Webster’s on the TV news live, tonight

23 Aug

Capture

WROC-TV Channel 8 will be concluding their 2017 Summer Tour of Rochester tonight when they visit Webster’s First Responders Park.

John Kucko will broadcast live from the park from 5 to 6:30 p.m. There will be giveaways and free ice cream for the first 30 people. The Webster Fire Department will be on hand with firefighters, freebies for the kids and trucks for them to explore.

Channel 8 is also teaming up with Kicks for Kids to collect shoes for students in need just in time for the new school year. When you come tonight, make sure to bring a pair of new of gently used shoes to donate.

First Responders Park is right next to the Webster Recreation Center on Chiyoda Drive, just north of the village.

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Summer cuteness

20 Aug

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In my continuing series of kids having summer fun without the aid of electronics, I submit this super-cute photo.

It was taken Saturday at Webster’s Joe Obbie’s Farmer’s Market, during the market’s annual Back-to-School Day. Children who attended were treated to balloon animals and school-supply gift bags, and could sit in the driver’s seat of a Webster Fire Department truck.

Here are two of those happy children, Grace and Paxton, who even got to try on some real firefighter gear. They’re pictured here with Webster firefighter Sarah Rosenberry, who also happens to be the kids’ music teacher at Plank North Elementary School.

Summer’s not over yet! Please make sure to send me along a photo or two of YOUR kids having some simple summer fun! 

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Jack’s Place playground set to open

18 Aug

grand opening

The east-side’s newest playground, Jack’s Place, has been completed and will be officially welcomed to the community at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on August 27.

Jack’s Place is a a blue, dinosaur-themed playground at Penfield’s Rothfuss Park on Five Mile Line Road. It’s been built by a terrific organization called the Jack Foundation, in honor of 3-year old Jack Heiligman, who lost his life tragically last October. (You can read more about Jack here.)

Construction began only several weeks ago and continued at a record pace, assuring that the new playground would be completed with plenty of time for kids to enjoy it this summer.

The playground is a testament to the strength of Jack’s parents, Anne and AJ, and their commitment to keeping their son’s happy spirit alive by spreading laughter, happiness and love to other families.

Jack loved dinosaurs, so the new playground is filled with dinosaur-themed climbing and crawling apparatus, in addition to the swings and slides and towers. Its color is predominantly blue, which was Jack’s favorite color.

dinosaur

Image of a dinosaur climb-y thing from the Jack Foundation Facebook page.

Grand opening ceremonies will be held Sunday August 27, from noon to 3 pm at Rothfuss Park, 1648 Five Mile Line Road in Penfield. There’ll be music and food, and lots of time to explore the new playground.

Read more about the Jack Foundation on their website here and their Facebook page here.

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A bright spot on the web

17 Aug

webster where

It’s hard to find civility on the internet these days. Negativity threatens to overwhelm kindness, understanding and tolerance more and more each day. So when a bright light shines through the gloom, I feel it’s important to recognize it so that others can take hope.

It’s a Facebook page called Webster, Where Life is Worth Living  (WWLIWL). Unlike another well-traveled Webster Facebook page, there is no negativity whatsoever on this one. Bob Blind, the site’s administrator, simply will not allow it.

That admonition is actually the first thing you’ll see when you click into the site. Tacked to the top of the page is this welcoming post:

I wish to welcome all of the new people who have joined this group in recent weeks. Thanks for being here! The original “mission statement” for this group remains the same. Our goal is to have the most helpful and respectful Webster, NY group without all of the drama, sniping, bad language, flaming, and outright nastiness that is on display elsewhere.

As a result, Webster, Where Life is Worth Living is a friendly site where users are actually cordial to one another, and — more to the point — extremely helpful.

Need a recommendation for a roofer or electrician? WWLIWL is the place to go. Want to know about special events coming up in town? They’re posted there all the time. There are beauty shots of Webster and the surrounding area. There’s useful information about all sorts of topics, historical recollections, and so much more.

And it’s all positive.

The site is easy to join; all you have to do is ask. Check it out here and become part of the conversation. Because true to its name, Webster, Where Life is Worth Living is dedicated to highlighting all the good things about our town. And these days, we need to hear about the good things as often as possible.

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Sprucing up for the new school year

16 Aug
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A small group of gardeners descended on Schlegel Elementary School Wednesday morning to weed the school’s courtyard.

Webster Schlegel Elementary School’s beautiful courtyard got a face lift Wednesday morning, courtesy a handful of staff members and students, and one dedicated parent.

The courtyard, circumscribed by classrooms and hallways near the middle of the school, is a peaceful spot with a little stream, a pond with fish, a turtle and at least one frog, wildflowers, roses, a step-stone path and some benches.

And very often, lots and lots of weeds.

Schlegel kindergarten teacher Sarah Paprocki has taken the lead in trying to keep the landscaping manicured and the weeds at bay. Wednesday’s effort was part of that, and the small group of gardeners made great strides in cleaning up the area. As the school year progresses, she’s thinking about trying to get the entire student body involved in its upkeep by assigning different portions of the area to different classes.

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Back to school with Webster’s farm market

15 Aug

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If you haven’t been down to Webster’s Joe Obbie’s Farmer’s Market yet, this would be a good weekend to check it out, especially if you have kids.

The Farmer’s Market is held every Saturday through October from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm in the Webster Towne Center Plaza (Target plaza) near the gazebo. Regional growers provide locally-grown veggies and fruits, baked goods, plants, maple syrup, honey, meats, and hand-crafted items.

And this Saturday, they’ll be helping kids go back to school by handing out gift bags to the first 50 children, ages 4 to 10, who attend.

