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Brought to you by PlanPutnam.Org “I was hoping someday that I’d find someone who would be able to use it,
to keep it the way it was.”
- Johanan Vigoda, owner of 198 acres in the Catskills purchased by OSI and DEP. Good Friday Morning,
Wow! What a response from yesterday's post!
See, with everything going on (one of my computers crashed, I have no wheels, it's cold, my dog has a limp and the cat seems to think that 5AM is "Run Excitedly Around The House And Jump On Everything Repeatedly Including Sleeping Humans" time, ) the last thing I wanted to do was to wade through the 150 or so news feeds I get each day seeking out news you're probably not going to read anywhere else. Bleh! From here on in I'll save interesting sites and make an occasional post of them for you seemed to have enjoyed it.
The low this morning here in Kent Cliffs, NY was -2.9º. It's a whopping 4.3º now at 0900. In case you haven't checked out the blog recently, you should.
 You don't have to have an account to post comments to messages there. You only need one if you want to create new posts. If you're sending stuff to me here and you realize it's not getting posted, that's because: that's what the blog is for. Post there!
I know, I know... there's a great deal of excitement surrounding the inauguration of Barack Obama come next Tuesday and I've listed events in four of Putnam's six towns. (Missing are Southeast and Philisptown which apparently don't have happy Democrats).
If you still can't get enough, wait until next Monday and watch this Youtube video produced by Ultimate Improv. But you have to wait until Monday. Promise? Good. I don't get a sense Republicans are planning counter-inaugurals since I'm really quite sure that after 8 years of what they wished for they're happy to see it end. It's quite a relief to have the bickering at an all time low for a change. Rush Limbaugh is still blaming Bill Clinton for everything, however so there's normalcy there.
Anyway, now to what's going on:
Ed note: Several of the events listed each week come from MannaJo Greene's extensive monthly events calendar. She is to be thanked.
Tonight:
Beacon Sloop Club Environmental Education Series
7 p.m. An evening with Author and Beacon Institute Historian Jim Heron, author of "Denning's Point, a Hudson River History", will discuss his book at the Beacon Sloop Club, at the waterfront in Beacon. Free Admission. Contact: www.beaconsloop.org  Grease!
The Pied Piper Children's Theater presents' Grease! at the White Pond Community Center, 275 White Pond Road, Stormville NY 12582, tonight at 7:30, Saturday at 7:30 and a Sunday Matinee at 2:00. Bring the young'ins. It's pretty cool. (For full disclosure, I'm running lights) Tickets are $10 for adults and $5. for children. Call (845) 270-1633.
Uncle Wade (Including Andy Revkin)
8PM A rustic-rootsy blues/twang quintet hailing from Garrison and Cold Spring. Simple music for complicated times. At the Philipstown Depot Theatre. Tickets $15 at door;$12 in advance (reservations encouraged!)
Saturday:  Project Feederwatch
10 a.m. Learn to recognize the birds that come to your bird feeder and find out about the official FeederWatch bird count program at the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum's Outdoor Discovery Center, entrance on Muser Dr. across from 174 Angola Rd., Cornwall. Cost: $5, Members: $3. www.hhnaturemuseum.org 845-534-5506
Hudson Valley Rail Trail Winterfest
11 am to 2 pm - Features "Best of Fest" chili tasting contest, ice carving demonstrations, roasted chestnuts and toasted marshmallows along with horse drawn sleigh rides on the Hudson Valley Rail Trail, 101 New Paltz Road, Highland - 845-797-9978 - rebena1@aol.com, www.hudsonvalleyrailtrail.net. Admission: $2 adults and children age 6 and over
David Rovics
 7PM - In a rare area performance. David Rovics has been called the musical voice of the progressive movement in the US. Amy Goodman has called him "the musical version of Democracy Now!" He will make you laugh, he will make you cry, and he will make the revolution irresistible.
Since the mid-90's Rovics has spent most of his time on the road, playing hundreds of shows every year throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Japan. He and his songs have been featured on national radio programs in the US, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Denmark and elsewhere. He has shared the stage regularly with leading intellectuals (Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn), activists (Medea Benjamin, Ralph Nader), politicians (Dennis Kucinich, George Galloway), musicians (Billy Bragg, the Indigo Girls), and celebrities (Martin Sheen, Susan Sarandon). He has performed at dozens of massive rallies throughout North America and Europe and at thousands of conferences, college campuses and folk clubs throughout the world. He has loads of MP3's available for free download on his website, www.davidrovics.com, along with CDs, links, etc. More importantly, he's really good. At the AJ Muste Institute: 339 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012 (212) 533-4335
Sunday:
Putnam Beautification Litter Cleanup
10AM - Noon. All volunteers will be loaned 32" litter grabbers, safety vests and provided with bags we clean up litter around the Putnam County Office Buildings and Court House. Hot Chocolate...and cups...may be provided! (We are working on a donation). Free parking at Putnam County Office Building, 40 Gleneida Avenue, Carmel, NY 10512 (at intersection of Routes 52 and 301). Phone: 845-278-6130 X 2155 with any questions about this or future beautification programs. Our web site: www.putnamcountyny.com/kpb.
