The Country Editor North 5.8.13

May 8, 2013Volume 1 Number 4

Bush libraryexhibits

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The

Just good reading

CCountryy EditorNorth

Chicken

Check-In

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Moss Islandby Richard Barrett

If you’re looking tospend a few qualityhours communing with

nature in the great out-doors, a recreational

oasis awaits along thescenic walkways andwaterways that bisectthe City of Little Falls.The James W. Miller ‘Miracle Mile and a Half’walking and biking trailruns parallel to theMohawk River and ErieCanal, and makes up aportion of the 365-milelong New York StateCanal Way Trail Systemthat stretches fromBuffalo to Albany.

The trail is accessiblefrom trail heads at twodifferent locations —Fincks Basin Road alongRoute 169, and alsofrom Flint Avenue offRoute 167 near the LittleFalls Canal Harbor mari-na.

Across the river,there’s also an approxi-mately mile-long access

road leading fromBenton’s Landing near

the Canal Place his-toric district to a hydro-

electric power plant, with tiny Moss Island andLock 17 a little furtherbeyond. The toweringblack sheer cliffs thatline the trail havebecome a popular spotfor rock climbing andbouldering, and thereare picnic tables avail-able to have lunch. Onweekends, an experi-enced climber is some-times available to givebasic rock climbing les-sons, and equipment isavailable on loan.

If your timing is right,you may also have theopportunity to watch aboat lock-through, navi-gating the dramatic 43-foot height differentialbetween the canal’supper and lower waterlevels found at Lock 17.It’s the biggest differen-tial found along theentire canal’s lock sys-tem and it’s captivatingto watch the process inaction.

by Robin PanagakosIt had been a funny day,

light-wise. Periods of grimgray light gave way to bril-liant sunlight like a duelseveral times during themorning. Intermittently, ahalf-hearted rain sprin-kled out of the sky.

When the rain becameheavier around noon, Iknew I couldn’t let thechance to see a rainbowgo by. I jumped into thecar and headed for opencountry, i.e., Plain Road.There the brilliant sunhung just above the hillsto the west, and the rainyblack sky to the eastbrewed the perfect recipefor a rainbow. Drivingnorth from Route 2 therewas no sign of a rainbow.

I kept going slowly,turning onto Plain Roadlooking eastward.

Suddenly across the

fields and forests of anunfamiliar unworldlylandscape, a rainbowappeared. Its endsreached all the way to theearth. Its clear bright col-ors gleamed. At intervalsanother small rainbowwould appear, pulsingnear the bottom of itsright side, then disappear.

A couple drove onto thefield next to me to soak inthis phenomenon, camerain hand. We opened ourcar windows and laughedand shared our totaldelight in this loveliness.

I asked myself why Iwas so thrilled. Yes, arainbow is a rare andbeautiful thing, but Icouldn’t understand thefeeling I experiencedwhile looking at it. Andthat’s okay. It was rareand beautiful and I drankit in.

The Rainbow

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The towering black sheer cliffs that line the trail have become a popularspot for rock climbing and bouldering. Photo by Richard Barrett

Hiking 3

There are a few good fishing spots or if paddlingfloats your boat, you can put in a kayak or canoeat the nearby marina.

Photo by Joan Kark-Wren

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• May 8,2013

by Kelly GatesIn the city of Eugene, OR, there are an estimated

6,000 citizens who raise chickens in their backyards.Unlike rural farmers, most of these urbanites culti-vate produce and raise chickens as a hobby.

And unlike full time farmers, city dwellers oftentake vacations during the summer months, requiringchicken sitting or boarding services while they areaway.

Enter Bill Bezuk, owner of The Eugene BackyardFarmer, an urban farming supply store in downtownEugene.

“We started offering chicken sitting services a few

years ago, but it often lengthened our work days tonearly 16 hours since we had to let our clients’chickens out of their coops at dawn and put themback at dusk,” Bezuk said. “That was way too muchwork, so we decided to invite people to bring theirchickens to us.”

The Eugene Backyard Farmer already housed achicken run and coop on the property to house fiveegg-laying hens. The hens are not for sale. They sim-ply act as the company’s mascots and live props aspart of a chicken products display just outside themain retail store.

When Bezuk decided to open his overnight poultryplace, he added two more chicken runs and two newcoops to the site, dubbing them the “BlueAndalusian Suite” and “The Gold Campine Suite” —both named after species of chickens.

Then, he posted news of the grand opening of hischicken hotel, aptly named “The Nest,” on Facebook.

“One of our Facebook fans is a newscaster andonce a story ran on television locally, calls startedcoming in nonstop,” he said. “We have one of thechicken suites booked through Christmas alreadythis year and we are taking reservations constantlyfor the second coop.”

The Nest offers two chicken choices. A standardstay at the hotel runs $2 per night and includesaccess to a private chicken run, a fresh coop, andclean water.

The deluxe package runs $3 per night andincludes all of the above, plus organic seeds,chopped organic vegetables and a nightly “turndownservice.”

“Our turndown service entails the scattering of ahandful of meal worms near the end of the run nextto the coop, coaxing the chickens to willfully enterthe coop after enjoying a delicious evening snack,”said Bezuk. “Both of our suites are split level coopswith nest boxes upstairs. They also have removablepanels so we can open up the coops and clean themthoroughly.”

This cleaning process is important to ensure thatbiosecurity hazards do not arise. The Nest is alsocareful to keep each chicken suite and its overnightvisitors in separate, private runs and coops to avoidunsavory social interactions between unrelatedflocks.

The Nest was established nearly one year ago. Andbased on the high demand, Bezuk is already making

plans for possible future expansion.“Our entire property is about 20,000 sq. ft. and our

store only takes up 2,000 sq. ft. of that. We also havethe chicken coops, bee hives and a few other struc-tures, but the bulk of the space is currently parkinglot,” he noted. “We could easily expand to two moresuites and private runs or more, but only if businesscontinues to grow.”

For now, the staff at The Eugene Backyard Farmeris happy taking reservations and tending to theguests that stay in The Nest’s existing accommoda-tions. They also text chicken owners pictures of theirpoultry while they are away and manage a “valet”service that enables owners to conveniently drop offand pick up their chickens in boxes or crates.

Chicken check-in

The Nest offers two chicken choices. A standardstay at the hotel runs $2 per night and includesaccess to a private chicken run, a fresh coop, andclean water. The deluxe package runs $3 per nightand includes all of the above, plus organic seeds,chopped organic vegetables and a nightly “turn-down service.”

Photos courtesy of “The Nesting Place”

For now, the staff at The Eugene BackyardFarmer is happy taking reservations and tend-ing to the guests that stay in The Nest’s exist-ing accommodations. They also text chickenowners pictures of their poultry while they areaway and manage a “valet” service thatenables owners to conveniently drop off andpick up their chickens in boxes or crates.

On weekends, an experienced climber issometimes available to give basic rockclimbing lessons, and equipment is avail-able on loan.

Photo by Richard Barrett

Hiking from 1by Richard Barrett

Either of these trails offers a little something for every-one. You can take a leisurely stroll, ride a bike, or rollerblade on the paved, relatively flat trails, which wendtheir way through steep, monolithic rock formations onone side and the scenic Mohawk River on the other. Thedistinctive stone and brick architecture making up theLittle Falls “skyline” is visible in the distance.Photographers should remember to bring their cameras,

since there are an abundance of photo opportunities.There are a few good fishing spots along here too, or if

paddling floats your boat, you can put in a kayak orcanoe at the nearby marina, located on the SouthernAvenue Extension, across from Little Falls Lumber. Andwhen everyone is tired and thirsty at the end of the out-ing, head over to Canal Place, where you’ll find quaintrestaurants and eateries, browse antique stores, or relaxin a café and enjoy a coffee, cold beverage or an ice

cream cone. You can spend just an hour or two here, or

pack a lunch and make an entire day of it.There’s plenty to do, lots of variety and thescenery is spectacular, especially during thefall when autumn’s vibrant colors are on fulldisplay. Another fun time to visit is duringthe city’s annual Canal Days festival, which isheld in August and features a 10k road race,kiddy rides and amusements, a fishing derby,local music, barbecue, water sports, and anantique car show.

Even though it may feel like you’re out inthe country, in fact, you’re smack dab in themiddle of Herkimer County’s only city, lovelyLittle Falls, with its unique geography, smalltown charm, and awesome natural beauty, isanother diamond in the rough, ripe forexploring.

There are breathtaking views, photographers should remember tobring their cameras.

Photo by Joan Kark-Wren

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by Kirsten Grieshaber, Associated PressBERLIN (AP) — They were feasts of

sublime asparagus — laced with fear.And for more than half a century,Margot Woelk kept her secret hiddenfrom the world, even from her hus-band. Then, a few months after her95th birthday, she revealed the truthabout her wartime role: Adolf Hitler’sfood taster.

Woelk, then in her mid-twenties,spent two and a half years as one of 15young women who sampled Hitler’sfood to make sure it wasn’t poisonedbefore it was served to the Nazi leaderin his “Wolf’s Lair,” the heavily guardedcommand center in what is nowPoland, where he spentmuch of his time in thefinal years of World WarII.

“He was a vegetarian.He never ate any meatduring the entire time Iwas there,” Woelk said ofthe Nazi leader. “AndHitler was so paranoidthat the British wouldpoison him — that’s whyhe had 15 girls taste thefood before he ate it him-self.”

With many Germanscontending with foodshortages and a blanddiet as the war draggedon, sampling Hitler’s food had itsadvantages.

“The food was delicious, only thebest vegetables, asparagus, bell pep-pers, everything you can imagine. Andalways with a side of rice or pasta,” sherecalled. “But this constant fear — weknew of all those poisoning rumorsand could never enjoy the food. Everyday we feared it was going to be ourlast meal.”

The petite widow’s story is a tale of

the horror, pain and dislocationendured by people of all sides who sur-vived World War II.

Only now in the sunset of her life hasshe been willing to relate her experi-ences, which she had buried becauseof shame and the fear of prosecutionfor having worked with the Nazis,although she insists she was never aparty member. She told her story asshe flipped through a photo albumwith pictures of her as a youngwoman, in the same Berlin apartmentwhere she was born in 1917.

Woelk first revealed her secret to alocal Berlin reporter a few months ago.Since then interest in her life story has

been overwhelming.School teachers wroteand asked her forphotos and auto-graphs to bring histo-ry alive for their stu-dents. Severalresearchers from amuseum visited to askfor details about herlife as Hitler’s taster.

Woelk says herassociation with Hitlerbegan after she fledBerlin to escape Alliedair attacks. With herhusband gone andserving in the Germanarmy, she moved in

with relatives about 435 miles to theeast in Rastenburg, then part ofGermany; now it is Ketrzyn, in whatbecame Poland after the war.

There she was drafted into civilianservice and assigned for the next twoand a half years as a food taster andkitchen bookkeeper at the Wolf’s Laircomplex, located a few miles outsidethe town. Hitler was secretive, even inthe relative safety of his headquarters,that she never saw him in person —

only his German shepherd Blondieand his SS guards, who chatted withthe women.

