Don't forget our troops overseas

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July 30, 2012

Don't forget our troops overseas

Anonymous Daily Star The Daily Star Sat Sep 22, 2012, 03:34 PM EDT

A local effort to send donations of food, personal items and gifts to U.S. servicemen and women in Afghanistan and Iraq recently ended.

Beverly Soldan, organizer of Care Packages From Home along with her daughter Tina Burnham, said that after years of collecting goods for soldiers the donations have "fizzled out."

With the news cycle turning further away from our troops overseas, their struggle can sometimes be forgotten. Americans are still serving bravely and making the ultimate sacrifice for their country in places across the globe. We must remember they are fighting to protect us.

Soldiers and their loved ones still need and want the support of their communities. This support can not only be a care package, but also a simple email or letter, a phone card to call home, a job opportunity or training help here, or a comforting word to families waiting for their relatives to come home. More information about starting or joining these efforts can be found at www.ourmilitary.mil/resources/community-support-for-our-military.

Fairs are a veritable smorgasbord

While planning your summer vacations and adventures, consider adding local fairs to your list. In this time of strained budgets and "staycations," a trip to the fairs in our area can offer a quick, inexpensive day or more of fun for the entire family. The events bring food, carnival games and entertainment -- with agricultural exhibits from local residents highlighted throughout -- to our area. It's a chance for some to experience the sights and smells of farm life for the first time or to rekindle memories in others.

Fairs also help support our local economy, with many area industries, craftspeople and vendors selling their wares and attracting new customers to their booths and businesses.

This feeling of camaraderie is particularly important for fair planners and participants bouncing back from last year's damaging floods. The Schoharie County Sunshine Fair -- which runs through Saturday in Cobleskill -- takes place on fairgrounds flooded in September. We should praise the efforts of organizers and volunteers in their months-long cleanup efforts to bring the grounds back to life so that the fair may continue for its 136th year.

Other fairs coming up are the Otsego County Fair, which runs from Tuesday to Sunday in Morris; the Chenango County Fair, set for Aug. 7 through 12 in Norwich; the Delaware County Fair, which goes from Aug. 13 to 18 in Walton; and the Great New York State Fair from Aug. 23 to Sept. 3 in Syracuse.