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Blood donations tend to drop off precipitously in the summer as people start taking vacations or decide they’d rather hang by the pool. But the need for blood does not. That’s why it’s especially important to try to make one of these drives coming up in the next few days:

Tomorrow, June 28, there are two drives not far from us here in Webster.

• One is at St. Ambrose Academy of Peace of Christ Parish, 31 Empire Blvd. (across the street from Donuts Delite) from 2 to 7 p.m.
• A second one tomorrow is at the Penfield Community Center, 1985 Baird Rd., from 2 to 7 p.m.
• On Monday July 1, there’s one even closer to home, at the American Legion, 818 Ridge Rd. in Webster, from 1 to 6 p.m.

You can make an appointment by calling 1-800-RED CROSS, or just walk in. They’d love to see you either way.

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A quick shout-out this morning to some unsung heroes.

My friend Jim Lockwood sent me this photo a few days ago of several members of the New York National Guard unit from Queens, helping out at the lakefront. He wrote,

I watched these young National Guard soldiers sandbagging along the shore of Shipbuilder’s Creek lake outlet ( Forest Lawn) this morning. The sandbags really get heavy! The work is hard and the morning sun was getting warm. These young and some not so young troopers eagerly continued with today’s mission to shore up creek to prevent further flooding. I did chat with them for a minute, they are glad to be here and able to help.

These fellow were among many others helping out Wednesday. Thank you for all you’re doing!

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And they’re off!

Wednesday was a glorious day for a marathon!

At Plank Rd. North Elementary School, the entire student body came out to cheer on the school’s pre-K and kindergarten students as they completed their first-ever marathon.

The young racers have been working on the daunting distance since the beginning of the school year, running as much as a quarter mile every time they went outside. On Wednesday, they finally finished the whole 26.2 miles by running 1/8-mile laps around a coned-off track (one lap for pre-k and two laps for kindergarten).

In addition to having hundreds of fellow students and parents cheering them on, each runner was given an official numbered bib provided by Fleet Feet and — like real racers — began and ended their laps under an official Fleet Feet inflatable starting gate. Plus, each one received a medal after they completed their laps.

It was an exciting day for the whole school, but especially for these youngsters who are just now learning about the joys of running and the importance of staying healthy and fit. (I’m glad I wasn’t racing them. Some of them were REALLY fast.)

Here are a few more photos from the day:

And before I forget again, here are a few photos, courtesy Maureen Throumoulos, from the Special Olympics Annual Track and Field competition hosted at Webster Thomas High School last week.

About 500 athletes from nine area school districts took part in the event, which Webster hosted for the second year in a row.

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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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Just a quick note to say CONGRATULATIONS to Jean Wolf for being the first prize winner at the annual Webster Community Blood Drive being held this week!

Jean was one of the first donors to attend the drive on Wednesday, and walked away with a beautiful fruit basket donated by Schutt’s Apple Mill.

There are still almost 40 more raffle prizes up for grabs, including gift certificates galore to restaurants and shops, two more gift baskets, a grumbler gift pack from Knucklehead, and lots more!

The blood drive continues today at the Webster Recreation Center from noon to 7 p.m. Every donor who walks through the door will be handed ten raffle tickets, so there are lots of chances to win these incredible prizes.

So if you can spare an hour of your day today, please consider dropping in and helping save some lives with your donation. The Webster Recreation Center is located at 1350 Chiyoda Drive, just north of the Village of Webster.

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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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There’s a party going on in Webster on Saturday June 8, and thousands of special guests have been invited.

It’s the Rochester Tour de Cure, which takes place all day Saturday in one of Xerox’s big, empty parking lots on Chiyoda Drive across from the Webster Recreation Center.

My riding buddy Charlene and me after a training ride

Almost 2,000 participants are already signed up this year, who will either be riding (anywhere from 3.5 miles to 100 miles), running or walking (3.5 miles), while raising money to benefit the American Diabetes Association. As of this morning, more than $1,050,000 has been raised, closing in on the event goal of $1,200,000.

I am proud to be a part of this event for the first time this year, a member of the Amiel’s Original Submarine team. I’ll be hopping on my bike for the 25-mile route, which will take us east to Ontario Center Road, south to the Walworth area, then back west along Whitney and State roads to 250, then north back to Webster.

I tell you all this not because I’m still looking for donations to this great cause (but if you feel like throwing me some bucks for this great cause, please do!!!) Mostly I want to warn you to keep an eye out for riders this Saturday as you’re driving along Lake Road, in particular, but also pretty much everywhere on the east side, because there are going to be a lot of us.

Plus, if you see a bunch of tents and bands and people hanging out that morning at Xerox, you’ll know what it’s all about. Webster is fortunate to be able to host this important event.

There’s still time to sign up, and ride or walk. Click here for more information. If you’d just like to donate to the cause, I’m happy to help! Click here to go to my personal page.

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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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The winning team: (L-R) Michael Loux, Dominic Ianniello, Robert Kenny and Matt Schilling with Plank South librarian Janet Bresin.

Congratulations to the Bookasaurus Rex team from Plank South Elementary School, who won a head-to-head battle with Plank North’s Komedy Klan earlier this week in the final 2019 Battle of the Books battle.

Battle of the Books is a two-month long weekly contest which pits students in each of the school’s fifth grade classes against one another in a challenge which tests the students’ knowledge of literature. The students divide themselves up into three-or-four person teams and come up with fanciful team names like the “Mysterious Monkeys,” “The Skinny Carrots” and the “The Little Einsteins.” Then they try to become experts in the eight different books chosen for that year’s competition.

In each of the first three rounds, held during the classes’ normal library time, the teams are asked 16 questions — two from each book. The top scoring team from each class then moved on to the final round.

The Komedy Klan came in first pace at Plank North and Bookasaurus Rex at Plank South. The final battle on Wednesday was extremely close. The Komedy Klan missed just one question, but the Bookasaurus Rex team didn’t miss any. 

Plank North is just one of many schools in our district which hold this annual event. Kudos to the dedicated librarians who spend so much time organizing the battles and finding such a creative way to encourage our children to read and love books.

The Komedy Klan: Lucas Hill, Sam DuPont, Aidan Tosto and Michael Leonard with Plank North librarian Gretchen Pulver

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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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One of the reasons I wanted to move into the Village of Webster was to be walking distance from all of the village’s concerts, special events and parades. I knew it would be really neat to be able to step out my door and be five minutes or less from all sorts of great entertainment.

I got that wish this morning when I basically walked across the street to Spry Middle School, where the Memorial Day Parade was lining up.

We lucked out yet again with gorgeous weather for the parade, so aside from the fact I posted the wrong start time in my blog (which screwed me up as well as many other people, I suspect) it was a perfect day.

It seemed to me that the crowds were a little lighter than usual along the parade route and at the cemetery, but everyone who was there enjoyed a nice patriotic display befitting the solemn occasion we celebrated today.

I took a LOT of photos (I’m sure that doesn’t surprise you). Click here for the full gallery.

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.