Things you should know!

From the Rome Daily Sentinal:

Annie and Daddy shine in Capitol spotlight (STARRING JULIANA SLOCUM and JESSICA DANILUK!)



Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
and Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
at the Capitol, 220 W. Dominick St.

"Gather the kids and grandkids and head to the Capitol Theater this weekend because Annie’s in town.

The ageless classic about the poor little orphan who smiles her way into the heart of a billionaire tycoon and helps to show her depression era neighbors that "the sun will come out tomorrow," is being staged tonight and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Capitol, 220 W. Dominick St.

Opening to a nice crowd Thursday night, the show stars adorable and very talented Juliana Slocum, of Waterville, in the title role. For someone so young, Slocum has an incredibly strong voice and she uses it well in belting out the show’s very familiar songs. With her singing, dancing and even dog handling, Slocum gave a strong and confident performance that absolutely carried the show from start to finish.

The cadre of orphan "little girls" in the show were also very good in their respective roles. Full of energy, they sang and danced wonderfully together and absolutely conveyed the joy they found in performing. Every face in the audience was plastered with a broad grin whenever the girls were on stage.

Carl DeFranco, of the town of Western, gave his role as "Daddy Warbucks" just the right combination of gruff businessman and tender-hearted guardian.

Warbucks’ personal secretary, Grace Farrell, was wonderfully played by Jessica Daniluck who gave beautiful vocal performances.

As the nasty Miss Hannigan, the mistress of the orphanage, Amy Surrette-Bumbolo had the audience both laughing at and booing her antics. Joined by Michael Youngs as her con-man brother "Rooster," and Amanda Dunlap, as his accomplice,"Lily St. Regis," these three gave a rollicking performance of the "Easy Street" number.

Jeff Isherwood was very good as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Scott Charles did well as radio announcer Bert Healy, and Megan Rafte Bice gave a beautiful vocal performance as a Broadway star wanna-be.

The large cast was full of very good singers, dancers and actors who all added to the fun and musical magic of the show.

Even the role of "Sandy" was very well played by golden retriever Daisy Huxley, who may not have totally enjoyed her time on stage but was more than willing to put up with her moments in the spotlight for whatever treats Annie had in her apron pocket.

W.C. Fields may have said "never work with children or animals," but this cast of Annie would prove him wrong. Everyone involved in this production worked wonderfully together to give a fun and memorial performance that can be enjoyed by the whole family."

IN THE MORNING MAIL

From Cindy Gallagher, forwarding a letter from the New York Farm Bureau:

"Below please find USDA’s notice to all State and County Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices regarding the status and preparation for the Dairy Economic Loss Assistance Payment Program (DELAP) which will distribute $290 million in direct federal payments to dairy farmers. (Blogger's emphasis.)

NYFB continues to press USDA to deliver these direct payments as quickly as possible with our dairy farm families facing dire financial difficulties. NYFB worked hard with New York’s Congressional delegation to secure this funding in the FY 2010 Agriculture Appropriations Bill.

This notice provides limited information on DELAP, but does offer the following: 1) USDA intends to issue payments in mid-December; 2) Production data for dairy operations that participated in the MILC program during 2009 will be used to determine eligible payment quantities and benefit amounts under DELAP; and 3) Dairy operations that have participated in MILC for 2009 will NOT have to submit an application for DELAP at a local FSA office. These dairy operations will automatically be considered for DELAP by the FSA. 4) Dairy operations that did not participate in MILC for 2009 will have a 30 day application period to sign up for DELAP. This notice does NOT address how payment will be calculated and if payments will be subject to production caps. This information is being closely guarded by USDA at this time. Full program details, including signup, eligibility, payment formula and payment rate, will be available when DELAP regulations are published in the Federal Register before mid-December. USDA states that these regulations are currently in “departmental clearance”. As soon as these crucial details are available, NYFB will inform our dairy membership immediately. New York Farm Bureau 159 Wolf Rd. PO Box 5330 Albany, NY 12205 518-436-8495 / 800-342-4143 www.nyfb.org

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BEAVER POND UPDATE

An apparent calamity occurred a few days ago, when the County DPW set out to clear a culvert that would have drained water from the Marshall Trail next to Burnham Road. The beaver dam, itself, let go loosing a flood of worry about the beavers!

But look!

Karin of Country Folks sent me both this picture, taken yesterday, as well as the one above. Gary Ford told me that with help from the county and township, Eager Beaver has his dam back and it is the intention of the township to make whatever arrangements they can to keep both the beavers and human sportsmen happy.

