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UTICA-ROME SHOW 7/2/06
It’s times like these that draw a family closer
together. Even though we may not always get
along, when in need we all pitch in and do
what we can to help one another out. And that
is what has been going on in the Southern Tier
for the past several days. Volunteer fire
departments, Utility workers and Medical
personnel have descended upon the area from
Albany, Rochester and Watertown to lend a
hand and the progress has been encouraging
after the flooding of the past week. The
Delaware, Chenango and Susquehanna Rivers
all overflowed their banks this past Wednesday
as record rains fell. Communities such as
Walton, Afton, Bainbridge, Otego, Owego,
Kirkwood, Conklin, Endwell, Windsor, Johnson
City, Binghamton, Sidney, Apalachin, Cortland
and many more were all flooded out and the
damage is devastating to many peoples homes
and lives. With flood waters such as these it’s
not just a matter of the water but also the
sludge the water brings with it. Sewage is
backed up, utilities are severed, gas leaks from
propane tanks and gas lines are a problem,
roads have been washed out and people have
died as a result. There aren’t many who haven’t
been affected, for those of us spared we still
have family and friends who are affected, and
we all pitch in to help.
My wife Nicole is from Conklin and all of her
family still lives there. Her father had to be
boated from his home while her brother Tom
lost his entirely and they have plenty of
company. As we drove down the re-opened
Conklin Ave. these past few days the loss and
despair is evident. It’s surreal, you look at
peoples homes that they have worked hard at
and are proud of and realize that it’s going to
take along time before their lives will be in
order again. At Tommy’s place we’re salvaging
what we can, the muck and smell convince you
that his home will not be livable again, jars
holding bolts which were attached to the
ceiling of his garage are full of water. He’s a
tough guy but this has him broken, how do you
explain to your 12 year old son that everything
is lost. Nikki’s father’s truck is totaled, their
neighbors’ home is still under water, it’s
inescapable. I talked with Endwell resident
Mike Monnat on Wednesday, he was fortunate
enough to get the last U-Haul van on Tuesday
night and get his belongings out. “And I’m not
going back” he related as he’s in the process of
looking for a new place. We’ve been able to
clean up some of Tommy’s belongings and the
family really has pitched in to put these lives
back together. News from the area is similar,
everyone is doing their best to make the most
of a difficult situation as the cleanup continues.
One bright note, my father in laws neighbors
left their cat behind on Wednesday thinking
they would be able to get back to retrieve it
later. They couldn’t but found the cat alive and
well yesterday, life is precious and it’s good to
see one spared.
There is more bad news to report this week. We
learned on Sunday that MVSCC president Gary
Byerly died the night before at Holland
Speedway after completing the club’s feature
event. We were shocked and saddened by this
news, Gary was well liked by many and too
young to die. We wish to offer our deepest
sympathies and condolences to the Byerly
Family and our club will be making a donation
to charity in his name. Viewing arrangements
can be found on the MVSCC website. Godspeed
Gary.
On Sunday evening our club ventured to Utica-
Rome speedway for what turned out to be a
truncated event. The rains came after only the
second heat of the evening and washed out the
remainder of the show. On hand to present a
nice display of our antique stock cars were:
John Mason, Mike Newell, Ed McCullough,
John Button, John Clark, Alan Weaver and
Richard Ackerman. A tribute and banner to
Sonny Seamon was also displayed but
unfortunately Mother Nature didn’t play along.
I’d like to thank all of our members who made
the effort to place a car on display this evening,
your work is certainly appreciated. We have the
upcoming weekend off which is a blessing for
many of us and then will be taking to the track
once again on Friday the 14th of July @ Penn-
Can Speedway in Susquehanna, Penn for the
Pappy Bevins Memorial and ‘Legends of Penn-
Can’ night. It should be a special evening with
a former racers reunion as well a full card of
racing. Hopefully by then the people from this
area will have their lives closer to being back in
order and be able to enjoy an evening out and
away from their troubles.
