Edna Struck Memorial Park is getting fixed

16 Oct

You may think you have no idea what the Edna Struck Memorial Park is, or where it’s located. But if you live in the village, chances are very good you’ve passed by it many a time, especially if you live on the east side.

Edna Struck Memorial Park is the grassy median where Lapham Park makes a slight jog at the corner of Elm St. It’s named in honor of Mrs. Struck, who made it her passion to tend the plants on the island for years.

In February of last year, someone was driving down Lapham Park much too fast and — instead of navigating the jog in the road — decided to drive right through the park, mowing down the trees and plants, and inflicting significant other damage.

Since that unfortunate incident, the village has been tossing around ideas about how to refurbish the median, including reinstalling the two memorial plaques honoring Edna Struck.

On my walk yesterday afternoon, I saw that work had begun. A handful of village employees were busy putting down and smoothing out some new topsoil. Jake Swingly, the village’s Superintendent of Public Works, told me the next step will be to plant some trees, then finish up the rest of the gardens next spring (as seen in the project proposal below).

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Trick-or-Treat Trail a no-go, but the costume contest is on!

14 Oct

It was sad news when we heard that the Village of Webster’s very popular Trick-or-Treat Trail was canceled this year. But perhaps this will help soften the blow: The costume contest will still go on!

It was actually County Legislator Matthew Terp who approached the village and suggested they try to hold the contest, one way or another.

“I helped judge it last year, and I was amazed by how much people put into their costumes and how excited people were for the event,” he said. He thought that bringing the contest back would be fun when everyone could really use some fun right about now.

The costume contest will, of course, look different this year (just like everything else). This year’s Village of Webster Costume Contest will be completely virtual, which means you can participate from the comfort of your own home.

Here’s how it works:

Email a photo of yourself in your costume to VOWcostumecontest@gmail.com no later than October 29 at midnight. Group costumes will also be accepted.

Judges will take a look at all the entries and award prizes. Winners will be announced on Oct. 31 (Halloween) by noon on the Village of Webster Facebook page (so make sure to “like” the page!) Winners will also be contacted via email and/or by phone, as long as you’ve included that information with your submission.

Winners will receive gift cards to a Village of Webster business of their choice.

All (appropriate) submissions will be featured on the Village’s Facebook page, so smile big! I’ll also post the winning photos here on my blog.

So go “like” the Village of Webster Facebook page, check back frequently for updates, and get working on those costumes!

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Got unused and expired drugs?

13 Oct

It’s time to clean out your medicine cabinet and get rid of all of those expired and unused pharmaceuticals that have been hanging around for years.

You especially want to do this if you still have children at home; the statistics about children abusing prescription drugs and overdosing are frightening, and much of that is happening because they can often easily find these drugs in their own bathrooms.

Here are some facts:

  • More than 160 children go to the ER every day from accidental overdose
  • Most people who abuse prescription opioids get them for free from a friend or relative
  • Kids as young as 12 are trying prescription drugs to get high
  • OTC cold, allergy and cough meds can cause serious harm in large doses

WHEN, the Webster Health and Education Network, is sponsoring an event next week to make it easy for you to clean out your cabinets.

It’s the Fall Drug Drop-off, on Saturday Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Webster Wastewater Treatment Facility, 226 Phillips Rd.

Registration is not required for this event, but if you sign up on their website, they can send you a reminder the day before the event.

And remember, there’s a pharmaceutical drop-box at Town Hall, 1000 Ridge Rd., just inside the doors to the police station, where you can drop off your unused pharmaceuticals any weekday during regular business hours.   

Items accepted at the drop box include any unused, unwanted or expired medication such as prescriptions, prescription patches, prescription medication, prescription ointments, over-the-counter medications, vitamins, samples and medications for pets. Items that are NOT accepted include hydrogen peroxide, inhalers, aerosol cans, ointments, lotions or liquids, thermometers, needles (sharps) and medication from businesses or clinics.

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The Town Times has gotten an upgrade

12 Oct

That glossy new magazine you recently got in the mail, with the gorgeous photo of the lake on the cover, wasn’t the latest AARP magazine, Wegmans circular or insurance flyer. It was Webster Today, the Town of Webster’s quarterly newsletter.

Webster Today is a new, improved version of the Town Times. Like the old Town Times, this new magazine format is packed with useful information. But the new clean and uncluttered, four-color glossy layout is a vast improvement.

Here are the things I particularly like:

  • a table of contents right on the front cover
  • a complete town government directory on the inside cover, perfect for tearing off and putting on the fridge
  • photos of the town board members
  • LOTS of information about the Rec Center
  • handsome photo illustrations and colorful charts

In this particular issue you’ll also find the 2021 budget laid out in detail. I’m talking 17 pages of detail.

