Bethpage-Tribune_2009-08-29

              Volume 47 Number 31 329 Broadway., Bethpage, NY U714 Atlg. 29- Sept 3, 2009 ( 516) 681- 0440 ext. 21 FAX ( 516) 681- 9354 Email: Nu22u § aolcom 50 CentS
Broadway Deli Celebrates
GRAND OPENING DAY!
Nassau County Legislator Ed Mangano joined with Councilwoman Rose
Walker and N Y S Assemblyman Rob Walker in presenting a grand opening
citation to Broadway Deli co- owners Michael See ley and Matt Hanley.
Broadway Deli is located at 359 Broadway in Bethpage and Legislator
Mangano congratulated Mike and Matt for the beautiful renovations and
improvements they made to their new store. Stop by and see for yourself!
Bethpage Fire Department Responds to
Fire at Pancho's Border Grill
On August 24 the Bethpage Fire Department responded to smoke coming
t'rom r'ancho's Border Grill on Hempstead Tpke. Engine Co # 5 was first due
and su ch'hed 1 line to the front door. Ladder Co# 3 was placed in front of the
bulding and put the ladder to the roof Additional crews searched for the
sourcc of the lire that was found in the column of the front overhang and
quic kly e. xtinguishcd. One firefighter suffered a hand injury and was trans-iH)
rled to the hospital by Nassau County Police Department Ambulance
2358. ( IMioto by Kevin Imm)
Bethpage State Park Golf Course Crew
Receive Awards for Being " Greener"
Diehard golfers want it green
and want it fast— want the ball to
roll quickly eight or ten feet at a
tap of their club. And sure, Dave
Catalano and his staff want it fast
too. But for the crew at Bethpage
State Park's world- renowned golf
courses, it's about more than play—
they're out to prove something. For
they are part of groundbreaking
research to develop, test, and fine-tune
techniques that steeply cut
pesticide and fertilizer use. In other
words, to green up golf
Golf courses are often faulted for heavy pesticide use. Yet the Bethpage project has cut
environmental impact up to 96 percent over conventional practices - and this in a cli-mate
where weather conditions and heavy foot traffic from 250,000 golfers each year
ensure constant disease pressure. Home of the 2009 US Open, Bethpage State Park com-prises
tlve separate golf courses on its 1,500 acres in the heart of densely populated Long
Island, just 25 miles east of the New York City line.
Now for their involvement in nearly a decade of research at Bethpage, Catalano,
Andy Wilson, Craig Currier and Kathie Wegman have earned an Excellence in IPM
award from the New York State Integrated Pest Management ( NYS IPM) Program at
Cornell University. Integrated pest management seeks le
" We can't emphasize enough how important long- term, real- world research is," says
Jennifer Grant, assistant director of NYS IPM, who coordinates turf IPM research. " You
don't get truly useful results until you've tested your work over time, keeping what works
and incorporating promising new practices and products."
" As the largest public golf complex in the country, we believe in showing our com-mitment
to the environment and to our public golfers by w^ orking with Cornell to develop
IPM techniques and management programs," says Catalano. " It's how we provide out-standing
playing conditions with the least environmental impact."
When Wilson is out on the green with his stimpmeter or moisture probe and a golfer
asks what he's up to, the conversation could easily cut to the new tactics and products the
crews are testing to deliver quality conditions with lower inputs. Wilson supervises
Bethpage's aptly named Green Course, where core 1PM practices are developed.
That stimpmeter, for example, measures how fast the ball rolls, something golfers
care a lot about. It tells Wilson more— tells him whether IPM greens provide the same
level of play.
But when Wilson talks to other golf- course superintendents, he cuts to the essential
ingredient in high- level IPM - careful recordkeeping. " It keeps your mind sharp, helping
you think through alternate solutions to typical problems instead of tailing back on the
tried and true," Wilson says.
Just as essential is scouting — monitoring greens and fairways for insect, weed, and
plant disease pests.
" Scouting can be as low- tech as flushing insects from the turf with a lemon soap solu-tion,
or as high tech as looking at root pieces through a microscope to precisely identify a
disease," says Kathie Wegman, Bethpage's 1PM specialist.
" We find out where the hot spots are and treat them, which lessens or even eliminates the
need to spray."
But can steeply cutting pesticide use really produce satisfactory play? " Surveys con-sistently
show high golfer satisfaction with IPM- managed greens at Bethpage," says
Frank Rossi, professor and turf specialist at Cornell University. " This has been a monu-mental
project, both in scope and impact.
Catalano, Currier, Wilson and Wegman received their award on behalf of all their
colleagues on August ; 2, 2009 at the Cornell University Turfgrass Field Day at Bethpage
State Park, Congratulations to Catalano and his statf for a l l of thier hard work and dedi-cation
i n an effort to go GREEN as well as for their tireless efforts in geuing the BLACK
Course ready for the US OPEN, a s well as the miraculous job which was done after the
Open, in getting the course back in shape again!!! WHAT A GREAT JOB!!