Hitler’s security fears were notunfounded. On July 20, 1944, a trust-ed colonel detonated a bomb in theWolf’s Lair in an attempt to kill Hitler.He survived, but nearly 5,000 peoplewere executed following the assassina-tion attempt, including the bomber.

“We were sitting on wooden bencheswhen we heard and felt an incrediblebig bang,” she said of the 1944 bomb-ing. “We fell off the benches, and Iheard someone shouting ‘Hitler isdead!’ But he wasn’t.”

Following the blast, tension rosearound the headquarters. Woelk said

the Nazis orderedher to leave herrelatives’ homeand move into anabandoned schoolcloser to the com-pound.

With the Sovietarmy on theoffensive and thewar going badlyfor Germany, oneof her SS friendsadvised her toleave the Wolf’sLair.

She said shereturned by trainto Berlin andwent into hiding.

Woelk said theother women onthe food tastingteam decided toremain inRastenburg sincetheir familieswere all there andit was their home.

“Later, I foundout that theRussians shot allof the 14 other

girls,” she said. It was after Soviettroops overran the headquarters inJanuary 1945.

When she returned to Berlin, shefound a city facing complete destruc-tion. Round-the-clock bombing by U.S.and British planes was grinding thecity center to rubble.

On April 20, 1945, Soviet artillerybegan shelling the outskirts of Berlinand ground forces pushed throughtoward the heart of the capital againststrong resistance by die-hard SS andHitler Youth fighters.

After about two weeks of heavy fight-ing, the city surrendered on May 2 —after Hitler, who had abandoned theWolf’s Lair about five months before,had committed suicide. His successorsurrendered a week later, ending thewar in Europe.

For many Berlin civilians — theirhomes destroyed, family membersmissing or dead and food almost gone— the horror did not end with capitu-lation.

Like millions of Germans and otherEuropeans, Woelk began rebuildingher life and trying to forget as best shecould her bitter memories and theshame of her association with a crimi-nal regime that had destroyed much ofEurope.

She worked in a variety of jobs,mostly as a secretary or administrativeassistant. Her husband returned fromthe war but died 23 years ago, shesaid.

With the frailty of advanced age andthe lack of an elevator in her building,she has not left her apartment for thepast eight years. Nurses visit severaltimes a day, and a niece stops by fre-quently, she said.

Now at the end of her life, she feelsthe need to purge the memories bytalking about her story.

“For decades, I tried to shake offthose memories,” she said. “But theyalways came back to haunt me atnight.”

Hitler’s food taster tells of poisoning fears

Wöelk, who is 95 is only recently speaking about her experiences as one of Hitler’s food tasters.Photos courtesy of Spiegel Online, www.spiegel.de

Margot Wöelk is pictured with her husband Karl, who she married quicklyin 1939 before he was deployed with the Wehrmacht.They didn’t see eachother again until 1946 when he returned from being a prisoner of war.

“But this constant

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Every day we feared

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our last meal.”

~ Margot Woelk

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• May 8,2013

(BPT) — “What is thatrattling? Is it serious?”We all can get a littleparanoid about a newsound our car is making.Those sounds can cer-tainly be annoying, butwhat people don’t realizeis sometimes thosesounds may be linked tosomething more serious.

About 7 percent of carcrashes are caused bysome kind of vehicle fail-ure, with tire degrada-tion and brake systemfailures topping the list,according to the NationalMotor Vehicle CrashCausation Survey fromthe National HighwayTraffic Safety Adminis-tration. But tire andbrake failure aren’t theonly types of vehicleproblems that can leadto accidents — engine,steering system and sus-pension failures alsocause crashes.

“Getting your oilchanged, tires rotatedand brake pads checkedregularly not only helpskeep your car runningsmoothly, but it alsohelps keep you and yourfamily safe,” said MattMyers, senior vice presi-dent of claims with ErieInsurance. “It’s also im-portant to check yourcar’s transmission fluidsand get the 50,000-mileand 100,000-milechecks. It might soundlike a lot, but regularpreventative mainte-nance is the best way tokeep those strange carnoises — and accidents— to a minimum.”

Here are six commoncar noises people hearand what they couldmean:

Humming or GroaningWhen you hear hum-

ming while driving atfaster speeds, it’s a signthere probably is somewear on your tires,which can lead to seri-ous issues. It could belocated on the insides of

your tires, which is hardto diagnose on your own,but not having itchecked is a risk, be-cause the steel belts inthe tire might be comingapart.

GrowlingThis noise could

change or even go awaywhen you turn thewheel, but it is usuallycaused by a defectivefront wheel bearing. Thechange in noise could bea result of the shift in theweight of the car as youturn.

Whining and CreakingYou might hear these

noises backing up orturning. It could be theresult of a ball joint or tierod seizing up.

SqueakingThis can be a high-

pitched, steady annoy-ance that lets you knowit’s time to get yourbrake pads checked orreplaced.

GrindingThis sound means two

pieces of metal aretouching when theyshouldn’t be. This soundcould be a multitude ofthings: brakes, power-train, suspension orsomething else. Whatev-er the case, a grindingsound means you needto get your car checkedout as soon as possible.

HissingA hissing sound might

occur after you turn offyour ignition and cansometimes be followedby smoke from underyour hood.

The next time you hearstrange noises comingfrom your car, don’t justturn up the radio todrown them out — getthem checked by a me-chanic. Ignoring thosenoises today could leadto a dangerous and ex-pensive situation tomor-row.

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Automotive

Erie Insurance urges drivers to pay attention to strange car noises before you end up stranded on the side of the road.

Rattling down the highway?What those common

car noises mean

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(BPT) — With summerjust around the corner,it’s time to get-your car-in tip-top shape to with-stand hot days and longroad trips. Summer driv-ing requires your car torun differently; some ad-justments and inspec-tions are important toensure your vehicle lastsseason to season. Followthese five fast fixes andinspections to cruise

through the summer andavoid roadsideheadaches.

Tire Care Tires perform differ-

ently in different weatherconditions, so as theweather changes, it’s im-portant to check tirepressure and tire tread.To check tire tread, see ifthe built-in “wear bars”are visible. These are

narrow strips of rubberacross the tires that ap-pear when the tread isworn down to one-six-teenth of an inch. If youcan see wear bars, yourtires need to be replaced.

De-winterize Your Car De-winterizing your

car is easy and afford-able. First, check all thefluid levels — coolant,transmission, differen-

tial, power steering andbrake fluid — to makesure there aren’t anyleaks. It’s also a goodidea to change the oil be-tween seasons, as oilgets thick and collectscondensation if it sits inthe engine all winter.

It’s also important tothoroughly clean the-un-dercarriage of your carafter a long winter, espe-cially if you live in asnowy climate. To avoidspending extra money ondetailing, clean the un-dercarriage yourself us-ing a basic water hose orhigh-pressure cleaningsystem. In just a fewminutes, you can ensureyour vehicle is ready forthe new road conditionsand help you avoid anyunnecessary issues.

Check the ACYour air conditioning

system will be workingovertime in the summer,so take time to test it tomake sure it’s workingproperly. Since the vehi-cle’s refrigerant is underhigh pressure and harm-ful to the atmosphere,it’s best to leave any in-spection or maintenance

to a qualified profession-al. Mechanics can easilytrap and recycle used re-frigerant with the propertools, and you can driveoff with confidence you’llstay cool all summer.

Inspect Hoses andBelts

The key to comfort-able, safe summer driv-ing is keeping the enginecool, and hoses and beltsplay a huge part in help-ing your engine runproperly. Hoses pumpcoolant to and from theengine block, and beltsrun the fan that coolsthe system further. If thehoses crack or the beltssnap, the radiator willquickly overheat, leaving

you stranded. Checkhoses for cracks, leaksand loose connections.Hoses should be firm,never soft and malleable,and belts can be visuallychecked for damage. Ifanything is noticeablywrong, get it fixed imme-diately, before you’restranded in the summerheat.

Vehicles need updatingand maintenancethrough the changing ofthe seasons, but a feweasy steps can prevent asummer of unexpectedissues and repairs. Startnow on these preventa-tive maintenance tipsand you’ll be cruisingsmoothly all season long.

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AutomotiveFast fixes and tips for a summer-ready car

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May 4, 2013

Hello Again,

Isn’t experience sup-posed to be the greatteacher? Let’s stop andchat about this for awhile. England, France,Spain and, more recently,Soviet Russia spreadtheir wings over an ever-growing number of coun-tries until they nearlywent broke. Even thegreat Roman Empirestirred up the world witha wooden ‘pudden’ stickand ended up notamounting to a row ofbeans.

Can’t we Americansever learn from the expe-rience of other countries?I believe we – the USA-has military bases in over190 countries. Who do wethink we are? It appearswe are supporting coun-tries all over the worldwith borrowed money.Can you imagine that?With borrowed money?

Now let’s take a not-so-long-ago look at a situa-tion in this country.

When I was in highschool in Cooperstown,NY during the 1950’s Iwas the owner of a 1942Chevrolet Club Coupecar, a Western Auto Doo-dle Bug scooter, a HarleyDavidson 125 motorcycle

and a new Olds Studiomodel trumpet. Oh yeah,a double-barreled shotgun too. Graduated fromCooperstown CentralHigh School. During all ofmy high school years, Ihad a part time job whichpaid the minimum wageset by state law at 60cents per hour. I receivedno financial assistancefrom anyone. I earned themoney, by working, andwith earned money pur-chased those items. Inaddition to those goodies,I also had money in mypocket, and paid cash infull at the time of eachpurchase.

By now you must bewondering, am I tootingmy own horn or is there amore meaningful reason?Recently it has been re-ported that the New YorkState education depart-ment is faced with a seri-ous problem. A largenumber of high schoolstudents are droppingout of school permanent-ly. It seems our educatorsare doing a magnificentjob of teaching both par-ents and students thatthey should attend col-lege after high school.

I maintain that toomuch effort is spent onencouraging college edu-cation and too little onpreparing for a successfullife if a student decidesthat college is not forhim.

Now let’s get back tomy high school yearswith the 60 cent per hourminimum wage. Remem-ber – I had a job and wasable to purchase, with myown earned money, not ahandout from Dad orMom.

You might be askingwhy don’t high schoolstudents do the same to-day? The answer is sim-ple, straightforward, andhonest. They could notfind a part time job now ifthey wanted one. Why?Who or what employer isgoing to shell out over$10. per hour to hire ahigh school student?

Now – I ask how manyof the dropouts wouldcontinue school if theyhad a part time job? Itseems reasonable to me ifthey do not have the goalof college ahead and theydo not have any moneynow, why wouldn’t theythink about dropping outand finding some kind ofjob?

Wouldn’t it make goodsense to set a minimumwage at $5 per hour forstudents? With that part-time job, they would havespending money and pos-sibly would even finishhigh school.

At the $5 wage scale,employers would lookmore favorable on hiring

a high school or collegestudent and the studentwould learn what earnedmoney really means andhave pride. With the pres-ent proposed system, thestudent would not have ajob nor any earned mon-ey.

At the present timeboth our president andour governor are pushingfor a raise in minimumwage. The only thing thatwill happen with a newhigher minimum wage –fewer people will be em-ployed, and students willbe able to read about thegood old days when theirage group could holddown part-time employ-ment.