I’d like to thank everyone who has been
involved with the cleanup and relief effort in
our area, I know that everyone who is affected
appreciates your efforts. Jeff Ackerman, 6256
State Route 17C, Endicott, NY 13760
together. Even though we may not always get
along, when in need we all pitch in and do
what we can to help one another out. And that
is what has been going on in the Southern Tier
for the past several days. Volunteer fire
departments, Utility workers and Medical
personnel have descended upon the area from
Albany, Rochester and Watertown to lend a
hand and the progress has been encouraging
after the flooding of the past week. The
Delaware, Chenango and Susquehanna Rivers
all overflowed their banks this past Wednesday
as record rains fell. Communities such as
Walton, Afton, Bainbridge, Otego, Owego,
Kirkwood, Conklin, Endwell, Windsor, Johnson
City, Binghamton, Sidney, Apalachin, Cortland
and many more were all flooded out and the
damage is devastating to many peoples homes
and lives. With flood waters such as these it’s
not just a matter of the water but also the
sludge the water brings with it. Sewage is
backed up, utilities are severed, gas leaks from
propane tanks and gas lines are a problem,
roads have been washed out and people have
died as a result. There aren’t many who haven’t
been affected, for those of us spared we still
have family and friends who are affected, and
we all pitch in to help.
My wife Nicole is from Conklin and all of her
family still lives there. Her father had to be
boated from his home while her brother Tom
lost his entirely and they have plenty of
company. As we drove down the re-opened
Conklin Ave. these past few days the loss and
despair is evident. It’s surreal, you look at
peoples homes that they have worked hard at
and are proud of and realize that it’s going to
take along time before their lives will be in
order again. At Tommy’s place we’re salvaging
what we can, the muck and smell convince you
that his home will not be livable again, jars
holding bolts which were attached to the
ceiling of his garage are full of water. He’s a
tough guy but this has him broken, how do you
explain to your 12 year old son that everything
is lost. Nikki’s father’s truck is totaled, their
neighbors’ home is still under water, it’s
inescapable. I talked with Endwell resident
Mike Monnat on Wednesday, he was fortunate
enough to get the last U-Haul van on Tuesday
night and get his belongings out. “And I’m not
going back” he related as he’s in the process of
looking for a new place. We’ve been able to
clean up some of Tommy’s belongings and the
family really has pitched in to put these lives
back together. News from the area is similar,
everyone is doing their best to make the most
of a difficult situation as the cleanup continues.
One bright note, my father in laws neighbors
left their cat behind on Wednesday thinking
they would be able to get back to retrieve it
later. They couldn’t but found the cat alive and
well yesterday, life is precious and it’s good to
see one spared.
There is more bad news to report this week. We
learned on Sunday that MVSCC president Gary
Byerly died the night before at Holland
Speedway after completing the club’s feature
event. We were shocked and saddened by this
news, Gary was well liked by many and too
young to die. We wish to offer our deepest
sympathies and condolences to the Byerly
Family and our club will be making a donation
to charity in his name. Viewing arrangements
can be found on the MVSCC website. Godspeed
Gary.
On Sunday evening our club ventured to Utica-
Rome speedway for what turned out to be a
truncated event. The rains came after only the
second heat of the evening and washed out the
remainder of the show. On hand to present a
nice display of our antique stock cars were:
John Mason, Mike Newell, Ed McCullough,
John Button, John Clark, Alan Weaver and
Richard Ackerman. A tribute and banner to
Sonny Seamon was also displayed but
unfortunately Mother Nature didn’t play along.
I’d like to thank all of our members who made
the effort to place a car on display this evening,
your work is certainly appreciated. We have the
upcoming weekend off which is a blessing for
many of us and then will be taking to the track
once again on Friday the 14th of July @ Penn-
Can Speedway in Susquehanna, Penn for the
Pappy Bevins Memorial and ‘Legends of Penn-
Can’ night. It should be a special evening with
a former racers reunion as well a full card of
racing. Hopefully by then the people from this
area will have their lives closer to being back in
order and be able to enjoy an evening out and
away from their troubles.
I’d like to thank everyone who has been
involved with the cleanup and relief effort in
our area, I know that everyone who is affected
appreciates your efforts. Jeff Ackerman, 6256
State Route 17C, Endicott, NY 13760
