First baby of 2013 arrives at Warsaw hospital: New mother returns to roots in Silver Springs
By Julia Merulla
Lauren Wilcox, formerly of Silver Springs, had been told a couple years ago she couldn’t have children.
So imagine her surprise in April 2012 when she learned she was pregnant – while employed overseas in Kuwait, no less. Unaware of the pregnancy, the 28-year-old had been working 14-hour days in a sweltering climate as a government contractor.
Despite having no medical care at the start of her first trimester, she delivered a healthy baby. Eleanor Anne Teague was born at 2:08 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, the first baby born at the Wyoming County Community Hospital in 2013.
The baby girl, who arrived three days early, weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces and was 20 inches long.
Lauren Wilcox, the daughter of Silver Springs residents Marv and Anne Wilcox, worked abroad in Kuwait as a government contractor from January 2011 to June 2012. Her pregnancy came at a good time, she said. Just a week after she learned she was pregnant, her contract ended and she got to return to the states.
“I really didn’t want to chance anything going wrong,” said Lauren Wilcox, the oldest of three sisters.
Though mother and baby have already been on the other side of the world, things circled back home for the Wilcox family, as Eleanor marked the third generation to be born at the Wyoming County Community Hospital.
Eleanor got her middle name from her maternal grandmother, Anne, who is originally from Castile. The baby’s first name had been thought up years ago.
“You kind of pick out your kid's name when you’re a little girl, and that's one that I always liked,” Lauren Wilcox said.
Eleanor's grandmother said she is thrilled to have mom and baby home safe in Wyoming County.
“We always supported (Lauren), definitely,” Anne Wilcox said. “It was a great opportunity and she was doing very good work (in Kuwait), but it's great having her home. Even if it's for a year, we'll take it.”
But the baby has yet to meet her father in person. Lauren Wilcox’s fiancé, Otis Teague of Chicago, is overseas in Afghanistan until the end of this year. The couple met in February 2011 while working together in Kuwait. The new mother will live with her parents until Teague returns from abroad.
Teague, a first-time father, cried when he heard the news of Eleanor’s birth, his fiancé said. He has 10 days of leave time this month, so he will meet his daughter for the first time Jan. 22.
“He's not going to want to leave after he holds his baby,” Anne Wilcox said.
Though she misses her fiancé while he’s in Afghanistan, Lauren Wilcox said she is relieved she came home when she did. Her pregnancy in Kuwait was a difficult one, complicated by extreme heat, lack of rest and inadequate medical care. Even though she took vitamins, her blood work from her first doctor’s appointment in the U.S. showed she was severely anemic and deficient in vitamin B12. After a preterm labor scare at 30 weeks, the mother is thankful Eleanor made it to term.
Home from the hospital since Sunday, Jan. 6, Lauren Wilcox is adjusting to life as a mother, with her own mother's help.
“It's exactly as they say: As soon you see your child, there's just this instant love,” Lauren Wilcox said. “(You) can't really explain it.”
Anne and Marv Wilcox are grandparents for the second time. Eleanor joins her nearly 10-month-old cousin, Evelyn, the daughter of Wilcox's middle child, Lindsay McLaughlin, who lives in Florida with her husband, Michael, a captain in the Army.
Anne Wilcox said FaceTime, a video messaging service, is a saving grace for keeping in touch with a close but dispersed family. They've seen Evelyn grow up through technology, and they chat with Teague at least a few times a week.
While she waits for Teague to return, Lauren Wilcox has the undying support of her family.
Her youngest sister, Rebecca Wilcox, of Buffalo, assumed the role of birth coach and attended birthing classes, and McLaughlin, the first sister to have a child, is a phone call away as Lauren Wilcox navigates the world of motherhood.
Eleanor's maternal great-grandparents, Harold and Marian Seymour of Castile, will see the baby grow in at least her first year of life.
Once Teague gets back from Afghanistan, the new family’s future is up in the air. They anticipate having to move so Teague can find work as a government contractor.
The couple, who have been engaged since February, plan to get married as soon as possible, likely after Teague comes home for good.
Expanding the family is certainly in the plan, Lauren Wilcox said. She wants Eleanor to grow up with a close relationship to her siblings, as she did. But for now, she counts herself and her fiancé among the lucky ones to have earned the titles of Mom and Dad, respectively.
“From being told you can’t have kids to being able to hold your daughter, it's pretty surreal,” she said. “I just feel very blessed.”
Orangeville wind farm plods along after tax credit extension
By Bryan Jackson
Orangeville’s Stony Creek Wind Farm was set to careen over the fiscal cliff last Monday, but the last-minute deal to avoid automatic tax increases and harsh spending cuts for the country also included a much-needed tax credit extension for Chicago-based developer Invenergy Inc, LLC.
