Archive | February, 2018

Strike Back Martial Arts joins national registry

24 Feb

STRIKE+BACK+Logo+Extra+SmallCongratulations to my friends and colleagues at Strike Back Martial Arts, which has recently been accepted as a member of the Adaptive Martial Arts Association (AMAA).

The AMAA is a national organization which describes itself as

a resource for students and instructors to gather and share ideas, curriculum and other adaptive training information while promoting disabled inclusion and helping to break down martial arts training stereotypes associated with the disabled.

Strike Back, owned by Mike Palmer and Dave Nicchitta, is a perfect fit for the organization. In 2015 the jujitsu dojo introduced their Jujitsu Buddies class, designed for children with autism, and just last year began a brand new Strike Back Fitness program specifically designed for children and teens with Down syndrome. Both programs have been very well received and have grown since their introduction.

After they had established those programs, Nicchitta said,

We had been looking to align ourselves with organizations that coupled martial arts and special needs (adaptive) programs. This seemed to be exactly what we were looking for so I reached out to them regarding membership. …We received approval a few weeks later and as a result are listed on their national registry along with other schools across the country.

“We are the only Upstate NY martial arts school on their national registry,” he added.

Strike Back Martial Arts is located at 55 East Main Street in the village. For more information about these and other programs they dojo offers, visit their website or Facebook page.

You can also ask me — I am pleased and proud to say I am part of the Strike Back family, and help teach these exceptional young people.

 

Strike Back owner Mike Palmer works with Jason Schaller at a recent class.
Young Everett Martin strikes a bag held by Strike Back Martial Arts owner Dave Nicchitta at a Strike Fitness class for children with Down syndrome.
strike back

I love my Saturday morning Jujitsu Buddies

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End break week with some great library programs

22 Feb

family_night

If your kids are beginning to get a little bored with having so much time on their hands this week, here are a few great kid and family-friendly library programs you’re gonna love.

Friday night Feb. 23, bring the family to the Webster Public Library from 6:30 to 8 p.m. for an after-hours evening of fun. Enjoy a family craft, retro video-gaming, minute-to-win-it challenges, live music by Bach to Rock and more. Snacks will be served.

Registration is required for this program, and there are only a few spots left, so make sure to log onto the library website to register ASAP.

On Saturday Feb. 24, your kids will help kickoff the spring season with the library’s IMG_5766“Seedy Saturday” program.

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., both kids and adults can take part in a variety of spring gardening activities, including participating in a hands-on demonstration of worm composting; making plant labels out of a variety of materials; seeing an example of square foot gardening; making seed balls and seed starting containers; and learning how to start plants from seed.

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And here’s a heads-up about an important event hitting our town in April.

The second annual Challenger Miracle Field Fete has been scheduled for Friday April 13 at the Arbor Loft in downtown Rochester.

Anybody who’s anybody will be attending this festive, fancy celebration, which will feature food and drink, a live and silent auction, and entertainment. You’ll also hear a lot about what a great facility Miracle Field already is, and how your support can make it even better by helping build a pavilion, concession stand, accessible restrooms and a Play with Possibilities Playground.

I am pleased to also report that my close friends Jim, Mary and Katie Holleran are honorary chairs for the event.

Tickets are $100 each and can be reserved by clicking here.

Challenger Miracle Field is located in Ridge Park, behind Town Hall on Van Ingen Drive.  To read more about this tremendous facility, click here.

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She’s baaaaack!

22 Feb

You would think, with a week off of school, I would be taking advantage of all the free time I have to be writing up a storm.

Turns out, that has not quite been the case.

I did, indeed have a long list of things I wanted to accomplish this week. It included buy a dishwasher, buy a printer, clean off computer files, clean out crawl space, finish column, start new column, make gig bag, finish EPK, work on bowling program, buy socks…. and tucked somewhere in there was the word “blog.” In large part because the column was on deadline and the “clean off computer files” task took more than 3 days, I never quite got around to updating this blog in the last week.

Today I try to correct that oversight.

