Rochester media professionals recognize their own

10 Jun

Impact Award winners Brother Wease, Don Alhart and Carol Ritter

Saturday night I had the pleasure of attending the first-ever Rochester Media Association awards dinner, an event held to honor 25 members of the local media for contributions to their organizations and the general community.

A who’s who of Rochester media talent attended. The three top awards, called the Impact Awards, were presented to former Democrat and Chronicle reporter and columnist Carol Ritter,  95.1 The Brew radio personality Brother Wease, and WHAM13News anchor Don Alhart.

But I also want to congratulate Webster Post reporter Linda Quinlan, who also received an award as an Established Media Professional.  Linda and I occasionally cross paths at Webster meetings, and while I am not a “real” reporter, I consider her a colleague who more than deserves the recognition she received last night.

It was a terrific evening, and a rare opportunity for local media professionals to relax among their peers.  Read more about the night and check out some more photos (when they finally get posted; I took 99 of them) at the Rochester Media Association website.

 

Messenger Post reporters Linda Quinlan and Bethany Young with their RMA awards.

 

A tale of two farm markets

9 Jun

Vendors at the village market tucked their tents amid the parked cars.

Webster’s two farm markets officially opened for the summer this morning, despite the rain. Being that this is the first time (in my memory, anyway) that Webster has had TWO markets, I was curious about how they’d be set up and what the crowds would be like.

This was one of the nicer stands, real farm-market-ish.

For those not in the loop, this summer the Joe Obbie Farm market, which had been in the village for years, most recently in the community parking lot behind the fire station on South Ave., decided to move to the Towne Center parking lot, near the gazebo.  The village, in turn, has organized a second farm market, with vendors setting up in parking spaces along both West and East Main.

The Joe Obbie set up at Towne Center was much more organized.

I swung by the village first this morning. The rains had stopped by the time I got there, and the sun was out, but still there weren’t many people on the street.  Part of the problem was there weren’t many vendors on the street.  I visited briefly with Mayor Peter Elder, who was out and about, who told me that the morning rains prohibited many vendors from setting up shop. So there were only ten vendors situated sporadically along Main Street, making them a little difficult to pick out among the parked cars. Some of them really didn’t have a great selection of products, either, so the whole thing seemed a bit anemic.  But I think we can chalk that up in part to its being a brand new event, still finding its legs.

The Joe Obbie Farmer’s Market in contrast, was big and bountiful and crowded. There were more than two dozen vendors, all gathered together with their large tents, drawing nearby shoppers with a carnival-like atmosphere. As I walked around I heard the vendors talking about the morning’s rainstorms, but they didn’t seem to have permanently dampened the event. It was clear the market was thoroughly enjoying its new roomier location, which allows more vendors than I’ve ever seen before (especially this early in the year) and gives everyone more room to spread out. Plus the Girl Scouts had set up a kids’ area in the gazebo.

Girl Scout troop 60367 created this fun area for kids, where they coul dmake crafts while their parents shopped.

The Joe Obbie market has years of organization behind it, so no surprise it’s bigger and better right now.  I look forward to seeing how the new village market grows and matures. We’ll check back in a few more weeks…perhaps when the weather is better.

On the eve of Senior Ball, a letter to my daughter

7 Jun

Dear Erin,

So, tonight is your Senior Ball. It’s fun to see how excited you are about it.  Who’d have guessed that someone could talk about one thing nonstop for three straight months?

I’ve enjoyed our pre-ball mommy/daughter time, dress shopping and jewelry shopping. I didn’t mind at all ordering and picking up the boutonniere, or taking you to your mani-pedi appointment, or taxiing your friend to our house so she could do your hair.  It was never a bother. On the contrary, these simple moments we have together now will become few and far between, much sooner than I’d like, and I’ve been trying to capture and absorb every single moment.

Senior Ball. The last big dance of your high school career.  I know you’re going to have a wonderful time and make some great memories.  You’re going to look unbelievably beautiful and grown-up. You’re going to have a very nice guy on your arm who loves you a lot and whom I trust.  And when all the photos are done, and you finally head off for the evening’s festivities, all will be well.

But.

Bad things happen and people do stupid things. Don’t drink (that goes without saying). Don’t get into a car with someone who’s been drinking.   Be careful when you’re driving home, and watch out for idiots on the road.  And deer.  Don’t stay out too late. Make good decisions.

Come home to me safe.

Love, Mom.

Webster mailbag

6 Jun

Lots of neat stuff coming across my computer screen these days, starting with these three don’t-miss events this weekend:

Webster Museum’s Annual Barn Sale takes place today through Saturday from 9 am to 4 pm. This sale is so big the museum can’t fit everything, so it will be held at 394 Phillips Road, one of Webster’s most beautiful and historic properties.

The sale features art work, books, fancy dishes, dolls, tools, comics, and pottery. There will be items for collectors, and kids of all ages. Garage sale patrons can also take a tour of the Victorian home (built in 1856) for a $5 donation.  All money raised from the sale and tours raised supports the museum’s education programs, speakers’ programs, and the Historic Homes Project.