Jack up college costsand eliminate part-timeemployment, can youimagine what kind of anidiot would include thatin his platform to run fora national or state office?

While on the subject ofeducation, little Johnnywas complaining aboutattending Sunday School.He said, “I don’t believeDaddy had to go to Sun-day School.” “You can be-lieve he did,” his mothersaid, “every Sunday.”“Well ok,” he grumbled,“but I don’t believe it willdo me any good either.”

My father’s doctor wasa weather predictor onradio before he graduated

from medical school.When Dad asked him forhis assessment on hishealth problem, the doc-tor replied, “There is a 60percent chance you willget better and a 40 per-cent chance you won’t.”Dad then asked, “Whatwill happen if the 60 per-cent doesn’t work?” Thedoctor replied, “You willprobably have a 40 per-cent chance of living anda 60 percent chance thatyou won’t.”

The Herkimer Homenear Little Falls issteeped in history – wellworth a visit. It is locatedat 200 State Route 169,Little Falls, NY or NYSThruway Exit 29A, siteentrance is the first rightafter the toll booths.Phone: 315-823-0398.

The Herkimer family lo-cal history started withJohn Jost Hercheimer in1725. He was an indus-trial farmer and trader.As a major Mohawk Val-ley landowner, he aquiredover 5,000 acres of landsouth of the Mohawk.

By the 1770’s, his sonNicholas Herkimer hadbecome the wealthiestmember of the MohawkValley’s American-Ger-man Community.Nicholas Herkimer gainedmilitary experience as acaptain in the French andIndian Wars, at the out-break of the revolution.He fully embraced theAmerican cause and wascommissioned BrigadierGeneral.

During the summer of1777 in an attempt toward off a British attackat Ft. Stanwix, GeneralHerkimer was seriouslywounded in the leg. Sixdays later, his leg wasunskillfully amputated.He died a few hours later.His residence, theHerkimer Home, is a true

shrine to an early Ameri-can hero and well worth avisit.

We have often been toldabout residents of NewYork City who have nevervisited the Empire StateBuilding or the Statue ofLiberty. I wonder howmany Mohawk Valley na-tives have never visitedthe Herkimer Home, wentfor a boat ride on the Mo-hawk River, or other his-torical places.

Our Mohawk Valley isabsolutely a God givengarden spot, loaded withnot only natural beautybut historical wonder-ment. We are blessed tobe able to live here.

Winter is over - comeon out and enjoy ourspringtime valley. Sayhello to your neighborsand thank God for givingus this beautiful valley tolive in. If you see the redbike (roadster), be sure towave.

The old time farmersbelieved in spring tonics.The one I recommend,“Go to church on Sunday.It could offer the elixirwhich will greatly im-prove your life.”

Fred Lee and Family

Automotive

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by Lisa A. Flam,Associated Press

For it’s one, two, threestrikes, you’re... mar-ried?

A major league base-ball stadium might beone of the last places youwould consider for yourfairytale wedding. Afterall, come game day, theballpark is often filledwith droves of beer-swill-ing and -spilling, hot-dog-chomping fans, re-splendent in their home-team finery.

Some couples, though,find that the massivestadiums where they en-joy hearing the crack ofthe bat can also be theperfect place to heartheir beloved say, “I do.”

When she chose a re-ception site for her wed-ding on June 2, 2012,Melissa Cantarow ofBoston was mindful thatmost of her 150 guestswere arriving from otherstates.

She and her fiance, Je-remy, wanted a uniquelocation that would showoff their city, and showtheir fun-loving friendsand relatives a goodtime.

Once the Red Sox fanswere pronounced hus-band and wife in achurch ceremony, theCantarows and theirguests headed to a for-mal evening reception atFenway Park.

“We figured for peoplepossibly seeing Fenwayfor the first time, thiswould be a great way tosee it and would be agreat introduction to thecity and to sort of theheart of Boston,” Can-tarow said.

Before the big day,however, the couplefaced skepticism.

“Our parents were alittle bit wary of us get-ting married there be-cause it’s not very tradi-tional and people werelike, ‘Are you going to beeating hot dogs for din-ner?”’ said Cantarow,27. “They couldn’t imag-ine it still being a formalwedding.”

The party was held in aluxury event space over-looking the field. Therewas a sit-down dinner attables decorated withtwinkling candles, pinkpeony centerpieces andgold Chivari chairs, togive the room a morebridal feel.

“We tried to dress the

room up so it wasn’tyour typical sticky floors,draft beer” ballpark feel-ing, Cantarow said. “Wewanted to give people anelevated experience ofFenway.”

Though Fenway onlyallows weddings on non-game days, the baseballlovers enjoyed snappingphotos with World Seriestrophies and other base-ball paraphernalia. Hav-ing the wedding at Fen-way allowed an other-wise formal event to be“a little bit more fun andapproachable and excit-ing,” Cantarow said.

Baseball fans havebeen celebrating nup-tials at major leagueballparks for at least fiveto 10 years, and whilesome parks have seen anincrease, the numbersremain small. Fenwayhas 25 to 30 weddingevents a year; Citi Field,home to the New YorkMets, five or six; TurnerField, where the AtlantaBraves play, 13 to 18;and four to five are heldat U.S. Cellular Field,where the Chicago WhiteSox play.

Many people don’t re-alize you can celebrate ata ballpark, said AnjaWinikka, site director forTheKnot.com, thoughballpark weddings havegrown in popularity asmore couples seekunique locations.

“It falls into the catego-ry where couples didaway with the idea of atraditional venue andthey went for somethingthat was truly them,”Winikka said.

Each park has its own

policies on when andwhere celebrations canbe held, and sets its ownprices. Fenway, for ex-ample, charges a $3,000ceremony fee, $7,000 touse the EMC Club,where the Cantarowscelebrated, plus the costof food and drinks.

Ceremonies and recep-tions at ballparks can befancy with a night of din-ner and dancing, or keptcasual and folksy. Theycan be infused with theaura of the game (pictureCracker Jack center-pieces), or not. But nomatter. It seems that ifyou invite people to aballpark wedding, beprepared for most every-one to accept.

Bridal couples (andtheir lucky guests) loveto experience the stadi-ums and fields in a wayfew people do. Imaginesaying your vows athome plate with yourguests watching fromthe stands, posing forformal portraits atopyour favorite team’sdugout, or seeing yournames or photos on thegiant TV screens.

Ashley and CodyCrank welcomed 200guests to their receptionat Kauffman Stadium onOct. 20, 2012, someeight years after theytook in a Kansas CityRoyals game on theirfirst date.

The couple, who mar-ried in a church ceremo-ny, immediately wentdown to the field to takephotos before retreatingto a dinner inside. Manyfriends, used to going tothe stadium in a base-

ball cap, didn’t realizehow elegant a weddingcould be there, AshleyCrank said.

“We shocked a lot ofpeople,” said Crank, 37,of Independence, MO.

“It was so magical,”she said. “I wanted it tobe kind of guyish forhim, but then I stillwanted an elegant wed-ding reception. So it wasperfect for him and per-fect for me.”

Trisha and Nick Ben-zine of Atlanta are hugesports fans, but the onlyteam they share a pas-sion for is the Braves.Not wanting to marry ina church, they tied theknot at Turner Field onNov. 3, 2012, and heldtheir formal receptionthere, too.

“Having the entire field

to ourselves, it wasamazing,” said TrishaBenzine, 33. “The viewwas breathtaking. Youwere there at night.There wasn’t anybody onthe field. It’s not some-thing you get to do everyday.”

The Los AngelesDodgers mean a lot toHolly and Jeff Lowzik,who grew up going togames and went togetherweekly for about a yearwhile they were dating.

“It’s a very happy placefor us,” said Jeff Lowzik,35, of Canyon Country,CA. For their wedding,“We were looking for aplace that representedus as best as we could.”

They didn’t want tobreak the bank on a$5,000 home-plate cere-mony. Instead, for about

the same cost, they had50 people to the stadi-um’s Loge Terrace onJuly 4, 2011, for a casu-al pregame ceremonyand reception featuringDodger Dogs, steak andpotatoes and weddingcake.

By the third inning,the group sat down inregular seats amid55,000 other fans towatch the Dodgers fall tothe Mets. For theLowziks, being thereduring a game was thepoint of a stadium wed-ding.

“Doing it the way wedid it, we’re at a game,this is the Dodgers play-ing, and we’re all thereexperiencing it and unit-ing ourselves,” Lowziksaid. “It was a wonderfulexperience.”

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by Dean Fosdick, AP

Sometimes the bestview isn’t what you seethrough a window butwhat catches your eyeunderneath it.

Window boxes delivercolor, edibles and fra-grance. They’re practical,too, as raised-bed gar-dens that elevate theircontents to within easyreach.

“Window boxes areconvenient containers,”said David Trinklein, ahorticulturist with Uni-versity of Missouri Ex-tension. “Plant themwith herbs, for example,and you won’t have to gooutside to bring in theharvest.”

If you have room for awindow box, you haveroom for a garden. Win-

dow boxes are ideal forsmall, shallow-rootedplants like radishes, let-tuce, marigolds, impa-tiens, pansies, begonias,parsley, basil, sage andthyme.

“Mix and match flow-ers with vegetables,” saidRhonda Ferree, an ex-tension educator withthe University of Illinois.“They need the same soiltypes and have the samewater preferences. Plantflowers toward the frontfor curb appeal; positionvegetables toward theback for easier access.”

The location of thewindow box usually dic-tates what you can grow,Trinklein said. “Windowboxes that get a blister-ing afternoon sun re-quire one thing. Windowboxes in shade require

another.”Fern Richardson, au-

thor of “Small SpaceContainer Gardens”(Timber Press, 2012) de-scribes herself as “a bigbeliever in creative win-dow boxing.”

“There’s nothing stop-ping window box garden-ers from adding gardenornaments to their box-es,” Richardson said.“Small gazing ballstucked between theplants can add a littlesparkle to a shady area.Gardeners can even useshort shepherd’s hooksto plant a hummingbirdfeeder in a window box.”

Window boxes workespecially well:

• As theme gardens.Find flowers that displayyour school colors, patri-otic mixtures that showthe flag or plants thatcomplement the paint onyour house.

• At delivering fra-grances. Fill windowboxes outside bedrooms

with evening primrose,four o’clocks (Mirabilis)and moonflowers for per-fume-like scents on stillsummer nights.

• For four-season gar-dening. Grow daffodils,grape hyacinth and

tulips in spring; orna-mental edibles like pep-pers, strawberries and

chives in summer; flow-ering kale and pansiesfor color through fall andwinter.

• To showcase house-plants. Display your fa-vorite potted plants inempty window boxes

during the summergrowing season. Thatwill free up some shelfspace indoors while en-hancing things outdoors.

“If there is no room inthe budget for a high-style window box, thriftygardeners can use spraypaint and even stencilsto upgrade inexpensiveplastic window boxesinto something that isone-of-a-kind,” Richard-son said. “Current fash-ion trends are always agreat place to look forcolor and pattern inspi-

ration.”Be careful, though,

when watering window-box gardens, Trinkleinsaid.

“Most plants die fromoverwatering in contain-ers, but window boxes

can dry out quickly fromexposure to wind andhot weather,” he said.“Add a soilless mediumlike vermiculite or peatmoss to the mix thatdrains well yet retainsmoisture and lightenstheir weight.

