Ritchie

In an effort to recognize teachers who go above and beyond to help their students succeed, I will once again be honoring educators with my “Golden Apple” Award for Teaching Excellence. Last year, I was able to honor more than 40 educators from Oswego, Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties with this special program.

With the passage of the new State Budget comes a wide variety of changes aimed at creating new opportunities that will enable all New Yorkers to continue moving forward. Last week, I brought you news that my Young Farmers NY plan, aimed at encouraging more young people to enter careers in the agriculture industry, was included in the state’s new spending plan.

Snow and cold aside, March is a “sweet” month. That’s because of “Maple Weekend,” an annual celebration held to promote New York’s maple industry. With 2.2 million taps, our state is the nation’s second largest maple producer with plenty of room for growth.

To say Fort Drum is a significant part of Central and Northern New York is an understatement. Home to the 10th Mountain Division, the Army’s most deployed infantry group, Fort Drum is our state’s biggest single-site employer with 18,000 soldiers and 4,000 civilian workers. Last year, the post had a $1.4 billion impact on our state’s economy.

What started as a small-town school event in California held over the course of a week in 1978, Women’s History Month has grown tremendously. Today, throughout the entire month of March, the world’s focus turns to women and the significant contributions they have made to our history, culture and society.

From the food we eat to the products we use, not a day goes by that we don’t have a farmer to thank for helping to provide life’s necessities. But, what if there weren’t any farmers? As recent research suggests, that’s a question we should be considering.

It’s frustrating to know that someone would abuse a program designed to help children and families in need and let people get back on their feet. That’s why reports that some people are using their taxpayer-paid welfare benefits to pay for tobacco, alcohol, even trips to nightclubs, really touch a nerve.

From sowing crops by hand and working the land with simple wooden plows to employing new and advanced technologies to grow better and more crops, agriculture has come a long way since it first took root in the United States. Illustrating these changes is the newly-released USDA 2012 “Census of Agriculture.”

As a mother and a grandmother, I know there’s nothing better than a newborn baby.  I also know that along with the excitement, comes the feeling of wanting to make sure your little one is as healthy as he or she can be.

Here in Upstate New York, we know what it means to be part of a “close knit” community. It means collaborating to better our region. It means sharing in experiences that bring us closer together. And above all else, it means working alongside one another to help those in need.