 David Rovics
2 pm United Church of Christ, Cornwall Village, CT Concert for KIDS! (see above)
Bringing the Dream Home: Civil Rights & the Hudson Valley:
Obama, Lincoln, Douglass & King
6:00pm potluck supper, 7:00pm speakers' program. At the Desmond Fish Library - Garrison, NY. A potluck supper (bringing food to share is welcome if you can) and speakers' program exploring the links between Obama, Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, and Frederick Douglass, the abolitionist leader and orator who spent part of his life in New York. The program features a talk by political speechwriter and scholar Michael A. Cohen, a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation and the author of Live From the Campaign Trail: The Greatest Presidential Campaign Speeches of the 20th Century and How They Shaped Modern America. Cohen has served as a speechwriter for Senator Chris Dodd and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson, and has volunteered for a number of Democratic presidential campaigns. He has analyzed Obama's speeches and his links with Douglass and others for The New York Times.
Into The Future:
Monday, January 19 - Martin Luther King Day
MLK Children's Program
2pm at the Desmond Fish Library, Routes 9D & 403 in Garrison. Storytelling, live music and participatory learning about Douglass, Obama, King and civil rights, with storyteller Jonathan Kruk, songwriter Goldee Greene and special guests. FREE. 845-424-4800
Canned Food Drive: Putnam Valley 
All Day: We invite residents to donate canned goods or cash to Putnam Valley Food Pantry located at Grace United Methodist Church, 337 Peekskill Hollow Road. We will be glad to assist by picking up canned goods from your home on Monday. If you will not be at home on Monday, just let us know where you will leave the goods.... for example, in a bag at your front door. If you prefer to donate money, we will add your name to our sponsor list.
Both cash and canned goods are needed. The canned goods specifically requested by the food pantry coordinators include: tuna fish, fruit and meat (chili, corned beef hash, beef stew, spaghetti with meatballs, etc.). To donate cash, make the check out to Putnam Valley Food Pantry and mail it to PV Food Pantry, 337 Peekskill Hollow Road, Putnam Valley, NY 10579
In order to participate, please respond to this email. For a pick up, leave your name, address, and where we can find your bag of canned goods. If you will be pledging to send a check to the food pantry, also please respond to this email with you name which will be added to our sponsor list. Contact: Judy Allen judya814@comcast.net 845 528 6643 or Michelle LeBlanc michelle@michelleleblanc.com 845 528 5648
The Dream Realized!
7PM - Come to a free community musical celebration of The birthday of Martin Luther King & the Inauguration of Barack Obama. At the Howland Cultural Center 477 Main Street Beacon, NY. Alvin Bell, David Bernz, Dan Einbender, Goldee Greene, Melissa Ortquist, Chris Ruhe, Pete Seeger. Sponsored by The Howland Cultural Center, the MidHudson Progressive Alliance, and Hudson River Sloop Clearwater
Tuesday, January 20
Inauguration Day Events in Putnam
 Carmel: 6-9 PM at the Lantern Restaurant, 728 Route 6 Mahopac. Hors d'oeuvres, cash bar, live music, 50/50 raffle, etc., Suggested donation, $10. Call 621-3791 for more information.
Kent: 7-10PM at McCarthy's Restaurant on Route 52 in Kent (across from Dill's Best) Complimentary Hors D’oeuvres and soft drinks will be served. Alcohol available at cash bar. Suggested donation $25. RSVP Kent Democratic Committee at kentdem@verizon.net
Patterson: 6-8 PM Spaghetti Dinner with all the fixings at the Patterson Rec Center, 65 Front Street, Patterson. Suggested donation $9. Republicans are also invited. Call 878-6169 or 878-4352 for more information.
Putnam Valley: 6-9 PM Rural Inaugural Ball Hosted by the Putnam Valley Democratic Committee YMCA Camp Combe, 684 Peekskill Hollow Road. Refreshments, music, dance and merry making. Ball gowns and tuxes strictly optional. Come as you are, or as you’d like to be! RSVP to: pvdems@optonline.net
| January 28 & February 11, 2009
10:00 am - 12:00pm Social Science Applications in Natural Resources: An Introduction to Social Science Concepts & Methods
The January 28th session will focus on Social Science Concepts and the February 11th session will focus on Social Science Methods.***
 The Hudson River Estuary Training Program will be hosting Shorna Broussard, PhD. of Cornell University in a two-part Webinar. A webinar uses a telephone conference call and internet connection. Sign in at home or work. This seminar series is aimed at developing the capacity of natural resource professionals to use social science methods to understand attitudes and motivations of their audiences, design and implement effective outreach strategies, and foster conservation related behavior. The use of social science concepts and methods will help in achieving behavior change related to climate change, watershed management and ecosystem based management. For those who attended the Sept. 2007 workshop on Social Sciences in Support of Watershed Management in the Hudson Estuary, this will be a refresher.
Who should attend? Professionals, volunteers and elected officials involved in: Watershed management, Climate change adaptation and mitigation, Wildlife management, Invasive and nuisance species, Forestland management, Natural resource management, Ecosystem-based management. Please register online by January 21, 2009 at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=0h7kqJssd_2fYDvTYE1b1oew_3d_3d Registration is limited. After you register, we will e-mail you the log-in information for the webinar.
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