“Window boxes willneed tending maybethree times a week, butthat’s a small price topay for what they add inthe way of attractivenessto the home,” Trinkleinsaid.

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by Jamie Stengle,Associated Press

DALLAS, TEXAS (AP)— A tour of the GeorgeW. Bush Presidential Li-brary and Museum be-gins in a bright area rep-resenting his early do-mestic agenda, but withone turn, visitors findthemselves in a dark-ened room surroundedby chilling reminders ofthe Sept. 11 terrorist at-tacks.

This contrast, symbol-izing Bush’s abrupt shiftin priorities less thaneight months into hisfirst term, is among themost poignant exhibitsat a museum that alsochronicles the wars inAfghanistan and Iraq,Hurricane Katrina, theFlorida recount and vari-ous other historicalevents.

Bush told The Associ-ated Press recently thathe wanted to make surethe part of the museumdevoted to 9/11 waspowerful enough to re-mind visitors of howmuch the world changedthat day.

“It’s very emotional

and very profound,”Bush said. “One of thereasons it has to be isbecause memories arefading rapidly and theprofound impact of thatattack is becoming dimwith time, and we wantto make sure people re-member not only thelives lost and thecourage shown but thelesson that the humancondition overseas mat-ters to the national secu-rity of our country.”

The George W. BushPresidential Center,which includes the li-brary and museum alongwith 43rd president’spolicy institute, was ded-icated recently on thecampus of SouthernMethodist University inDallas. All the livingpresidents, includingPresident Barack Obamaand Bush’s father,George H.W. Bush, at-tended. It opened to thepublic on May 1.

The museum useseverything from newsclips to interactivescreens to artifacts to tellthe story of Bush’s eightyears in office. A con-tainer of chads — the

remnants of the famousFlorida punch cards — ispart of an exhibit aboutthe 2000 election, whichBush won after theSupreme Court orderedFlorida to stop its re-count process more thana month after ElectionDay.

In the 9/11 display,called the “Day of Fire,”video images from the at-tacks flash around a

twisted metal beam re-covered from the wreck-age of the World TradeCenter. The exhibit alsoincludes the bullhornBush used days later toaddress a crowd of res-cue workers at groundzero: “I can hear you.The rest of the worldhears you. And the peo-ple who knocked thesebuildings down will hearall of us soon.”

Longtime Bush adviserKaren Hughes wasstanding just a few feetaway from the presidentwhen he began makingthe unplanned speech.Hughes said she remem-bers turning to FederalEmergency ManagementAgency Director Joe All-baugh and saying,“That’s going to be in hislibrary someday.”

Brendan Miniter, who

served as the liaison forthe Bushes as the muse-um’s exhibits were devel-oped, said the idea wasto present the facts and“let them speak forthemselves.” He saidthey also did not want toshy away from more con-troversial aspects of theadministration.

“I suspect that people

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Bush library exhibits:9/11, war, Katrina, recount

Bush 11

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would have thought thatwe wouldn’t have talkedabout say enhanced in-terrogation techniquesor the decision to createthe prison in Guan-tanamo,” he said, addingthat former Secretary ofState Condoleezza Riceis featured in a videoabout why the adminis-tration felt both werenecessary.

Visitors also are takenthrough a timeline of thewars in Afghanistan andIraq. A display at the endmakes the case againstIraqi dictator SaddamHussein, including thathe ignored 17 United Na-tions Security Councilresolutions demandinghe disclose his weaponsprograms and fired atBritish and American pi-lots monitoring the U.N.-imposed no-fly zone.

The exhibit also ac-knowledges the biggest

controversy about thejustification for war: No

weapons of mass de-struction were found.

A “Decision PointsTheater,” lined with rowsof interactive screens,seeks to put visitors inthe shoes of a president.It provides facts for themto decide such questionsas whether to invadeIraq or provide bailoutmoney during the finan-cial crisis.

“It’s conflicting,”Miniter said. “You go tothe Capitol Hill andsomebody will say youneed to provide some re-sources to stabilize thefinancial industry, andthen somebody else willsay no, work let it workitself out, don’t do any-thing.”

A “Freedom Wall” inthe museum featurespictures including a sol-dier greeting children,

former first lady LauraBush supportingwomen’s rights and theBushes meeting withfreedom advocates.

The impact of AIDSaround the world — a fo-cus of Bush’s interna-tional outreach efforts —is illustrated with a largemap of the world. Smallphotographs of the facesof those suffering fromthe disease are placedinto the shapes of thecontinents of the world,with those with moreAIDS cases, includingAfrica, looming larger.

The museum also fea-tures a section on life atthe White House, dis-playing a ball that obvi-ously got some heavyuse by the Bushes’ latedog Barney. A full-scalereplica of the Oval Officeleads outside to an actu-al rose garden. The cen-ter also features a 15-acre park recreating a

Texas prairie.Bush said his focus

will continue to be theGeorge W. Bush Insti-tute, which has featuredprograms focused on ed-ucation, economicgrowth, global healthand human freedom.Through the institute,his activities have in-cluded yearly bike rideswith wounded militaryveterans and traveling toAfrica as part of an effortamong several groups tofight cervical and breastcancer in sub-SaharanAfrica.

He also recently tookup oil painting, inspiredby former British PrimeMinister WinstonChurchill. Bush, whowas the 43rd president,signs his works ‘43.’

“I’m a beginner and Itell people that the sig-nature on my paintingsis worth more than thepaintings,” Bush said.

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Bush from 10

by Pastor Dan West

Why do people do somany things that harmthemselves and others?We hear people sayingthings about others that

come from wrong im-pressions or misunder-standings, and they arestated as fact. Reputa-tions of innocent peoplehave been ruined by thisgossip. James, the half

brother of Jesus, likensthe tongue to a fire. “Seehow great a matter a lit-tle fire kindles,” he says.

The Apostle Paul ad-dressed the same issue

in Ephesians 4 with thissolution: your wordsshould “be good to theuse of edifying, that[they] may ministergrace to the hearers.”That means we should

be sure our words buildup others, not tear themdown.

Aristotle said “. . . whowe are is the total ofwhat we do . . . therefore

excellence is not a singleact but a practice.” Whatyou say about others willaffect what others sayabout you.

The Country Preacher

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BUTTE, MT (AP) — AGreat Falls man who losthis macaw in a divorce

more than five years agohas been reunited withthe bird, thanks to an ob-

servant friend.Mike Taylor picked up

the 25-year-old bird hecalls “Love Love” at Mon-tana’s Parrot & ExoticBird Sanctuary in Butteon Sunday.

Taylor said his wifesold the bird after a nastydivorce. “I’ve been kind oflooking for him the wholetime,” he said.

A friend of Taylor’s,Steven Campbell, recent-ly spotted the bird duringa visit to the sanctuary.

It took some time forCampbell to convince

Taylor. Then Taylor hadto convince sanctuaryfounder Lori McAlexan-der. But she said he knewthings about the bird thatonly a previous ownercould have known, like itwas blind in one eye, said“love love” and liked toplay peek-a-boo.

The bird was surren-dered to the sanctuary acouple of years ago afterit bit a woman so hardshe required medical at-tention, McAlexandersaid.

“I don’t even handle

him because he will biteme,” she said.

Love Love appeared torecognize Taylor rightaway.

“Hangs upside down al-ready, let me grab hisbeak, does his peeky-boo,likes to tuck his head,”said Taylor, who calledthe reunion “very hearttouching.”

“He’s himself again al-ready, he really is. Imean, he (didn’t) forget.”

Taylor also got thebird’s original cage backafter searching on

Craigslist. A woman whoobtained the contents ofhis ex-wife’s storage unitagreed to give him thecage back at no charge.

“It’s kind of weird howhe’s getting his bird andthe cage,” McAlexandersaid.

Taylor said he initiallygot the bird at a sanctu-ary in Salt Lake City afterit was rescued from awoman who reportedlybeat it with a broom.

Macaws can live up to50 years, according to theSan Diego Zoo.

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Man reunited with bird he lost in a divorce

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Photo by Montana’s Parrot & Exotic BirdSanctuary, Lori McAlexander

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Warm weather and thefirst buds of spring havebeen slow to arrive inmuch of the country.But even if your gardenhas yet to grow, you canadd beauty, fragranceand a sense of spring-time to your home bydecorating with lushplants and potted trees.

Decorating with plants“kind of fell out of vogue”for a time, says Califor-nia-based interior design-er Molly Luetkemeyer. “Itwas such a ‘70s thing, orI think people associatedit with the ‘70s,” but it’sbecome popular again inrecent years.

Today, “designer spacespretty much always in-clude some element oflife,” said interior designerBrian Patrick Flynn,founder ofdecordemon.com. “Whilethat can be anything fromcoral to tortoise shells,pressed leaves or even atiny bowl with a goldfish,the most common way toadd life is with potted

plants and trees.”We’ve asked Flynn,

Luetkemeyer and BetsyBurnham of BurnhamDesign in Los Angeles foradvice on choosing theright plants, pottingthem perfectly and keep-ing them blooming withminimal effort.

Where to Start?“Talking to someone at

a nursery is a really goodidea,” said Burnham, be-cause employees at gar-den stores and plantnurseries are usuallyglad to answer questionsabout choosing and car-ing for plants.

You can choose plantsbased on the spot inyour home where you’dlike to keep them (sun-drenched windowsills,shady corners or in-be-tween spaces that get amix of sun and shade).Or you can select a plantyou love and then ask foradvice on where to placeit.

If you have pets orsmall children, askwhether a plant you’reconsidering is poison-ous. And if you want

plants that need very lit-tle attention, don’t beshy about saying so.

“While I’m a fan ofmaking a big statementwith greenery,” Flynnsaid, “I’m only interestedin plants and trees thatare low-maintenance.Give me something thatrequires daily careand/or delicate groom-ing, and it’s most likelyto go from green tobrown or black in lessthan 72 hours.”

Fabulous FernsAll three designers like

ferns, such as the maid-enhair. “They’re so deli-cate and soft,” saidLuetkemeyer. “They’refresh, and they’re thatpale green that’s the be-ginning green of spring.”

Maidenhairs are fairlyeasy to care for: “Theyneed to be watered,” shesaid, “but if you waterthem, they hangaround.”

Consider grouping sev-eral together in smallpots or buying just onelarge fern.

“They can ground aspace grouped together

in odd numbers in potsof varied heights on thefloor,” Flynn said. Or“you can use them toadd life high up in aroom with hanging bas-ket planters. And thenthey also look excellentpotted and placed on apedestal, coffee table orconsole table.”

If you want somethinglarger and bolder thanthe delicate maidenhair,Flynn suggests thestaghorn fern. Just re-member that all ferns dobest in shade ratherthan direct sunlight.

Flowering Plants“I love plants that

flower in the spring,”said Luetkemeyer, whorecommends daffodils,narcissus and hyacinth.

She also loves garde-nia plants for theirheady fragrance andshiny leaves. But they dorequire a bit of effort.

“Any plant that’s awoody plant, with awood that’s exposed, isgoing to be a little bittrickier,” she said. Con-sider researching garde-nias online to learn how

much water and howmuch light your plantwill need.