I’ve already blogged about Spry Middle School’s production of Bye Bye Birdie Jr., which will take the stage for three performances March 9 at 7:30, and March 10 at 2:30 and 7:30. Tickets are $7 each and will be available beginning Monday February 26 by clicking here.

Spry Middle School is at 119 South Avenue in the village of Webster.

Just a few weeks later, Webster Thomas High School will present their spring musical, Pippin.

pippinPippin is the story of a young prince, told by a traveling troupe of actors led by the cunning and charming Leading Player. The prince is heir to the throne, searching for his own “corner of the sky.” Pippin returns from university certain that he will find a fulfilling purpose in life. As encouraged by the Leading Player, Pippin dabbles in bloody battle, temptations of the flesh, and savvy political maneuvers, only to discover that true happiness is more complicated than he thought.

The show is peppered with infectious tunes by Stephen Schwartz and classic choreography from Bob Fosse, and promises to be a humorous, exciting adventure.

Pippin will be presented on Thursday March 22, Friday March 23 and Saturday March 24 at 7:30 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday.

Tickets are $12.00, available online now by clicking here. They’ll also be available at the door.

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Help out puppies in need next week

16 Feb

A couple of fun events coming up I want to throw out there today.

I just saw this notice on Facebook from Knucklehead Craft Brewing in West Webster:

Did you know Friday February 23 is International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day? To celebrate, stop in to Knucklehead on Wednesday, 2/21/18 and bring a pre-packed dog biscuit treat for your chance to Spin The Wheel and win a prize. No cost needed other than your donation of a pre-packed dog biscuit treat. We will donate all packages to Lollypop Farm to share with their dogs!

Remember that you’ll only be able to spin the wheel if you bring in your dog biscuits on Wednesday February 21. But it’s OK if you want to bring them on International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day on Friday as well. I mean, you gotta celebrate, right? And I’m sure they’ll go to a good home.

Knucklehead Craft Brewing is located at 426 Ridge Road in West Webster (at the corner of Bay).

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Some of the cast: (Front) Ryan Parody and Carenza Glastonbury. (Back) Anna Holley, Lizzy Clark, Cameron Stone, Madeleine Tischner, Analiesse Brown, and Lily Ippolito. 

Rock & roll comes to the Spry Middle School Stage on March 9 and 10 when the Spry Drama Club presents Bye Bye Birdie Jr.

Broadway audiences have been long familiar with this family-friendly, upbeat comedy about rock & roll idol Conrad Birdie and his star-struck fans. The dancing is fun, the music is infectious and the laughs are plentiful.

Bye Bye Birdie Jr. will be staged in three performances on Friday, March 9 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 10 at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. in the Spry Middle School Auditorium, 119 South Avenue.  Advance tickets are $7 each, and the shows are expected to sell out (it’s a small auditorium). Tickets go on sale February 26. Click here to get yours. If any remain, they will be sold at the door.

Sam Nagar, Bridget McNamara, Sam Sozio and Carenza Glastonbury.
(Front row) Shelby Boise and Anika Peterson. (Back row) Angelina Buechel, Lucas Alvarez, Genevieve VonAhnen and Juliana Farmen.
Brendan Mathewson, Roman Snyder and Aydan Baier.

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Ping pong and basketball news

13 Feb

Thanks to Debbie Kazimer for sending me the following information about the ping pong tournament held at Thomas High School Tuesday afternoon.

The charity tournament was organized by National Honor Society seniors Ben Kazimer, Matt Hill, David Tomer and Will Johnson to benefit Honor Flight, Rochester.

Thirty-two players participated in the tournament, including Superintendent Carmen Gumina, who challenged Ben to a match. Ben won in two very close games. Gumina and Ben each bet $20, and Ben donated his winnings to Honor Flight.

Webster Thomas principal Glenn Widor and several teachers also played in the tournament.

The boys succeeded in raising $1,000 for Honor Flight, an amazing achievement which reflected the hard work they put into organizing the tournament. Not pictured here are all of the raffle donations they collected from local businesses; they even got the trophies donated.

Our young people in Webster are something special.

Ben Kazimer with Superintendent Gumina
Tournament organizers Matt Hill, Ben Kazimer, David Tomer and Will Johnson
The top three winners with their prizes
Honor Flight representatives

 

And now, BASKETBALL!

