Irrigation Association of New York • November 2004 • Volume 4, Issue 3

NewsletterGolf Outing GrowsBigger and BetterGary LynottStorr Tractor

s we all know, rain (ora professionally

installed irrigation system)can help make the flowersgrow. In our case, rain alsogrew the size of IANY's2004 golf outing.

Our original date,September 28, was a totalwashout. Fortunately, The

Links at Shirley was able toaccommodate our group with an unscheduled raindate one week later, on October 5. Evidently, thenew date was more convenient for many peoplebecause 74 players signed up to play, comparedwith 66 for the original date.

The increased number also represents a nearly40 percent jump over the 2003 outing which drew53 people.

Weather on October 5 could not have been anybetter, nor could The Links' professional andkitchen staffs. And the course itself … ideal!

A number of prizes were awarded:Team Scores

First place - Tom Donovan's foursomeSecond Place - Irrigation Man's foursomeThird Place - Tom Tracey's foursome

Individual Player ScoresFirst Place - Tom DonovanSecond Place - Paul StraniThird Place - Tom Armbruster

Other prizes were awarded for closest to thepin on all four par three's; straightest drive on Hole10; and longest drive on Holes 3 and 18.

We thank those organizations that graciouslysponsored holes and provided prizes.

AGC Irrigation SupplyAtlantic Irrigation SpecialtiesBorg & BorgDitch Witch of Long IslandEast Coast SprinklerHolbrook Plastic PipeHunter IndustriesJohn Deere LandscapesK-Rain ManufacturingLascoNelson TurfNorth Shore Sprinkler SupplyNugent & Potter, Inc.Oil Creek PlasticsR&L Well DrillingRain Bird Corp.Storr Tractor CompanyThe Toro CompanyWoods Bros.Door prizes donated by several vendors and

friends included New York Jets tickets, a Toromower, a night's stay at the Cold Spring HarborInn, golf at Cherry Creek, golf bags, a Home Depotgift card, wind and golf shirts and many more.

This was a fundraising event for the associationwhich will enable us to maintain and expand ourcertification and education programs. The daywent so well we have scheduled IANY's thirdannual golf outing for Tuesday, October 4, 2005,and look forward to even more attending.

Newsletter

Gary Lynott

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General Meeting Notice

Date: Wednesday, December 1, 2004

Time: Cocktails - 6:30 p.m.Dinner/Meeting - 7:30 p.m.

Place: Black Forest Brew Haus2015 New HighwayFarmingdale(631) 391-9500

Cost: $40

Speaker:Erwin Cohen, C.P.A.Discussing business plans andtypes of corporations

Publisher's LetterMarty KleinRain Rich Sprinklers

his season has beentrying for most of

us and unsettling for all.We all had to deal withadverse weather and aslowing economy. Onthe positive side, theindustry as whole willbenefit from what we

learned during a lean sea-son. We learned that the irrigation-certificationlegislation would benefit us all. By requiring acertification exam, we will ensure that there will bea better-educated pool of contractors that will raisethe standards of the industry to a point where wewill compete in a more value-oriented environ-ment. We also learned is that we probably needmore marketing and sales skills. Anything that sta-bilizes the industry will help carry us through slowtimes.

Our education program is another industry-sta-bilizing undertaking for which our association isknown. By providing classes in advanced andbasic irrigation, electric troubleshooting, sales,marketing, pricing and markup, plus seminars onpassing the IAcertifications for contractors,designers and landscape water auditors, we arekeeping our promise to raise the standards of ourindustry.

During these times we are able to devote moreresources to promoting the industry and our associ-ation. We reached out to our brothers to the northand invited them to join us as individuals or toform chapters in their respective state regions. Wedid this by traveling to their communities andmeeting with local contractors. We found them tobe extremely interested in what we had to offer.This is an ongoing process and we hope that whenwe are experiencing a banner season in 2005, wewill still find the time to continue the process.