And with all pottedplants, Luetkemeyersuggests placing a dishunderneath the pot tocatch and maintain thewater, then placing acoaster underneath thedish to protect the furni-ture or floor.

Whatever kind you

choose, Flynn is sureyou’ll be happier if youadd some kind of green-ery to your home.

“Whether you’ve got allthe time in the world tocare for something orjust want to be able tosquirt a water bottle onyour way out the door,”he said, “there’s definite-ly something out therefor you.”

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Ask a Designer:Decorating with plants

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Rice UniversityStudents Work with

NASA to ProvideOrbiting Astronauts

the Perfect CupHOUSTON, TEXAS —

It’s hard to get a perfectcup of coffee in space.But Rice Universityfreshmen are trying to fixthat.

The engineering stu-dents charged with thetask of making a bettercoffee condiment systemfor the InternationalSpace Station (ISS) havecome up with a solutionthey believe will pleasethe astronauts.

The students, RobertJohnson, Colin Shawand Benjamin Young,were told of astronauts’longtime frustration overgetting coffee the waythey like it. They chosethe project offeredthrough the Texas SpaceGrant Consortium aspart of their Introductionto Engineering Designclass in the fall and con-tinued to perfect theirproduct this spring.

“The issue is that theyonly have four set ratiosof coffee, creamer andsugar,” Shaw said.

“They have coffeeblack, coffee with a lot ofsugar, coffee with a lot ofcreamer and coffee witha lot of both. It’s all pre-mixed.”

The freeze-driedblends are in aluminumpouches. Astronauts re-hydrate their java with70-degree Celsius waterfrom a dispenser on theISS and drink it througha leak-proof straw thatkeeps stray drops fromfloating around the sta-

tion, where they could doserious damage.

“That syrupy coffeetastes pretty terrible,”Shaw said. “So we devel-oped this system that al-

lows astronauts to cus-tomize their coffee. Ifthey know what they likeon Earth, they knowwhat they like in orbit.”

Their adviser at John-son Space Center’sSpace Food SystemsLaboratory set few con-straints. “He gave us avariety of plastic andaluminum pouches andadapters, and just said,‘Go,’” Shaw said. “Oursolution had to be small,lightweight, function inmicrogravity and propor-tion condiments accu-

rately. We felt it was bestaddressed by making asystem that supplement-ed the existing solution,as opposed to totallyreinventing it.”

The students’ four-part system works withexisting black coffeepouches. They used two-ply, heat-sealed pouchessupplied by NASA for thesugar and creamer and aroller system to squeezejust the right amountthrough an adapter tothe coffee pouch withoutleaking. The two-elementroller was made on a 3-Dprinter at Rice’s OshmanEngineering DesignKitchen, where theyworked with advisersAnn Saterbak, a profes-

sor in the practice of bio-engineering education,and engineering lecturerMatthew Wettergreen.The students’ design wasinspired by similar de-

vices that squeeze thelast drop of toothpaste

out of a tube.Since the condiment

bags can’t be reused, thestudents wanted to get

maximum efficiencyfrom each. “We want to

have one set of pouchesable to serve two cups ofcoffee with two cubes ofsugar and two packets ofcreamer for two astro-nauts in one day,” Youngsaid.

Gauges applied to thepouches allow for accu-rate dispensing. “We dida lot of testing for accu-racy,” Johnson said. Theteam determined thesystem could deliver 10milliliters of creamer orsugar within a 5 percentmargin of error.

The students wouldlove the opportunity totest their inventionthemselves aboard theISS, but would be happywith a thumbs-up fromthe astronauts.

“I was reading an in-terview with an astro-naut on Reddit the otherday,” Shaw said, “and hewas asked, ‘What’s yourfavorite thing up in or-bit?’ He said it was theRussian shrimp and tar-tar sauce, because it’scrunchy and has a lot offlavor. We hope that cof-fee will soon be on thatlist.”

AdirondackAmerican Legion

Post #1118529 Main St., Cold Brook, NY 13324

315-826-3254

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Banquet Hall Available For Rental

If interested in joining and supporting yourcommunity as a Legionnaire, Son of Legion

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CALL 315-794-5498CALL 315-794-5498

DiningSpace coffee gets an upgrade

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by Beth J. Harpaz,Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) —Buying a diamond ringcan be intimidating.What do you look for?How much should youpay? Should you buy on-line or in a store?

Demystify the processby learning about thefour C’s: carat, color,clarity and cut. This sys-tem of grading diamondswas developed 60 yearsago by the GemologicalInstitute of America.

Then do some research

online or visit jewelers.You’ll soon understandyour options. Here’s aprimer on the four C’sand other advice.

The Four C’s• Carat is a weight

measurement. A 1-caratdiamond weighs 200 mil-ligrams. But there’s noideal size for a diamond.It depends on your budg-et and taste. Somewomen want a big rock;others prefer a delicate,less blingy look.

Small diamonds arecheaper than large dia-monds. A ring with threesmall diamonds totaling1 carat costs less than asingle 1-carat stone ofsimilar quality.

• Color is graded by let-ter, starting with D forrare, colorless diamonds.E and F are consideredexcellent, but G or H dia-monds will look just asgood to the naked eye.

Farther down thescale, you’ll notice differ-ences. “If you put a K col-or beside a G color, you’llnotice more yellow in theK,” said Russell Shor,senior industry analystfor the Gemological Insti-tute.

• Clarity measures dia-mond flaws, called inclu-sions, which might ap-pear as tiny spots, cloudsor cavities in the stone.The clarity grade SIstands for “slightly in-cluded.” VS is a bettergrade, “very slightly in-cluded.” VVS is evenhigher, “very, very slight-ly included.” Most inclu-sions in the VVS-SI rangecannot be seen by theuntrained eye “unlesssomeone tells you whereit is,” Shor said.

• Cut measures work-manship, rather than adiamond’s inherent qual-ities. The way a stone is

cut enhances sparkleand luminosity and canhide flaws. The best cutrating, ideal, is rare.About a third of dia-monds are rated fair,good or very good.

The FormulaWhat should you look

for in each of the C’s?“The one thing you

should not trade off on isthe quality of the cut,”said Shor. “Even a nicecolor stone, if not well-cut, will be dull and life-less. But if it’s a middlecolor — like K — and it’sgot a real excellent cut, itwill pop and flash with allthe sparkle that dia-monds are famous for.”

After choosing the cut,“balance the color, clarityand carat weight basedon your personal prefer-ence to find the best dia-mond for you and yourbudget,” said AmandaGizzi, spokeswoman forJewelers of America.

For example, for$2,000, you might pick a1-carat, K-color stonewith a slight inclusion, ora half-carat, G-color,with a very slight inclu-sion. An L or M-coloreddiamond at that price“will get you a 2-carat

honker, but you’ll defi-nitely notice the yellowand you’ll see some in-clusions,” said Shor.

Consumers pay $3,500on average for engage-ment rings, according toJewelers of America. Onthe low end, Shor recom-mends spending at least$700 to $1,000 to get“something that’s not toosmall and of reasonablequality, a respectablehalf-carat stone.”

It’s easy to compareoptions online. At Blue-Nile.com, set your pricerange, then play withcarat size and the otherC’s to see tradeoffs.

Many websites list thefour C’s for every ringthey sell. Brick-and-mor-tar stores should be ableto provide grading re-ports, whether from GIAor another expert lab.

Shape and styleEngagement rings tra-

ditionally feature goldbands with a center dia-mond, though some havesmaller diamonds on ei-ther side. Melissa Col-gan, senior style editorfor Martha Stewart Wed-dings, says the engage-ment ring that PrinceWilliam gave to Kate Mid-

dleton, a large sapphiresurrounded by dia-monds, has increased in-terest in rings with othergemstones.

Diamonds can be cutinto many shapes.Round, the most com-mon, offers “the biggestbang for your buck be-cause the difference be-tween the raw and cut di-amond is smaller,” Col-gan said. But she saidunusual shapes withretro looks and nameslike marquise, Asscherand pear are having aresurgence, partly be-cause celebrities arewearing them.

Whether a shape isflattering depends onyour fingers. “If you havelong thin fingers, you canwear something like Ass-cher or princess that ismore square-cut,” Col-gan said. “If you haveshorter fingers or mus-cular hands, marquise oroval will elongate yourfingers.” But long nailsdon’t mix with oval: “Itlooks like you’ve got aweird nail in the middleof your hand.”

� NEW � Fri. Evening 5:00PM to 8:30PM Flowers-Shrubs ONLYLocation: Mohawk Valley Produce Auction840 Fords Bush Rd., Fort Plain, NY 13339

518-568-3579 • 518-568-2257

PUBLIC CONSIGNMENT AUCTIONSat., May 11th - 8:30 AM

Fri. Evening: Flowers-Shrubs 5:00 to 8:30PM

Saturday: 8:30 - Shrubs, Crafts, New Furniture, Quilts8:45 - Misc, Garage, Attic, Appliances9:30 - Lawn & Garden, Building Materials, Sheds10:30 - Farm Equipment12:00 - New Tools, Horse Tack, Followed by Horses and Small Animals

Flowers, Shrubs and Trees: Expecting a larger than normal selection of these products both local and fromSauders in PA.Crafts & Furniture: Steam bent hickory rockers, double rockers, swivel gliders, corner shelf, hall tree, etc. Newsmall crafts, pine furniture, and lots more coming.Quilts: Star in a square 100x110, fabric quilt 105x92, fabric quilt 104x108, white star in a square top 97x110, patchquilt top 106x114, lots more quilts coming from various quilters.Sheds: 10x12 mini, 10x12 cottage, 8x12 quaker, 10x12 quaker, 8x12 cottage.Building Materials: stairways, metal roofing and more.Farm Equipment: Papec Silage Cutter; Ford 8N, nice condition; 48” Taylor tiller, like new; log splitter;FarmBilt 16’ flat wagon; single horse cart; 4, 6, 2 horse hitches; 48” Agri-Fab brush hog; New Idea manurespreader; 4 star tedder w/Honda engine; BR7050 New Holland round baler, new in 2011; Massey Ferguson40HP power unit; Reese 8’ mower; Duetz 65HP power cart; 2 fore carts; 10 wheel V-rake w/12 volthydraulic; Farmland round bale wagon; (2) 2-row NI corn pickers, nice condition; 56, 256, 258 NH siderakes; New from AZ 16” produce brusher w/Honda engine; New 2, 3, 4 and 6 horse hitches; camper trail-er; roller harrows from Mud Creek Sales; 12 volt freezer, good condition; Taylor ice cream machine; L-30Mighty Ox log splitter; 3500 Mighty Ox logging winch; 5500 Mighty Ox chipper; Hydra-Feed 3pt hitch; 27+Millcreek manure spreader; antiques, corn shellers; grain grinders and more coming.New Tools: New Dewalt cordless tools; misc used tools; New Dewalt electric tools; lots of misc. shoprelated equipment.Horse Tack: Dewormers, snaps, brushes, whips, leads, halters, corner feeders, buckets, muck tubs, forks,brooms, shovels, harnesses, and much more. HORSES: Looking for quality road horses, draft horses, mules, ponies, miniature horses.Small Animals: Our usual run of sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens, exotic poultry, calves, and ponies. Also hay,straw and grain.

