| News That Matters
Brought to you by PlanPutnam.Org Good Friday Morning,
There was a little frost on the pumpkin this morning! Thanks to radiational cooling some surfaces bore a thin sheen of frost marking a pretty early occurrence for our region. Check your tender plants today, they may need a bit of help.
If you're looking for something to do over the next few days you've come to the right place.
Tonight and tomorrow at 8PM, Arts on the Lake presents a very special event:
"Kent Stories: Neighbors Portray Neighbors"
If you’ve ever wondered what your neighbor was thinking, Kent Stories: Neighbors Portray Neighbors is an opportunity to find out. Based entirely on personal stories related to interviewers in the past few months, it is partly a verbal portrait, partly a community forum and partly a peek behind closed doors. It is a wonderful and touching hour and twenty minutes.
Two performances of this landmark piece are scheduled, one for tonight and the other for tomorrow (Saturday) at 8 p.m. in the Lake Carmel Cultural Center, 640 Route 52. Tickets are $10 ($9 members) and may be reserved at rsvp@artsonthelake.org or (845) 228-AOTL, or purchased thru PayPal on the website, www.artsonthelake.org.
Arts on the Lake's theater has been specially reconfigured for this event and only 50 seats are available for each performance so reservations are highly recommended!
Interviewees were: Charles Apap, James Baker, Wilma Baker, Paulette Barrett, George Baum, Betty Behr, Bill Bennett, Marty Collins, Charles Connors, Jeff Green, Ethel Perrin and Gene Schmidt.
They will be portrayed by Marty Collins, Lora Lee Ecobelli*, Stuart Hample,
Kate Hoekstra, Bruce Iacono, Kathleen Kane, James McGuire, Kevin O'Brien*,
Ava Rogers and James Shearwood*
* Appearing through the courtesy of Actors Equity Association's staged reading guidelines.
Tomorrow you can join the Hudson Highlands Land Trust for a Fall Tradition:
The Forts & Bridges hike Local Hudson River historian Ray Phillips will lead you on a trek through the remains of a Revolutionary War fortification over-looking the Hudson in Fort Montgomery. Hike through the scene of a fierce battle, visit an old mining site near Popolopen Creek, and take a stroll across the Bear Mountain Bridge. Forts & Bridges is a part of the Hudson River Valley Ramble. Meet: 9:00am Fort Montgomery Visitors' Center Duration: 3.0 hrs. (including time for a "bring your own" picnic) Level: Moderate Here's a few more events for Saturday:
Noon - 5 PM PRIVATE WELL TESTING QUESTIONS ANSWERED, Hopewell Junction Citizens for Clean Water and Smith Labs are attending East Fishkill Community Day to answer all private well testing questions. Recreation field off Rt. 376 in Hopewell Junction. Rain date Sept. 21. tceinwellwater@optonline.net, 845-226-1446
9 AM-3 PM MID-HUDSON SIERRA ANNUAL TAG SALE, rain or shine - new indoor location at New Hackensack Reformed Church on Route 376, near the intersection with All Angels Hill Rd.. Contact Bibi bibis@juno.com if you have treasures to share...
1-3 pm. KITCHEN GARDEN HARVEST CELEBRATION. Join the Mohonk Preserve’s Research Director Paul Huth and Cultural Historian Bob Larsen to discover 19th-century kitchen gardens and taste recipes from days of old. Mohonk Preserve Visitor Center, Rt. 44/55, Gardiner. Call 845-255-0919 to sign up. Free of charge. www.mohonkpreserve.org
Sunday
On Sunday afternoon at 1PM, Kent Democrats are holding a gathering and fundraiser at the picnic pavilion at Ryan's Field. Assemblywoman Sandy Galef will be there as will candidates Joe D'Ambrosio and Jerry Furey. Stop by and tell them I sent you. There will be food and live music. Write for more information.