THANK YOU!

Yesterday's late mail.

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HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY

TO

DAVE LEMERY

marking one year since your
bone marrow transplant!

(from your neighbors!)


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I caught a glimpse of Richard Enders and Lance and Sharry Whitney coming out of Gary Hudson's Red Lion Pub on Wednesday afternoon. They've been here two Wednesdays in a row! Chances are, you can see what they saw by watching Mohawk Valley Living on Sunday morning at 7:30 AM on WKTV; 10:00 AM CW Channel 11 or 12:05 midnight on WKTV.

8:25 AM confirmation: Katie Gale Petrie writes that "Waterville is being featured! Louis J. Gale & Son, Michael's Restaurant and Pryputniewicz Paris Hill Potatoes." (Thanks, Katie!)

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COMMUNITY THANKSGIVING SERVICE

Sunday, November 22 @ 7:00 pm

Grace Church Waterville

Rev. Ann Stillman and Rev. Gennett Timlin

Diane Bancroft, Organist

(representing Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian and Three Steeples Parishes)

Offering will be donated to the Waterville Food Pantry


PLEASE JOIN US AND REPRESENT YOUR CHURCH



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Taizé is the name of the village in the Burgundy region
of France where Brother Roger and his community of lay brothers first began this form of worship in 1945. They are dedicated to reconciliation among all people and believe that music dissolves barriers, both within the heart
and between people.

Services are ecumenical in spirit
and all persons are welcomed. There is no leader and
everything is done in unison.

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From Jeff Reynolds, in an email titled:

"Eat your hearts out, Snowbirds!"





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From Becky Maggio


Thanks, Becky!



He's home! And this is Glen's favorite sign!


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NOW have a good weekend, everyone!

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It's Garbage Day!

33.4 degrees F. / 0.7 C.

Crisp and clear.

WKTV's forecast: "A sunny start to Thursday but expect an increase in clouds by the afternoon as a weak storm system begins to approach the region. Rain looks to hold off until after sunset, with the steadiest rain occurring overnight Thursday into Friday. Thursday's temperatures will once again be above normal, with highs in the mid 50s. Rain continues for Friday morning but improving conditions by the afternoon under mostly cloudy skies with a few peeks of sun.

As slightly cooler weather wraps around our next storm system, we'll see a weak response from Lake Ontario. Mostly cloudy on Saturday, with a few lake effect rain showers. High pressure quickly builds in by Saturday afternoon, drying us out. A slow return to sunshine is expected by Sunday."

The Blogger wonders if anyone has seen any "woolly-bear" caterpillars and can make a winter weather prognostication based on its black and brown stripes?

How the Woolly Bear Became "Famous"

(from the Old Farmer's Almanac.)

In the fall of 1948, Dr. C. H. Curran, curator of insects at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, took his wife 40 miles north of the city to Bear Mountain State Park to look at woolly bear caterpillars.
Dr. Curran collected as many caterpillars as he could in a day, determined the average number of reddish-brown segments, and forecast the coming winter weather through a reporter friend at The New York Herald Tribune.
Dr. Curran's experiment, which he continued over the next eight years, attempted to prove scientifically a weather rule of thumb that was as old as the hills around Bear Mountain. The resulting publicity made the woolly bear the most recognizable caterpillar in North America.

Do Woolly Bear Caterpillars Forecast Winter Weather?

According to legend, the wider that middle brown section is (i.e., the more brown segments there are), the milder the coming winter will be. Conversely, a narrow brown band is said to predict a harsh winter. But is it true?

Between 1948 and 1956, Dr. Curran's average brown-segment counts ranged from 5.3 to 5.6 out of the 13-segment total, meaning that the brown band took up more than a third of the woolly bear's body. As those relatively high numbers suggested, the corresponding winters were milder than average.
But Curran was under no scientific illusion: He knew that his data samples were small. Although the experiments popularized and, to some people, legitimized folklore, they were simply an excuse for having fun. Curran, his wife, and their group of friends escaped the city to see the foliage each fall, calling themselves The Original Society of the Friends of the Woolly Bear.
Thirty years after the last meeting of Curran's society, the woolly bear brown-segment counts and winter forecasts were resurrected by the nature museum at Bear Mountain State Park. The annual counts have continued, more or less tongue in cheek, since then.
For the past 10 years, Banner Elk, North Carolina, has held an annual "Woolly Worm Festival" each October, highlighted by a caterpillar race. Retired mayor Charles Von Canon inspects the champion woolly bear and announces his winter forecast.
Most scientists discount the folklore of woolly bear predictions as just that, folklore. Says Ferguson from his office in Washington, "I've never taken the notion very seriously. You'd have to look at an awful lot of caterpillars in one place over a great many years in order to say there's something to it."