All horses must have current Coggins test and must be in good and usable condition. $20.00 non-refundableconsignment fee will be charged at time of consignment. 6% commission capped at $150 will be charged to seller.

TAKING CONSIGNMENTS WED., MAY 8TH TO FRI., MAY 10TH, 8:00 TO 5:00.Plenty of Homemade Food All Day • Food Proceeds go for local hospital bill

Phone Wed., Thurs., Fri. & Sat., May 8th to 11th 518-568-3579 Auction BarnFor Consignment info call Benuel Fisher 518-568-2257 or Melvin Miller 518-993-4734

Auctioneers:: Benuel Fisher Auctions,, Elam Kauffman, Sam Swarey, Marcus Beiler, DavidStoltzfus, Ed Leaman, Wilmer Fisher, Elmer Stoltzfus

Breakfast ready by 7:00AM Saturday • Homemade Food Available 4:00 to 8:30PM Friday.All Announcements day of sale will take precedence over printed materials.

Coal, Wood, Pellet or Gas Stoves,Fireplaces & Furnaces

247 Oberle Rd., Herkimer, NY 13350

315-866-5557 • 1-800-889-HEATwww.herkimerhomeandleisure.com

DiningWhen buying a diamond ring, learn the 4 C’s

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by Leanne Italie,Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Theelaborate invitation hasbeen proffered and ac-cepted, the limo rentedand the outfits coordi-nated, so what’s nextwhen planning for prom?

That traditional pop ofspring, of course, in thecorsage and bouton-niere.

Once a sweet surpriseand often all white to gowith any outfit, promflowers have made theleap into the new millen-nium with glitzy embell-ishments, jewelry at-tachments and a worldof creativity for theflorists who design them.

No more scratchy,throwaway wristbands(unless you want one)and no more fumblingwith straight pins asyour nervous datesquirms. Today’s cor-sages don’t even have tobe corsages. Flowers canbe worn on the head, up-per arm or shoe, at theshoulder, on a necklace,as a ring or even stuckright onto a bare back orleg.

These days, flowershave taken their place asa key accessory ratherthan mere appendagehanded over in time forphotos before headingout the door.

“Everyone wants to beunique and differentfrom someone else andthat’s a big deal, tryingto do something differ-ent,” said Jasmine Snow,accessories editor forSeventeen magazine.“It’s so cool to be able totry these new moderntakes on using freshflowers as opposed tojust doing the normal.”

Attachments: Bangles,beads, multiple strandsof rhinestones, fancycuff bracelets in silver,gold or any wire creationimaginable have re-placed the cheapywristlets of corsagespast. Slap bracelets arealso used as a base, eas-ily painted or sprayedwith glitter to match anoverall look. Someflorists stock options butinvite customers to bringalong their own jewelry.

“These days you cansafely glue on so youdon’t damage the jewel-ry, and then the girl hassomething to keep afterprom instead of us being20 years later with dry

old roses. You’ve actuallygot this bracelet or thisnecklace that you canlook back at and go, ‘Oh,that was so much fun,’”said Della Mendenhall, amanager and productdeveloper at GillespieFlorists in Indianapolis.

Boutonniere holders(think ice cream coneshape) often anchor thetraditional male floral in

metal. They come in fili-gree, vine and many oth-er designs. Magnet setscan be used to keepthem in place, and theycan be reused for highschoolers who plan to at-tend more than oneprom.

Sparkly broaches ordecorative pins can alsobe used as an attach-ment for teens of anygender.

Embellishments: Any-thing goes regardless ofwhere you decide toplace your flowers — andwhether you’re the onein a dress or a tux. Col-ored feathers, ribbons ofdifferent textures, printsand widths and silkleaves can be mixed.Arrangements can havedangling strands ofbeads or rhinestones or

bejeweled pins. And in atrend borrowed from thewedding industry, plantsucculents and pods areused as accents.

And in some cases, thewhole shebang issprayed with glitter!

“Everything sparklycontinues to be very pop-ular. I’ve had a couple ofgirls, they just want glit-ter all over their flowers.I’m starting to see more

personalization withtheir whole outfit,” saidTracey Foster, owner ofTwigs florists in Yering-ton, NV, and writer of theb l o gPromflowers.blogspot.com.

How about a glow? Acompany called Bioconsthas come up with cutflowers that offer ablacklight effect whentreated with its fluores-cent formulation andcombined with a UV de-vice embedded in a cor-sage or boutonniere. An-other company sells LEDkits similar to tinyChristmas tree lights toarrange among the flow-ers.

Placement: Wearingthe prom arrangementon the wrist remainspopular, but florists anddesigners support otherplacements as well, thehead among them.

“I love doing hair flow-ers,” said Stacey Bendetof Alice & Olivia. “It’s

more modern.”Gillespie and Twigs are

among shops offeringflorals attached to rhine-stone-studded tiaras,more relaxed bohemianheadbands worn acrossthe forehead or around-the-head wreaths.

“Or he can just picksome and she can pinthem to her hair or abun,” Bendet said. “Hairflowers are definitely atrend right now.”

She also suggests flo-ral arrangements at-tached to purses orphone cases. Gillespiewill make small arrange-ments intended for thetoe or ankle strap of ashoe, either glued or tiedon with ribbon, or hangan arrangement from arh ines t one - s tuddednecklace that ties withribbon at the back.

“How about a floweryou attach to a chain?”asks Bendet.

Mendenhall said salesof corsage alternatives

for prom, also includingelaborate upper-armcuffs on wire bases, area small percentage ofGillespie’s prom busi-ness in comparison tothe wrist style. But sheand Foster agree thatcorsages are far moreelaborate, and promplanning has definitelyamped up.

“Now girls, and theirmothers, will spendcountless hours on Pin-terest, Facebook and In-stagram looking forprom corsage ideas, findsomething they like andtry to find a florist whowill make it happen,”Foster said.

Where does all of thisleave the boys?

“I have guys coming inhere with printouts of aweb page, saying my girl-friend gave this to meand she wants this andhere’s a picture of herdress,” Mendenhall said.“This is their biggestnight of the year.”

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Anything goes in flowers for today’s prom

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This sheep shearingtool is called a bladeshear.

Blade shears worksimilarly to scissors ex-cept that the hinge is atthe end farthest from thepoint instead of the mid-dle. Blade shears are stillused today but in a morelimited way. Bladeshears leave some woolon a sheep and this ismore suitable for coldclimates where the sheepneeds some protectionfrom the elements.Blades are more com-monly used to shearstud rams.

Machine shears are amechanical tool used insheep shearing, some-times known as hand-pieces. They operatesimilarly to human hairclippers. A power-driventoothed blade is drivenback and forth over thesurface of a comb andthe wool is cut from theanimal.

