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Three special events this weekend

2 Aug

There are some really neat events coming up today and tomorrow that I wanted to make sure everyone heard about.

If you can remember back to the Relay for Life scheduled at Thomas High School the first week of June, you might also remember that the weather that night was stinky. Not only was the Relay washed out, so was one of its most meaningful ceremonies, the Luminaria walk.

In the Luminaria ceremony, people light candles inside paper bags decorated with messages for loved ones who are fighting cancer right now, and who have lost that fight. When the ceremony is done at the Relay for Life, the bags are lined up all around the track, while everyone makes a memorial lap. That was not possible with the rains we had that night.

But this evening, weather permitting, the Luminaria Ceremony will take place. Plans are to gather at Veterans Memorial Park in the village of Webster during the regular Friday Night Gazebo Concert (tonight’s features Barry’s Crossing), and place the luminaria around the park, up an alleyway, onto Main Street and back down North Avenue to the gazebo.  Everyone will be invited to join in the luminaria lap through the village after the concert.

We all know someone who has been touched by cancer. This is a beautiful way to honor them.

Tonight’s concert runs from 7-9 pm (bring blankets and lawn chairs) and the ceremony will follow immediately afterwards.

* * *

Tomorrow, also at Veterans Park, the first-ever Webster Folk Festival will kick off at 1 pm. Seven different local folk groups will headline the festival, and a handful of smaller groups will fill in during the set breaks, assuring seven hours of non-stop music.  Musicians are invited to bring their instruments and sit in at the jam tent and there’ll be workshops in fiddle, ukelele, guitar  and drums, and an instrument petting zoo. Several village restaurants will offer refreshments.  There will be a big tent set up so you can get out of the sun, or bring your blankets and coolers and stretch out in the grass.

The music begins at 1 pm, and will continue in the village even after dark, as several of the performers will be playing gigs at Barry’s Old School Irish and Hatter’s Pub.

For more information and a schedule of performers, check out the Webster Folk Festival website and the Facebook page.

* * *

If you’re more into hiking than music, consider attending the grand opening and dedication of the new Eva and Harlan Braman Preserve, on Ridge Road just east of Basket Road.

The preserve is comprised of about 60 acres of successional field, previously farmed, and about 11 acres of mature forest. In the recent past, the property provided important successional field habitat for bobolinks and other birds, including migratory birds.

The Eva and Harlan Braman Preserve was donated to Genesee Land Trust by Laurel Bruns and her brother, Gary Braman, in December of 2011.This gift is in honor of their grandparents, Eva and Harlan Braman.  Remembering a childhood of eating apples grown in her grandfather’s orchards, Laurel thought about the future of this beautiful natural setting and talked with her brother about turning it into a preserve that could be enjoyed by wildlife and by people.

Saturday morning’s ceremony will begin at 10 am with light refreshments, followed by the dedication at 10:30.  You’ll get a sense of the beauty of this preserve as you hike the half mile trail from the parking lot to the dedication site.  Be sure to wear sturdy boots (the grass can be high in places) and be prepared for birds and bugs.

For detailed driving directions, a trail map and more photos, visit the Genesee Land Trust website.

 

 

The spray park is back!

26 Jul

I received some good news from the Town yesterday. In Supervisor Ron Nesbitt’s weekly column, he announced that the spray park at Ridgecrest is up and running again.

Here in pretty much its entirety is what Supervisor Nesbitt wrote, which explains very well what the problem was all this time.

When the town sold the Ridgecrest building, the water line that ran from Ridgecrest to the spray park did not belong to the town any longer. That caused the town quite a few problems to get the spray park up and running again.  The town needed an easement from the Webster Firemen Association to get to a fire hydrant in the circle of the firemen’s property. We needed permission and plans that needed to be looked at by the Monroe County Water Authority. We needed a smaller tract shovel to dig the hole from the circle to the spray park so we didn’t destroy the parking lot. We had to schedule the time with the Highway Department and the Parks Department to get the work done when they had crews available. That all took time plus we needed to order parts for the park after the water line was in because we found out that many parts had become broken over time.

However, having endured the test of time and your patience the spray park is now open again for your enjoyment on the hot days we have left this summer.