The annual benefit basketball game sponsored by the Willink and Spry middle school student councils returns this year, but with a twist.

Or maybe a roll.

The annual game, scheduled for Friday March 2, pits students against students and (usually) staff against staff. But this year there’s an exciting new feature:  special guests the Rochester Wheels wheelchair basketball team will be joining the fun.

The sixth graders start the competition with boys versus boys followed by girls versus girls. They’re followed by the seventh and eighth graders playing together, with the boys starting and the girls finishing.

Finally, the Spry and Willink staff will team up this year to take on Rochester Wheels. That game alone will be worth the price of admission.

The two middle school student councils have raised tens of thousands of dollars over the years for an array of worthy causes. This year Spry Student Council is donating its proceeds to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and Willink Student Council is donating its share to the Jack Foundation.

The game will be held on Friday, March 2 at 7 p.m. in the Webster Schroeder High School gym. Tickets are available for students to purchase during most lunches at both schools, and for all to buy at the door for a donation of $5 each. Refreshments and other concessions will be available for purchase. Additional donations of any amount are gladly accepted.

This is an awesome family-friendly, community event which will benefit some great community organizations. Everyone is invited to join in the fun.

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Stop the presses!

13 Feb

I only got this notification yesterday afternoon, but it sounds like a fun and worthwhile event which I need to pass along.

ping pong

Come to Webster Thomas High School on Feb 13th from 3 to 5 p.m. National Honor Society Seniors Ben Kazimer, Matt Hill, David Tomer and Will Johnson are hosting a Charity Ping Pong Tournament. All proceeds will go to Honor Flight, Rochester.

Honor Flight is a nonprofit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans and transports them to Washington DC to visit their Memorials free of charge. Superintendent Carm Gumina has challenged Ben to a 1-on-1 game. There will be multiple games at once and winners will receive trophies and gift cards donated by local businesses. Should be a fun time. Honor Flight reps will be on hand to help support this event.

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Webster Thursday Mailbag

7 Feb

Enjolras and cast

First thing I want to do in today’s mailbag is remind everyone that Les Miserables opens Thursday night at Webster Schroeder High School.

If you know the story and the music, you know why you want to see this production. If you don’t know the story or the music, trust me — you’ll want to see this production. I got a taste of it several weeks ago when I was working on another article for the D&C, and even though the numbers were still very rough around the edges, I came away very impressed.

I got my tickets about a week ago, and they were already pretty scarce. You can take your chances at the door, or go online here to purchase them for will-call.

Showtimes are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12 each and reserved seating only.

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A quick shout-out to the Webster Rotary Club, who this Saturday will be welcoming home members of the 3-126 AVN Army National Guard platoon, who are returning from a 6-month tour in Afghanistan.

 

This is the eighth platoon the Rotary has sponsored in the last nine years. Normally the platoons have been from Fort Drum, but this time the Rotary was able to connect with a local unit from the New York Army National Guard.

To date the Webster Rotary has sent 536 care packages to the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The celebration is being held at the National Guard Reserve Center in Chili.

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Show the love this Valentine’s Day by donating blood. Two blood drives coming up in Webster next week make that easy to fit into your schedule.

The first is Monday February 12 at Holy Trinity Church, 1460 Ridge Road (east of Phillips Road), from 1 to 7 p.m. The second is Tuesday February 13 at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church, 813 Bay Road, from 1 to 6 p.m.

Call 1-800-RED CROSS  (733-2767) to make an appointment, or just stop in. It will only take ah hour out of your day, and will help save three lives.

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The First Baptist Church of Penfield’s next Flapjack Saturday Community Fundraiser will be held Saturday January 20, from 8 to 10 a.m.

The  menu includes pancakes, pure maple syrup, scrambled eggs, sausage, and more for just $5.00 per person.

All February proceeds will benefit RESOLVE, a group dedicated to intervening and preventing domestic and sexual violence against women.

Breakfast is served at the church, 1862 Penfield Road. The venue is handicap-accessible. For more information, call 585-586-2876, log onto http://www.fbpenfield.org, or visit them on Facebook.