Our second annual golf outing was a tremen-dous success. I was greatly impressed by the out-standing show of support by all who participated.The contractors, manufacturers and suppliers thatparticipated made this an event to remember. Next

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OfficersPresident

Dennis RealmutoProfessional Irrigation

45A Elm Pl., Amityville, N.Y. 11701631-789-0500

Vice PresidentTom Tracey

Dimension II Associates6 Stepar Pl., Huntington Station, N.Y. 11746

631-421-5200

TreasurerJoe Tavalaro

Custom Irrigation Corp.11 Roger Ave., Inwood, N.Y. 11696

516-239-7659

SecretaryGary LynottStorr Tractor

175 13th St., Ronkonkoma, N.Y. 11779631-588-5222

TrusteesRobert Boyle, Orchard Irrigation

Michael A. Pallotta, Advance IrrigationRich Silverman, Rain Rich Sprinklers

Past PresidentsRich Silverman, Rain Rich SprinklersGeoff Lambert, Sprinkl-Rite Irrigation

Marty Klein, Rain Rich Sprinklers

PublisherMarty Klein

631-484-5367

EditorBarry Zusman631-367-6268

Irrigation Association of New YorkP.O. Box 237, Greenlawn, N.Y. 11740Telephone/facsimile: 631-424-0170

www.iany.net

Copyright 2004 IANY

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Marty Klein

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year when we are going a thousand miles an hour,just remember to stop and play golf with us again.It's a great way to meet our constituents. It's agreat way get away and unwind for a day. We allneed to recharge our batteries every once in awhile.

What can we say about the companies thatsponsored holes and donated gifts as door prizes?Your unselfish participation is so much appreciat-ed.

What a bang-up job Gary Lynott did putting itall together! And then the rains came. He negoti-ated a rain date and then Tom Tracey, DennisRealmuto and Gary worked the phones to calleveryone and reschedule. We had better attendanceon the rain date than was originally scheduled.What a job. Thank you, thank you, thank you.WOW.

This newsletter is one means of communicatingwith our industry. Your support is needed to con-tinue to bring out the quality publication you areused to receiving. We need your articles. Pleasesend them to us at any time and we will hold themto place them in an appropriate issue. Our adver-tisers are the reason we are able to publish eachissue. My thanks to them cannot be expressedenough times. Please support our advertisers asfully as they support us.

Water Code Guide inthe Works

ANY currently is putting together a new WaterDistrict Code Requirement Reference Guide for

the upcoming season.As many of you know, there have been some

interesting modifications regarding new installa-tions, renovations, backflow testing and filing pro-cedures in some districts.

Manhasset-Lakeville Water District, for exam-ple, no longer provides backflow testing for its cus-tomers. We can all see the benefit in that. Somedistricts have had a change in personnel, and withthat usually come different enforcement and proce-dures as well.

With so many districts here on Long Island,IANY also attends the monthly meetings of theLong Island Water Conference. We have devel-oped a positive relationship through our supportand attendance.

If any of our members find new informationregarding a district with which you may be morefamiliar or "friendly," please let us know. Yoursupport is encouraged and needed. Kindly contactTom Tracey at Dimension II Associates at (631)462-6722 for Suffolk County and Michael A.Pallotta at (516) 868-0822 or advanceirr@aol.comfor Nassau County. You may also contact us at theIANY web site.

The 2005 reference guides will be distributedto all IANY members at the spring general meet-ing.

Drip Irrigation UseContinues to GrowArt Elmers CIC, CID, CLIANetafim USA

hat is the fastestgrowing segment

of the irrigation industry?What has been used inlandscape and turf irriga-tion for over 20 years?What has been sold in themillions of feet in NewYork state this year alone?

If you answered drip irri-gation, you would be correct.

It is hard to believe that this little tubing, whichmost of us have just used on shrub beds here andthere, has grown and matured to where it is today.For many reasons, landscape architects, irrigationconsultants and irrigation contractors are using dripirrigation now more than ever before. For a num-ber of irrigation contractors, drip irrigation hasbecome as common as rotors and sprays. Formany of these contractors, drip has become a wayfor them to differentiate themselves from othersand install more profitable systems.

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Art Elmers

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Why is drip irrigation pr eferred by more landscapearchitects and irrigation consultants?

Drip irrigation is by far the most efficient method ofapplying water to plant material. While the distributionof uniformity (DU) on spray heads is in the 60-70 per-cent range, drip has DUs in the 90-95 percent range.What does this mean? The higher the DU, the moreuniform the application, and higher the savings in waterusage. There is less evaporation and no problems withwind. Walks, walls, buildings and windows do not suf-fer from staining. Moreover, because drip irrigation'soperation does not interfere with other activities, it canbe utilized anytime, day or night, 24 hours a day, allow-ing a smaller tap or water source to irrigate a muchlarger area. And to top this all off, drip irrigation is bet-ter for the plants. Studies have shown that medianstrips irrigated with drip grow at a faster rate than thoseirrigated the old-fashioned spray or rotor way.