Thanks to our Highway and Parks crews for their help in resolving the broken spray park issue.

So spread the word and get out there and get wet!

 

One more thought from the bike path

26 Jul

Near where the path begins at Salt Road, it’s particularly icky

You remember a little while ago I posted a blog about the bike path that runs along Rt. 104? My husband and I have become very familiar with the section between Five Mile Line Road and Phillips, having ridden it at least a dozen times in the last six weeks to visit the village.

Well, on a recent trip to the village, we decided to get crazy and follow the path all the way to its eastern terminus at Salt Road. It was only another mile, I thought, and it might turn out to be the nicest part of the trail.

Boy, was I wrong.

That last (first) mile of the bike path from Phillips to Salt is in awful repair. Don’t get me wrong — there are parts where it’s pretty, twisty and lined with reeds and cat-tails, and buffered from the highway by mature vegetation. But the path itself is bumpy and broken up, just gravel in some places, and with grass growing through in others. It lies in a wet, marshy area, which probably makes it harder to maintain.  But a friend who lives near there tells me that the poor condition of the path in that section is mainly due to its frequent use by snowmobilers in the winter.

The 104 Bike Path is a terrific resource for our town and there’s much to be said for allowing all residents to use it, all seasons of the year.  Precisely for those reasons, the town or the state — or whoever is responsible — should perhaps start focusing more on its upkeep.

Grassy strips like this are common in the Salt-to-Phillips section.

Friends of Webster Trails get help from Eagle Scout

26 Jul

Today I bring you news of another Eagle Scout doing great things for our community.  He is Sullivan Easley of Troop 363, who chose to work with the Friends of Webster Trails (FWT) to complete his Eagle Scout project.

Thank you to Alisa Kokx for sending along the following article, which I have stolen from liberally. (OK, almost completely.)

A love of nature leads Sullivan (Sully) J. Easley of Troop 363 to complete his Eagle Scout project with FWT

Easley’s project included building six nesting boxes, which were installed at Whiting Road Nature Preserve, Gosnell Big Woods Preserve and Four Mile Creek Preserve. Easley also led a trail work effort on the future phase of the Green Trail at Whiting Road. Both project aspects were coordinated through Friends of Webster Trails.

Taran Bauer and Sully Easley (wearing hat) remove roots and vines where the future section of trail will go at Whiting Road Nature Preserve.

The nesting boxes will offer homes for screech owls and wood ducks. Per Easley, “I choose this project because I was interested in doing a project for FWT and I like wildlife. I first learned about FWT from taking part in a fellow Scout’s Eagle Scout Project at the Bird Sanctuary Trail last year. I was surprised by how many trails there are in Webster and by how many people use the trails.” Easley adds, “I learned a lot more about wood ducks and how they are present in Webster. Although they are not endangered, their nesting grounds are. They are tree nesters and like to live in abandoned woodpecker holes so the draining and clearing of forested wetlands for agriculture and timber and hunting in the early 1900s significantly reduced their numbers. Through conservation efforts and the installation of nesting boxes starting in 1930s, their populations are back.”

As part of his project, Easley also led a group of volunteers to help clear the future section of the Green Trail at Whiting Road Nature Preserve which will be opened later this fall once FWT completes the trail’s grading. FWT Trails Committee Chair Jeff Darling said, “Sully and his group of volunteers were instrumental in clearing mounds of multiflora rose and vines so we can site the new section of trail properly. This new trail will allow users to enjoy the northern 25 acres of the preserve and a view of Lake Ontario.”

In late April, Easley asked FWT’s Volunteer Project Coordinator, Alisa Kokx, for help identifying a meaningful project. All of the planning, purchasing of materials, building, installing, and trail work took place within the last two months. Easley was very determined to get this project completed since his family was moving out of state in early July. Per Kokx, “This was an amazing amount of effort and coordination for Sully with a short timeline. A typical Eagle Scout project usually takes six or more months. It was apparent that Sully was working on an aspect of his project practically every day in order to complete it prior to his family’s move. He did a great job planning all the details, organizing volunteers, and executing a very successful project … plus balancing school, various activities, and a family move.”

Easley led 26 volunteers on various aspects of the project totaling 203 volunteers hours. That’s pretty amazing for a youngster who just completed 8th grade at Willink Middle School.