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Do you have a little one starting kindergarten this fall? This notice is for you.

The first opportunity for parents to register their children for kindergarten is during Kindergarten Parent Orientation on Tuesday, February 27, at 6:30 p.m. at your student’s school.  Parents will have an opportunity to learn about the kindergarten program, meet staff, and tour the school.

Kindergarten registration packets and all related paperwork for the 2018-19 school year are now available on the district website and in all elementary schools. To download the packet, go to websterschools.org, click the Central Registration button, then the REGISTRATION – 2018-19 Kindergarten link located on the left side of the page. The packet and related paperwork are located at the bottom of the page under Downloads.

Parents who cannot attend Kindergarten Parent Orientation may take the completed paperwork and all necessary documents to their children’s school during Walk-in Registration Days, February 28-March 2, 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Staff will be available to review your paperwork as you wait.

 

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The Filling Station is open for dinner!

7 Feb

IMG_7679

After what seemed like forever, the news everyone has been waiting for has finally come — The Filling Station will finally be open for lunch — AND dinner — starting this evening.

That is, barring unseen complications or a snowstorm keeping them from driving to Buffalo and picking up their liquor license this morning. But Wendy assures me there’s no way that’s going to happen. Sounds like they would hire an actual snowplow to get there and back if need be.

For the last three days the new pub and grill at 77 East Main Street has only been open for lunch, lacking that magical liquor license. But even so, they saw a steady stream of customers, old and new friends showing their love and support.

And they’re very appreciative.

So starting today, the new Filling Station hours will be Monday and Tuesday 11 a.m to 11 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday 11 to midnight and Sundays noon to 11.

Connect with them on Facebook and on the web.

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Bella’s Bumbas feeling the love

5 Feb

Marty with chair

A few weeks ago, you might remember seeing a story in the D&C (which I reposted here in my blog) about Bella’s Bumbas, a terrific Webster-based organization run by Rebecca Orr and her husband Marty Parzynski, dedicated to building miniature wheelchairs for children with a wide variety of mobility issues. Already, more than 250 have been shipped around the world.

Marty and Rebecca don’t charge anything for the chairs they build, asking only that each family cover the shipping cost.  So, basically, Bella’s Bumbas relies on donations of money and materials like seats, tires and bubble wrap.

They’ve already been getting a lot of support from local businesses and kindhearted individuals. But since my article appeared … well, let me quote the excited text I got from Rebecca:

Just wanted to let you know something’s going on since/due to your article. (Webster Library staff members) are now collecting air packs and bubble wrap and have an ENTIRE can full so far and more to pick up. Webster Presbyterian Church donated $500, a local businessman’s club brought us a check for $2,000, someone is sending us 100 summer seats, and 15 high backs, plus some smaller cash donations and (we) have made about 30 more chairs!

I wanted to share that text with everyone for two reasons:

  • Thank you to everyone who have sent donations of any kind to Marty and Rebecca. They are wonderful people who are making children smile, in most cases providing these children the ability to move around on their own for the first time in their lives.
  • Please consider showing your support. Believe it or not, one of the things they really need is bubble wrap. Just like the staff members at the library, perhaps the people at your place of work could start saving the bubble wrap in the deliveries you get.

Monetary donations are being collected at Bella’s Bumbas GoFundMe page, or you can send a check directly to Bella’s Bumbas, 1170 Ridge Road, PMB 208, Webster, NY 14580.

And definitely visit the Bella’s Bumba Facebook page, where you can get more information and see videos of many of the kids these chairs has helped. So many smiling faces, as these children discover mobility for the very first time in their lives.

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Good news from the Filling Station

3 Feb

IMG_7679

This is news everyone has been waiting for … sort of.

The new Filling Station Pub and Grill will open beginning tomorrow, Sunday February 4, for lunches only. They’re still working on getting a transfer of their liquor license, so thy can’t serve liquor yet, but hopefully that will also happen soon.

So for right now, hours will be Monday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday noon to 5 p.m.

The Filling Station is located at 77 East Main Street in the old Burger King/Original Mac and Cheez building.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram

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