* * *

Webster’s TWO farm markets open for business this Saturday June 9. The Joe Obbie Market will be moving to Webster Towne Plaza (where Target is) and set up near the gazebo. Plus, Main Street in the village will host a brand new market on the same day, stretching down both East and West Main. I think they’ll be setting up in the parking spaces, so please drive carefully when you make your way through the village this Saturday.

Both markets open at 8 am.

* * *

The Webster Marching Band holds its semi-annual Bottle and Can Drive this Saturday from 9:30 am to 4 pm. Simply collect all your returnables, stick them in a garbage bag and put them out by the curb. If they happen to miss you, you can call to arrange a pickup. Click on the flyer to the right for more details.

* * *

Now, in true mailbag fashion, here are some odds and ends that people have emailed me recently:

My friend Jamie Buss sends me this shout-out to the students at Klem South Elementary:

Just wanted to brag about the kids at Klem South a little.  I ran a fundraiser at school for the Dream Factory, called Dollars for Dreams, in which kids donated their spare change for a two-week period.  Each class had their own milk jug to fill and we made a friendly contest out of it.  The top fundraising class from each grade would get to pick a theme-day of their choice (hat day, toy day, silly clothes day, etc.).  The fundraiser ran the last two weeks in May and the kids raised a grand total of $862.83 (one 3rd grade class raised over $120 alone)!  This is enough money for a dream recipient’s family (of five) to stay at a resort in Orlando, FL for an entire week, which would include mini golf, horseback riding, swimming, all the ice cream they can eat, PLUS tickets to the Disney theme parks, Sea World and Universal Studios AND spending money for their trip.  A little effort goes a LONG way in this case!

Great job, kids!!!

Congratulations to Rising Earth Massage Therapy as the Webster Chamber’s Business of the Month for June 2012. The Chamber recognizes Webster businesses that demonstrate outstanding community service as well as their exemplary business character and reputation. Rising Earth Massage Therapy is located at 1130 Crosspointe Lane Suite 2B in the Ridgewood Office Park.

And by the way, today’s the second day of Webster’s Community Blood drive, the one where they give you coupons from local businesses just for showing up. I got denied today because of low iron, but I got my coupons anyway (I love these people), and sure enough, there are three coupons for free ice cream alone  (and the Bruster’s coupon is for  FREE PINT).

Today’s drive is at the West Webster Fire Hall from noon to 7 pm. Please donate and help save lives.

email me at missyblog@gmail.com

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Want a free rain barrel?

5 Jun

This is cool.

I received word from the Webster school district a few days ago about a neat project which students at Klem Road South Elementary School have undertaken.  As part of a lesson about local water resources, the kids are making rain barrels.

Here’s the letter that the project organizers sent out explaining more about it:

Students show off two of the completed rain barrels

The fourth grade science classes of Mrs. Wendy Smith, Mrs. Eva Burns and Mrs. Elizabeth Coene at Klem South Elementary will soon be making 20 rain barrels! Paul Sawyko from the Storm Water Coalition of Monroe County will be helping students with the creation of the rain barrels.

A rain barrel is something that you put beneath the gutter and the clean rainwater is held in the barrel. Rainwater is a source of unchlorinated water for your plants. Rain barrels conserve water and can provide approximately 1,300 gallons of water during the summer months.

This project is part of an educational grant from Target to enrich our study of water and the environment. We have been working with water in science since the beginning of the year. The fourth graders also have been to the Waste Water Treatment Plant and the Monroe County Water Authority to learn about our local water resources.

Once the students are done with the barrels, they’re all going to need good homes.  So if you would like a rain barrel of your own, free of charge, email Wendy Smith at wendy_smith@ websterschools.org.  She’ll contact you to make arrangements for the pick up of your rain barrel before June 15.

But you better do it soon, because I’ll bet they go pretty fast.

More Webster schools join school supply recycling effort

4 Jun

It’s the last full week of school for the high schools, and at Thomas that means big blue trash bins are popping up in the hallways, awaiting the tons of detritus have students have collected in their lockers throughout the year. But this year I’ve made it my goal to make sure there’s a cardboard box next to each bin, with a huge recycle symbol taped to each side.

Hopefully students will use the box and not the trash bin for good supplies when they clean their lockers.

Anyone who’s been a regular reader of my blog for the last few years knows what that’s all about.  For the last four years Webster Thomas (and Spry and Willink middle schools) have participated in a school supply recycling effort in conjunction with a terrific organization called Greenseed Educational Supplies.  For the past seven years, the volunteers at Greenseed, led by Eastridge High School science teacher Mitch Nellis, have worked with schools all over the county to collect thousands of dollars of  perfectly good school supplies at the end of every school year, saving them from the trash bins, and re-distributing them to city schools, community organizations, and even schools in Africa.

I won’t get into too many details about this amazing effort and the huge undertaking it is for Mitch every year.  You can log onto Greenseed’s website if you’d like more information about how to participate, and check out some photos I have at the end of this blog.

