Aside

Village offices relocated — temporarily

10 Dec

If you need visit the Village Hall offices anytime in the next week, don’t be surprised if you find the front doors locked.

Apparently, when workers were recently yanking up some old carpeting for replacement, the tiles below it also started to come up. That would not normally be a problem, but the tiles contain asbestos.   So that meant testing the air quality (which is fine) and  collecting the proper permits from the state before hiring an asbestos abatement company to finish removing the tiles.

Naturally, all that will take some time. Village officials hope the offices will only be closed for a week, and when the doors open again, there will be some beautiful new carpet in place…and no asbestos tiles.

But in the meantime, you’ll find all your favorite Village Hall employees providing all the wonderful Village Hall services (including passports) in the Department of Public Works offices just around the back. Call them at 265-3770.

It’s CHRISTMAS TREE WEEKEND!

6 Dec

Ever since I’ve been a teenager, this has been one of my favorite weekends of the entire year. “This” being the weekend including — or closest to — the date of December 11.  That date has been near and dear to my heart for more than 40 years, because of one very special December 11 from my youth.

I think it was 1971, and at 13 years old, I was a cool-cat teenager, but still young enough to be very excited that Christmas was just around the corner.  It was an ordinary Saturday, nothing much going on, when out of the blue my mother came into the family room and asked a simple question, which I still remember clearly to this day:

“Do you want to go out and get our Christmas tree?”

I can still feel the pure joy I felt when I heard those words.  Strangely, I don’t remember actually getting the tree, putting it up or decorating it. I just remember that it felt like Christmas had finally, officially, begun.

I don’t think I’ve ever told my family that story, so they probably have no idea why I start getting itchy for a Christmas tree about this time of the month. But I’m sure I’m not the only one. With only three weekends to go before Christmas, the crowds will be thick at our local tree-sellers these next few days. Good thing we have several options very close by, most offering both pre-cut and cut-your own varieties:

* Bauman’s Farm Market, 1340 Five Mile Line Road (corner of Plank)
* Freckleton’s Tree Farm, 1651 Harris Road, Penfield
* Wilbert’s Christmas Tree Farm, 1321 Salt Road
* Kunz’s Tree Farm, 959 Five Mile Line Road (across from Lowes)
* Woody Acres, 1530 Harris Road, Penfield

And don’t forget about our faithful Boy Scouts. St. Rita Troop #163 is braving the cold again this year at their stand next to Bill Gray’s Restaurant on Hard Road (in the K-Mart/BJ’s plaza).  Their trees start at $40. They’re open 6:30-8:30 weekdays, 9-7 on Saturday and 10-5 Sunday.

Ironically, I won’t be joining you out there this weekend. I already have my tree. Do you remember the blog I wrote last week about the Festival of Trees at the Webster Museum and the raffle they were holding? At the end of that blog I encouraged everyone to go to the museum and enter the raffle, but added, “I’m going to win the Christmas tree. Just sayin’.”

I was only kidding. But I did. It’s a Bauman’s tree, and it’s beautiful, probably nicer than I could have picked out for myself.  So now go out this weekend and make yourself a memory.

Thursday Mailbag

5 Dec

The second of Webster’s three Fabulous Festive Fridays (I just made that up) is tomorrow, when the Village Band presents its annual Holiday Concert.  It’s the band’s annual holiday gift to the community, thanks for all the support they’ve received this year.

The concert begins at 2 pm at Webster Schroeder High School, 875 Ridge Road. There is no admission charge. Click here for more information and to see some photos from last year’s concert.

Looking ahead, next Friday the village continues to welcome the holiday season with the Lighting of the Lights from 4-8 pm, at Hank’s Ice Cream and Taylor Rental on North Avenue.  More details to come, but click here if you can’t wait.

* * *

The folks at Henderson Ford are partnering with the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program, and challenging their staff, customers and the Webster community to help fill a 2013 Ford Escape with toys

New, unwrapped toys can be dropped off through December 10 at Henderson Ford, 810 Ridge Rd., Webster, or at any of the following participating locations:

A Different Point of View, 2920 Monroe Ave, Pittsford
Design Pool & Spa, 7244 Palmyra Rd., Fairport
Dixon Schwabl, 1595 Moseley Road, Victor
Edge Advertising Group, 6 North Main St. Suite 220, Fairport
JNCS, 1387 Fairport Rd Suite 900J, Fairport
Omero’s Clothes, call 585-392-2939 to schedule a drop off

* * *

On Sunday December 16, Music at Immanuel will present A Service of Lessons and Carols beginning at 7 pm.  The event is free and open to the public.

Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church is located at 131 West Main Street in the Village of Webster, at the corner of Daniel Drive. Parking is available behind the church accessed from Daniel Drive. More information at http://www.immanuelwebster.org or through the church office 585-872-5180 ext. 12.

* * *

This note is from Plank North Elementary, which is hosting its Share the Season night tomorrow night.  The email I received about it yesterday said there are so many kids in the Plank North chorus now that they can’t all safely squeeze onto the stage for their annual performance.  So instead, they’re planning a family sing-along. “Ms. King will play piano,” the email said, “accompanied by a special guest mandolin player.”

