The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
SERVICE FROM THE HEART
Clear Path for Veterans: Sunday brunch one of many ways community gives back to service members
CHITTENANGO>> A delicious meal might just be the best advertisement for the culinary program at Clear Path for Veterans, and guests got to enjoy that fine dining experience — and a glimpse at some of the goings-on at the veter- ans facility — when they opened to the public on Oct. 30 for Sunday Brunch.
The family-style brunch buffet was a fundraiser for the Clear Path culinary program, presented by their executive chef Sean Galloway, his staff, and a host of area volunteers. The program teaches vets and their families to
be able to cook for themselves in various culinary subject matter, from preparing pasta, baking, and roasting to smoking, frying, and making sauces. There is even a look at the differences in knives …. all to help provide veterans a critical aspect of their own self- care.
Their culinary program then cooks meals served at the facility, including one for World War II, Korea, and Vietnam-era vets and their families on Wednesdays and another for the younger vets and families on Saturdays, he said.
Galloway, a Marine Corps veteran, said the Sunday Brunch was one of only a few days a year when Clear Path is open to the general public, with the rest of the time solely offering services for veterans and their families. By the time the brunch started, they already had 130 advance reservations, Galloway said.
“Things are going very well,” he said as he brought more food out to the capacity crowd.
Caleb Brazeau, 13, of Chittenango, was one of the many volunteer helpers, busing tables and making sure they were ready for the next hungry guests.
“Volunteering is fun here,” Brazeau, who has been with Clear Path for almost a year, admitted. “The view is pretty nice and the food is pretty good.”
Clear Path for Veterans welcomes all veterans to enjoy the comfort of their respectful and scenic hillside setting as they adjust from the service back into civilian life. Melissa Spicer and her sister Melinda Sorentino started the facility with retired United States Air Force Col. Steve Kinne, who initially came to Spicer in 2010 when he wanted to start the Dogs 2 Vets canine training outreach.
Now, Clear Path is home for Dogs 2 Vets, where veterans with post traumatic stress syndrome are instructed how to train their own service dogs. Army veteran Mike Raith of Chittenango was at the brunch with his own service dog, Blue, who helped him explain a bit about their canine therapy outreach. He has been coming to Clear Path for more than three years, Raith said, and after completing the service dog training there he was asked to come back to the program as a trainer himself.
Blue can quickly spot symptoms in himself that Raith doesn’t recognize immediately, he said. Recently, when Blue kept placing a paw on Raith, he suddenly real ized he was having an anxiety attack -- something Blue realized even before his master did, and the canine companion was fast to try to calm him back down.
As a trainer now himself, Raith said he can see clearer the importance of the Dogs 2 Vets program.
“I can see how the dogs help our veterans … some of them come here feeling isolated and alone and don’t really want to talk, but after a few months with their dogs they start to open up more. The dogs are just amazing,” he explained.
Retired Navy vet and Oneida native Mike Wilson was one of the first diners to visit this past Sunday. He said he heard about Clear Path from the Office for the Aging, and decided to look into their programs some three months ago.
“I have been here ever since ,” Wilson said. “It is great to be able to talk with other guys who have served. It’s a good and relaxing place where you can just go, sit and have a cup of coffee with someone with similar experiences. They treat you with respect here.”
The nex t Sunday Brunch at Clear Path for Veterans, located at 1223 Salt Springs Road in Chittenango, will be Dec. 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Reservations are preferred and can be made by calling 315- 687-3300.
For more information on any of their offerings, call that number or visit: www.clearpath4vets.com
Watch the “Your Neighbor” column in the weekend edition of this paper for an in- depth look at Galloway, his service with the United States Marine Corps, and his work for Clear Path for Veterans.