Tag: cuba

Categories
Stories In Focus

A Day in the Life of a Maintenance Worker

“We’re girls in a boy’s world” Kim Lawson, Maintenance Secretary, said as she began a tour of the maintenance building.  Lawson and Linda Perry, or as they call themselves “the maintenance moms,” sit behind the front desk and handle the organization of the maintenance department.  After the tour Lawson made a call over the radio and before I knew it I was invited into a big, white maintenance van, ready to start my day as a maintenance worker.  

“Well I’ve got to be in Gillette because one of my workers called off… again” the driver said.  “After we drop you off I’m taking her to the flats” the other woman in the passenger seat said.  The van pulled into Gillette, the driver got out, and the new driver said “You can move up front if you want.”  Her name is Correne Goodenow.  

Maintenance staff RGBGoodenow works as a full-time custodian and her jurisdiction includes guest housing – usually the college flats – the library and half of the Center for the Arts building.  Each custodian has their own building(s) and they hire student workers within their areas.  Custodians are “supposed to have a daily schedule” she says, but when student workers don’t show up they have to cover their work.  According to Goodenow “when things come up, we do them”.

We arrive at the flats and head into a lounge full of towels, cups and soap, used to prepare rooms for the upcoming cross country guests coming that weekend.  “Yeah” she said while stuffing a pillow case, “my life is boring, but it’s kind of fun because I’m an introvert.”  Goodenow, who is originally from Jamaica, now lives in Rushford with her husband and three-year old daughter and said “There’s not much job-wise very close” so she sought a position at the college.  She attended a college with the same atmosphere as Houghton and she “wanted to be in that kind of family again.”  

After preparing the rooms we hopped back in the van and went back on campus to vacuum the back stairwell of the library.  The van pulled into the Chamberlain parking lot and while scanning the lot for a parking spot, Goodenow said “The benefit of driving a maintenance van is you can park anywhere you want.”  As rain drizzled down we ran into the back door of the library.  After vacuuming, Goodenow asked, “Have you ever been in the archives?”  The archives needed dusting that could have waited, but she went in any way to give a tour.  Goodenow pointed out the old typewriter donated hundreds of years ago and shuffled through painting after painting displayed in cases, in awe as she circled the room.  

After finishing in the library, Goodenow got another call on her radio.  “Oh yeah, on top of all of this, I’m also a certified pool operator” she said.  So our next stop was the pool to test the chlorine level. Only a few people on staff are certified to do this test, so she often gets requests that call her up to the pool.  After finishing that task it was time to break for lunch and time for Goodenow to pass me on to another worker, this time from the maintenance area.  So she gave Frank Eszes a call on the radio.“Well we’re gonna be up on the roof… is that something she’d want to do?” Frank asks over the radio.

Before continuing on to our duties, Frank and I sat in the truck for a few minutes before he asked “So you want to know my life story or something?  Well I’m a transplant from California.”  Eszes is from Santa Maria, California, and he “transplanted” to Cuba, NY, where he and his wife bought a house.  In June 2014, Eszes heard about an opening for a custodial position at Houghton.

According to Eszes, “There’s nothing wrong with being a custodian.”  He is a retired fence contractor and has a contractor’s license so he wasn’t getting to do much of what he loved in his custodial work.  But after a month and a half of his time at Houghton he got transferred to a maintenance position and gets to do some elements of his previous career in his work.  Eszes opens the door to the science building when he said, “I’m also a big motorcycle guy.  Here let me show you a picture” as he pulls out his phone to show me a photo of his own motorcycle.  Approaching the third floor of the science building, Eszes described that unlike custodial where each worker has their own area to tend to, maintenance workers get assignments that vary each day depending on the order of demands.  “We just go places and check things” he said “and we’re always encouraged to, if we see something wrong, to fix it or find someone who can.”  He pulled out his clipboard and started looking for room numbers.  His job today was to check the air inside the fume hoods in all of the labs.  

“Sometimes I like to listen to music when I’m doing a job like this, but I never know if other people want to listen to my kind of music” he said, gesturing toward the few students working at some lab tables.  He shrugged and said “I’m kind of old school.”

Eszes likes the people he has met at Houghton and has “no complaints.”  He said “Houghton does a good job of providing a nice environment, all the way from professors to custodians to people working in the cafeteria.”  Eszes said he has had positive experiences with students and because the maintenance department doesn’t have many student workers, he only interacts with students when he’s out doing jobs around campus.  “I haven’t met one student I don’t like.  Although because I’m an adult, some people don’t talk to me” he said with a chuckle and elbow nudge.  “They might complain because I yak too much” he said as he scanned his list to mark off another completed task.  He smiled and there was silence for a few seconds.  “Ooh, let me show you a picture.”

Categories
News

Broken Greenway Trail Runs Through Houghton

The Genesee Valley Greenway trail, which runs between Rochester and Hinesdale, south of Cuba, is closed in the section that goes through Houghton. Though students and community members run, walk, and bike on the Houghton section of the Greenway daily the interruptions prevent them from connecting to the rest of the trail.

The Greenway is a park originating from the land formerly occupied by area canals and railroads. Described as “an open space corridor” by the New York State Park Service, it is intended to be used for walking, hiking, and biking, and other outdoor recreation. It also has a crucial role in conservation, allowing organisms to travel on an uninterrupted wild space throughout Western New York.

