Special Add-on

A resident of Shanley Road sends a big

to whoever plowed that part of Marshall Township this morning!


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It's 28.6 degrees with about two inches of new "puff."

From WKTV: "Several inches of snow has fallen across portions of Oneida and Herkimer County overnight. Be careful and plan on giving yourself more time for your morning commute. Heavy lake effect snow continues early this morning south of the Thruway. This snow will be heading west and south of the viewing area later this morning through this afternoon. Mostly cloudy with scattered flurries for the majority of the day with highs near 30.

Lake effect snow moves back into the area for the evening commute, bringing snow showers to much of the area. Snow bands will reorganize across the north country tonight, dropping additional accumulations. See the map on the right for details.

Another clipper system will arrive with the chance for snow on Thursday. This feature will drive lake effect Friday through Sunday. Temperatures stay below freezing throughout the week."

Brookfield Central Schools 2 Hour Delay; No AM Pre-K & No AM BOCES

Holland Patent Central Schools 1 Hour Delay Rome Public & Parochial Schools 2 Hour Delay; No AM Pre-K

RECYCLABLES DAY!

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I have a "taker" for the paper!

Thank you, Missy!

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RECENT EVENTS

1:53:55

Cheered on by his wife, Kelly, and daughters, Tessa and Aubrey, Jody Hildreth started the New Year by running a half marathon at his alma mater, the University of Albany.

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IN THE MAIL

From Tom McNamara - " The Legion is having our yearly January fish frys
starting this Friday.

The time is 4:30 to 7:30.

$9:50 for for the fish dinner and
$5 for the mac and cheese dinner.

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From Alycia Schick: "Aerobics has started up again.

(What good timing!)

Classes are Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays starting at 6:30 in the basement* of the high school. Everyone is welcome to try the classes for free this week if they mention they saw it on the huddle. "
"The price is $40 for 4 months. It is better if you sign up at the gym because if your a member the classes are included in the gym membership. This way you can use the gym and take the classes too."

"* The entrance to the basement is located near the nurse’s office. If you go through the double doors near the auditorium and keep going straight past the music wing towards the middle school wing you will pass the library and the computer lab. The basement door is on the right
side."

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It was very quiet around the village, yesterday, or so I thought until I went to the Library looking for SMILES!

As soon as I went in the side door I could hear what sounded like a group of teenage girls at a slumber party: lots of laughing and giggling --- and I knew there would be smiles, there, so I followed the sounds ........

................... and found a bonanza of eight smiling faces belonging to members of a weekly card group - all having a wonderful time!

Unfortunately, I didn't give my camera time to unfog, so they look a little blurry, but the girls certainly were anything but!

In the office, another smiling face:

Library Director Jeff Reynolds, with his own favorite smile-maker card.

I can't ever leave the Library without looking to see what's new in the Nook ---- a "bargain basement" of used books and CDs and videos .......... and the price is always right! It's sponsored by the Friends of the Library. Be sure to check it out!

Tomorrow afternoon at the Library

Kids' Club

Join us every Wednesday at 3pm for crafts, snacks, games, adventures, friends and more! Kindergarten - 6th grade Kids in 2nd - 6th grade can be dropped off

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WCS SPORTS
TUESDAY'S SCORES

WATERVILLE 50, COOPERSTOWN 42
Cooperstown 10 12 9 11 -42
Waterville 8 14 12 16 -50
Cooperstown (2-1, 5-1): Sumer Murdock 3, Emma Ryanmiller 11, Nicole Cring 6, Holli Erkson 10, Molly Pearlman 12. Totals: 19-1-42.
Waterville (3-0, 5-2): Jenna Fallon 10, Kastie Buell 6, Siobhan Fitzgerald 5, Kristen Kochanowski 4, Jessica Zogby 14, Lauren Homer 11. Totals: 20-8-50.
3-point goals: Cooperstown, Erkson 2, Ryanmiller 1. Waterville, Fallon 2.
JV: Waterville, 49-31.

Bowling:

WATERVILLE 5, MOHAWK 0
Oriskany Falls
Waterville (5-0): Shawna VonMatt 187-541.
Mohawk (4-4): Brittany Macrina 201-514.

WEDNESDAY


6:00PM
Girls JUNIOR VARSITY VOLLEYBALL

Hamilton Central School
@ Waterville Central School
Memorial Park Elem. School

7:00PM
Girls VARSITY VOLLEYBALL

Hamilton Central School
@ Waterville Central School
Memorial Park Elem. School

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TUESDAY RIDE- AROUND

I know that some people made decorative use of the greenery on the old tree that fell in St. Bernard's Cemetery, shortly before Christmas, and now it appears that the remainder of the wood will also be put to good use providing heat in someone's wood stove!

You wouldn't know it was Winter.

Fields are bare ..........

............ and 'tho there is little open water in the pond above the Gridley - Paige Road waterfall......

............ the pond at the foot of Grant hill was far from frozen over.

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Sometimes I forget to look at little things, during the Winter, but
the bright berries on Wild Rose and High Bush Cranberry could make a nice arrangement!