On Sunday afternoon at 3PM the Lake Carmel Cultural Center has been rented to a gathering of barbershop choruses and quartets, which includes the Connecticut State Champions. As a bonus, guests and members of Arts on the Lake are invited to stop by to hear the singing, without charge, starting at 3 p.m. Also on Sunday: the Tompkins Corners Family Music Festival comes to Putnam Valley at 4PM in the historic Tompkins Corners Methodist Church. It's a program of classical music featuring The Midhat Serbagi Trio with Midhat Serbagi, violist with Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for 37 years, Gerald Kagan, of Pittsburgh Symphony;nd Assistant Principal Cellist of Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Whitney laGrange, First Violinist of St. Lawrence String Quartet and a graduate of the Juillard School of Music. There is a requested donation of: $10 , $5 Children 12-18, under 12 Free Refreshments will be available.
For information: call 845-528-5076 or visit www.tompkinschurchny.org
There's more on Sunday, this time at the marvelous Ward Pound Ridge Reservation down in Westchester. The opening of a solo art exhibit by Belle Manes Gallery in the Park is replete with fall colors, good food and an R&B guitar player. This event runs from 3-5 PM.
The exhibit includes abstract impressions, small and large, that vibrate with rich hues that lead the viewer from one oasis of color to another. Viewing the artist’s triptychs and diptychs evokes a stroll in the forest, with delight and intrigue wherever the eye wanders. Some works are subtly figurative; others glow like stained glass. This is art that “moves.”
There may be a parking of $4 if you're a Westchester resident but we provincials may have to shell out $8 for the privilage. But I'll tell you, if you haven't been to the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation's 4000 acres of woodlands and fields you're really missing out on something wonderful. Bring your hiking boots for a good long walk after you've seen the show.
Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is located at the junction of Route 35 and Route 121 South in Cross River. It can be reached via I-684 to exit 6, Katonah/Cross River. Head east off the exit; follow Route 35 east four miles then turn right onto Route 121 South to park entrance. For more information, call (914) 864-7317.
10:00 a.m. FOREST ECOLOGY WALK. Explore how past land use practices have shaped Dutchess County forests while taking a guided tour with Dr. Charles Canham. This moderate 2-mile walk along Wappinger Creek Trail encompasses habitats ranging from young forests and fallow fields to streams and wetlands. Meet at the Gifford House parking lot, located at 2917 Sharon Tpk. in Millbrook. Long pants and sturdy shoes are recommended.
Alternative Energy Festival, MHPA has a table at the festival and invites plumbers, electricians, contractors, building inspectors, home owners (call 845-228-8894, leave message) who can answer practical questions about energy conservation, passive solar, costs, savings and DIY opportunities to provide answers, recruit some business. The festival will include a number of "Alternative Energy Contractors" from the region as well as music, food, fun, the Clearwater, and rides on the Woody Guthrie all tucked into the exquisite beauty of the Hudson River waterfront. http://beaconsloopclub.org
12:45 pm, INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE. A Peace Pole dedication will be held outside Antioch Baptist Church, corner of Church & Main Streets, Bedford Hills, to celebrate the Church's 114th anniversary and launch Unity Made Visible as a cooperation circle of the United Religions Initiative. Free.
3 - 5 pm Wallkill Valley Land Trust's PRESIDENT's AWARDS w/live music by Jay Ungar & Molly Mason. Event honors New Paltz & Gardiner for recent Conservation Bond Acts. Outdoor Celebration at the Jewett Family Farm, 181 Huguenot Street, New Paltz; wine & hors d'oeuvres by Bywater Bistro, Bridge Creek Catering, Locust Tree Restaurant & Main Course Caterers. Tickets: $35 in advance, $40 at event. www.wallkillvalleylt.org (845) 255-2761. Ongoing
The Collaborative Concepts Outdoor Art Exhibit continues (and runs through October) on Sandy Saunder's Farm at the intersection of the Old Albany Post Road and Highlands Road in Philipstown. Admission is free and the scenery is 'to die for'. If you go, it's possible you'll be sharing the space with Sandy's cows and horses making the event even more fun. The horses are very friendly yet the cows are only interested in the grass - and occasionally nibble on some of the art. Don't miss this show.
