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Good Tuesday Morning,
It was still solidly summer when I woke up this morning. Warm, hazy and humid. The tomatoes love this weather and the peppers aren't much complaining either. The watermelons and cantaloupes are vining all over the place and I have to keep the cukes trained otherwise they'll take over their given corner of the garden. And yes, we're getting sick of zucchini.
Coming in August is the Daniel Nimham Intertribal Pow Wow. This event, one of the largest events in the county, runs over two days and attracts thousands of visitors from across the region. Organized and run by volunteers led by Gil Tarbox of Kent and his Nimham Mountain Singers, this event is a notable bright spot during the late summer season and has helped put Putnam County on the regional tourist map. The pow wow is also one of the few events that actually earns money for the county through fees charged to vendors at the event.
Putnam County used to be a bit more helpful with the Pow Wow but with budget cuts and an apparent shift away from cultural events and towards sporting events instead, that support has lagged over the years and the pow wow finds itself in need of a little financial assistance this year. A donation to their efforts would be helpful and is tax deductible. If you can help them - and I hope you can - please contact Gil Tarbox at gil@nimham.com
A Wonderful Night For Kent
 The Invisible Children's Movement concerns itself with youth and children in northern Uganda whose lives have been turned upside down by an ongoing civil war. Children are kidnapped by the Lord's Resistance Army sometimes being forced to return to their villages kidnapping or killing others. Failure to cooperate with the LRA can lead to beatings, torture or death. Every night brings new fears of abduction for these kids. Even something as simple as going to a creek to bathe or swim comes with it the chance of being kidnapped.
Wanting to bring this story to our community, Kent residents Leah Rogers and Andrew Vlad organized a small benefit concert in a garage hosted by a friend and based on the success of that event looked for a larger venue in which to hold a more proper benefit.
As Ms. Rogers serves as the Youth liaison for Arts on the Lake, she came to that organization seeking use of the Lake Carmel Cultural Center, a venue which could hold many more people and which could provide technical assistance they could not find elsewhere.
 This second benefit show brought five local rock bands and more than 100 of their fans together making this the largest attended event to date and raising more than $600 for the Movement.
Last evening the Town of Kent recognized the work and organizing skills of Ms. Rogers and Mr. Vlad at an awards ceremony at the town hall held just before the regular meeting. More than 50 people gathered, along with State Senator Vincent Leibell and County Legislator Mary Ellen O'Dell to show their appreciation.
There was another community service award given last evening with this one going to Kent lifeguards Albert Mercado and Daniel Adelman who saved the life of an 18 month old girl at a Lake Carmel beach at the beginning of July .The young girl, Deanna Tharas, was choking on a piece of food when Mercado and Adelman came to her rescue thus saving her life. Trouble in River City Oh yes, we have trouble right here my friends and I say trouble! With capital D that rhymes with W which rhymes with I. Southeast Town Supervisor Michael Rights faced his second DWI arrest in 15 months after being stopped the other morning by County Sheriff's for a minor traffic violation. This time around he claims he's being targeted by the police for harassment. In an interview with the Journal News yesterday, Mr. Rights claims, "In fighting to clean up Brewster and Southeast and in fighting to take control of the Southeast Republican Committee, I am being targeted and railroaded by the Old Guard." But Mr. Rights has no idea what that really means. If he'd like some first hand experience at what its like when you're targeted for real, I'd be happy to tell him all about it over a beer or three... if he ever gets his license back. Maybe in the future he should dim his brights for oncoming traffic at 3AM?
Degnan Campaign Office Opens Today
Former Brewster Mayor John Degnan, a multi-party candidate for the 99th State Assembly district, officially opens his campaign office at 10:30 this morning at 609 Route 6 which is just west of the Route 6/ 6N split in Mahopac. Mr. Degnan hopes to unseat freshman Assemblyman Greg Ball.
Hall Wrong on Oil Reserves
Congressman John Hall has called again for the Bush Administration to open the National Petroleum Reserves in an effort to lower the consumer price of gasoline and oil. This move, just as the administration's attempt to open offshore areas and the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve for new oil exploration, a position held by Halls' opponent, Michael Lalor, is just plain wrong. The oil we have in our reserves and that untapped in the ground, should remain there to serve as a hedge against the surety of future oil embargoes and to ensure future native supplies.
Misguided efforts to use this oil now is not unlike pulling money from your savings account when you know the future is going to be tougher than today. Spend that money today and when the sh*t really hits the fan, who do you turn to then? Who do you blame for being unprepared? Are Americans really that set in their 'I deserve it now!' mentality that they cannot see through to the coming energy catastrophe and a desire to be prepared for it?
When the oil is gone it's gone and no military occupation, no war, no amount of wishing it were otherwise is going to change that. Why not keep a reserve in the bank?
Rather than seek to artificially lower the price of fossil fuels we should suck up the mess we're in and put that effort into alternatives, to moving power distribution from centralized plants to our rooftops and backyards, to conservation and conservation and conservation. An act as simple as turning off your lights when you're not using them or wearing a sweater in winter, or keeping the tires on your car properly inflated will save you more money than this foolhardy attempt at political maneuvering in which every elected official and political wannabee seems to be focused.
In this case the best way to control prices is lower demand not increase supply.
Farmer's Markets The Putnam Valley Farmer's Market returns tomorrow (Wednesday) from 3PM until dusk at the Grange Hall in Adam's Corners, at the intersection of Peekskill Hollow Road and Mill Street. Don't forget to stop in to get some locally grown produce and the all-around good feeling of shopping healthfully with your neighbors. Tell Del at the reception desk that PlanPutnam sent you. The Ryder CSA Farm in Southeast's self-serve farmstand is also open at all hours. You'll find it on the east side of Starr Ridge Road. If you see Betsey Ryder, say hello! Blood Drive Kent resident Tom Mulvena, who will be entering senior year at Carmel High School, is running a blood drive at the Carmel Firehouse on Route 52 and Vink Drive on Thursday, July 24 from 2 to 7:30 p.m. If you would like to donate please call Tom at 531-2267 to schedule a time or just drop by at the firehouse between 2 and 7:30.
Are you prepared for winter?
I know that may seem like a silly question to ask in the middle of a heat wave but winter will come - and sooner than you think. What I'm really asking is, have you prepared your home for the cold weather? Now is the time to be sealing up your house, making sure every hole and crack is caulked and filled, that your windows close tightly and cracked and broken panes replaced. Is the weather seal around your doors tight? No? Fix it!
With the price of heating oil and propane currently valued more than gold, every crack, every hole, every loose clapboard on your home represents dollars flowing out into the elements while you're trying to keep your house warm. Now is the time to have your heating unit tuned so that it runs at its highest efficiency and your chimney cleaned and serviced to improve draw and prevent fires. Don't put this off - schedule maintenance this week and when that first cold blast comes in late October you'll be very happy you did.
Lastly today, the United States Court of Appeals (Third District) threw out a $550,000 fine levied against the CBS TV network by the FCC for Janet Jackson's infamous "wardrobe malfunction" during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. Remember how the entire nation seemed to be aghast at seeing a naked breast on television? How millions of drunk, manly sports fans threw up their Budweiser's to protest this affront to their high moral values? I'm not going to get into the serious psychological issues inherent in this faux outrage but I'm just sayin'...
And for today, that's the News That Matters.
JmG
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