I'm a novice, what is drip irrigation?Drip irrigation was first discovered in the late 1950s

in Israel when it was realized that plants near a smallhole in a garden hose thrived. In that water-starvedcountry, it became apparent that this was a way to irri-gate more crops with less water. In 1965 Netafim wasformed to develop methods of using this discovery andin almost 40 years has grown to be the world's largestmanufacturer of drip irrigation products and theacknowledged leader in drip technology. While themajority of drip products sold in the United States areused in agriculture, drip irrigation started to move intothe landscape and turf areas in the early to mid 1980s.This is where we see a divergence in the types of dripused.East Coast vs. West Coast

There are two types of drip irrigation: point sourceand line source. Point source refers to the use of indi-vidual drippers for each plant, each at the end of a smalltube, connected to a larger poly or pvc distribution line.This is generally the way drip has been installed in theFar West and is very labor intensive. The benefits arethat you are only irrigating the plants you want to andnothing else. It is not practical in dense plantings, butis a good way to irrigate potted plants and hanging bas-kets (as seen in many roof-top gardens in Manhattan).The drippers are available in three flow rates: .5 gph,1.0 gph, 2.0 gph (gallons per hour). All you have to doto calculate the flow required is add up all the dripperflow rates times the number of each size used anddivide by 60 to give you gallons per minute (gpm).

The other type is line source. Instead of using indi-

vidual drippers placed where you want them at the endsof a lot of messy little tubes, the drippers are built intothe tubing itself with pre-spaced intervals (12 inches, 18inches, 24 inches) and flows (.26, .4, .6, or .9 gph). Thetubing is then installed in a grid-like pattern throughoutthe entire planting area making for a quicker and easierinstallation. This is generally the way drip is installed inthe East. To calculate the flow required all you have todo is determine how much tubing is required, look atthe chart for flow per 100 feet, and multiply the two.One nice thing about using line source is that you canadd point-source drippers where you might need them.For example: large trees or those that require morewater, potted plants or hanging baskets.

What is the latest technology?When drip first arrived in the United States, the

flow out of each dripper would be determined by thepressure at the dripper, which could vary greatlydepending on the elevation and distance from thesource. The drippers could also clog easily with soiland other debris. Drippers now are pressure-compensat-ing (meaning that each dripper puts out the same flowno matter the pressure) and are in Netafim's case contin-uously self-cleaning.

The latest advancement and another first isNetafim's Techline CVwith a check valve feature builtinto each dripper. Just as if the low head on an oldfashioned zone would allow water to drain out, the low-est dripper on the line would allow the same. Now withthe dripper's check feature, the tubing holds water up toan elevation of 41/2 feet. No drainage, no backsiphonage and no waste with each dripper turning onand off at the same time. For elevation changes greaterthan 41/2 feet, an in-line check valve has been devel-oped. With these advancements, Netafim recommendsthat the tubing be buried out of sight to a maximumdepth of 6 inches. All these advancements make forsimpler design and installation.How do I figure out what tubing I need and how tospace the rows?

In sprinkler design we look at how wide and longthe area is that we want to irrigate and space the headsso that they reach head-to-head and cover the entirezone. The radius of the particular head we like deter-mines how far to space them. In drip layout, our drip-per flow rate and spacing, as well as row spacing aredetermined by two things. What it is that we are irrigat-ing and what type of soil we have. Netafim has devel-oped a table with our suggestions for each situation.

Point Source Drip Line Source Drip

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This newly revised table is based on observations overthe years. By looking at Table 1, we can see that forshrubs on a sandy soil that the recommended tubingflow rate should be .6 gph and that the dripper spacingshould be 12 inches. The lateral or row spacing shouldbe anywhere from 16 to 20 inches. Does this mean youcan't use a higher flow rate dripper, tighter dripperspacing, or closer row spacing? No, this just meansthat the using our recommendations will utilize theleast amount of tubing and flow.

Table 1

How do I calculate the total length of tubingrequired?

Now that we know the recommended tubing androw spacing, we need to determine how much tubingour bed needs. To do that, we first calculate the squarefootage of the bed. Take the length of the bed and mul-tiply by the width. A 10-foot by 100-foot bed wouldcover a 1,000 square feet. Once we know the squarefootage of the bed, we divide by the row spacing infeet. If we had our rows spaced 24 inches apart wewould divide the square footage by 2. If the rows were18 inches apart we would divide by 1.5 and if the rowswere only 12 inches apart we would divide by 1. Inour example we would divide the 1,000 square feet by1.5 for a total of 666 feet of tubing required.