That’s just part of the fun, however. The Webster Fire Department will be on hand with fire hats and coloring books for the kids, and a fire truck which the kids can climb into and explore. The Girl Scouts will host a KIDZ Korner at the gazebo with crafts and activities, and Walt Crum will be creating balloon art.

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Summer’s not over yet

14 Aug

Whoa.

So the stores are stocking great quantities of school supplies again and I’m beginning to get great quantities of emails from the schools about opening day. Everyone else seems a whole lot more excited about the end of summer than I am.

If you’re like me and you want to squeeze every bit of summer out of the next few weeks, here are a few events to get you started.

NEQ vehiclesThis Thursday August 17, our local paramedic service, the NEQALS, will be hosting a food truck rodeo and craft show at the Firemen’s Field on Main Street, from 5 to 8 pm.

Food trucks that will be on hand include Netsins Ice Cream, Effortlessly Healthy, Macarollin and Heiztelamns.

Vendors will include Young Living, LuLaRoe, Honey and Lace, Pampered Chef, Usborne Books, Tupperware, Perfectly Posh, Tastefully Simple, Lip Sense, XS Energy, and Park Lane Paparazzi.

Live music will be provided by Bryan Prince. Funds raised that evening will help build a new NEQALS base here in town.

Two more food truck rodeos/fundraisers are scheduled for Thursday September 21 and Thursday October 19, all at the Firemen’s Field, and all between 5-8 p.m.

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Summer fun continues in the village these next two Tuesdays, August 15 and 22, with the weekly movies in the park series.

The Secret Life of Pets will be shown on August 15, rescheduled from July.

petsposterTaking place in a Manhattan apartment building, Max’s life as a favorite pet is turned upside down, when his owner brings home a sloppy mongrel named Duke. They have to put their quarrels behind when they find out that an adorable white bunny named Snowball is building an army of lost pets determined to take revenge.

Disney’s Big Friendly Giant is the featured attraction on Tuesday August 22.

In the movie, an orphan girl befriends a benevolent giant who takes her to Giant Country, where they attempt to stop the man-eating giants from invading the human world.

The movies are screened in the village of Webster’s Gazebo Park on North Avenue, beginning at dusk; approximate start times will be posted on the Webster BID website. Bring your chairs, blankets and picnic baskets, and make it a family night out. There’s no admission charge and free popcorn is provided.

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“Old fashion summer fun in Webster”

13 Aug

That’s what my friend Jim called these photos when he sent them to me a little while ago. He snapped them when he was at Webster Park a few weekends ago.

He wrote,

I couldn’t resist taking a few shots of these kids having a good time in the spray at Webster Park last week. The waves were breaking and the wind was blowing and the kids were having a great time. Just thought you would like to see some young people having fun without their iPads or cell phones….

I agree, it is great to see.

Summer’s not over yet! Send me a photo or two of your kids having some summer fun and I’ll post them in my blog.

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Warthogs take tournament title

13 Aug
warthogs ohio lake erie champions

The champion Webster Warthogs 13u (Photo: Renee Romano)

Congratulations to the Webster Warthogs 13u travel baseball team, who recently took top honors at the Lake Erie Championship Series.

The Warthogs competed in the tournament at Sports Force Parks in Sandusky, Ohio on August 4 through 6. Thank you to Melissa Bolton for this report on the weekend’s success:

The boys came away with a 5-0-1 total record for the weekend. We won all three games on Sunday to take the championship. We were the only town team in attendance competing among a competitive schedule of tournament teams from Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and more.

The genuine and intense camaraderie of the players coupled with disciplined coaching and fun, supportive parents is our secret to success. We truly are one big family.

Melissa also noted that on July 26, the Warthogs 13u won the MCBR Division title. They finished the year with an impressive 31-8-1 record.

13U Warthogs Lake Erie Classic championship win

Robin Buttles captured this great photo of jubilant team members after taking the title. 

Warthog Division Champs 2017

MCBR division champions.

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Bygone blog: OMG! IDK WTH these stickers mean!

10 Aug

This is the fourth in my series of Bygone Blogs, in which I am re-posting some of my favorite blogs from the last 8 years. This one was originally published on February 4, 2013. 

242013 sticker

Have you noticed the recent proliferation of those oval bumper stickers with the initials on them?

I’m sure you’ve seen them. They’re usually white with thick black borders and say things like “ADK,” “SLX,” “QKA” or “BHV.” Most of the time you’ll see just one stuck to a bumper or window, but sometimes they travel in packs. Like yesterday, as I was driving down Ridge Road, I was following a car that had stickers that said SOBX, WEB, NC, EI, SLX and LAX. (He must have been a collector.)

They’re all very confusing. I mean, with your regular rectangular bumper sticker, there’s no doubt where you stand. You’re proud of your honor student. You’ve conquered some mountain. You heart your shih tzu. But I can only guess what “SOBX” means. So what’s the purpose of putting a sticker on your car when YOU’RE the only one who knows what it means?

But these folks are obviously proud of SOMETHING, so I do my best to try to figure them out. Mr. Collector, I have decided, is a very unhappily divorced computer programmer who lives in North Carolina, sells employment insurance and trousers on the side, and has recently flown to Los Angeles.

Now I have to admit that I, too, have one of these oval stickers on my car. It reads “WOF,” and fewer than fifty people in the world know its significance. And I’m OK with that, because it’s important to me and that’s all that matters. So I guess I can’t judge anyone else who has a fixation with these cryptic message stickers.

But I won’t be joining the Association for Silly Stickers anytime soon. And if I do, I will certainly NOT put their oval sticker on my car.

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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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