Kristina Shoepfer, park manager for the Greenway, said that the land passed through several hands before becoming a state park. “The Genesee Valley Greenway follows the old Genesee Valley Canal and later, the Rochester Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The railroad eventually sold the property to RG&E [Rochester Gas and Electric], who later sold the property to New York State for use as a recreational trail.” Because of the long history of the property, the Greenway runs past pieces of regional history, including ruins of stone locks, culverts, and historic inns such as the Yard of Ale and the National Hotel. One section near Black Creek, NY runs past areas of the canal which are still full of water, allowing trail users to imagine the canal in its heyday.

GreenwayTrailCMYKThe Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway (FOGVG), a local nonprofit organization, in partnership with the state park system, attempts to promote and care for the Greenway to users of the trail. The Friends have brought more than $4 million in grants to the Greenway to develop it further, and often run events to promote and care for the trail. They also provide information about the length of the trail for potential users.

According to FOGVG there are several areas of the trail that are currently closed for use. One of the areas that is currently closed, according to the trail guide found on the FOGVG website, includes the section that goes through Houghton. Shoepfer pointed out that the trail nearest Houghton has a few obstacles that prevent it from connecting it to the rest of the trail. North of Houghton, “a bridge is needed to cross the creek adjacent to the Houghton soccer fields” while to the south, “there is a RG&E substation located on what used to be the old rail bed (and what would have been the path of the Greenway),” she said. Beyond these interruptions, the trail is maintained as it continues north to Rochester and south past Cuba.

“Having the Greenway connected in Houghton would be an asset to the college and community” for several reasons, Shoepfer said, as it would provide increased recreational opportunities over the length of the trail for activities including hiking, biking, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and horseback-riding. Shoepfer also suggested that for students who currently run along Route 19, having the Greenway connected would allow for a safer alternative to running along the road.

The RVER Group, or Regional Ventures in Economic Revitalization, stated that one of its goals for the near future is to refurbish the park in the town of Houghton. Helping to connect the section of the Genesee Valley Greenway that runs through Houghton to the rest of the path would be a related goal worth pursuing.

The Greenway is a feature of Houghton that deserves to be more well-known and utilized. With a few improvements, the Genesee Valley Greenway could “stimulate business and tourism for the local community and benefit the community as a whole,” Shoepfer said.

For more information, including trail maps and updates on events, visit the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway website at fogvg.org, or the New York State Park website at nysparks.com

Categories
News

Update on Athletic Complex Construction

Due to the Kerr-Pegula donation and transition to NCAA division III, Houghton has seen Burke Field completed, the baseball and softball fields nearly done, and the ground-breaking of the field house thus far.

Courtesy of flickr.com
Courtesy of flickr.com

The baseball and softball fields have already been put to use as various teams have begun holding practice on the turf. Additionally, local baseball leagues have already played on the baseball field. While certain finishing touches still have to be made, such as the tower that will overlook the softball pitch and connect to the field house, the fields are now available for use.

Last year, the baseball and softball teams traveled everyday in order to practice on fields in  Angelica and Cuba-Rushford, so the completion of the fields at Houghton is eagerly anticipated amongst the players. “We are excited to play on our new beautiful field that is in our own backyard,” said junior softball player Sarah Beirne.

Skip Lord, Executive Director of Athletics, on the subject of the new tower and connected field house, said that “When [the workers] have the main work done on the tower, probably by the middle of October, they will pour the foundations for the [field house] and the concrete slab…for support.”

Jason Mucher, Director of Compliance and Communications, added to this and said that “This building is already pre-[fabricated], all the pieces and components of it are being put together now and designed in the factory. [The construction workers] will bring it here on trucks and connect it sort of like tinker toys.” Speaking to the construction process itself, Lord said that “they are going to put it together in sections, so it will unfold kind of like an accordion.”

Sections of the outdoor structure of the field house should be completed by the time cold weather comes, so that the construction workers can shift their focus to the inside of the field house throughout the winter and spring. Communication between on-site workers and the contractor is frequent and clear, allowing construction plans are adapted as needed to fit the layout of the worksite. Once a solid foundation has been finished, the workers will be able to move out of the ground, and the remainder of the work needed should be more predictable.

In addition to a 200 meter, 8 lane track, jumping pits, tennis courts, and bleachers seating 800-1000 people, the complex will have offices, locker rooms, VIP conference room, fitness center, weight room, training room, kitchen, and concessions stand. While fitting all of these components into one complex does pose challenges, the plans have been drawn up so that all the components fit together accordingly.

The new complex will be multi-functional and while it will directly cater to the athletic teams, students may make use of the fitness center, weight room, courts, etc. The field house itself will be accessible to the entire student body, allowing the intramural program to expand as well as creating more classrooms for the recreation and physical education departments. Lord and Mucher have both explored possible functions and events for the field house once it is completed.

“It is a big community convention center where you can have concerts, speakers, commencement, flea markets. Or those types of thing that require a lot of open space. It has accessibility and food preparation capability,” said Mucher, “So we can hold anything that requires a large area within this region that does not necessarily have anything to do with athletics. It is a service to the region.”

Following the completion of the field house, there are plans to do more renovations to the Nielsen Center. The movement of a number of offices to the new complex will give Nielsen significantly more space. The volleyball team and both basketball teams would have the opportunity to have their own respective team locker rooms. However, this is more of a long-term goal, and would not be put into action until the college has the appropriate funds.

Regarding the completion date of the field house, Lord said, “These things always get pushed around a little bit, but right now it is supposed to be done May 23rd.”