Now we need to determine how far we can run ourtubing before running out of pressure. For that we lookat Table 2. By still using our example of .6 gph and12-inch spacing and having a pressure of 45 psi, we cansee that the maximum tubing run for a single connec-tion is 369 feet.

Table 2

Since we have determined the total length of tubingrequired to be 666 feet and the maximum run to be 369feet, will this work if we connect one end of the tubing

to our manifold? The answer is no. Because we haveexceeded the maximum run length, we need to feed thistubing from two connections or loop the zone. Bylooping we double the maximum run to 738 feet, whichis more than the 666 feet our zone requires. You cansee that we can easily cover a 10-foot by 100-foot bedwith only one connection.

Line Source Drip in Gridded Loop

How do I calculate the total flow required?Again, this is easily done using a table provided.

Let us look at Table 3. For our example of .6 x 12-inchspacing, the gpm for 100 feet of tubing is 1.02 gpm.By multiplying this flow per 100 feet, times the totallength required, 6.66 (in hundreds of feet), we calculatea total flow requirement of 6.8 gpm for this area. Canyou cover a bed of this size with sprays using only 6.8gpm?

Table 3

We now know the flow requirements of this bed.Along with knowing the spacing and flow rate of thetubing required as well as the row spacing we are nowall set to go. Using this information we can size ourcontrol valve, filter and pressure regulator or simplyuse Netafim's LVCZ-HF (low-volume control-zone kit-high flow) which includes a one-inch valve, three-fourth inch filter and three-fourth inch regulator, allpre-assembled.

As you can see, low-volume drip irrigation isbecoming easier to use and is growing to maturity inour irrigation market. The growth of drip irrigationcontinues and with more turf grass areas starting to usedrip the future only looks brighter. Irrigation contrac-tors can either join the party or let it pass them by.

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Legislative UpdateRich SilvermanRain Rich Sprinklers

s many of youknow, this past

spring our bill, theLandscape IrrigationCertification Act, nevermade it to the floor to bevoted on. This is not asurprise considering thatour dysfunctional state

government did not voteon many of the worthwhile pieces of legislationintroduced over the past year. Do not despair! Onthe positive side - and this is significantly impor-tant - our bill did clear each committee in eachhouse (assembly and senate). Much of the newlegislation introduced each year never even makesit through committees, and if a bill can't getthrough a committee, then it never will be voted onand never will move to the governor's desk.

The tough part for us is that we have to waituntil 2005 and go through the whole process again!Our state legislators, the ones you I vote for, take asummer vacation for two months, and then in thefall meet to handle only the budget and emergencylegislation. The rest of the time they are either try-ing to be re-elected or they are campaigning to helptheir political cronies to be re-elected. Do notexpect anything to happen for the rest of this year.

The way are bill is situated right now is it willbe reintroduced in January 2005 by N.Y. StateAssemblyman Thomas DiNapoli in the state assem-bly and by Senator Carl Marcellino in the state sen-ate. The bill will be given new numbers and willonce again begin the process of working its waythrough committees in both houses. According toour lobbyist, Tom Shanahan of the ShanahanGroup, the bill should not have any difficulty mov-ing through committees since it had moved throughbefore. The only problem we might encounter is ifsome other professional group has opposition to itor part of it. According to Tom, we have prettymuch flushed out any objections. Tom will keep usapprised of any new developments and when thebill is reintroduced.

Rich Silverman

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At this time of, even though there is inactivityin government, it is always helpful that you contactyour state assemblyperson and state senator toremind them of the importance of passing this leg-islation. Remind them that the LandscapeIrrigation Certification Act is an important piece oflegislation for the benefit of all and not just forirrigation contractors. I can promise you that yourIANY executive board is very active in keeping thebill in the forefront of key legislators' minds.Please support us. I'm very interested in hearingfrom contractors throughout the state regardingwater restrictions and irrigation laws their commu-nities. Please contact me atrainrich@optonline.net.

For your information, this year saw a signifi-cant increase in the amount of legislation acrossthe country. As our industry grows and greaterdemands are placed on our fresh-water supplies,we can expect increasing pressure from environ-mentalists and government to license, monitor,restrict and require bureaucratic paperwork fromus.

Op-Ed: Tom's Top Ten(Minus Three)Tom ArmbrusterHunter Irrigation

ithin IANY's membership, many of us haveopinions that sometimes are rather limited

and certainly not always in the majority. That said,since I already have written on several topics nearand dear to my heart, let this piece be more in the"Top 10" type of observations within this crazy,isolated business that may trip an idea that couldimprove your day-to-day lives, business, profitabil-ity, sanity or whatever.