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FROM THE O-D

"Oriskany Falls Man Dies in Hunting Accident."

"Polka Band Leader Remembered for Humility."

"White's Farm Supply Driven by Attention to Customer's Needs."

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"The DEC's Map and Dates of Regular and Bowhunting Deer Season."

REGULAR DEER HUNTING SEASON STARTS SATURDAY

******


2006 photo

AN ANNUAL TREAT!

HUNTING FOR GOODIES

at the

WOMEN'S CLUB BAKE SALE

starts at 9:00

SATURDAY MORNING AT FOODKING!


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Autumn view on Paris Hill



In the Park, stone mason Ray Drake hoists 7' long, 250-pound slabs of blue stone ......



.......... onto the front steps of the Bandstand.


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Masonry work continues at St. Bernard's Church and also on the west wall of the Opera House where a great many bricks have been replaced and the super-sized lift is still in place.

ELSEWHERE


Santa sails through the air on Putnam Street!



*****

You can sail, too!



Come and watch

"Up!"

Family movie night at the

Waterville Public Library

FREE MOVIE at 6:00

FREE POPCORN!



LOOKING BACK


11/19/2006


11/19/2007



11/19/2007


11/19/2008


11/19/2008

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ON SUNDAY IN CLINTON

at the Kirkland Art Center.

Opening reception for exhibit of works influenced by
W. Ralph Murray

3 to 5 p.m. Event includes dedication of lower studio as
the W. Ralph Murray studio, 4:30 p.m.

********************************

I'm going to be taking a week off following Thanksgiving to do lots of artist-type stuff, so ........ if there are any events or occasions that you'd like to have posted on the blog, please let me know about them BEFORE next Wednesday, November 25th. Thank You!

Have a good Weekend, Everyone!

Clear and Crisp

It's Recyclables Day!

25 degrees F. / -3.8 C.

From WKTV: "Good morning Central New York! One more sunshine filled day, before our weather begins to change toward the cooler, unsettled side.

Clear skies and light winds this morning means more frost. A nice, crisp start to our morning, with temperatures starting out in the 20s and low 30s. The ice scraper may be needed once again heading out the door this morning.

High pressure will slide to the east today giving us another day of wall to wall sunshine. Temperatures will be slightly warmer, with highs in the mid 50s. Clear skies yet again tonight, with overnight lows in the upper 20s.

Thursday will start off sunny and cool. By the afternoon, clouds will slowly advance into Central NY as temperatures will once again climb into the mid 50s. Clouds and showers come back into the picture on Thursday night and Friday morning as a weak storm system passes close by.

As slightly cooler weather wraps around our next storm system, we'll see a weak response from Lake Ontario. Mostly cloudy on Saturday, with a few lake effect rain showers. High pressure quickly builds in by Saturday afternoon, drying us out. A slow return to sunshine is expected by Sunday.

(Click to enlarge.)

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A beautiful display at the Gerhardts' home on White Street.

Wayne Brouillette & co. were putting new roofing on the old library building, yesterday --- it's now the new home of the Waterville Historical Society.

FYI, this is the sign in front of "Town's End."

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Snagged from FB, this picture of Tracy in her RAGTIME costume!

Found, while looking for something else, a really old "snapshot" that was taken on a crispy morning just like this, when we were climbing Black Bear Mountain in Inlet.

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Back to Hong Kong Harbor with Glen Carroll ..................

"If you zoom in and crop it you can see the "junk" going by. This is actually a much larger boat than normal. Most look they'll sink at any moment!!!"




"30 years ago the planes used to use the harbor as their approach path. My Regional Director informed me that the flight is was always breath taking."




"In the harbor they can off load up to 75 ships at the same time!!!!! I wonder who is the traffic cop on the water? "

By now, Glen has probably already made his stop in Beijing and is on his way home!

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"Mohawk Valley Living" will be filming in town today!


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Prize Speaking Tomorrow Night!


*****


"Once Upon a Time in Waterville"

last gathering of the old-timers before Spring.

10:15 Friday Morning at the Library.


**********************

Planning Ahead!




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Have a Great Day!

Frosty and Bright

It's 25.9 degrees F. / -3.38 C.