Sully Easley and his volunteers install a nesting box at Gosnell Big Woods Preserve. From left to right: Andrew Streit, Derek Sahrle, Bill Wheatley (Troop 363 Asst. Scoutmaster), Sully Easley, Quentin Sahrle, Nick Bober, Kevin Thompson and Darwin Pray.

 

Thoughts on the Bike Path

2 Jul

Have you had a chance to check out the bike path along Route 104 yet?  For sure you’ve seen it as you’ve driven along the highway, and if you’ve ever walked along the sidewalk in front of North Ponds Park, you’ve actually been on it.  But have you actually ever explored it on your bike?

My husband and I logged a lot of miles on it last month, as I tackled my YCMA Staff Triathlon in June.   And one of the things I noticed on our rides is that it doesn’t seem to get much use.  In the last 35 days I’ve probably almost 50 miles back and forth from my home to the village, and (aside from North Ponds and dog walkers in the village)  I’ll bet I passed fewer than a dozen people.

I think part of the reason for that is that the path has gotten a bad rap. It’s completely paved, but there are several sections where the pavement, due to tree roots or frost heaving, is very uneven. My fancy new mountain bike, with shock-absorbing springs built into the frame, take the speed bumps pretty well. But I do feel sorry for anyone (of the male persuasion in particular) who does not think to stand up out of the seat as they ride over these outcroppings.

But you won’t find them along the entire length of the 6.1-mile trail, and there’s an entire section where the town has made an effort to smooth some of them over. And despite the fact that much of the route butts up right against the busy highway, there are many isolated and quite peaceful sections, especially east of North Avenue (Rt. 250) in the village, heading towards Phillips.

I must admit that before I started this Triathlon challenge, I had never been on the trail before myself. But now I can’t wait to spend a day, ride to the village for lunch, and then ride its whole length from Salt Road to Bay Road.  I hope to see you on it.

* * *
The 6.1-mile Rt. 104 Bike Trail can be accessed at any of the roads crossing route 104, including Salt Road, Phillips Road, North Ave. (route 250), Holt Road, Hard Road, Five Mile Line, Gravel Road, Maple Drive and Bay Rd.  If you’re packing your bikes in the car, parking is most convenient at North Ponds Park.

And while you’re there, the Bird Sanctuary Trail and the Hojack Trail are within spitting distance of North Ponds Park (not to mention the 1-mile long North Ponds Loop Trail). Make a day of it and explore some of Webster’s great natural resources.

Check out the Friends of Webster Trails website for more information about our town’s terrific trail system.

 

 

So when WILL the spray park be open?

25 Jun

I happened to notice the other day that the Ridgecrest spray park is STILL not operational.  It was put out of commission all last summer when the old Webster Rec Center was purchased and some legal and electrical issues messed things up.

Coincidentally, I also received a question a day or two ago from a reader about the spray park, thinking that I might know when it was going to open.

I didn’t. I usually never actually know these things, but I do know who to contact to find out. So I dropped at email to my contacts at the Rec Department.  But before I could hear back, I saw a story on Channel 10 News which explained everything.

Short story is, it’s not open yet, but the town hopes to have it open by July 31.

Click here to see the story.

 

Thursday mailbag

20 Jun

I’ve got pages and pages of events to tell you about.

Wait. This is digital. It’s all one page.  OK, I have one verrrrrry long page of events to tell you about, so get your calendars.

Webster’s first Helping Hands in the Village promotion is going on right now, and runs through Saturday the 22nd.  During this event, participating retailers donate a portion of their sales the the whole week to a selected local charity.

This week the following businesses are participating:  Yesterday’s Muse Books, The Coach Sports Bar, Metro Sports Brokers, Webster Gourmet, Professional Nutrition Services, Finns Garage, Beyond Cuts Salon and The Goodie Shop.

The selected charities include Webster Hope House, Webster Monarch House, The Webster Museum, Relay for Life to Fight Cancer, Webster Comfort Care Home and the Webster Assoc. of Senior Program Support.

* * *

Fourth of July fireworks come a little early this summer to Webster.

