Tips for picking the perfect Christmas tree and maintaining it throughout the holiday
Owner of Sunny Hill Tree Farm Mike Kodey has been selling Christmas trees for decades. He said a good trick to tell how freshly cut your tree is is to slide a branch through your hands and see how many needles you end up with in your palm. If you end up with lots of needles in your hand, the tree isn’t as freshly cut. Once your tree is home, Kodey recommended keeping it in the garage overnight to melt off the snow and dry out before bringing it inside. When it comes to picking out your tree, he said before you head out, measure your ceiling height for the room your tree is going in. “If they are down there having a good time and they get the ugliest tree on the farm, they’re enjoying it, I’m glad they got it,” said Kodey. TOWN OF UNION (WBNG) — 12 News spoke with a local Christmas tree expert Thursday who shared all the tips for picking out your tree and maintaining it this holiday.
When it comes to picking the perfect size or shape, he said it’s really up to the customer, some prefer shorter, taller, wider or thinner. When it comes to types of trees, Kodey recommended firs over spruces. He said this type has soft, short needles that stay on the tree for a long time. Once your tree is ready to be brought inside, cut a half an inch off the bottom to open the pores of the tree. This will allow more water to come in, keeping the tree fresh. After you have your tree in its tree stand, make sure you give your tree plenty of lukewarm, tap water, keeping the bottom wet at all times.
It was a friendly competition between the departments for a good cause, to get people out to donate and make a difference. Those that came out chose which badge they wanted to represent. The blood drive was held at the American Red Cross classrooms in Endicott from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. ENDICOTT (WBNG) — The Endicott Fire Department and Endicott Police Department co-hosted the Battle of the Badges blood drive with the American Red Cross. The american red cross says every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood. You can make a donation at the Oakdale Mall from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Enter through the mall entrance that contains Arby’s, turn right at the main concourse and the blood drive will be on the left past Game Stop. Those who want to make a donation, The american red cross is hosting another blood drive at the Oakdale mall until Jan. 3. “If people can roll up their sleeves and make a blood donation and a difference, then they truly have the power to make an impact,” said Esperanza Gutierrez the Broome County Account Manager for the American Red Cross.
“Children can differentiate between a world like concern versus disastrous or a huge crisis,” he said. ENDICOTT (WBNG) — Coronavirus can be hard enough for adults to grapple with but experts say when it comes to talking to your kids: if they have a question, answer it. “When you’re talking to a younger child it might be something more general like ‘we’re going to wash our hands more and spend some time with our family’,” said clinical social worker Erin Marean. “We don’t want our friends to get sick, or we don’t want our grandparents to get sick or aunts and uncles,” he said. “When somebody asks you how’s it going and you say ‘oh it’s the end of the world’ and you’re saying that to a five or six year old they can really think it’s the end of the world,” he said. Licensed counselor Joshua Nickels says when talking to those young kids you should avoid sarcasm and innuendo. When it comes to older kids you can elaborate a little bit more. Nickels encourages parents to avoid frightening your child by using what he calls “medium words”. “If you’re talking to teenagers I would be more specific,” Marean said “There’s a virus going around and we’re trying to socially distance ourselves from others,” she said. When it comes to dealing with the difficulty of social isolation, Nickels says explain to your children why it’s happening. The most important thing to remember is to tailor the answer to their age. With the constantly evolving nature of the crises Nickels says to be up front with your child about the fact that plans can and will change. “Have a routine and have the conversation that this routine can change depending on what the governor says or our mayor says. It can change but this is what it is for today,” he said.
Post 1700 will hold a chicken BBQ from 1 to 4 p.m. Monday. Those attending the parade practiced social-distancing measures and remained inside their vehicles. ENDICOTT (WBNG) — The Endicott American Legion honored those who served our country Monday morning with a parade.
The vehicle parade started at American Legion Post 1700 and traveled to George F. Johnson Memorial then through the streets of West Endicott and back to post 1700.
Carlin Rd., by the corner of Rosewood Dr., Conklin, NYCarlin Rd., in between Rosewood Dr. and Broom Pkwy., Conklin NYFrost Rd., Windsor, NYKirkwood, N.Y. (WBNG) — Severe weather is rolling into the Southern Tier, and 12 News is on scene getting the latest updates on damage in the area. Stay with 12 News as we continue to provide updates.
Here are some of the areas with damage: