Miriam Rose in Concert 3/12/11

I got this message from Lauren Silver a couple of days ago regarding Miriam Rose's violin Concert. I am definitely planning to go and hope I will see you all there! Here is what Lauren had to say:

We are very happy to announce that eight year old violinist, Miriam Rose, will be performing in concert on Saturday, March 12th at 3pm at St. Gregory's church in Woodstock NY, with pianist Cynthia Tobey. If you would like to help us in getting the word out about this wonderful event, we would be so grateful. Miriam has worked very hard and it would make us all so happy to see our family, friends and neighbors on that special day.

Sincerely,
Lauren Silver

Ashokan Watershed Conference - 4/9/11

I recently received this email from the Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program. The focus of this years conference is flooding. Those of you with homes on the creek might be interested in attending. Here is the information they sent:

Flood Resilience for Towns, Businesses and Landowners Second Annual Ashokan Watershed Conference
Saturday, April 9th, 9:00 am - 2:30 pm
Emerson Resort, Mt. Tremper, NY
Cost: $15.00

With two significant floods occurring within two months of each other in 2010, flooding has been a pressing issue for communities in the Ashokan Watershed. This year, the Ashokan Watershed Conference will focus on the theme of how communities can be more resilient when floods occur. We can't stop floods. However, communities can take charge of planning wisely, minimizing damage, and being prepared so recovery happens faster and costs less.

What you will get out of this conference:

Municipal Officials:
See what other towns have done to address difficult flooding issues How to reduce your community's flood insurance rates. How to reduce flooding impacts with good floodplain and stream management. What changes are coming to Your Flood Insurance Maps.

Landowners & Businesses:
How to minimize flood damage to homes, structures, and property. How to address backyard erosion problems. All about Flood Insurance.

Everyone:
What meteorologists know about increasing rainfall trends. Learn how streams will respond to increased rainfall. Examples of what other communities have done to deal with flooding.

Click here to Download a Registration Brochure with Agenda

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Conference Agenda

8:15 am - 9:00 am
Registration & Networking Coffee and bagels available

9:20 am - 11:40 am Morning Sessions

Introduction - Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program

Extreme Precipitation — Increasing Frequency of Large Storms
Dan Zarrow, Northeast Regional Climate Center, Cornell University

Planning for Stream Response to Increased Rainfall
Jim MacBroom, Milone & MacBroom, Inc.

Forming a Flood Commission: Communities Finding Solutions
Rick Weidenbach, Graydon Dutcher; Delaware County SWCD

11:45 - 12:30 Lunch (included)

12:30 - 2:30 Afternoon Breakout Sessions:

Landowners & Businesses - Track 1
12:30 - 1:20
Got Flood Insurance?
All About Flood
Insurance for Homeowners
A.E. Knapp & Associates

Break 1:20 - 1:30 Break

Landowners & Businesses - Track 1
1:30 - 2:20 Flood Protection Measures for Homeowners
A.E. Knapp & Associates
______________

Landowners & Businesses - Track 2
12:30 - 1:20
Public Agency Panel:
Agency Roles After Floods
DEP, DEC, NRCD, SWCD, SEMO

Break 1:20 - 1:30

Landowners & Businesses - Track 2
1:30 - 2:20
Stream Bank Erosion 101 for Homeowners
Cory Ritz & Deron Davis SWCD/NRCS
_______________

Municipal - Track 1
12:30 - 2:20
National Flood Insurance Program:
Introductory Course on Floodplain Management
(2 hour session)

Bill Nechamen
Floodplain Management Section Chief, NYSDEC
**Training Credits Available for Code Enforcement Officers/Floodplain Managers**
_______________

Municipal - Track 2
12:30 - 2:20
FEMA Community Rating System: How to Reduce Flood Damage and Insurance Premiums
(2 hour session)

Mike Jastremski, Lillian Bruno Delaware & Schoharie County Planning Depts

A Bit More Snow Overnight

We had a little snow bit of snow last night. It didn't add up to more than an inch or two but it made me feel like this winter is never going to stop! Tuesday is the first day of March though so at least we are moving closer to spring!

Another Wet Mess

The latest storm started around midnight last night. It snowed through the night into early this morning. We had about 4 inches on the ground when I woke up. Everything changed to sleet and then rain around 9:00. Right now is it going back to snow.

What does that all mean? A big, soggy mess, that's what it means! The rain melted some of the snow but in driveways and on walking paths the water doesn't have anywhere to go. I shoveled my porch a little while ago. It was difficult because the snow was so heavy.

The good news is there has been no problems with the power in the valley. At least I haven't heard of any outages at this point.

But be careful if you have to travel tonight. If this stuff freezes it is going to be slippery!!!

Details of Viewing and Services for Tommy Alba

The visitation and services for Tommy Alba will be held at Gormley's Funeral Home in Phoenicia. Below are the address and times.

E. B. Gormley Funeral Home
87 Main Street
Phoenicia, NY 12464
ph: (845) 688-5500
phoenicia6@juno.com

Thomas Alba

Visitation:
Thursday, February 24, 2011
7:00 PM until 9:00 PM

Visitation:
Friday, February 25, 2011
2:00 PM until 4:00 PM
7:00 PM until 9:00 PM

Service:
Saturday, February 26, 2011
12:00 PM
E. B. Gormley Funeral Home
87 Main Street
Phoenicia, NY 12464

Thomas S. Alba, 19 of Lane Street died Tuesday February 22, 2011 at his residence. He was born July 14, 1991 son of Nicholas and Gael Venables Alba. A 2009 Onteora High School graduate, he was an avid snow boarder and skateboarder. He had a great sense of humor, was gregarious, and very loving. He had a keen sense of fashion style, and was popular among his friends.

Surviving are his parents, and brother Nick, couisns, aunts & uncles.
A Service to Celebrate the Life of Thomas will be held on Saturday at 12 noon at the E. B. Gormley Funeral Home Main St. Phoenicia. Friends will be received on Thursday from 7-9pm and Friday from 2-4 and 7-9pm. To light a memorial candle or leave a message for Tom’s family, please visit www.gormleyfuneralhome.com

Thomas Alba Passes

I am completely heartbroken to have to tell the community of the passing of a wonderful young resident. Tommy Alba, the youngest son of Nick and Gael Alba, died yesterday morning at his home. Tommy was 19. The cause of death is unknown at this point. Funeral arrangements are still being made and I will post them when I have them.

Tommy was a terrific young man. Always ready with a smile and an easy laugh. It was great fun talking with him. Sometimes, when I am speaking with other teens, I get the feeling that they would rather be talking to someone their own age who they can relate to better. I never got that feeling from Tommy. He actually seemed to enjoy talking with folks of all ages. He had a wonderful personality and was always so warm and funny. I will miss him greatly. May he rest in peace.

Rick Altman Trio Plays Harmony Cafe

Go enjoy jazz in Woodstock this weekend. The Rick Altman Trio is back at the Harmony Cafe in Woodstock, Sunday February 27th from 8-11 pm. Check for info on upcoming shows at www.rickaltman.com See you there!

Brief Power & Phone Outage in the Valley

There was a short power and phone outage in the valley yesterday. It only lasted about 20 - 30 minutes and then everything came back on and normal life resumed again.

Snow Amounts and Weather Station Update

The storm we had last night into this morning seems to be over. We only got about 3 inches of snow, not too bad. But be careful because it has covered up some large icy patches. Watch where you walk!! There is still a lot of ice under the snow!!

On a related subject, the WV weather station (which was knocked out in the power outage) is up and running again. So all of you WV weather addicts can get back to checking the stats online.

Power Outages in the Valley

There have been a couple of power outages in the valley in the last 36 hours. Apparently, the power was off for about an hour yesterday afternoon (I was not home at the time to report it). When I went out this afternoon I learned that although most of the road had only that brief incident, Baker and Grandview Roads were out until late today. I rode up Baker on my way home and the lights seemed to be back on so I think everything is OK now. But if your house is in that area you might want to have someone check in on it.

Peanut & Buzz Share a Basket

What I enjoy most about keeping this blog is that I can post about really, really local subjects like pets, kids, gardens and all the smaller things in life that make us all smile. Recently, WCA member Cardi O'Connor sent me these photos of her cats Peanut (Birman/Siamese Mix) and Buzz (Flame Point Siamese Mix). Buzz was rescued by fellow WCA members Trish & Gianrobert Wootton. He was found with his mother, brothers and sister in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. The Woottons took the whole gang in and found homes for 3 of the kittens (they kept the mother and one of the other boys). Buzz went to live with his new sister, Peanut, at the O'Connor/Ottavi residence. Peanut (aka Violet) is small for her size, while Buzz has just continued to grow and grow. By his first birthday in December he was 2x the size of his new housemate!! They both like to sleep in a small basket on the table. But sometimes, because of Buzz's size, the basket gets very full. So they then have to abandon it for the couch where Buzz can finally stretch out. I thought these photos were really cute and you might enjoy them too!!

Melt Down

The temperatures in the valley today were in the low 50's. It is supposed to be warm again tomorrow. After all the cold it felt almost tropical around here (at least for a few hours)!! The temperatures went up and down all week. With some days in the 50's and some nights in the teens.

There is good news and bad news in relation to the vacillating weather temperatures. The good news is that the snow is melting at a good pace. The bad news is that the water that is running off doesn't always have a place to go. On the nights that it gets cold again, it freezes, forming large patches of ice that can be treacherous.

The roads are mostly OK. WV road is pretty good until somewhere around Tonisgah Road. After that there are some large ice patches that make driving rather bumpy for the rest of the way up the valley.

But the most serious situations are in individual driveways. Some are clear but some are covered with ice. I heard two different stories of people parking their cars in icy driveways only to have them slide (yes, I said slide not roll) backwards. One of them went a fair distance before being stopped by a snow bank. So be careful if you are headed to the valley tomorrow. There is a lot of ice around!! Let's hope by then enough of it will melt that it won't be a problem.

Great Workshops at the Phoenicia Library

There are a couple of ongoing workshops at the Phoenicia Library that I thought may be of interest to some folks in Woodland Valley. One is "Job Search Tools and Tips" the other is a "Writers Immersion Workshop". See the details below:

Job Search Tools and Tips
Gloria Waslyn, a career manage-ment counselor with over two decades of career coaching experience, has already helped one of our neighbors go from being homeless to making $400/ week with advice on job search strategies, resumes, interviewing and more. If you are struggling with finding and landing the right job in this difficult economy, she can help you too. Waslyn is now offering a FREE six-week series of workshops on Career and Job Search Strategies, Tools, and Techniques here at the Phoenicia Library.

The workshops will be held every Wednesday beginning January 26th through March 3, from 3:30 – 5:30 pm at the library. You don’t have to attend every workshop, and you can join at any time. People who attended the first session were pleased with what they had learned and also much more hopeful about their possibilities.

Topics covered will include:
1 Résumé writing or upgrading
2 Networking
3 E-sources in search—how to mine the ads and pursue
opportunities
4 Courses to take to acquire new, more marketable skills
5 Cover letters, thank you letters, follow-up
6 Interview skills

In the last session, Ms. Waslyn will review previous sessions and answer questions.

Call the library (688-7811) to register. Remember, it's free. You have nothing to lose - and so much you might gain.


Writer’s Immersion Workshop

On Saturday, February 19 from 12:30 to 2:30, Dara Lurie will be offering a Writer's Immersion Workshop that integrates guided visualization and other creative process explorations into the traditional workshop format of reading and critique.

The goal is to help writers at all levels develop greater access to their own creative process while also learning technical aspects of storytelling such as character development, creation of place and narrative trajectory.

The first hour of the workshop is devoted to the creative process. The material generated in the first hour will then be explored in the second hour through guided visualization and a period of 'collection' writing. Towards the end of the second hour, the group will reconvene and writers will assess the work they have produced and consider the creative directions indicated.

Space is limited and registration is required; please call the library at 845-688-7811.

Photos from Rannie Arp

Here are some photos that I received recently from Rannie Arp. I wanted to share them with all of you too. Here is what she said about them:

"The snowy one is taken from my window where I have my computer, just so beautiful. The spring one is also from outside my house. The summer picture is actually from Saugerties area, when I was working there I took walks in my lunch hour and just thought this was so peaceful in a hectic day. The last one is taken from 23A in Tannersville. This one talk to my soul........I am no photographer and these were actually taken with a old regular camera, but I am proud of them."

Thanks for sharing them with us Rannie. They are great!

Faculty Music Concert - Onteora High School

Our esteemed Onteora music faculty is playing a concert next week - Wednesday night - to raise monies for the HS Music Scholarship Fund. Requested donation is $5. It should prove to be a fabulous evening of music at the beautiful Harry Simon Auditorium in Onteora High School. Hopefully you can attend and support music in our schools!

Weather for Weekenders - Feb 11

The valley is sunny and beautiful today. Temps are rapidly rising into the 30s. If you are headed up for the weekend you shouldn't have any trouble getting to the valley. I will warn you that because of the 3 inches of snow we had earlier in the week the ice underneath is a lot harder to spot. My own driveway, steps and porch have large icy patches. Be very, very careful getting out of your car and walking to your house. It is very, very slippery out there!!

Art of Living Course - Feb 18th - 21st

Coming soon to Phoenicia, Woodland Valley resident MJ Reiss will be giving the Art of Living course. Here are the details:

The Art Of Living – Breathing techniques, Low impact Yoga & Meditation
• Course Benefits – Breathing techniques to eliminate stress & tension
• Skills for improving relationships at home and at work
• Tools to handle your mind & negative emotions
• Learn Sudarshan Kriya- an immensely powerful technique that incorporates specific natural rhythms of breath to release stress and purify the entire system by releasing toxins at the deepest cellular level.
• Course Details – Feb 18th – 21st Friday 6:30PM – 9:30 PM
Sat & Sun 5 PM – 9:30 PM
Monday 3:30 PM – 7 PM
• 1890 House – 90 Main St, Phoenicia, NY 12464
• Contact MJ Reiss mj.reiss@artofliving.org or mjreiss4mail@gmail.com
845-750 – 5845
Secure.artofliving.org

Snow Last NIght

Sorry this post is late but the blogmistress has to do some work sometimes. Anyway, it snowed again overnight last night. We had 3 inches of fresh powder this morning. The temps weren't bad today but they are dropping now. It is about 13 degrees at this point and it is supposed to get colder overnight. The wind has really picked up and things are blowing around outside. There hasn't been any problems with the power in the valley that I know of at this point. So, aside from a little more snow and wind, all is well.

Calling All Woodland Valley Artists

Judith Singer contacted me and asked me to reach out to all the Woodland Valley artists. If any of you would like to be on the Shandaken Art Tour this is your opportunity. See Judith's note below for info:

Hello Artists and Craftspeople-

We are preparing for the 4th annual Shandaken Art Studio Tour, which will take place on July 16th - 17th this year. If you are an artist or fine artisan living in the Town of Shandaken, full-time or part-time, we invite you to contact us to discuss becoming one of the participants on the tour.

The first three tours have been very successful, resulting in thousands of dollars of total sales for the participants. The membership fee is small - most of the expense is covered by a generous grant from the New York State Council on the Arts through the Dutchess County Arts Council, by local business sponsorship, and by private donations. This enables us to place large color ads in Chronogram, Kingston Freeman, and Woodstock Times among other publications, and we are promoted by Ulster County Tourism. The tour produces and distributes thousands of glossy brochures throughout the county, and maintains a fine website, www.ShandakenArt.com, that includes a map, photos and descriptions of all the artists on the tour.

If you are interested, please contact Dave Channon and Judith Singer at info@ShandakenArt.com.
Thank you!

Judith and Dave

Slippery Situation

It rained all day yesterday in the valley. The upside to that was some of the snow from recent storms melted. The down side is that it created a thick layer of ice over porches, decks, walkways and driveways. It is a very treacherous situation! From the reports that I have gotten WV road is fine (the town trucks have been up and down several times) but I haven't been out myself to check.

It is sunny in the valley today and the temperatures are in the high 30's. The sun and the warmer air are combining to melt more of the snow and ice so even if you have salted and sanded today be careful because with the additional water you might have to do it again. And be sure to wear your crampons or ice trends when you venture outside. If you don't have them I know that Marieta at Morne Imports in Phoenicia has some. Be careful walking!!

Statewide Ban on Feeding Black Bears

Recently the DEC issued the following press release regarding the feeding of black bears. Since there are so many in our area I thought this was important information. Read on:

Responding to the growing number of conflicts between bears and people across New York State, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced a new state regulation that prohibits the feeding of black bears.

As black bear numbers have increased significantly in recent years and bears have become more widespread throughout New York, the number of interactions between bears and people has grown, often resulting from the intentional or incidental feeding of bears.

Previously, DEC prohibited the intentional feeding of bears in proximity to certain locations. In an effort to reduce bear habituation to human-supplied foods and future human-bear conflicts, DEC's new regulation prohibits both incidental and intentional feeding of bears statewide.

Specifically, the regulation bans intentional feeding of black bears, and, after previous written notice from DEC, also prohibits incidental or indirect feeding of black bears through food attractants such as garbage, refuse or bird seed. The regulation grants DEC the authority to require removal of these and other food attractants when bears become problematic.

DEC generally encourages discontinuing bird feeding activity in the Spring when bears emerge from their dens and natural foods for bears are not abundant and natural food for birds are becoming more available.

The Notice of Adoption of the new regulation prohibiting black bear feeding is available at www.dos.state.ny.us/info/register/2011/jan12/pdfs/rules.pdf.

More information about black bears can be found on the DEC website at www.dec.ny.gov/animals/6960.html or by viewing DEC's video "Living with New York Black Bears" which is available in public and school libraries throughout the state.

Not Much Overnight

A bit more snow fell overnight into this morning but it hasn't amounted to much. We have gotten maybe an inch, maybe less. The temps are in the high teens. I guess that is all for this storm. Cleanup has been a lot of work. Besides the snow being heavy it is also hard to find a place to put it at this point. The piles on the sides of my driveway are getting high. My plowman had to spend extra time pushing it back. I am hoping that in the coming week we will get some sun to start melting this stuff.

Well, I guess that's it. For now at least, all is quiet in the valley.

Afternoon Report

The snow has stopped for now. We got an additional 5 or so inches (it is very difficult to tell at this point) overnight into this morning. In the last hour or so before it stopped it changed over to sleet. That makes the total for the last few days of about 9-10 new inches of snow and sleet. It has been hard work clearing it because it is very heavy. The forecast is for some more snow showers early this evening that will end later on tonight. I hope we don't get too much more accumulation. But so far this storm has dumped less on us than I thought it would. And temps are in the high 20's low 30's at this point.

PS - I just talked to someone in town who said that they thought the snow amounts were more down there then what we got in the valley.....maybe so. Just thought I would pass that insight along.

Dennis Havel Adopts Shelter Dog

To break up all this constant talk of weather, I wanted to report that Dennis Havel has gotten a beautiful new dog from a Hudson Valley shelter. He has named him "Dusty". He is about 4 years old. Several people (including me) think that Dusty is part lab and part greyhound (with who knows what else mixed in for good measure). Dusty has ears and a coat like a lab but is also thin with long legs and a longish face like a greyhound. Whatever he is, Dennis said he is a great dog. The two are already the best of friends!

Storm Continues

At this point the first part of the storm has passed us. We have about 5 inches of new snow on the ground. It is snowing lightly and is expected to continue through this evening and get heavier after midnight. I just came up from town where they were getting some freezing rain but up here in the valley it is still just snow.

At this point WV road is pretty good. The plow trucks have been here in the not too distant past so the road is cleared and well sanded. There have been no power outages in the valley that I know of so far.

The National Weather Service is predicting a wintery mix through tomorrow. I will keep posted.

The Storm Has Started

This storm is going to last for a couple of days so I will post at intervals along the way. It started snowing here late last night. So far we have only gotten about 2 inchs. Schools are closed. The forecast is for it to get heavier as the day progresses. Right now the predictions are for 4-8 inches today and then continuing tonight and tomorrow with more accumulation. I will keep you updated.