1. It is actually possible to damage an irriga-tion system during a blowout. I have seenmany contractors step up their compressorpower when they get to a certain volumelevel of winterizings, and don't train theemployees on how to operate them. Surgesof air in long runs of pipe that may alreadybe drained by elevation will create damage,sometimes extensive, period! If anyonewants details - this is not a training article,just an "awareness article," call me.

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2. Sales and marketing sell more sprinklersthan word of mouth, or for that matter, greatinstallations. I know that is a rather upset-ting concept to many of you, but believeme, this is not a debatable topic! I'd be gladto meet individually with any of you whobelieve I am wrong. My comment is notmeant to make you stop putting in conscien-tious systems, or stop working your existingcustomers. Just broaden the techniques youuse to grow the customer base.

3. The basic way that a lead is handled, fromthe time the call is received, until the salespresentation is made is more important tothe "close" than your actual pitch, probablyclose to 80 percent vs. 20 percent. Hard tobelieve, but when you have been a salesguy in this business for as long as I have,you get to see hundreds of businesses func-tion, and the contractors with offices, secre-taries, professional appointments and fol-low-ups sell stronger, and get a more solidprice.

4. The most opportune time to sell service,upgrades and additions is during the winter-izings. Have your guys look and note areasof improvement. New gardens, clearedareas, new pools, spotty lawn areas thatmay need renovation, and of course"upgrades." As the system shuts down,when there is absolutely no pressure on thehomeowner, drop a note or call with a "Mrs.Brown, when we winterized your lawn, wenoticed some areas in the back where thelandscaping has overgrown the sprinklers,and the heads are not able to water the grassanymore. We would be glad to correct thatfor you at the turn-on. We can book thatnow, or we'll remind you before we do thespring service, which ever is easier foryou." Keep good records and you'll be busyall spring with $300 turn-ons instead of $80a pop.

5. Consider the steps necessary to grow yourbusiness, whether it is a bigger sprinklercompany, or another associated venture.Lights, ponds, dog fence, etc., etc. Take astep back and remove yourself from theday-to-day rat race and invest some time inplanning - planning anything that adds toyour growth. You know your markets, yourstructure and yourselves; you'll find some-thing that can make you more money, with-

out a huge outlay on your par in either timeor money. Opportunities exist, but youhave to take the step. Take it, before it'stoo late.

6. Plan an exit strategy, not just a retirementplan, but a true plan for how you will han-dle the later years of your working life.Having money in the bank, or your accu-mulated worth of the assets you own is notan exit plan. An exit plan points youtowards the retirement years, and exactlywhat you will be doing with your life andmoney. The main reason it's important toconsider this now is that steps may need tohappen now for you to meet those goals. Ifyou want to keep earning from the busi-ness, you may need to start grooming a"limited partner" or someone who can runthe business some day for a percentage.You may need to take steps to buildstronger equity if your goal is to sell out-right. Don't wait to take a serious look atwhere you want to be at age 50, 55 or 60.

7. While the business pays the bills, yourfamilies, friends, health and well-being areconsiderably more important now, but infi-nitely more important later in your life. Iwish I could create a "Goofus and Gallant"type of video showing a man consumedwith his business versus a contractor whoknows how to delegate, task and run a busi-ness balancing his time with family. (Ifyou understand the Goofus and Gallantanalogy, you're too old!!!) Take any timeyou can to show your family that they real-ly are the most important thing in your life.You think it's OK if you work 20 hours aday, and say "Daddy's never here because Ihave to work to make sure you have allthese toys and a nice house." Trust me, thekids would gladly settle for a smaller houseand a few less toys to have you more intheir life.

Thanks for taking a few minutes to read this;maybe one thought expressed here will spur someaction on your part that may be valuable to yourfuture, I can only hope.

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Basic Spanish for theIrrigation Industry:Telling Time en Español!Stephen RisleyRain Bird Corporation

elcome to the nextinstallment of

Basic Spanish for theIrrigation Industry:"Telling the Time enEspañol!"

If you read"Counting to 1,000 enEspañol"in the lastIANY newsletter, then I

am sure you have mastered the numbers from oneto 1,000 in Spanish. In this edition of "BasicSpanish for the Irrigation Industry," you are goingto use the numbers that you learned to tell thetime.