It made me giggle. The “special guest mandolin player” is my son Sean, Plank North Class of 2001.

* * *

Finally, the school district has sent out notice about their Emergency Preparedness Early Release Drill, which they do every year to test the district’s plan for early dismissal of students. (I never have understood how letting students go 15 minutes early tests that plan, but hey.)  I seem to recall that in previous years they’ve done this on the day before Thanksgiving Break. This year, it’s happening on Friday December 21, officially kicking everyone out of school for Christmas Break.

All Webster schools will dismiss early that day.  Here are the times:

Schroeder and Thomas High Schools: 2:10
Spry Middle School: 2:15
Willink Middle School: 2:25
Klem North and Plank South: 3:05
Dewitt, State, Plank North, Schlegel and Klem South: 3:15

Photos from Webster’s White Christmas

3 Dec

Click the photo to go to a gallery of images from White Christmas

If you were in Webster on Saturday night for the village’s annual White Christmas and Holiday Parade of Lights, you might have noticed a photo elf wandering the streets snapping pictures left and right.

Many thanks to my friend Ken Corpus (of Computer Works Pro) for acting as my official blog photographer for the event, since I was out of town and couldn’t be there for the festivities myself.  His daughter was part of the Webster Thomas choir which performed at the gazebo and on Main Street, so of course he wanted to take pictures of that. But he didn’t stop with those; instead, he snapped 50 or so more, then yesterday handed them all over to me on a flash drive.

Most of them came out pretty great, and I am pleased to post them all in a gallery here.  If anyone else has some they’d like to send along, please do, and I’ll add them to the gallery.

 

Too close for comfort

2 Dec

Barbara Cotie, one-woman crime spree

Wow. Have you been following the story about the one-woman crazy show that’s been playing out in our neighborhood recently?  It’s the one where this woman has been working her way through our fair town, holding up Ridge Road businesses at gunpoint.

The good news is, after holding up Mark’s Pizzeria on East Main Street and Pizza Hut on Empire Blvd., and trying to shake down an employee of Kittleberger’s Florist on North Avenue, she has been apprehended. (Read the full story here.) She is 56-year old Barbara Cotie, of Webster.

It’s pretty scary to hear that such things are happening so close to home. My daughter works at a Ridge Road business, and it unnerves me to think that this lady could just have easily pointed a long gun at my daughter.  I have become friends with so many of Webster’s small business owners, and it unnerves me to think of someone pointing a gun at them.

Kudos to the Webster Police Department and Sheriff’s Department for their quick work on this one.

 

“Dear self…”

30 Nov

OK, folks, help me out here. Tell me if you think this is silly.

Every year when I disassemble the artificial Christmas tree, I write up a short note to myself and tuck it into the box before carting it out to the garage. Usually it’ll start with something like “Hi, hope you had a great year,” and then continue with some current family news and a few hopes for the future, like “Sean should be fully graduated from college and maybe has a teaching job?” Usually, by the time Christmas rolls around again, I have forgotten I wrote the note and it comes as a pleasant surprise. I enjoy reliving last year’s and this year’s memories while I hang ornaments.

Last year, though, when I unearthed the note, my daughter Sara gave me a lot of grief about it. She thought it was sappy.

That didn’t stop me, though. Sure enough, when I opened the Christmas tree carton Friday, there was my little note poking out of the branches.  But Sara’s comments must have had some effect. This time around the note was a bit more professional, without the “sappy” personal stuff.  I limited it to details about things like what decorations I needed to replace and how the cat denuded the entire bottom quarter of the Christmas tree. I didn’t even add a short “Hi, how are you?” greeting.

How about you? Do you ever do something like this? Do you think it’s overly sentimental?

By the way, if you zoom in on the photo of this year’s note, you’ll see the first sentence reads: “Don’t tell Sara I’m writing this. She thinks it’s stupid.”

Oops.

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree…

29 Nov

Festival of TreesWhen you’re in town this weekend for White Christmas in the Village, make sure to stop by the Webster Museum on Lapham Park, where the museum’s annual Holiday Festival of Trees is in full swing.

Adorable little 4-foot tall trees are set up throughout the museum, each of which has been adopted and decorated by an individual, family or local organizations.  When I went over to the museum yesterday to see them for myself, I was delighted by the variety of themes and decorations.  There were already probably a dozen trees already completed, and some folks were there putting the touches on a few more while I was there.

Hard at work on the Troop 60502 tree are (l-r) Anna Langfitt, Margie Bowen and Linda Bowen. It’s called “Brownies Buggin’ Out.”

All the trees will be done and ready for viewing by Saturday afternoon just in time for the village’s White Christmas.  From 2:00-4:30 pm the public is invited to tour the museum and vote for a favorite tree. Voting will continue through December 29 and winners will be announced after the first of the year.

And by the way…. this year for the first time, the museum is also holding a holiday raffle with some terrific prizes. For your $5 entry fee, you can take a chance on some great prizes, all donated by local businesses, including:

* fresh Christmas trees from Bauman Farms, Wilbert’s Farm Market and Woody Acres;
* a holiday wreath from Kittleberger Florist & Gifts;
* a “kissing crystal” from Kunz’s Christmas Shoppe;
* a “kissing ball” from Harris Garden Center;
* handcrafted wood shelves from David Schoff Nursery & Woodworking; and
* a tabletop tree from Freckleton’s Tree Farm.

