Peace Council Pages

NOON Keeps Up Busy Pace

Young people were well-represented among the 70 opponents rallying against hydrofracking at the Thornden Park Water Tower, January 19. Fifteen year-old Leyana Dessauer (center) was one of the key organzers. Photo: Kristin Mosher

Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation began the new year with a flurry of activity --primarily work to stop hydrofracking in NYS and prepare for the Onondaga Land Rights & Our Common Future II series (see below). Public concern and opposition to hydrofracking, a dangerous natural gas drilling process, continues to grow. However, defeating the gas and oil industry is always an uphill battle so we need to continue expanding our efforts. Other active projects include working to correct historical markers and getting the Syracuse Common Council to pass our "Resolution of Respect for and Reconciliation with the Onondaga Nation." Contact Andy.

Resist the Drones at Hancock
Reaper drones are currently flying missions over Afghanistan, being controlled from the Hancock Air National Guard Base in Mattydale. This puts the Syracuse area on the front line of the wars. SPC's Antiwars Committee is organizing to protest both the new technology and the wars themselves Our plans are to:

o Produce and distribute an educational leaflet on drones.

o Vigil twice monthly at the Base entrance (E. Molloy Rd. between Thompson and Town Line Rds.). Upcoming vigils are February 9 and 23, from 4:15-5 pm. Carpools leave SPC at 4 pm.

o Organize a public educational event for early March.

Please join us at the events or help with the organizing-we need you. Contact Carol.

Back to School
SPC's Youth and Militarism group has already kicked off a busy semester of work: we continue staffing tables in the city high schools (upcoming dates include Corcoran on February 10 and Henninger on February 12), have begun outreach to community centers and youth programs, are developing resources for Participation in Government classes and continue to seek ways to encourage youth activism in the schools. We welcome people of all ages to support our work. Our next committee meeting will be Tuesday, February 2 at 2:30 pm. Contact Andy or Jessica.

Karen Sayers, Eli Mager and Mara Sapon-Shevin were part of the Jews for Peace “Extinguishing the Flames of War” team at the 2009 Strike for Peace Bowlathon. Photo: Caragh Frye

Bowl Us Over
We now have eight people on our annual Bowlathon organizing committee! We hope to recruit 40-50 teams to participate in this year's event, to be held Sunday, February 28 from noon-5 pm at Flamingo Bowl in Liverpool. As a new incentive to encourage pledges, anyone who raises $50 or more in pledge money will win a free Strike for Peace t-shirt. We will once again award prizes for most creative costume, best team name and most team spirit. We hope to see you there. You can download registration and pledge forms at peacecouncil.net/bowl (please register your team by February 19). You can also connect with us on Facebook; be sure to invite others to join you at the Bowlathon. Contact Jessica with questions or to register by phone.

Brighten the Chain: Treaty Commitments
The educational series Onondaga Land Rights & Our Common Future II kicks off on Monday, February 8 at 7 pm at Syracuse Stage with a program titled "Brighten the Chain: Treaty Commitments." The evening features a showing of "Brighten the Chain," followed by reflections from Jake Edwards, Joe Heath, Sid Hill, Audrey Shenandoah, Jeanne Shenandoah and Stephanie Waterman on progress made in environmental preservation and restoration and social healing since the filing of the Onondaga Land Rights Action in March, 2005. The year-long series, a major collaboration involving 12 colleges and universities and several community groups, is coordinated by NOON. See peacecouncil.net/noon or contact Andy.

SPC's 2010 Steering Committee
We're very happy to welcome Rae Kramer, Kim McCoy and Julienne Oldfield to SPC's 2010 Steering Committee and give a belated welcome to Ursula Rozum, who joined in the fall. Returning members are: Jessica Azulay, Carol Baum, Jake Eichten, Andy Mager, Jessica Maxwell, Carole Resnick, Peter Sinatra, Rich Vallejo, Rose Viviano and Wendy Yost.

The Steering Committee is responsible for SPC's political direction and financial health. SPC supporters are welcome to attend - if possible please contact SPC first so you can find out what's on the agenda. Supporters are also welcome to suggest agenda items. Meetings are the third Tuesday of the month at 7 pm. Contact Carol.

Jerry Berrigan turns 90!
Stalwart activist for peace and social justice and longtime SPC supporter Jerry Berrigan celebrated his 90th birthday with a packed gym of friends and family on January 16. SPC folks were delighted to be among those recognizing the contributions of this very special peacemaker.

PNL Welcomes Guest Editors for Special Section
This issue of the Peace Newsletter has a first. The CNY Working Group on a Just Peace in Palestine and Israel, a group coordinated by SPC, took complete charge of this month's special section on Palestine and Israel. Thanks to Debra George and Carole Resnick for organizing the section, and to Andy Mager for layout.

The PNL Editorial Committee invites Peace Council projects as well as closely allied groups to consider organizing a special section of the newsletter. Contact Carol for details.

March on Washington, DC March 20
March 20 marks the seventh anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. The US military is still there and war is escalating in Afghanistan. Mark your calendars to go to Washington, DC on Saturday, March 20 to demand "US Out of Iraq and Afghanistan Now!" SPC is organizing a bus, leaving Saturday around 1 am and returning about 24 hours later. More details to come. Contact Carol.

Sue Eiholzer wearing one of her many figurative hats with NOON staffs a NOON outreach table at the From the Earth Craftsfair at the Onondaga Nation School. Photo: Andy Mager

Activist Appreciation: Sue Eiholzer
It's difficult to summarize the myriad ways that Sue Eiholzer contributes to the work of SPC's Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation project. She coordinates our historical markers committee and is active in organizing the Onondaga Land Rights & Our Common Future II series and the campaign to get the Syracuse Common Council to pass the resolution of "Respect for and Reconciliation with the Onondaga Nation." She also staffs outreach tables and makes presentations.

In addition to all that, Sue is always thinking about how things are going with the group and looking for ways to bring new people into the work. Thanks much, Sue.

SPC Turns 75 Next Year
That's right, 2011 is SPC's 75th birthday. We can't let this diamond anniversary pass without special attention, but haven't yet figured out how to celebrate. Some ideas are: a major musical celebration/fundraiser, special speaker, larger than usual birthday dinner, art/history exhibit. Consider joining this once-in-a-lifetime committee. Contact Andy.

Interns Aplenty
SPC recently bid adieu to interns Mary Williams (OCC) and Breanna Rolland (Wells College). Mary did a variety of office-related tasks throughout the fall and into January. Breanna did the same during the first couple of weeks of January.

Evan Braun (Bennington College) started in early January and will be with us through mid February. Evan is focusing on hydrofracking and youth and militarism, among other things. Erin O'Neill continues her work with NOON, focusing on publicity for the Onondaga Land Rights educational series. We look forward to welcoming Danielle Dean (SU, NOON), Marjory Elwell (SU, youth and militarism), Kara Kieffer (SU, video projects), Glenda Nunez (SU, anti-wars organizing), Katherine Raymond (Oswego, PNL and anti-wars) and Samantha Salvato (Le Moyne, bowlathon and youth and militarism) when their semesters start.