Being able to express the time to your Spanish-speaking employees is another on-the-job essential.You use the time to say everything from, "We startat seven o'clock" ("Empezamos a las siete") to "Weeat at twelve o'clock" ("Comemos a las doce") to"We need to finish by two o'clock" ("Tenemos queterminar por las dos").

OK, let's get started with the hours from 1o'clock to 12 o'clock. They are:

It is 1:00. Es la una. It is 7:00. Son las siete.It is 2:00. Son las dos. It is 8:00. Son las ocho.It is 3:00. Son las tres. It is 9:00. Son las nueve.It is 4:00. Son las cuatro. It is 10:00. Son las diez.It is 5:00. Son las cinco. It is 11:00. Son las once.It is 6:00. Son las seis. It is 12:00. Son las doce.

Again, if you master the numbers one through12, then saying any hour from 1 o'clock to 12o'clock in Spanish will be easy.

Did you notice a trend in the list above? Tosay "It is" for most of the hours, you say "Son las.""Son las"literally translated into English means"They are." So, when you tell the time in Spanish,it is like saying, "They are two" (Son las dos) or

"They are eleven" (Son las once).However, there is one difference. To say "It is

1:00," you say "Es la una." The reason for this isthat unameans one, and one is singular, whereasall of the other numbers are plural. Literally trans-lated into English, "Es la una"means "It is one."

Let's move on to the minutes. To express thetime after the hour you say the following:

➣ Son las "the hour" + "y" + "the minutes" Remember that "y" means "and" in Spanish. Forexample, to say 2:05 you would say:

➣ Son las dos y cinco(which literally trans-lates to "It is two and five")

Let's take a look at a few examples:

It's 11:33. Son las once y treinte y tres.It's 1:05 Es la una y cinco.It's 2:15 Son las dos y quince.It's 7:10 Son las siete y diez.It's 10:59 Son las diez y cincuenta y nueve.

If you've gotten this far, and you've masteredthe numbers 1 through 59 from last time, congratu-lations! You can now tell the time in Spanish.

There are just a few more things we need to goover just to get you sounding like an expert.

In English, we often take shortcuts when wetell the time. For example, if it was 3:15, we mightsay "three-fifteen," but more often we would say"quarter after three." Or, if it was 3:45, we mightsay "three-forty-five," but more often we wouldsay "quarter to four."

Let's take a look at how we could take similarshortcuts in Spanish.

Using the example above, for 3:15, in Spanishyou could say "tres y quince,"meaning "three-fif-teen." Or, you could also use the word "cuarto"which means quarter (as in one-fourth). Using thisword, you would say "tres y cuarto," which soundsmore like "quarter after three." Here are someexamples:

It's 3:15 Son las tres y quince.or Son las tres y cuarto.It's 1:15 Es la una y quince. or Es la una y cuarto.It's 12:15 Son las doce y quince. or Son las doce y cuarto.

Another example of a time-telling "shortcut" istelling the time at thirty minutes past the hour. Forexample, if it was 3:30, we might say "three-thir-

Stephen Risley

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ty," but we sometimes say "half-past three." To express the time of thirty minutes after the

hour, Spanish-speakers often use the word "media,"which means "half." In Spanish, you could say"tres y treinte" or you could say"tres y media,"which sounds a lot more natural. Here are someexamples:

It's 5:30. Son las cinco y treinte. or Son las cinco y media.It's 1:30. Es la una y treinta. or Es la una y media.It's 8:30. Son las ocho y treinta. or Son las ocho y media.

The Spanish word "media" is also useful toexpress two specific times of the day - noon andmidnight. Take a look at these examples:

noon = mediodíaIt is noon. = Es el mediodía.midnight = medianocheIt is midnight. = Es la medianoche.

There is another shortcut we often take whenwe tell the time in English which we can transferto Spanish. When it is late in the hour, we often donot use the actual minutes on the clock, but insteadwe express the time in relation to how many min-utes are left until the next hour. For example, if it's2:55, we might say that "it's two-fifty-five," butmore likely we would say that it's "five of three,"meaning of course that there are five minutes leftuntil three o'clock.

To do the same thing in Spanish, you woulduse the word "menos," which means "minus." So,using the example of 2:55, you could say that "sonlas dos y cincuenta y cinco," or you could say, "sonlas tres menos cinco," which literally translates to,"it's three minus five minutes." Here are someexamples:

It's 4:50. Son las cuatro y cincuentaor Son cinco menos diez.

It's 1:35. Es la una y treinta y cinco.or Son las dos menos veinte y cinco.

It's 9:55. Son las nueve y cincuenta y cinco.or Son las diez menos cinco.