I don't know just how chilly it was, at 3 o'clock this morning, but it was nippy! The sky, however, was super-clear and I did spend nearly an hour out on my back lawn, wrapped in a "space blanket" and sleeping bag, staring upwards. It was worth it!

If only I could have taken pictures to show you!

But then I went back to bed and ............................

now I'm very late posting the blog!

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WKTV's forecast: "Good morning Central New York! Unusually quiet but pleasant November weather continues!

A chilly, frosty start to the morning. Temperatures starting out in the 20s across most areas. Here's a look at your bus stop forecast:

A large and expansive area of high pressure will build in from the northwest today. This will keep us high and dry for the next several days. Today's weather will feature wall to wall sunshine and slightly warmer temperatures. Highs in the afternoon will top off near 50. Another clear night tonight, with overnight lows down into the 20s.

High pressure in control Wednesday and Thursday, bringing more sunshine and seasonably warm temperatures. Clouds and showers come back into the picture on Thursday night and Friday as a weak storm system passes close by. A few leftover showers on Saturday morning, with drier weather by Saturday.

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IN THE MAIL

The Waterville Public Library is offering a

FREE SHOWING TODAY

AT 6:00 P.M.

Jill Getman writes: "The movie and popcorn are free,
plus it comes out on DVD right on Tuesday so it's new!"

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From Vicki Sabol and the Waterville Area Food Pantry:

" to
all the Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Scout leaders, parents, community businesses, and most importantly, all the generous people of Waterville and the surrounding area who gave so many items to the Scouting for Food drive this past Saturday: It was great! We should be in good shape to help our clients through the holidays."

*************

From Becky Maggio:

TELEPHONE NEWS

from Mike Tower who was - or had just been - in the Park and who assured me that work on the Bandstand has NOT come to a complete halt for the Winter, as was feared!

Digging/grading should be taking place around the foundation;

then a "Fypon" covering will be applied.

Stone mason Ray Drake is expected to be applying "blue stone"
to the front steps of the structure .....

after which, final measurements for the permanent railings
will be made and those will be installed.

The "arches" that go between the upright posts - for which everyone has been waiting - still need to be fabricated. They did not come from Fypon preformed, although the material is right at hand, and are trickier to draw and make than any previous ornamentation. No promises, but we MAY get to see what they look like before Winter.

And for all of that information,

Thank You, first, to Jean Davis, who emailed me saying,
"Will someone please paint those 2 x 4 railings!"

thus prompting me to write to Mike and ask ....

"Why?"

and Thank You to Mike for his reply!

**********

ON THE WWW

I spent quite a while, yesterday, reading the reviews of the Saturday night opening of

"RAGTIME"

on Broadway and it sounds to me as if Tracy Lynn Olivera, valedictorian of the Class of 1995 at WCS, will be spending her immediate future in New York!

Congratulations, Tracy!

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Now go and have a good day!

A Welcome Headline in the OD!

"Feds to Probe Low Milk Prices Paid to Farmers."

Also, please see mailing, below.

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IT'S GARBAGE DAY!

40.8 degrees F. / 4.8 degrees C. and overcast

From WKTV: "Good morning Central New York! Unusually quiet November weather continues into the work week.

Morning clouds will give way to more sunshine as we head into the day. Temperatures starting out near 40 degrees. Here's a look at your bus stop forecast:



High pressure builds in from the northwest today, bringing dry, sunny weather by later today. Expect decreasing clouds today with temperatures a bit cooler than yesterday, highs near 50 degrees. Crystal clear skies tonight, and perfect weather to view the Leonid meteor showers. Overnight lows tonight in the upper 20s.

High pressure will bring cool (still unseasonably mild) temperatures and quiet weather for most of the work week. Temperatures will top off near in the 50's Tuesday, with overnight lows in the 20s. High pressure will stay put throughout most of the week with temperatures eventually climbing into the mid 50s.

The next chance of rain showers comes from a cold front late in the day on Thursday. Drier weather builds back in for Friday and Saturday."

VILLAGE BOARD MEETING TONIGHT AT 7:00

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The DPW was at work ............



dressing the Victorian Lamp posts along Main Street in Christmas greenery.

The wreaths and garlands all have tiny mini-lights wound throughout, but those will not be turned on until the Parade of Lights on Friday, the 27th - the day after Thanksgving.


Real icicles would have melted right away in yesterday's T-shirt weather!
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More than two hundred visitors took advantage of the two-day Open House to tour "Town's End," the newly restored 19th century home south of Sangerfield on Route 12.



Everyone seemed fascinated by the hand-carved scrolled Ionic columns on the outside .......