If an Octoberfest is your thing, Bear Mountain Park's annual event begins this weekend and admission is free (parking is $6 though). Featured Bands this weekend include The Plus Five Orchestra (Saturday) and Fritz's Polka Band on Sunday. The fun starts at noon and runs until 6PM each day.
If you're interested in how to build Big Box stores and strip malls in suburban settings and you happen to have the day off this coming Tuesday, September 23rd, you can join the Putnam County IDA and Insite Engineering's Jeff Contelmo at the Emergency Services Building in Carmel at 9 AM for a seminar called An Economic Development Summit - Phase II. Bring your hardhats and bulldozers. There's a list of 15 agencies from which panelists were invited yet not a single local land trust or conservation organization is among them. It should be a black-topping good time! (Please check your blasting caps at the door.)
If birding is your thing, then the Bedford Audubon Society's Chestnut Ridge Hawk Watch is a good start. As of September 17, nearly 4000 birds have been tallied on their journey south, with Broad-winged Hawks making up the bulk of that figure (2800). However, a nice variety of other raptors (vultures, hawks, eagles, falcons, etc.) have been sighted including 230 Osprey, 41 Bald Eagles, 20 Merlins, and 3 Peregrine Falcons, in addition to the usual crowd. Altogether, 13 species of raptors have graced the skies around the hawk watch platform. The next few weeks promise to bring an increase in Accipiter numbers, the last of the Broad-winged Hawks, and the peak falcon flights. Days following cold fronts or with northerly winds are prime, however even on "off-winds" a nice collection of birds may be seen.
This coming Wednesday, September 24th, The Environment Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County presents an Open Educational Forum: Planning for Centers and Greenspaces. (This is the corollary to the Putnam IDA's exercise the day before.) With Guest Speaker John Clarke from the Dutchess County Dept. Planning and Development. The event will be held at the Farm and Home Center on Route 44 in Millbrook, NY. It's a scant 40 minute drive up the Taconic parkway. The program is free and light refreshments will be served... always a plus.
Since March 2000, the Dutchess County Greenway Compact program has offered practical suggestions for its 30 participating communities on ways to grow and prosper without sacrificing their traditional character or natural surroundings. The Greenway Guides provide smart growth methods to preserve farmland and natural greenspaces, strengthen cities, villages, and town centers, improve suburbs, and enhance Greenway connections, such as habitat and stream corridors.
The presentation will feature four case studies from Amenia, Beacon, LaGrange, and Red Hook, showing how local communities, through illustrative plans and incentive zoning, are moving to implement Greenway goals in innovative ways.
Looking ahead: On Saturday, October 4th, the Trailside Museums and Zoo presents Twin Forts Day from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
Commemorate one of the bravest defensive battles of the American Revolution, during Twin Forts Day, at Trailside Museums and Zoo, on Saturday, October 4th from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Twin Forts of the Popolopen are Clinton and Montgomery. Trailside was built on the remains of Fort Clinton and its outer redoubt is intact. Seven hundred men fought bravely to defend the Twin Forts from a British force of 2,100, three times the size. We will host a variety of reenactments and hands-on activities for people of all ages. There will be periodic flintlock rifle firings, tours of the redoubt, patriotic music and more. Do not forget about the beautiful displays depicting the famous battle in our Historical Museum.
Parking at Bear Mountain State Park is $6.00. Admission to Trailside Museum and Zoo is $1.00 for ages 13 and up, $0.50 for ages 6-12, and ages 5 and under are free. For more information call (845) 786-2701 ext. 293
Since you come here each day for the news and I hate to disappoint, here is a roundup of yesterday's news based on incidence or reporting:
 Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin John McCain Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin AIG Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Hillary Clinton Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin.
In the meantime, 45 million Americans are without health insurance, unemployment is up, the Feds bailed out AIG insurance with $85 billion in taxpayer dollars while it's CEO was earning $17,000 an hour. Tens of thousands of private homeowners were foreclosed on with no government bailout coming their way. Oh yeah, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan still rage on. Total cost as of this morning? $555 billion dollars.
And that's the News That Matters.
(Note: some calendar events are from MannaJo Green's excellent weekly email based calendar.)
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