The Summer Celebration will be held on Saturday June 22 from 4-10 pm at the Webster Recreation Center, 1350 Chiyoda Drive. This is a terrific family event with hot dogs, hamburgers, sausage, pizza, ice cream. games and crafts, land inflatables, a zip line, laser tag, and lots more.

Entertainers will keep the event hopping all afternoon and evening, headlined by the Empire Statesmen at 5:30, the West View Project at 6:15, and the Skycoasters at 7:15. And of course, there’ll be fireworks, beginning at 9:45.

Bring a blanket and some lawn chairs and have some summertime fun with friends and family.

* * *

Webster Thomas’ Cross Country team will host its third annual 12-hour relay to raise money for Reece’s Rainbow, an organization that facilitates international adoptions for children with Down syndrome. This year’s event will be held Saturday June 22, from 9 am to 9 pm at the Webster Thomas track. This year’s event, dubbed the “Run for Edik,” will support the adoption fund for Edik, a Ukrainian infant adopted by the Braithwaite family of Victor and awaiting his homecoming to the United States.

Current, future, and former Webster Thomas Cross Country runners and their friends will converge on the Thomas track for the relay Run for Edik. Teams of 10 runners will send one member of their team at a time to run one mile around the track before passing a baton off to a teammate. It is anticipated that each runner will have completed a total of between 7-10 miles by the end of the 12-hour relay.

Prior to the event, participating runners will solicit tax-deductible donations to Reece’s Rainbow to support Edik’s adoption fund. Donors may also contribute by visiting http://lightingourseps.blogspot.com.

* * *

A walk-a-thon scheduled for next week will raise money to send teens to summer camp.

The Walk-A-Thon for Young Life will be held at North Ponds Park on Tuesday June 25, starting at 6 pm (rain date June 27). Money raised will help send teens to Saranac Camp this summer. A portion will also help pay for buses to transport them.  Cold Stone Creamery will be on hand, and will be donating a portion of their profits to help pay for the buses as well.

Young Life is a Christian outreach to high school and middle school teens. The group’s goal is to develop friendships with teens and share the good news of God’s love for them. For more details on Young Life in Rochester East please visit our site Youngliferoc.com.

* * *

Also on Tuesday June 25, Cherry Ridge will host a free concert as part of their “Under the Stars” summer concert series.

The Gateswingers Big Band will perform from 6:30-8 pm on the Cherry Ridge Lawn. Cherry Ridge is located on Ridge Road in Webster, across from Webster Schroeder High School.

The community at large is invited to attend this free event and attendees are encouraged to bring their own lawn chair. The Gateswingers Big Band is an exciting 15 piece band featuring swing sounds of the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and present day. In case of inclement weather, the concert will be held indoors at the Cherry Ridge Community Center.

* * *

The Webster High School Marching Band is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and hope to celebrate with a trip to Philadelphia for the National Championships.

To raise money for that trip, he band will hold a fund-raiser at Hank’s on Wednesday June 26. Hank’s Ice Cream & Roast Beef on North Avenue will donate to the band a portion of their sales from 5-8 pm that evening.

So plan on taking the family out for dinner and ice cream at Hank’s next Wednesday, and help out a great local organization.

* * *

Citizens Against Teen Suicide…& bullying abuse!-C.A.T.S., is sponsoring a Community Forum on Bullying and Cyberbullying at the Webster Public Library on Thursday June 27 from 6-8 pm. The forum is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served compliments of the Red Wings.

* * *

And finally…. This is not an event but instead, news of a proud achievement.

Maplewood Nursing & Rehabilitation skilled nursing facility in Webster recently announced that Physical Therapy Aide Ann Shanders has been named as CNA of the Year for District 9 of New York State Health Facilities Association (NYSHFA).

The award was given by NYSHFA’s Clinical & Quality Services Committee as part of the Association’s 2013 Employee Recognition Awards Program held in May. The program honors individuals for their outstanding contributions to skilled nursing facilities. Ann was nominated by a group including Maplewood administration, fellow employees, and residents’ family members.

Congratulations, Ann!

 

 

 

Frisbee golf is coming to North Ponds

18 Jun

This is some fun news.  By the end of the summer, Webster will very likely have its own Frisbee golf course at North Ponds Park.