............. stopping to look at the Before-and-After pictures on display ........



............ and roaming upstairs and down before finding an island-full of refreshments in the sunny kitchen.

The "mysterious" ("Who IS she?") owner and benefactor was there, welcoming all of her guests, and explaining over and over again that "No!" she didn't have any particular connection to the old home, but that she just hated to see it become more and more dilapidated and fall into complete ruin. Her name is Bernice Benson and , besides having an eye for Greek Revival architecture and a generous heart, she is also an artist and accomplished watercolorist: no wonder the restoration has been so perfect!

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The 1852 Map of Oneida County shows a structure in this approximate location owned by Delos Terry and, in 1874, the same building is that of "D.C. Terry." Mrs. Benson and the carpenters think that this home was built in the 1860s.


The property is for sale: details to come.

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IN THE MAIL

From Sandy Harding ........

"The Oriskany Falls Mad Red Hatters had their November Meeting at the 1840'sInn. The Inn is located outside of Bouckville and is operated as a bed and breakfast. There were 11 members attending from the Oriskany Falls area. The luncheon was very nice and the owner gave us a tour of the Cobblestone Inn. As usual for Red Hatters, a good time was had by all."

From Tammy Graves .........

"It is final. Make Plans to Join us. ===================== Dairy Does D.C. in December

When: Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009 Where: Washington, D.C. Who: All Dairy Crisis Interested Parties

How: Reserve your bus seat. Buses departing on Dec. 1 from Utica, N.Y. (Bryan Gotham blcgotham@yahoo.com) and Hornell, N.Y. (Lisa Robinson robinsonfarms@zoominternet.net).


Everyone riding, driving or flying to D.C. will convene at Union Station in D.C. at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 2 to kick-off our Dairy Day. Can't travel? Visit your Congressman and Senators district offices during the week of Nov. 30. Use the priority issue messages summarized below. Want assistance making appointments? Contact Tammy Graves, gravesarborgraphics@yahoo.com/315-858-0163.

To learn more read below and/or join the next conference call Monday, Nov. 16, 2009 8:30 p.m. EST. # 1 (605) 715-4900 code 466980 "

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Blogger's note: When I opened mail from Glen Carroll, very early yesterday morning, all I found was one picture -this very foggy view of a runway at the Hong Kong airport!


As daylight came to Waterville, I realized that a similar fogginess had settled over Whiskey Hollow! Surely, even iPhones can't do THAT!

I've just received this double batch of photographs from him:

"Finally got connected so I could send more pictures of downtown Shanghai."

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From Hong Kong.

"Ever wonder what a 1.25 million dollar necklace would look like?"




"The old Imperial Govenor Headquarters"




"All this is made out of one tusk -- I know its not
politically correct but its still amazing."



"View of Hong Kong Harbor with fog rolling in over the mountains."




"More of the harbor"




"Christmas is a big holiday here even though a small
percentage are Christian!"




"Scaffolds in China are made of Bamboo... NOT of metal!"



" Look at all the people and actually my local
director said it wasn't busy... You could actually breath in the Subway
car... He said normally you could pick up your feet and the crowd would
hold you up."





" Shopping areas in the city.... Can't get much more
crowded than this.... More people live in one apartment building than
live in all of Waterville and the surrounding communities!"

*****

As always ---- thanks loads, Glen!

*********

FYI and YOUR CALENDAR

Here is a list of the WCS students
who will be participating in the

PRIZE SPEAKING CONTEST

THURSDAY AT 7:00.

Prize Speaking List of Students and Pieces 2009

******

HUMOROUS

Bernadette Erlichman “Wrong Number” – John P.G. McKenzie

Allie Shore “Teachers Are Made See” - John P.G. McKenzie

Anthony Gannon “The Dentist” – Bill Cosby

Katy Graves “My Mom Is Trying To Ruin My Life” – Kate Feiffer


DRAMATIC

Katie Brown “The Yellow Wallpaper” – Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Joel Kahn “Place I’ve Never Been & Dis Poem” Louis Reyes Rivera
Muta Baruka

Avonlea Frye “The Fall of The House of Usher” - Edgar Allan Poe

Jesstina Allinger “Excerpt from The Phantom of the Opera” – Gaston Leroux

Megan Hayes “Excerpt from Twilight” - Stephenie Meyer


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Have a great day!

(Click to enlarge.)

The Weather Underground's forecast indicates that the sky will be clear very late tonight and early tomorrow morning. If that's the case, I'll be out watching the Leonids - I can't promise a blog post, at least not 'til later than usual!