are tryouts. This is to assess the children’s strengths and weaknesses to balance out
some time now and knows most of the local growers, he spearheaded the process of contacting local vendors to set up at the farmers market,” she said. “He then presented the plan to the town of Clay for approval.” Musumeci’s attempt at ShoppingTown didn’t attract as many customers as he would have liked due to poor visibility. Graham said the local farmer hopes to see more traffic in front of Sears at Great Northern. She said she expects he’ll be successful. “Great Northern has great visibility, plenty of free parking and is centrally located in the northern suburbs, providing more convenience for the population north of the city of Syracuse,” Graham said. Indeed, Graham predicted that the market will fill a need for Clay residents as it helps attract traffic to the mall itself. “The farmers market offers another opportunity for the community to purchase locally grown food that is fresh, and it also supports the local growers,” she said. “It offers an op-
portunity for our patrons and employees of the center to purchase fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables without having to travel into the city of Syracuse. It also brings additional traffic to the center.” Clay Supervisor Damian Ulatowski attended the market in its second week to encourage the growers to continue to peddle their wares at the mall. “I was at the farmers market and welcomed all of the vendors personally and encouraged them to give Clay a chance, as I was confident that once the residents knew that the market was open and available, word would spread and more and more area residents would frequent the market,” Ulatowski said. “I took comfort in knowing that the market would regularly attract more than 20 vendors all with different and diverse products to meet client demand. [Recent rainy weather] did put a damper on some of the residents coming out, but not so the vendors, as they came from as far away as Wolcott to be a regular at the mall site in Clay.”