The Town Times was OK, and provided a lot of information. But kudos to the Town of Webster staff members who envisioned and designed this new publication. It’s a breath of fresh air.

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More great Webster Village business news

11 Oct

It’s been a long time coming, but Yesterday’s Muse books is finally reopening. However, they’re counting on their loyal customers to follow what have become some normal COVID guidelines, of course.

Here’s the email I got from owner Jonathan Smalter:

We are excited to announce that, beginning Monday October 12th, our shop will officially reopen to the public during our usual business hours! ALL shoppers MUST wear a mask; NO EXCEPTIONS. If you are unable to wear a mask, please shop with us online. Our full stock is available to search and browse on our website, and orders can be shipped to you, or retrieved via curbside pickup.

Please continue to practice social distancing while shopping with us. The floor is marked with arrows encouraging one-way traffic flow, and markers to denote appropriate social distancing positions in high traffic areas. In addition, hand sanitizer is available at the checkout counter, and we encourage you to wash your hands in our public restroom upon your arrival and your departure.

BOOK BUYING SERVICES BY APPOINTMENT ONLY UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. Please continue to expect some delays for book buying and special orders. One third of our staff is still working from home, and new protocols we have in place for keeping you safe do take some time each day to implement. You can call us at 585-265-9295 or email us at yesterdays.muse@gmail.com. If we are not available when you call, please provide a detailed message and we will get you in the queue to reply to your inquiry. Thank you for your patience and continued support.

While this pandemic has affected how we are able to do business, it has not impacted us getting our hands on loads of new acquisitions! We have been hard at work during these past months cataloging our fingers off. So what are you waiting for? Come on in or shop with us online and see what’s new! And remember, you can still order new books and pre-order upcoming releases on our Bookshop page.

Even if you’re not a bibliophile, if you’re wandering by Yesterday’s Muse in the next several days, pop in just to say hi and welcome back. We all need to support our local businesses during these trying times, even if it’s just saying “we missed you.” 

Yesterday’s Muse is located at 32 W. Main St., next door to the Village offices. 

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Webster community mailbag

8 Oct

I’ve got a couple of items for you today, the first coming from our friends at the Webster Public Library.

Their last pop-up book sale of the year will take place this Saturday Oct. 10 from from noon to 3 p.m. in the library parking lot (because the library itself is not open that day). This is especially great news since last week’s sale had to be cancelled because of the weather. This Saturday’s weather, in contrast, looks spectacular.

Fill a bag for just $3 — both cash and checks will be accepted.

This is a great chance to stock up on books for the long winter months ahead. Teachers, this is a great opportunity also to add to your classroom libraries.

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St. Martin Lutheran Church on Bay Rd. will host a pulled pork drive-through BBQ on Saturday Oct. 24, from 4:30 until they sell out.

The take-out dinner includes pulled pork, roll, salt potatoes, cole slaw and cookie for just $10. Proceeds will support the church’s annual Christmas Stocking Project reaching over 500 children and teens in Monroe and Wayne counties.

Pull into the parking lot, place your order using exact payment, and the dinner will be delivered to you as you drive up in your car.

St. Martin Lutheran Church is located at 813 Bay Rd.

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The biannual Webster Community Blood Drive is coming back into town next Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 7 p.m.

This is the drive advertised by all those big white signs posted around town. It’s always a very popular blood drive, in part because in the past, donors could participate in several raffles for prizes donated by local businesses.

In April, at the height of the pandemic, organizers decided to turn the tables and support our local businesses — who were having a hard time staying afloat — by encouraging donors to purchase gift cards, which were then donated to our local first responders.

That was so successful that this month’s drive will be much the same. Gift card and cash donations will be accepted for our first responders for anyone who would care to donate.

So basically, by attending next week’s blood drive, you’ll be saving lives through your blood donation AND through your support for first responders.

The two-day drive will be held on Wednesday Oct. 14 and Thursday Oct. 15, from noon to 7 p.m. each day. It’s in a new location this time, at the Webster Firemen’s Building on Sanford Street, behind the Firemen’s Field.

To assure proper social distancing, appointments will be required. Log onto redcrossblood.org to sign up.

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The North Bee is still going strong — and getting better

4 Oct

I got a wonderful email the other day from another local business owner who has not only survived this current epidemic, but is doing her best to come out stronger.

Amy Stringer, owner of The North Bee on North Ave. in the village, told me that she has decided to quit her day job so she can focus her efforts on what is really her passion, her unique gift shop, The North Bee.

What makes The North Bee so unique is that most of the items Amy features are based on honey and bees. That includes more than 30 varieties of honey, beeswax products and other wellness products from the hive.

But Amy has been branching out of late and is introducing some delicuous new items to her store. She writes,

Over the summer we built a commercial kitchen on our property and I have been making and selling elderberry syrup at the store. I now have a fridge you can help yourself to your own syrup, or Beehive Beverage, a honey based soda beverage.