Sheep are shorn in allseasons, depending on

the climate, manage-ment requirements andthe availability of a wool-classer and shearers.Ewes are normally shornprior to lambing, butconsideration is typicallymade as to the welfare ofthe lambs by not shear-ing during cold climatewinters.

~~~Have your own

Whatch-amacallit? Sendpicture and description [email protected].

Visit our Facebookpage each week to see ifyou can figure out whatthe upcoming Wha-tchamacallit is!

Sharon SpringsHARLEY WEEKEND

(alll bikeswelcome)

Join us for somegood times and

Scenic Rides!

Memorial Day WeekendMay 25 & 26

Scenic Motorcycle Rides eachday leaving at 10:30 AM from

the New York House, 110 Center St, Sharon Springs.

Saturday - 10:30AM-3PM - Ride through scenic SchoharieCounty and take in rolling hills, beautiful farmland, a greatcar show and a winery.

3-6PM - Relax and enjoy Sharon Springs shops & restaurants.

6-9PM - Entertainment by Von Rudder at the American Hotel.

Sunday - 10:30AM-3PM - Ride through rolling countryside, around2 lakes, through Cooperstown and back to Sharon Springs.

Need accommodations? Contact any one of our great hotels

and B&B’s -American Hotel - 518-284-2015

Edgefield B&B - [email protected] York House B&B - 518-284-6027

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THESE AUCTIONS!

AUCTION SCHEDULEMAY

Wed.. 8th,, 6:00pm: On Site Utica, NY.Multiple Estate & Huge Selection ofCollectables and Furniture, HUGESELECTION!! This will be a largeAuction, Come Early Stay Late!!

Tues.. 14th,, 6:00pm: Consignments,Antiques, Tools, Furniture!!

Thurs.. 16th,, 6:00pm: AntiqueConsignment Auction!! Huge selec-tion of Good Quality Collectables!!Don’t Miss This One!!

Tues.. 21st,, 6:00pm: Consignments,Collectables, Furniture, and lotsmore!!

Thurs.. 23rd,, 6:00pm

Sat.. 25th,, 10:00am: Animal Auction,Tailgate Auction, Building Materialand more!!

Tues.. 28th,, 6:00pm: Consignments,Furniture, Antiques, and muchmore!!

Wed.. 29th,, 6:00pm: Guns andAmmunition Auction!!

JUNESat.. 1st,, 10:00am

Tues.. 4th,, 6:00pm: Consignments,Furniture, Tools, Antiques, andmore!

Thurs.. 6th: ON SITE PUBLIC REALESTATE AUCTION, 556 Sanders Rd.,Fort Plain, NY 13339. 10 acres withMobile Home.

Sat.. 8th,, 10:00am: On Site Real Estateand Contents of Estate Auction.

Sat.. 15th,, 10:00am: On Site PublicAuction, Carlisle Rd., Canajoharie.

For more information goto AuctionZip.com. Enter

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Psychic FairSunday, May 19 th 10am-7pm

Beardslee CastleLittle Falls

For More Info • 315-530-5310

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32 E. Main St., Mohawk, NY 13407� Breakfast

� Fish Fry Fridays 4pm-8pm� Arcade Center � Birthday PartiesHours: Mon.,Tues.,Thurs.,Fri.,& Sat. 5:30am-1pm

Tues., Thurs.,& Fri. 4pm until 9pmSunday 5:30am until noon ** Closed Wed.

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Antiques & Collectibles15 W. Main Street, Mohawk

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Estatee Sales • Appraisals

Looking for Costume Jewelry& Antique Prints.

Whatchamacallits

He who has athousand friendshas not a friend

to spare,and he who hasone enemy will

meet himeverywhere.

~Ralph WaldoEmerson

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by Josephine Woolington,Eugene Register-Guard

COBURG, OR (AP) —Twenty-five second-graders walk single fileto their classroom atCoburg CommunityCharter School for theirsocial studies class.

“All right, ladies andgentleman,” theirteacher, Kerry Patton,says as they enter. “Havea seat.”

But instead of sittingon chairs, the students

sit on 18-inch-diameter,yellow, plastic exerciseballs.

Students bob up anddown on the balls, asthey would during abumpy bus ride. Somesit with their feet on theground, shoulders backand a straightenedspine. Others tuck theirfeet under their bottomsand sit on their knees,balancing on the balls.

“I usually feel a lotcomfier sitting on myknees,” 8-year-old

Bryson Cannaday said.There was no falling

over, no vigorous bounc-ing. The studentsworked as if it were en-tirely normal to sit on in-flatable balls, whichthey’ve been doing sinceSeptember.

Patton is one of agrowing number ofteachers across the Unit-ed States who in recentyears have substitutedclassroom chairs withballs commonly found inyoga and Pilates exerciseclasses. Several studiessuggest that the balls in-crease focus becausestudents can constantlymove and get all the wig-gles out.

Students must engagetheir core muscles tobalance on the ball, andPatton said some stu-dents complained aboutbeing tired in the firstfew weeks.

“We have P.E. everyday in our class,” shesaid, laughing. “We havethe best abs in the

school.”Patton’s class was

“wiggly” last year, shesaid, and getting stu-dents to focus posed achallenge. So she begancombing through re-search that found thatexercise balls could in-crease productivity andfocus in the classroom.

“There are fewer tripsto the bathroom,” Pattonsaid, which students fre-quently used as an ex-cuse to get up and move.

Patton bought 30 ballsfrom Amazon.com for$600, which the schoolpaid for. So far, none hasdeflated or popped. Nostudent has been in-jured, either.

“It’s been awesome,”she said.

If students’ bottoms liftoff the balls while bounc-ing, Patton will takeaway the ball for a fewhours and substitute achair. She doesn’t haveto do that often, though,she said.

First-grade teacher

Rachel Young has al-ready ordered a batch ofballs for her class nextyear.

“There was a big hulla-baloo about what wasgoing on in the second-grade class,” Young said.Some students were jeal-ous. Others were con-fused.

“I think maybe theydon’t have enoughchairs, so they usebouncy balls,” 7-year-oldHannah Henderson said.

Although the resultsseem to be positive forPatton’s class, researchhas also shown that ex-ercise balls can comewith some negative con-sequences.

“Sometimes, it hurtsmy back,” said TaliaAkins, 7, as she rubbedthe lower region thatgets sore. Because stu-dents can’t lean back onthe balls, they aren’t ableto release tension intheir lower back thatmay be strained. Someresearch has found that

people slouch just asmuch while sitting on aball as they would in achair.

Standing may actuallybe the healthiest option,according to researchfrom the Mayo Clinic.Sitting on any kind ofsurface for too long, theclinic found, can lead tohealth issues such asobesity or increasedblood pressure and alsoto an increased risk ofdeath from cancer orcardiovascular disease.

For now, Patton saidshe’s convinced the ballshave improved students’posture and focus. Moststudents said they don’twant to sit in a regularchair next year whenthey’re third-graders.

“I’m going to missthem,” said Jake Harper,7, while pretending tokiss the ball.

“Maybe because we’reso used to them,” 7-year-old Kaylie Campbelladded, “we’ll bounce onour chairs next year.”

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PUBLIC AUCTIONValuable Real Estate

& Farm DispersalFriday, June 7, 2013 at 9:00 AM

Location: Brookman’s Corner Road, Fort Plain, NY 13339Directions: From Fort Plain, take 80 south to Brookman’s Corners Rd. Make left approx. 2 miles on left.

Operating dairy farm with 196 acres of quality well maintained and fertilized land. 2013 crops are beingplanted and will be sold to buyer of the farm. Farmland borders 3 roadways including Brookman’s Corner, MillLane, and Rt. 80.Buildings: 98 cow dairy barn. 3 bedroom, 1 bath, dining room, and kitchen farmhouse. 1 car garage, 40x36 polebarn, 30 stall heifer barn, 3 concrete silos, 1 Harvestore silo. Plenty of water with 2 wells and 1 pond.

The farmland is some of the best in the Mohawk Valley region and is well known for quality corn crops.

Real Estate Terms for financing are 10% day of sale, balance on or before 45 days. Buyers must pre-register andshow proof of financing prior to day of sale and must be willing to pay the minimum bid asked by the seller.

1% Broker Participation Available.

Watch for listing on complete dairy cow and equipment dispersal.

Attorney: Gregory Dunn

Licensed Real Estate Broker: Krutz Properties LLC.Laurie Weingart, 518-330-8608

Sale held for Oscar and Norma Fox

Food Available Day Of Sale

All Announcements Day of Sale Take Precedence Over Advertising

1001114.1 State Farm, Home Office, Bloomington, IL

We’reMoving!

Scott Grates, AgentBus: 315-894-2886

www.insurethevalley.com

Due to our explosive growth we need more space. Come visitour new beautiful location at 205 West Main Street in Ilion at the end of May.

Like a good neighbor,State Farm is there.®

CALL ME TODAY.

HOSKING SALES • WEEKLY SALES EVERY MONDAY

Tom & Brenda Hosking6096 NYS Rt. 8 New Berlin, NY 13411

607-699-3637or 607-847-8800

cell: 607-972-1770 or 1771

Weekly Sales Every Monday starting at 12:30 with Misc. & small animals, 1:00 Dairy. Call for more infoand sale times. Our Volume is increasing weekly - join your neighbors & send your livestock this way!

Monday, April 29th sale - cull ave. .66 Top cow $.81, bulls/steers $.83 - $1.06, bull calves top$1.65, heifer calves top $1.00, dairy feeders $.40 - $.60, feeder bulls up to $1.24, Feeder heifersup to $1.17, feeder steers - none. Dairy cows up to $1,450.

Monday, May 13th - Monthly Heifer Sale.Monday, May 20th - Monthly Sheep, Lamb, Goat & Pig Sale.Monday, May 27th - Memorial Day - We will be open. We will be starting at 10:00AM with flowers,

plants, shrubs. If you want to participate in consigning to the plant sale contact us as soon as pos-sible. Note the time of sale!

LOOKING TO HAVE A FARM SALE OR JUST SELL A FEW - GIVE US A CALL.

** Trucking Assistance - Call the Sale Barn or check out our trucker list on our Web-Site.Call to advertise in any of these sales it makes a difference.

Directions: Hosking Sales 6096 NYS Rt. 8, 30 miles South of Utica & 6 miles North of New Berlin, NY.www.hoskingsales.com Call today with your consignments.

No more wiggling, Coburg pupils have a ball

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by B. Rosie Lerner,Purdue Extension,Consumer Horticulturist

Home(Indoor plants and

activities)Many indoor plants can

be moved to shady loca-tions outdoors but onlyafter danger of frost ispast. Plants will dry outmore often outdoors, sokeep a close eye on soilmoisture. Sinking thepots in soil will help slowdown moisture loss.

Now is a good time totake cuttings of house-plants to increase a col-lection or share withfriends. Root cuttings inmedia, such as vermicu-lite, perlite or potting soil.Roots grown in water tendto be weak from lack ofoxygen and do not adjustwell to planting in soil.

Fertilize houseplants

according to label direc-tions. Foliage plants re-quire relatively high nitro-gen fertilizer; floweringhouseplants respond bestto fertilizer high in phos-phorus.

Yard(Lawns, woodyornamentalsand fruits)

Prune early spring-flowering trees andshrubs after flowers fade.

Plant balled-and-burlapped or containernursery stock, and waterthoroughly.

Remove and destroyoverwintering bagwormsfrom landscape trees andshrubs.

Follow a spray scheduleto keep home-orchardcrops pest free. Whiletrees are in bloom, usefungicide sprays withoutinsecticide to avoid injuryto bees. Follow label di-

rections. More informa-tion is available in PurdueExtension publication ID-146 Controlling Pests inthe Home Fruit Plantinghttps://mdc.itap.pur-due.edu/item.asp?itemID=20518

Thin fruits of appletrees, if needed, aboutthree weeks after petalfall. Apples should beabout 8 inches apart.

Apply fungicides to ros-es to control diseasessuch as black spot.

Purdue turf expertsrecommend that if youare going to fertilize yourlawn in May, apply three-fourths to 1 poundN/1,000 square foot witha product that contains50 percent or more slow-release fertilizer. Try toschedule the applicationprior to a rain or irrigatefollowing application tomove the fertilizers off the

leaf blade.Garden

(Flowers, vegetablesand small fruits)

Plant frost-tenderplants after danger offrost is past for your area.This includes warm-sea-son vegetables, such astomatoes, peppers, egg-plant and vine crops, aswell as most annual flow-ers and tender perenni-als, such as cannas, glad-iolus, dahlias, tuberousbegonias and caladiums.

Pinch chrysanthemums

and annual flower plantsto keep them compactand well-branched.

Make successive plant-ings of beans and sweetcorn to extend the seasonof harvest.