The production tax credit (PTC) grants project developers 2.2 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 10 years of new wind-power operations. The tax incentive, which has been crucial for wind developers across the country, was set to expire Dec. 31.
With the extension in place, Invenergy is sifting through the legislation and formulating future plans for wind farm, which would include 59 turbines.
“We currently are reviewing the recently-passed federal legislation and formulating our business strategy,” Eric Miller, director of business development for Invenergy, said in a statement. “Initial construction work on the Stony Creek project began in mid-2012 and will continue in 2013, with a more detailed timeline to be determined. We look forward to announcing further developments in the future.”
“Basically, what they’re doing right now, they still have some issues to clear up with the (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation) on their stormwater pollution prevention plan, otherwise known as the SWPPP,” said Orangeville Town Supervisor Gerald Stout. “While they’re working on that, they had been approved to go ahead with the substation on Centerline Road. In addition, they may begin clearing roadways, where the turbines will be constructed. Perhaps next month, they may start that.”
If Invenergy moves forward without completing the SWPPP requirements, the company would be subject to DEC fines and open to lawsuits by local residents. Stout said Invenergy officials have said they are working diligently on the SWPPP issue, and it should be cleared up in the near future.
Even with the current slow-going, Stout said he felt Invenergy would move forward with the Stony Creek project.
“They don’t yet have a total go-ahead from headquarters in Chicago,” he said. “They’re still studying the legislation, but I think they are fairly confident that they will be going ahead with this project here in this coming year.”
Warsaw Fire Department in the market for newer ladder truck
By Julia Merulla
The time has come when the Warsaw Fire Department just can't squeeze any more life out of its ladder truck.
The 1973 truck has lasted twice as long as most do, but in light of at least $12,000 in repairs, the department is looking to purchase a newer model, Fire Chief Primo Biscaro said.
At its Monday, Jan. 7 meeting, the Warsaw Village Board agreed to provide gas money for Biscaro and a couple other members of the fire department to travel over 1,000 miles to check out a used ladder truck that is for sale online.
It's a 1993 model, priced at $66,000. New ladder trucks can cost upward of $1 million, a price tag that's not feasible for the Village of Warsaw, especially considering the county does not contribute funds toward the purchase. The ladder trucks in Warsaw and Perry are the only such vehicles in Wyoming County and are used countywide.
Biscaro said he didn't know if the used truck has other potential buyers, but he wanted to express interest before someone else does.
“At that price, I'm not sure it's gonna last long,” Biscaro told the board.
Biscaro also announced that the fire department learned on Friday, Jan. 5 that it has received a federal grant for $128,976, after being denied for the same grant last year.
The money will be used to purchase 24 airpacks, which are the harnesses firefighters wear that include their air tank and mask.
The current airpacks are 12 to 15 years old and deteriorating with age, Biscaro said. Because regulations often change, the department needed to update to new models.
The fire department will need to go out for bid for the airpacks, Biscaro said. The Village of Warsaw will pay $6,473 of the grant. The fire department paid an additional $500 in grant application fees, Biscaro said.
Also at the board meeting, Warsaw Village Mayor Joe Robinson announced that downtown Warsaw has been listed on the New York State Office for Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation's national registry of historic places.
Robinson also announced that Highway Superintendent Gil Stearns has been appointed to a three-year term on the board of the Wyoming County Water Resources Authority.
Additionally, the Warsaw Village board passed a resolution to hold the village elections from noon to 9 p.m. March 19 at the Warsaw Fire Hall.
A Bliss native and army specialist is dead following a Jan. 2 shooting near Fort Hood, Texas.
Army Spc. Austin Sampson, 25, of Bliss, died Jan. 4, after he and two other men were shot in a convenience store parking lot in Killeen, Texas two days earlier, according to Killeen Police Department officials.
Following the shooting, Sampson was airlifted to Scott and White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas, where he was pronounced dead Jan. 4.
Sampson entered active duty in July 2006 as a cavalry scout and arrived at Fort Hood later that year. He deployed as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom from November 2007 to January 2009 and again in support of Operation New Dawn from August 2010 to August 2011, according to a statement released by the Fort Hood Press Center.
Sampson’s accolades include the Army Commendation Medal, two Army Good Conduct Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal with three campaign stars, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and Overseas Service Ribbon.
The shooting is still under investigation by the Killeen Police Department.
UPDATE: On Jan. 8, police announced 17-year-old Terry Grant Scott, of Killeen, was arrested and charged with Sampson’s murder. He is now in custody at Killeen City Jail while police continue their investigation.