We have covered the basics of telling time inSpanish. But before I go I would like to leave youwith a few expressions that are often used alongwith the time:What time is it? Qué hora es? or Qué hora son?At what time? A qué hora?Be here at ______. Este aquí a la(s)______.We start at ______. Empazamos a la(s)______.We quit at ______. Terminamos a la(s) ______.You may leave at _____.Te puedes ir a la(s)______.At exactly 1:00. A la una en punto.At exactly 2:00. A las dos en punto.At about 2:00. A eso de las dos.In the morning. De la ma?ana.In the afternoon. De la tarde.In the evening/night. De la noche.A second Un segundoA minute Un minutoAn hour Una horaA half hour Una media horaA quarter of an hour Un cuarto de horaIn an hour En una horaUntil 2:00 Hasta la dosBefore 3:00 Antes de las tresAfter 4:00 Después de las cuatroSince what time? Desde qué hora?Since 6:00 Desde las seisAn hour ago Hace una horaPer hour Por horaEarly TempranoLate TardeOn time A tiempoThat's all I have time for now. See you later (Hastaluego).

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IANY Second Annual Golf Outing,

A welcome sign

President Dennis Realmuto

Keep your eye...

Ray Pollard and Paul Moran belly up

Patti Muldoon and PattyLeary flank RB Boyle

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October 5, 2004, The Links at Shirley

Art Elmers, Tom Armbruster, Vinny Keaveny, Frank Cunningham and Grover Snyder

Marty Klein, Roland Narman, Rich Silverman and Joe Tavalaro

Matt Michiels, Dave Squires, James Navan andRoss Conklin

Jeff Moskal

Gentleman, start your engines

12Continued on page 13

'Work Smarter, NotHarder,' is Theme of2005 EducationalSeries

ANY kicks off its 2005 educational season with"Work Smarter, Not Harder," a series of classes

to be held during the week of February 13 in con-junction with Atlantic Irrigation Specialties andEast Coast Sprinkler's annual trade show. The ses-sions will be held at the Sheraton Long IslandHotel on Motor Parkway in Hauppauge, adjacentto Long Island Expressway exit 53, Wicks Road.

Classes will focus on sales and management,because contractors have asked IANYfor moreopportunities to learn how to better run their com-panies. Sales and business classes geared to fore-men and job supervisors also will be presented.

For the third year, IANY will of fer the basicinstallation classes in Spanish. In addition to edu-cating students, these classes also provide employ-ees with a sense of being part their companies.

Course descriptions and registration materialswill be published shortly.

From the Long IslandWater Conference …Mike DwyerHot Water Aplenty

ollowing the summer break, the Long IslandWater Conference has resumed its monthly

meetings. At the September meeting, guest speak-er Jerome Williams of Williams & Associatesaddressed the issue of workflow-based asset man-agement with the integration of a geographic infor-mation system (GIS). The purpose is to have atwo- or three-dimensional design of an entirewater-distribution system to be able to study waterflow in the system and have very accurate meas-urements on the locations of valves, fire hydrantsand water main locations.

At that meeting, I received positive feedbackfrom Port Washington Water District on the para-graph in the last newsletter about them catchingillegal installations in their district.

October's featured guest was Ronald Gulmi ofKeyspan, discussing alternative-fuel vehicles.Gulmi is a member of The Alternative FuelInitiative Alliance, which forms strategic partner-

I

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“Leading The Way”

Continued from page 12

ships with companies that want to invest in alterna-tive fuels like compressed natural gas (CNG),hydrogen, ethanol and bio-diesel. The goal of thealliance is to reduce the use of foreign oil in ourdaily business operations. Once a year they takerequests from companies for inclusion into theirprogram. If your application is accepted, youreceive federal funding to help offset the purchaseof an alternative fuel vehicle. The alliance pays upto 80 percent of the cost difference between buyingthe basic vehicle and alternative fuel upgrade. Ifthe basic (gasoline) vehicle costs $20,000 and theupgrade to CNG is $4,000, you would get back 80percent of the $4,000. The one drawback, forsome fleets using CNG or hydrogen, is that cross-ing bridges and tunnels off and back onto LongIsland is not permitted at this time.

Suffolk County CracksDown on UnlicensedContractors

uffolk County has conducted a week-longenforcement operation targeting unlicensed

contractors that County Executive Steve Levy saidare, "fueling the illegal and underground economyon Long Island."