The proposal was overwhelmingly approved at a recent Town Board meeting where, according to Webster Parks and Recreation Commissioner Mark Yaeger, the board members agreed that “this is a great passive activity for the park,” with the added benefit of helping to keep the geese population there under control.

The original idea to bring Frisbee golf to Webster came from Ryan Hand, president of the Greater Rochester Disc Golf Club, who first proposed that it be located at the Arboretum.  After much deliberation, it was decided that the Arboretum wasn’t conducive for the course.  So Hand took the idea to Yaeger at the Webster Recreation Center, they mapped out a plan for North Ponds, and the rest is history.

Or hopefully, it will be very soon.

The 9-hole course will be laid out out between the two ponds (see the map below). Hand hopes to have it ready for play by the end of July, with a grand opening celebration in early August.

 

To market, to market…

6 Jun

Don’t pay attention to the calendar. Summer has officially begun.

A typical Saturday at last year’s market

I know this, because Webster’s Joe Obbie Farmer’s Market opens for the season on Saturday at Webster Town Centre (Target/Kohl’s Plaza) on Holt Road.

The market will run from 8 am – 12:30 pm every Saturday through November 2, AND Wednesday evenings from 3-7 pm, rain or shine.

The market is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and it keeps getting bigger and better, especially since it moved from its village location to the plaza a year ago. Varying with the season, you’ll find baked goods, pies, meats, poultry, goat cheese and goat cheese products, flavored nuts herbs, spice blends, honey, maple syrup, cider, soap and body care products, plants and cut flowers, jewelry, crafts and of course a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.

Don’t forget to bring the kids, too, because the Girl Scouts host a children’s activity area each week in the gazebo.

Special events and entertainment are scheduled every week; this weekend a grand opening celebration will be held at 10 am, kicked off by a flag ceremony presented by the Girl Scouts. Live music by the Callanach Band will keep your toes tapping all morning.

Check out the Joe Obbie Farmer’s Market website for details. See you Saturday!

 

 

 

Bay View’s new Adventure Complex shows what a community can accomplish

2 Jun

George Romell, CEO of the YMCA of Greater Rochester, speaks at the dedication ceremony.

On Saturday morning I was pleased to be in the crowd as George Romell, CEO of the YMCA of Greater Rochester, and Mike Stevens, Director of the Bay View Family YMCA, officially dedicated Bay View’s new “Adventure Campus.”  The beautiful new climbing complex replaces the very popular climbing tower which was destroyed by arson a year ago this month.

And it is a thing of beauty. The new Adventure Campus features a dual zip-line tower, bouldering playground, and of course a brand new, 5-person, 36-foot tall climbing tower.

But the YMCA didn’t stop there when they planned out the new complex, and that’s one of the things I like best about it all. Everything about the Adventure Campus is completely handicap-accessible. A series of new gravel pathways leading to the campus — and even to the end of the zip-line — allows easy wheelchair access.  The bouldering playground was created with sensory-friendly material in consideration of the many autistic children who attend camp there every summer.  The zip-line tower is even equipped with a lift system, so those who cannot walk or climb stairs can be raised to the top of the tower and enjoy the exhilaration of a ride down the zip-line.

At the end of the dedication ceremony, Joe Gerard was given the honor of taking the first ride down the zip-line.  You may remember Joey; I wrote a blog or two about him.  He’s the young man who single-handedly raised more than $6,000 for the cause, $5 at a time, simply by selling hand-made woven bracelets.

There’s a plaque attached to one of the big rocks in the bouldering playground with the names of people and corporations who helped Bay View YMCA realize its dream to rebuild the tower before the 2013 camp season.  But there’s no way that plaque could include the names of every individual or business who donated money or raffle prizes, everyone who served on committees to plan special events, every preschooler who put their pennies in a jar. Because as Mike Stevens said Saturday morning, this was a community effort.

Bay View YMCA Board Chairman Wendy Latko also added something which I thought was very true. And I paraphrase (a.k.a., not getting the quote exact, but it’s pretty darn close):

My children couldn’t understand why someone would burn down the climbing wall. I tried to explain that sometimes people do bad things. It was a sad lesson. But my kids have learned an even better lesson today — that when bad things happen, people will come together to make things right.

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