The eight- and ten-foot tall Phragmites always reminds me of calligraphy class (a hundred years ago!") That was the reed that Pheonecians used to make the first
"pens," sometime around the 8th century, CE.

I used to make my own reed pens, cutting phragmites in the Utica Marsh, and Ed Carter (who had a jewelry and watch repair store where the Village Diner is now) saved broken watch springs for me. When curved just the right way and wedged inside the reed, the springs helped hold ink inside the nib!

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ANOTHER REMINISCENCE

This, from Troy Bishopp, the "Grass Whisperer," of Deansboro, was in my morning mail.

I enjoyed reading it, and I hope you will, too.

Mittens

Published In Lancaster Farming 1/1/2011

"Several years ago I had the very good fortune of being a grazing mentor for the Regional Farm and Food Project. In that capacity, I worked with an incredibly passionate grass farmer from East Meredith, N.Y. named Catharina Kessler. This descendant of Swedish royalty carefully nurtured her Black Angus cattle, multi-colored sheep and pastured poultry as we discussed grazing strategies, water systems, marketing and her life-long dream to become a farmer. By the time the mentorship ended we had become good friends. Upon graduation, I framed a poem I wrote especially for her farm and in return she presented me with handmade mittens.


These were no ordinary mitts, they were handcrafted from her own wool and made in the traditional Lovikka style of northern Sweden’s indigenous people. On the radius of the cuff, in order, were the colors yellow, blue and green. She said, “In the spirit of my homeland these represent the sun, the water and the grass.” Being that these were the first mittens she created since being on the farm, I was truly honored by this warm gift with so much history.

Today, for some strange reason I looked at those mittens closer, a little tattered and torn, with my hands still warm, wrapped around the steering wheel of my tractor and thought about Catharina’s yarn. It’s a tale of quality and love that is timeless. You just don’t find that with a pair of gloves from Walmart. Because they are so special, I keep’em no matter what, even with holes created by farming’s wear and tear. Luckily I have a secret weapon to make them last---mom’s mittens.

I am a mitten throwback. When all the kids in the neighborhood were donning the latest in linings coupled with psychedelic color tones, I was wearing custom-made hand-ware with an extra long cuff from my Mommy. She would ask what color you wanted (in general) and then match it up with shades of whatever spoke to her that day at the local sewing shop. No two pair were ever alike. Sometimes you would get black striped, rainbow tipped and the occasional zigzag pattern. Every once in while, my brother and I would fight over a pair when she really hit the color sweet spot. Dallas Cowboy’s motif comes to mind.

I don’t remember anyone brave enough to mess with two rugged farm boys wearing mom’s mittens. You just didn’t go there. Winter football in the front yard reminds me how valuable they were. Hiking the cold pigskin into a teenage boy’s hardened gloves was a recipe for fumbles and the ever famous, “dogpile”, while the mitts clung to the ball like summertime. Us mitten-wielding teenagers never complained because our fingers were together and warm, except for the lonely thumb, but we could have him join the digit family to stay warm between downs. If we were really serious we would double up a pair and watch the competition whine.

Believe it or not, I tried to “knit one pearl two” but ended my career just making a funny looking headband. I’m not treading on my mom’s mojo. Her prowess as a “ninja with needles” has clothed my daughter’s tootsies, made dish cloths and hot-pads for my wife and like my friend from Houghtaling Hollow is creating warmth with a story.

The tenderness of handmade items doesn’t end at the farm. My mom is part of a local volunteer group of twenty ladies ranging in age from 50 to 90 that meets once a month to make hats for cancer patients. The Caps for Cancer gals have produced and donated thousands of caps, shawls and lap blankets from donated yarn, free of charge to the Regional Cancer Center at Faxton Hospital in Utica, N.Y. for patients needing the same comfort as a farmer’s hands.

In an ironic family twist, my mother-in-law is one of these patients who has benefited recently from a very sturdy and pretty yellow hat. The caring group have even compiled a pattern booklet and have a sister organization starting in California, all at the hands of some passionate women.

Upon examining Catharina’s “holy” mittens from the tractor seat, I stopped and thought of mom’s work with the caps. Covering the tears in the sacred mittens was an easy and spiritual fix ----just put my mom’s mittens underneath as a sheath and move on. Never did two pairs of anything go together so well and with so much heart. Might seem odd but I actually took a picture of the two new old friends. My fingers really enjoyed the marriage between the cultures and styles of Sweden and New York.

I saw a pair of Catharina’s famous wool mittens at a raffle auction and put several bids in amounting to eighty dollars, but alas I was denied at the end by someone who needed the love a little bit more. I can hear your question, “Eighty dollars for a pair of real wool mittens?” Are you crazy?

I did the math and no, not in the least. For me, it was only 8 bucks a year for heirloom quality hand-wear, made from local ingredients, stimulating business on a farm and creating a lasting memory with a fellow farmer. Heck, I should have paid a hundred dollars for them. It’s hard to depreciate a good story."

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Have a great day, everyone!