So make sure you get your name into that raffle when you stop by this weekend. Entries will be accepted through Tuesday December 4, and the drawing will be held on Wednesday December 5.  (But I’m going to win the Christmas tree. Just sayin’.)

 

This very red tree was one of my favorites, created by Diane Fahl-Slattery.

I also loved this one, by the Webster Quilt Guild.

 

 

The holidays begin in Webster this weekend

29 Nov

A float from last year’s Parade of Lights

The holiday season in Webster officially kicks off this Saturday December 1 with White Christmas in the Village and the Holiday Parade of Lights, two of my favorite events of the entire year. It’s the first of three special event weekends in the village, leading right up to Christmas.

This Saturday the festivities begin at 3 pm with horse wagon rides, a bounce house for the kids, and cookie decorating sponsored by Hegedorn’s.  And of course Santa will be there; he arrives at Village Hall at 4 pm.

The whole schedule looks like this:

Horse wagon rides, 3:00 – 6:00
Bounce house, 3:00 – 6:00
Storytelling, 4:00
Webster Thomas String Quartets at Kittlebergers, 3:30 – 5:00
Hegedorn’s Cookie Decorating, 4:00 ’til
Rochester Rhapsody, 4:30
The Magic Guy, 4:30
Church of the Good Shepherd Chime Choir 5:00 – 6:00
Thomas High School Carolers 5:00 – 6:00

The evening’s festivities end in spectacular fashion with the Electric Parade down Main Street beginning at 6:30 pm.

And don’t forget to stop into some of the village shops while you’re there, to finish up your Christmas shopping. I know that Barry’s will have entertainment by Ken Snyder and Trace Wilkins, and guaranteed there”ll be plenty of action at Coach and Hatter’s as well.

P.S.  I can’t be there Saturday for the parade. If you take any photos, can you send some along for the blog?

* * *

If you’d like to do something a little bit different instead Saturday night, join the Friends of Webster Trails for a “Full Moon Hot Cocoa Hike” Saturday night at 7:00pm at the Whiting Road Nature Preserve.  It should be a beautiful night for a hike, and a great chance to make some new friends. Click here for complete details and to sign up for the event.

 

Webster’s own Justin Bieber?

29 Nov

Now here’s a young man you’re gonna want to keep an eye on.

I found out yesterday that Webster has an up-and-coming blues guitar star in its midst. His name is Jon Dretto, and he’s a Webster Thomas High School freshman.

Jon has been playing guitar since he was 8 years old.  Now just 14, he’s already tucked some impressive gigs under his belt, including the Niagara Falls Blues Festival, where he performed with the Nighthawks and Shrimp Daddy.

Jon’s budding music career got a big boost this month when he was featured in the music classroom magazine In Tune.  The feature was a follow-up to a contest sponsored by the magazine in July, where he won the top prizes: a brand new Paul Reed Smith SE guitar, an SE50 amplifier, and the opportunity to perform at In Tune’s Race to the Stage concert at Watkins Glen Grand Am in August.  In addition to being the opening act, he was also invited to play onstage with the PRS professional band.

Jack Higginbotham of PRS posted on his blog after the event,

Our fourth and final concert for the season featured 14-year old Jon Dretto, who rocked the 10,000+ fans that attended our Watkins Glen concert. Jon joined our PRS band the Rocky Mountain Stoneflies and British Blues phenom Davy Knowles for a few in front of the huge and enthusiastic crowd.

Congratulations, Jon. You’re making Webster proud, and we are all looking forward to following your career.

 

Why did the goose cross the road?

26 Nov

I saw the most amusing little scene play itself out yesterday afternoon.  As I was driving home from Thomas High School on Publisher’s Parkway, I passed a flock of about 30 Canada geese gathered on the north side of the road. To a goose, they were all peering at the roadway, and standing very still on the grass, a safe distance from the passing traffic.

Well, not quite all of them.  One solitary goose was inching his (her?) way closer and closer to the road.  As I drove slowly past, I watched him creep every so slowly onto the shoulder, while the rest of the flock stood and watched.

I was hooked. I just HAD to see how this was going to play out. So I pulled off to the side of the road to see what was going to happen next.

Step by step, the goose waddled tentatively into the roadway. For almost a minute, he was close enough to the roadside that drivers just went around him.  But at long last, the goose had made his way to the middle of the road, effectively stopping traffic.

Then, and only then, did the rest of the flock start across.

I didn’t hang around long enough to see if all the other geese gave their brave friend a high five or slap on the back.  But as I drove away, I did wonder how that poor sap had landed such a dangerous mission.  Did he volunteer? Maybe he pulled the short straw.  Perhaps it was some sort of goose gang initiation. Or maybe a Birda Poopa Epsilon fraternity hazing.

Or maybe, just like all of us after a long day of work, they just wanted to have a little fun. So they decided to play a game of … you guessed it … chicken.

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