Happy New Year to all!

 

As we enter 2023, The Terrace Times and its entire staff wishes to thank the entire community for its neighborliness, energy, efforts, and caring throughout 2022.

As an old Irish toast says:

"May your troubles be less, 

and your blessings be more, 

and nothing but happiness 

come through your door."

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Troy suspends bulk pickups for winter months

The City’s Department of General Services announced today it is suspending scheduling of bulk pickup services beginning Sunday, New Year's Day.

The pickup service is scheduled to resume on or about March 31. The temporary suspension occurs annually to ease snow removal efforts.

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Merry Christmas, or as Charles Dickens put it ...

 

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Here's a ray of sunshine for you

 

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A happy Hanukkah

Today is the first day of Hanukkah. 

The eight-day Jewish celebration commemorates the rededication during the 2nd Century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem where, according to legend and belief, Jews rose up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in what became known as the Maccabean Revolt. 

The eight candles on the menorah candelabra that are lighted during this celebration symbolize the number of days the Temple lantern blazed. The ninth candle, the shamash, is a "helper candle" used to light the others. 

After sundown during the eight days of Hanukkah, families light one candle on the first day, two on the second, and so on, while reciting prayers and singing songs. 

Hanukkah runs through Monday, December 26.

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2023 dues deadline nearly upon us

A friendly nudge:

If you haven't yet submitted a check for your Terrace at Highpointe Community Association 2023 dues, please do so ASAP. 

The deadline is January 1, 2023. (See details of payment possibilities here.)

That said, a Happy Hanukkah and a Merry Christmas to all.

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Police cracking down on DWI during holidays

If you're planning on driving during the holidays, doing so after having a few drinks is even less advisable than ever.

An announcement from the New York State Police said the force is participating in the national campaign called “Drive High Get a DUI” as well as the state's annual crackdown on impaired driving during the holidays.

Emphasis on the enforcement campaign will run through New Year's Day. Drivers can expect to see sobriety checkpoints, along with more troopers on roadways during the campaign. In addition to the DWI checkpoints and patrols, troopers will be watching for distracted drivers, vehicle occupants who are not properly buckled up, and drivers violating the “Move Over Law” that requires motorists to exercise extreme caution when passing emergency vehicles stopped in or on the side of the road. State Police also will conduct underage drinker enforcement details statewide. 

During the campaign, troopers will be using both marked State Police vehicles and Concealed Identity Traffic Enforcement (CITE) vehicles as part of the operation. The CITE vehicles allow troopers to more easily identify motorists who are using handheld devices -- cellphones, etc. -- while driving. CITE vehicles allow the Trooper to better observe distracted driving violations. These vehicles blend in with every day traffic, but are unmistakable as emergency vehicles once the emergency lighting is activated.

During last year’s crackdown, State Police arrested 522 people for DWI and issued 35,016 tickets, including 12,285 for speeding, 840 for distracted driving, and 289 for the “Move Over Law.” They also investigated 14 fatal crashes.

 This campaigned is sponsored by the New York State STOP-DWI Foundation and funded by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee. The GTSC and the STOP-DWI Foundation remind motorists that their “Have a Plan” mobile app, is available for Apple, Android and Windows smartphones. The app enables New Yorkers to locate and call a taxi or ride-share service and program a designated driver list. It also provides information on DWI laws and penalties and provides a way to report a suspected impaired driver.

The State Police and its partners urge all motorists to follow these simple tips to prevent impaired driving:

• Before drinking, designate a sober driver.
• If you’re impaired, use a taxi or ride-sharing service, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation.
• Use your community’s sober ride program.
• If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, don’t hesitate to contact local law enforcement.
• If you know someone who is about to drive or ride while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to their destination safely.

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Last snow before Christmas is fading fast

A steady overnight snowfall tapered off in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Our snow removal crew made short work of the cleanup, although hampered at first by the lack of adequate City street plowing.

As we head closer to Christmas week, the National Weather Service tells us there will be no precipitation until Friday, when it predicts a 70% chance of rain. 

What we will be having is daytime temperatures in the mid-30s before they dip into the 20s on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

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A Terrace holiday tradition is rekindled

From the late-1990s to the early 2010s or so, a December holiday social event was a regular part of life on the Terrace. However, as the residential mix changed over time, and then the COVID-19 pandemic put the clamps on all group activities, that evaporated.

Today, we were able to revive the tradition with a holiday luncheon in the banquet room of McGreivey's Restaurant in Waterford attended by 20 neighbors. 

Many thanks to Janice Dessingue, who coordinated the event with the able assistance of Anne Hunter, Ellie DeBonis, and Maryanne Gordon and who, as a group, developed the menu with the McGreivey's staff, provided festive evergreen centerpieces, and led holiday-memory activities.

Along the way, we also collected a large box of new socks to be donated to homeless shelters, one of the most in-demand items at such facilities.

Here are a few photos from the event, taken by Bill Dowd -- which explains why he does not appear in any of them. 

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1st real snow, 1st removal -- sort of

 

Terrace snow cleaning. / Bill Dowd photos

The first real snowfall of The Winter of 2022-23 took place Sunday, when it began snowing at  midmorning and didn't ease up until after midnight.

How much did we get? Your guess is as good as anyone's. The final say is up to the scorekeepers at the National Weather Service and the "weatherbeings" at our various local TV stations who love to brag about their accuracy while never issuing corrections -- only "updates." 

What is most important is that Tim, our snow removal guru, showed up around 3 a.m. Monday and cleared the driveways. (See photos, and don't ask what I was doing up at that hour. Hint: seeing to your wellbeing.) All seemed to be going well when we spoke, so I finally went to bed. However, like you I awoke to find that the sidewalks were not cleaned. I'm attempting to speak again with Tim to find out what happened.

The City plow truck came through last night and again around 10:45 this morning to clear the main roadways.

Thanks to everyone for being sure the driveways had no vehicles that might have blocked snow removal. Such joint efforts are needed throughout the winter.

Meanwhile, stay warm, stay safe, and -- for those who have signed up and paid for reservations for Thursday's "Holiday Luncheon" at McGreivey's in Waterford -- stay in the holiday mood. We'll see you then!

-- Bill Dowd

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Payments are due for holiday event

Event coordinator Janice Dessingue today issued a reminder to Terrace residents who have made reservations for our Holiday Luncheon that the deadline for payment is this Thursday (December 8).

Please be sure you drop off your checks, at $27 per person and made payable to Janice, by that date. Then, we will see you next week at the 12:30 p.m. Thursday, December 15,  event at McGreivey’s restaurant in Waterford,

And, please remember to bring socks to be donated to the needy.

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Dues deadline coming up -- at zero increase

Thanks to our new landscape service contract, dues for 2023 will remain the same as charged for this year. 

As you well know by now, there is a white locked mailbox just below the bulletin board in the mailbox gazebo. You can deposit your checks there without a postage stamp. You don’t even have to address the envelope; I’m the one who empties that mailbox. As a matter of fact, you don’t even need an envelope. You can just drop the check in. Of course, if you’re paying from out of town, you still can use the good old U.S. Postal Service.

You also can use that mailbox to pass along to the THCA Board any suggestions, comments or questions you may have. 

-- Jerry Gordon, THCA Treasurer

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