She’s also lots of new products and varieties of honey.

Amy says she offers “handcrafted goodness with a healthy dose of wellness,” which describes her products as well as the precautions she has taken during the COVID crisis.

Windows are open, the air filter running when they are closed, a self-serve honey tasting table is now available on request, sanitizer is available and high touch-surfaces are frequently wiped down. The children’s room is open and sanitized as needed.

One of the best bits of news is that Amy is expanding her hours. The North Bee is now open Tuesday 4 to 7 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday 10 to 4, Friday 10 to 2 and Saturday 10 to 3. She’s located at 27 North Avenue, across the street from Veteran’s Park and the gazebo. She offers local delivery, curbside pickup and shipping. You can shop in store or online at on her website.

She’s coming up on her second anniversary, by the way, which is quite an accomplishment, Make sure to tell her congratulations when you’re in there shopping!

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Things are looking good this COVID school year

3 Oct

So we’ve made it to October.

We’re several weeks into the new school year and things — at least from my perspective — are going pretty well.

I’m sure I’m not the only one pleasantly surprised that we’ve gotten this far before having to shut down again due to the virus. I credit that success to the behaviors I have seen in the two elementary schools I work at.

When classes move through the halls, often times the children have their hands out in front of them to maintain social distancing. They are paying attention to the little spots on the floor which tell them where to stand when they’re waiting in line for the restroom. They don’t seem to mind sitting widely spaced from their friends while they’re in their room.

But I’m particularly impressed by the way young students have come to accept the need to wear masks.

The teachers have done a wonderful job making the need for masks seem normal, incorporating it into their class songs and bulletin boards. I haven’t heard about any pushback from the students about the masks (even though the pre-K and kindergarten kiddoes often have to be reminded to pull it up over their noses). Clearly, putting on a mask for school has become as normal for them as bringing their backpack. (Thank you also to parents for supporting that!)

There have been some rough spots, of course. Elementary school arrival and dismissal procedures were rather inefficient for the first week or so as schools tried to streamline their procedures for the large number of children being dropped off and picked up by parents. But things seem to be running pretty smoothly now, allowing teachers their maximum opportunity to be with their morning and afternoon classes.

I understand that accommodating the large number of remote students at the middle and high school levels has also been a challenge which we’re still trying to work through.

Most definitely this year has dealt some very real difficulties to our Webster CSD families, especially those with very young children. But, given the circumstances, I think everyone is doing the best they can.

We just have to keep doing that for as long as we need to. We will weather this storm together.

Schlegel Elementary School staff members rocking their masks for a group photo on opening day.

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Not quite a mailbag

28 Sep

The concerts and movies in the park are done. Trick-or-Treating in the Village is on hiatus this year. There’s just not a whole lot going on in the village these days.

Or is there?

If your organization has a special event coming up which you would like me to mention in my blog, PLEASE email me the information! I don’t even have enough events to put together a respectable mailbag.

I DO, however, get regular emails from the Webster Public Library. They always seem to have something special going on, and more to the point, they let me know about it.

For example, coming up this Thursday is the library’s next pop-up book sale, which will be set up outside the library.

I’m told by my library peeps that there will be a lot of teen and children’s books, so it will be a great chance for teachers to add to their classroom libraries. There will also be some education/teaching/homeschooling books, and plenty of adult fiction in case you know of some places who could use them (like doctor offices, nursing homes, little free libraries).

The sale runs from noon to 4 p.m. this Thursday at the library, located at 980 Ridge Rd.

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If you haven’t seen it yet, you gotta check out the new patio and outdoor furniture at The Filling Station, 77 East Main St.

I’ve been watching the progress for weeks as they poured the cement, put up the fencing and waited seemingly forEVER for the new furniture to arrive. I’m just glad to see that the weather has stayed nice enough for long enough for people to take advantage of the new patio.

And have you seen all the new sidewalks along Ridge Rd.? This project has long been in the works but is finally coming to fruition. By the time they’re all installed, you’ll be able to walk on sidewalks from the village all the way to Five Mile Line Rd.

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Produce and flowers and crafts, oh my!

23 Sep

Don’t let the slow creep of autumn scare you away; Webster’s Joe Obbie Farmer’s Market is still up and running every Saturday in the Towne Center Plaza, at the corner of Ridge and Holt (near Old Navy and the gazebo).

The market offers locally-grown fresh produce (including this season’s apples), baked goods, jams & jellies, honey, maple syrup, fresh meats, plants, spices and crafts. When I was there last weekend I grabbed some tomatoes and even started my Christmas shopping.

The market runs through the first week in November, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday. For more information, check out their Facebook page. And scroll through the slideshow at the top of this blog to see more photos!

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