The operation, which resulted in contact with380 contractors working within the boundaries ofthree county police precincts, found more than 20percent of those businesses to be operating illegal-ly, without appropriate licenses.

"Legitimate businesses operating in SuffolkContinued on page 14

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County are being undercut on a daily basis bythose who would cheat the system," Levy said."Our law enforcement officials are targeting thosebusinesses that are failing to pay taxes and evadinglicensing laws."

Businesses impacted by the operation ran thegamut of the county's licensing jurisdiction includ-ing home improvement contractors such as roofers,landscapers, driveway pavers, carpenters, sidingand gutter installers and painters. Electricians,plumbers and home-appliance repair businessesalso require licenses to operate legally in SuffolkCounty.

The county maintains that contractors operatingoutside the realm undercut legitimate business peo-ple, sometimes are guilty of providing poor work,and feed an underground economy.

Levy said that investigations are continuinginto the potential violation of federal law requiringemployers to hire laborers only if legal immigra-tion status has been established. "Provisions of theU.S. Code, which is the law of the land, states thatemployers have a duty to verify the status of theirworkers," Levy said. "We want a level playingfield across the board, and that's the objective weare seeking through our efforts."

Nugent & Potter, Inc.

Distributors of

Pump, Well, Irrigation

Water Filter Supplies

1555 COUNTY ROAD 39 SOUTHAMPTON, NEW YORK 11968

(631) 283-1103 FAX (631) 287-4339

RICHARD ESSAY • SALES

Continued from page 13

888.NELSON8 • LRNelson.com

For more information, contact your localdistributor or Chris Pine at 508-274-0636

Don’t let irrigating

restrictions dampen your day. Take control with

“Event Days” programming and WaterBudgeting features on the EZ Pro Jr.

Improve watering efficiency whilepromoting water conservation.

Staying in touch with one another by newslet-ter, by phone and by e-mail is good, but face-to-face is even better. Therefore, we urge you toattend the IANYgeneral membership meeting onWednesday evening, December 1, at the BlackForest Brew Haus in Farmingdale. Bend an elbow,break bread, share and learn.

For decades, a major concern has beenthose contractors who have neither been work-ing legally nor working to code. By avoidingbasic operating costs of running a business,like liability insurance, they charge prices thatare ridiculous. When we propose realistic pric-ing for quality work, there is a backlash.

We need an educational effort to inform thepublic of the benefits of using legitimate irriga-tion contractors.

Andy BergerAndy's Sprinkler Service

East MeadowA continuing issue is licensed versus unli-

censed contractors. We must differentiatebetween qualified people and those who justslap pipes together. Pending legislation willhelp raise the industry to a higher level of pro-fessionalism and will help us counter thosesimply working off the back of a truck.

The irrigation industry here on the East Endhas a bad reputation, being perceived as fly-by-nights who are not knowledgeable in themechanics of systems and offer poor service.

Dan FennessyDaniel J. Fennessy Irrigation Services

East QuogueI'm concerned by those who would require

that only master plumbers be allowed to installsprinklers. Plumbers are not trying to havesuch laws passed; they wouldn't be affected.This would hurt a lot of irrigation companies.I'm also apprehensive about water districtswanting to charge to make connections.

Tino CiceC&C Sprinkler Inc.

Westbury

From the EditorBarry Zusman

s Marty Klein sug-gests in his publish-

er's column, this newslet-ter is a vital means ofcommunications amongIANY's members. Noticethat we say "among" not"to." That's because weseek to establish a dia-logue to foster the

exchange of opinions andideas within the organization.

Share your knowledge and thinking with all. Ifyou have a story suggestion, or would like to con-tribute, please contact me at (631) 367-6268 orbzusman@optonline.net. Letters to the editor arealways welcomed.

To foster two-way communications, we reachedout to a few members to seek their opinions onissues currently facing the industry. Some initialresponses follow.

Barry Zusman

A

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Tel/Fax: 631-424-0170

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Good Vibrations.

EducationGary LynottStorr Tractor631-588-5222

Golf OutingGary LynottStorr Tractor631-588-5222

LegislationRich Silverman

Rain Rich Sprinklers631-754-4901

MembershipRobert Boyle

Orchard Irrigation631-589-4410

NewsletterMarty Klein

Rain Rich Sprinklers631-754-4901

Printing & Pr omotionsMichael A. PallottaAdvance Irrigation

516-868-0822

Water CodeMichael A. PallottaAdvance Irrigation

516-868-0822

Web SiteRobert Boyle

Orchard Irrigation631-589-4410

Committee Chairmen

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