Shuffleboard on ice

Perhaps
you’ve seen it on TV: a giant rock sliding across the ice as two folks with
squeegees maniacally sweep and scrub the ice in its path. Some 500 years ago,
the Scottish, lamenting the Highlands’ golf-less winters, played this game with
rocks and standard-issue kitchen brooms on frozen rivers. They called it
“curling,” deriving the name from the Scottish verb “curr” (“grumble”) to
describe the sound of stone on ice.

            Rochesterians, of course, have been
curling for more than 40 years at the Rochester Curling Club.

            “It was founded in 1961 by a group
of Kodak executives who curled out of the old RIT arena,” says club president
Mark Mooney. The club has curled at 71 Deep Rock Road since 1964, and today
lists 160 members.

            Curling is essentially shuffleboard
on ice. A 42-pound granite stone is slid down a 146-foot rink. The object: to
get your stone closer to the bull’s-eye, or “button,” than your opponent. Teams
of two men and two women “throw” eight stones over a period of eight “ends” —
curling’s equivalent to an inning.

            Phyllis Ely caught the curling bug
from her husband, who got into it attending Clarkson University. Now, even the
couple’s 10-year-old daughter curls.

            “I’m attracted to it because it’s an
absolutely inclusive sport, regardless of gender or athleticism,” Ely says.

            Another plus: There are no referees.

            “It’s
a whole sport based on honor,” Mooney says.

            But curling is still competitive,
even with the sportsmanship and family vibe.

            “There’s a lot of strategy and
science,” Ely says. “But it’s a place where you stand back and applaud a great
shot even when it knocked you out of the game. It’s a little spot in the world
where people are good to each other. It’s great for kids.”

            “And,”
she adds, “your beer never gets warm.”

            The
Rochester Curling Club hosts “The Best from New York State” January 8 through
11 and “The Best from the East” January 22 through 25. New members welcome.
235-8246 or www.rochestercurling.org.

—
Frank De Blase

Snow
machine age

Lots
of Americans are talking about George W. Bush’s efforts to keep snowmobiles streaking and smoking
through Yellowstone. Now New Yorkers will debate the extent to which
snowmobiles will be allowed to overrun the Adirondack
Park.

            On December 22, the state Department
of Environmental Conservation released a “draft plan” and
environmental impact statement regarding snowmobile use on state-owned lands in
the park. “The vision of the draft plan,” said an official announcement,
“is to develop and maintain an integrated snowmobile trail system on
public and private lands… consistent with Article XIV, Section 1 of the State
Constitution.” That’s a reference to the “forever wild” concept
that has steered management of the state forest preserve for a century.

            The plan is a response to the
effects that snowmobiles — now a mainstay for many Adirondack towns — have
had on public lands and wilderness values. In trying to establish a workable
trail system, the plan seeks compromises. For example, it would create a new
classification system covering things like trail-width and tree-cutting. It
would also address concerns about inter-community “connector” trails
that sometimes impinge on designated Wild Forest areas.

            Some environmentalists are weighing
in already. The Adirondack Council, for example, released a statement calling
the document “unacceptable.” The group said it does want “a plan
that makes it easier for communities to improve their winter tourism
economies.” But the draft plan, said the group, could allow poorly
supervised “earth-moving” on and widening of certain trails. Nor does
the plan adequately address air and noise pollution from snowmobiles or impose
speed limits, the group said.

            A public comment period on the plan
will run until March 31. The DEC will host a public hearing Wednesday, February
11, 5-8 p.m., at the Rochester Museum and Science Center Planetarium, 657 East
Avenue. View the plan at www.dec.state.ny.us; click on “highlights.”

Team
Brooks to study development

Maggie
Brooks has formed an economic
development strategy group.

            The Monroe County executive-elect
says the team will serve as her principal advisory group and will make several
recommendations for improving the county’s approach to economic development.

            The county’s assorted economic
development agencies currently operate in a vacuum, Brooks says, and need to be
more cooperative.

            The team is led by Tom Mooney, CEO
of the Rochester Business Alliance, and Theresa Mazzullo, a principal in EPIC
Advisors and vice president of the Small Business Council.

            Other members include Francis
Antonelli of LeCesse Construction; Greece Supervisor John Auberger; Sarah
Lentini of the Arts & Cultural Council of Greater Rochester; Sandra Parker,
Rochester Business Alliance; Grace Tillinghast, Eastman Kodak Co.; and Michael
Townsend of the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency.

            Rochester Mayor Bill Johnson will
also contribute an as-yet unnamed member.

            Brooks promises a comprehensive
review of the county’s economic development efforts and says some structural
changes may be forthcoming, including consolidation of agencies.

Brooks
seeks DHHS chief

In
addition to the team the county executive-elect formed to study economic
development, Brooks has formed a second committee to find a new director for the county’s Department of
Human and Health Services.

            The nationwide search is being led
by Fran Weisberg, president and CEO of Lifespan of Greater Rochester. She is
also former chair of the county Democratic Committee.

            In a press release, Brooks says “We
must continue to re-engineer our delivery of social services to ensure that
clients are provided with the help they truly need in an expeditious and
cost-effective manner.”

            The committee will recommend
prospective candidates to Brooks within the next few months.

            Rounding out the search committee
are: Joseph G. Calabrese, United Way; Jean Carroll, YWCA, Council of Agency
Executives; G. Jean Howard, Wilson Commencement Park; Robert W. Hurlbut, ROHM
Services Corporation; Carolyn Portanova, Catholic Family Center; Dennis
Richardson, Hillside Family of Agencies; and Thomas Vasey, Monroe County
Department of Human and Health Services.

Ferry
Christmas

An
interesting exchange to report between RPO conductor Jeff Tyzik and Santa Claus.

            Papa Noel (Santa’s Brazilian
counterpart) dropped in at an RPO Gala Holiday Pops concert, somewhere between
“Fantasia on Greensleeves” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”

            Tyzik asked the old man how he
managed to pull off the whole Christmas bit every year: loading the sleigh,
traveling the world, etc. Santa said it wasn’t easy and that on the Rochester
leg of his journey next year, he might take the fast ferry instead.

            “Well, that’s one person,” Tyzik
responded, to self-conscious laughter from the Eastman Theatre audience.

This article appears in Dec 24-30, 2003.