Some of last year’s haul, most of which was plucked from the garbage cans.

But I DID want to let you know that thanks to the strong show of support from the Spry, Willink and Thomas school communities, Webster is one of the top contributors to the recycling drive every year.  But this year we’re going to do even better. This year, the PTSAs at Plank Road North and Klem South elementary schools have decided to join the effort as well. The PTSA leaders at both these schools responded enthusiastically to my email requesting elementary school participation.

And their help couldn’t have come at a better time.   I got an email from Mitch a few days ago in which he said requests for school supplies are at an all-time high due to budget cutbacks, and at the same time some of the donating schools have dropped out this year.  He specifically asked if we knew of any elementary schools who wanted to get involved. He was thrilled to hear that Plank North and Klem South are now on board.

So if you have a student at one of these schools, watch for a flyer to come home requesting any donations you might have lying around the house.  Even partly-used spiral binders or scribbled-on binders will be appreciated come September by students who might not otherwise get any school supplies.

If your school or business would like to get involved, please email me at missyblog@gmail.com.

City school teachers are invited to select the supplies they need.

Some of the supplies go to Africa. These kids are students at the Tumaini English Language Primary School in Karatu, Tanzania.

The school is in a small mountain community called Ocotal. There are about 25 students in a one room open air classroom.

 

Letter carriers help to Stamp Out Hunger

3 Jun

You neighborhood letter carriers are teaming up with the Webster Food Cupboard this week for their annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.

You probably got one of the little postcards in your mailbox late last week, and I hope you stuck it on your fridge as a reminder, because this annual collection is a boon for our local food cupboard, and a super easy way for you to help your local Webster community.

The drive is particularly important at this time of year. Kids are beginning to get out of school for the summer, and — unlike during the holiday season — people aren’t as likely to be in the “donation” frame of mind.

Simply place some non-perishable food in or next to your mailbox any day (or every day) this week and your letter carrier will pick it up. Or drop off your items at any post office. Last year more than 560,000 pounds of food was collected, and distributed directly to needy families.

The Stamp Out Hunger drive runs through Saturday June 9.

Who were those kids marching up my driveway?

3 Jun

My daughter looked out the living room window yesterday afternoon and said, “Mom, there are some strange kids coming up the driveway.”

Click on the flyer to make it larger.

Fortunately, I was able to calm any doubts in her mind about their intentions.  A few days ago I received an email from AJ Cobb, my source inside the Webster Marching Band, who told me the band’s semi-annual bottle and can drive is coming up next weekend.  So I hypothesized that these kids were going house-to-house delivering notices about that.

Sure enough, this morning I found a neatly rolled and rubber-banded flyer tucked in my screen door. If you didn’t happen to get one, you can check out the image on the left for details about next weekend’s collection drive (click on it to make it larger).  There was also an envelope wrapped up in there, which residents are encouraged to use to make a cash donation instead (or in addition to) their bottle and can donations. Unfortunately, the envelope in my packet did not survive the overnight rainstorms, and is completely sealed shut.  But I probably can find another one to use in its place.

So start putting aside those bottles and cans for next weekend. And don’t worry too much if strange kids come up YOUR driveway today.

 

 

Hey NYSDOT: Huh?

2 Jun

So the DOT is tweeting its Bay Bridge construction schedule. But this is the tweet from yesterday, and I’m having trouble making sense of it:

FRI 06/01: No Work Today. SAT 06/02: WBound down to 1 Lane 6:00AM-2:00PM; then 2 Lanes 2 PM- 4 PM; EBound only to 2 lanes 7:00AM-4:00PM

I’m not sure if that means two lanes will be closed or two lanes will be open from 7 am to 4 pm.  All I DO know is that Ridge Road traffic is unbearable today, and when I left the YMCA this morning, Bay Road was backed up father than I could see.  So something is happening up there at the bridge.

So try to avoid Ridge Road AND the Bay Bridge today.  And DOT, give some more thought to how to use your 140 characters (for example, how about “6am-2pm,” “2-4pm” and “7am-4pm”) and put some verbs in there.

 

St. Rita Fiesta returns this weekend

31 May

There are lots of kids’ games and friendly helpers.

St. Rita’s 58th Annual Fiesta returns to West Webster this weekend, beginning Friday evening.  Festivities start at 5 pm, including food, kids’ activities, carnival games,  and country & Western entertainment by Goodness from 6-10 pm. Saturday there’ll be a 4 pm Mass in the church, after which the oldies band Ruby Shooz takes the stage from 5-8 pm. Later in the evening, the classic rock band Main Street East plays from 8-11 pm.

Bake sale volunteers present a sampling of some of the items for sale.

This is always a terrific family event, which also features a book sale, plant sale and baked food sale that’s out of this world.  All of the food and entertainment happens under a huge tent, with plenty of room for eating and dancing.

I understand they’ve added a zip line and a mechanical bull this year for the more adventurous among us.  I’ve always wanted to try a mechanical bull, so you might just find me whoopin’ it up there on Saturday afternoon.

Click here for more details about the Fiesta

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