Thin seedlings of earlyplanted crops, such ascarrots, lettuce, spinachand beets, to their properspacing.

Harvest early plantingsof radishes, spinach andlettuce.

Harvest asparagus bycutting or snappingspears at or just belowsoil level.

Harvest rhubarb bycutting, or grasp the stalkand pull it up and slightlyto one side.

Control cucumber bee-tles, carriers of bacterialwilt, as soon as cucumberplants germinate or aretransplanted to preventdisease.

Remove blossoms fromnewly set strawberryplants to allow better run-ner formation.

Remove unwantedsucker growth in raspber-ries when new shoots areabout a foot tall.

MOHAMOHAWK DENTWK DENTAL CARE PLLCAL CARE PLLCFamily Dentistry for Adults & Children (Age 6 & Up)

* New Patients & Emergencies Welcome *• Cleaning & Preventative Care• Crowns • Bridges • Fillings• Cosmetic Dentistry• Simple & Surgical Extractions• Dentures - Full & Partial• Root Canals

Fidelis/Medicaid/Child Health PlusMost Insurances Accepted • CareCredit Payment Plan (Interest Free)

27 Columbia St., Mohawk (Next to Post Office)

315-866-5800

Household & Garage Auction33 South Columbia Street, Mohawk, NYSat., May 11, 2013 @ 10:00 AM

Selling: Tool Shop w/8 Attachments, 1930’s dresser set w/mirrors, brass bed, old

trunks, 5 leaf dining room table, washer & dryer, refrigerator, freezer, dishes,

old glass, silver, 1907 high chair, corner china cabinet, rocking chairs, jackknife

collection, old tin boxes, cast iron toys & figurines, Adirondack chairs, tools and

tool chest, buck saws, table saw, radial arm saw, old license plates, water yoke,

100# nails, 34’ & 40’ ext. ladder, anvil, vise, Yardman rider, milk bottles, bicycles,

1969 Plymouth Fury Convertible w/24,000 miles, and much much more.

TERMS: cash or check, 10% buyers premium.

Armitsteadd Auctionss •• 518-993-2290

PROPANE315-429-3266

OIL315-429-7361

Bros.Energyy Co.Coal • Propane • Oil

Cornwall CoalBuy your coal in May

and Save $2000 per ton

DDeliveryAvailable

May Farm Diesel Special$3.25 per Gal.COD

Only

500 Gal.Min.

Propane$1.75 per gal

COD

Only500 galMin.

AAll Prices Subject to ChangeBudgets - Prepays - Multiple Product Discounts

Est 1997 “WE ARE MORE THAN JUST MEDICAL”

VOTED#1

www.Druniformsales.comMedical,, Chef,, Laww Enforcement,, EMSFire,, Formall Wear,, Footwearr && More

(315) 866-5838EFK Plaza

330 E. State StreetHerkimer, NY

(315) 266-00931311 Oriskany

StreetUtica, NY

Tues.-Fri.10-5:30PM

Sat.10-3PM

Sun. & Mon.Closed

May 17th • 1PM till Closing

at our New Herkimer StoreLocated in EFK Plaza, 330 E. State Street, Herkimer

$10 Off Any Purchaseof $75 or More.

Exp. 6/29/13

Swan Pool & Spa EST 1955

Save -N-Splash

132 Main St., Ilion

315.895.43213989 Oneida St., New Hartford

315.982.9760

When you use the coupon below

10% OFF ANY PURCHASEOF $50 OR MORE.

IN-STORE PRODUCT ONLY!Must present coupon. Cannot be

combined with pool install, pool liners or service contract. EXP. 5/30/13

Purdue Yard & Garden Calendar for May

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20 PO Box 121, 6113 State Hwy. 5Palatine Bridge, NY 13428

800-836-2888 • Fax: [email protected]

Number / Classification20 Air Compressors25 Air Tools35 Announcements45 Antiques55 Appraisal Services75 ATV80 Auctions82 Auto Body

110 Bedding Plants120 Bees-Beekeeping130 Bird Control155 Building Materials/ Supplies157 Building Repair160 Buildings For Sale161 Bulk Foods / Spices165 Business Opportunities170 Butchering Supplies173 Carpentry175 Cars, Trucks, Trailers180 Catalogs182 Catering190 Chain Saws195 Cheesemaking Supplies205 Christmas210 Christmas Trees214 Clocks & Repair215 Collectibles216 Clothing235 Computers253 Consignment265 Construction Equipment For Rent270 Construction Equipment For Sale275 Construction Machinery Wanted277 Construction Services280 Construction Supplies312 Crafts325 Custom Butchering330 Custom Services360 Deer-Butchering & Hides370 Dogs410 Electrical415 Employment Wanted440 Farm Machinery For Sale445 Farm Machinery Wanted447 Farm Market Items460 Fencing470 Financial Services480 Fish483 Flooring490 For Rent or Lease500 For Sale510 Fresh Produce, Nursery525 Fruits & Berries527 Furniture530 Garden Supplies535 Generators537 Gifts575 Greenhouse Supplies585 Guns587 Hair Styling589 Hardware600 Health Care/Products605 Heating610 Help Wanted653 Hotel / Motel683 Jewelers700 Lawn & Garden711 Lessons760 Lumber & Wood Products790 Maple Syrup Supplies805 Miscellaneous810 Mobile Homes811 Monuments812 Multi Media813 Music815 Motorcycles817 Nails820 Nurseries910 Plants950 Real Estate For Sale955 Real Estate Wanted960 RVs & Motor Homes975 Rentals980 Restaurant Supplies

1040 Services Offered1075 Snowblowers1080 Snowmobiles1109 Thrift1140 Trailers1147 Trains1148 Travel1155 Tree Moving Services1165 Trees1170 Truck Parts & Equipment1180 Trucks1187 Vacuum1190 Vegetable1200 Veterinary1205 Wanted

Announcements Announcements

Furniture Furniture

ADVERTISING DEADLINEFriday • 2:00 PM

For as little as $4.00 - place a classified ad in

The Country EditorCall Peg at 1-800-836-2888

or 518-673-0111or email [email protected]

DUDAWOODWORKINGG && CHAIRR HOSPITAL

Furniture Repair & Regluing • Countertops • Speaker Cabinets“Formica Work Is Our Specialty”

John F. DudaPh. & Fax (315) 733-4715 [email protected]

734 Lafayette StreetUtica, NY 13502

Help Wanted Help Wanted

WritersWanted

We are looking for freelance writersfor our weekly publication, The Country Editor.

Articles should be general human interest,appealing to a broad national audience.

Submitted articles should be 500 words or less.

Photo essays welcome as well.

Each article will be considered for itsinterest to the publication’s readers.

Please submit articles via e-mail to Joan Kark-Wren at

[email protected]

Questions ? Call518-673-0141

Announcements

CHECK YOUR AD - ADVER-TISERS should check theirads on the first week ofinsertion. Lee Publications,Inc. shall not be liable fortypographical, or errors inpublication except to theextent of the cost of the firstweeks insertion of the ad,and shall also not be liablefor damages due to failure topublish an ad. Adjustmentfor errors is limited to thecost of that portion of the adwherein the error occurred.Report any errors to 800-836-2888

FREE: Cat needs a goodhome. Gray & White tiger,female. Nice cat, litter trainedand friendly. 315-867-0208 or315-219-2939

PHOTO ENLARGEMENTS8x10 - $2.00 • 11x17 - $5.00• 12x18 or 13x19 - $7.00.Come see us at Lee Publi-cations, 6113 State Rt. 5,Palatine Bridge, NY 13428518-673-3237

Antiques

ANTIQUE Barber Chair, 1948,excellent condition. Moved toFlorida, must sell, $800. 518-221-7707

FOR SALE: Antiques, Col-lectibles, Shabby Chic,Amish Baskets, Primitives,Jewelry, Country, Re-pur-pose, Handcrafted Items,Adirondack Décor, UniqueGifts and Much More! “New-port Marketplace” 7583Main St, Newport “Gift Cer-tificates now available”

ThermoPride High Boy oil fur-nace, model#OH3-7275kBTU. Serious inquiry only,$500. Joe 315-894-5204Frankfort

ATV

ATV TRAILERS byBosski Industries first auto-matic “Dump Assist” trailersGVWR 800lbs.+ 1600lbs.models available. Comecheck them out at NorthCreek Auto 315-866-3698

Bedding Plants

Annuals, Perennials, Herbs &Baskets are ready now! Heir-loom veggie plants. Visit ourgarden center today!www.BrickHouseAcres.com315-737-5635

Books

LOOKING FOR An editionfrom the 1700’s-1800’s, TheHistory of Herkimer County.315-894-0955

L K

BuildingMaterials/Supplies

INSULATION: All Types. New/Existing Buildings. Free Estimates. Fully Insured. CallUpstate Spray Foam Insulation 315-822-5238.www.upstatesprayfoam.com

Cars, Trucks, Trailers

1968 ELCAMINO SS 396, 4-speed, all original, very, verynice, serious only, $18,000/OBO. 315-429-3253

1993 CORVETTE convertible,triple black, 6 speed, leather,both seats electric, CD & cas-sette player, no rain w/cover,36,000 miles, $15,000. 315-271-3602

2008 CHEVY Uplander Van,low mileage, 53,000 miles,new tires, excellent, $9,500.315-737-7901

FOR SALE: 1995 Eagle Talon,2 door, asking $2,500.00. Callafter 5:00 pm 315-895-0117

Collectibles

RECORDS WANTED: We’llbuy your old records from1930- 1970. 45’s, 78’s,Albums, Rock-N-Roll, Blues,R&B, Country, etc. Call Pete518-673-2384.

Custom Services

COLOR GLOSSY PHOTOCALENDARS: Only $12.00includes tax. Send us yourdigital prints and we willmake a beautiful keepsakecalendar for you. You mayalso bring in your photos ona disc or thumb drive.If you would like us to mail itis a $5.00 extra fee.Only 3 day turnaround [email protected] LeePublications 518-673-0101

FRAN’S PAINTING & STAIN-ING. Lead Certified. Spray orbrush. Free estimates. 315-717-2061

NEED BUSINESS CARDS?Full color glossy, heavystock. 250 ($45.00); 500($60.00); 1,000 ($75.00).Call Beth at Lee Publica-tions 518-673-0101 [email protected]

PHOTO CALENDARS nowavailable right here at LeePublications. 6113 StateHwy. 5, Palatine Bridge, NY518-673-3237. Choose up to24 photos. Only $12.00 fordigital photos and $15.00 ifwe scan them.

STAG PARTY TICKETS CallBeth at Lee Publications518-673-0101. [email protected] FreeShipping

TURN your wedding, baby,graduation, scenery photosinto beautiful canvas printsstarting at only $40.00. CallBeth at Lee Publications518-673-0101 or [email protected]

Dogs

YORKSHIRE TERRIERS, 3females, ready to go, May10th. ACA registered, vetchecked. 1st shots. $500each. 315-271-3521.

For Sale

For Sale

Adorable MINI LOP BUN-NIES! Our purebred babiesare sweet & friendly. Pedi-grees available. $25.00 each315-737- 5635

CRAFTMATIC “twin” bed,$200.00; electric wheelchair,approx. 24 hrs. on it, $1,000.Call 315-894-3385

FOR SALE- MOVING: Guil-bransen Organ Double Key-board, needs some work,$200/firm. Call 518-993-2069

PORTABLE Carry-On BOATair conditioner & cover,$800.00. 315-376-6639 leavea message.

Furniture

BIG Dupa’s breaking yourchairs? Call Duda Wood-working & Chair Hospital.734 Layfayette St., Utica.315-733-4715. CustomFormica Counter tops too!

CUSTOM FORMICA Coun-tertops. Cash & Carry orInstalled. Duda Woodwork-ing & Chair Hospital, 734Lafayette St., Utica 315-733-4715 “Quality Work for Over33 Years!”

Hide-a-bed couch; rockingchair; end table, coffee tableset; dining room set, 11pieces/insets; mirror; book-case; set: womans chest withmirror, mens 5 drawer chest;21” TV; all-in-1 printer; floorlamp; fur coat; set of china; setof Oneida flatware. 315-219-9021

Hair Styling

HAIRDRESSER: In HomeSer v ices. Exper ienced .Perms, Cuts, Colors & Sets.Call Pam H. 315-725-9404

Hay - Straw For Sale

HORSE HAY: Round bales$40.00 per bale. MohawkValley Produce Auction.518-568-2257

Help Wanted

OPENING NEW CAFE SOON- Valley area. Looking for part-time wait staff and short ordercook. Call 315-985-5462.

Country Editor

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Country Editor PO Box 121, 6113 State Hwy. 5Palatine Bridge, NY 13428

800-836-2888 • Fax: [email protected]

• CLASSIFIED READER AD FORM •Date________ ____ # of Weeks ______Starting Issue Date (Wednesday Date)

COPY: (First 14 words $4.00 each additional word 10¢)

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______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________

______________ ______________ ______________ ______________

Name (Print): ____________________________________________________________________

Farm/Company Name: ______________________________________________________________

Street: __________________________________________ County: ________________________

City: __________________________________________ State: __________ Zip: ______________

Phone #:______________________ Fax #: __________________ Cell #: ____________________

Email Address: ____________________________________________________________________

Payment Method: � Check/Money Order � American Express � Discover � Visa � MC

Card #: ____________________________________________________ Exp. Date: ____________

Name on Credit Card (print): ________________________________________________________

Signature: ______________________________________________ Today’s Date:______________

Amount Paid: __________________________________________________

14 words - $4.00

24th word - $5.00

34th word - $6.00

MM / YY

CLIP & SEND

MAIL

OR CALL

Ph: 518-673-3011 or 800-836-2888 • Fax: 518-673-2381 • Email: [email protected]

Mail: The Country Editor, PO Box 121, Palatine Bridge, NY 13428

$4.00/ 14 words$.10 each additional

Deadline Friday 2pm - Fill Out This Form ORCall Us To Place Your Reader Ad

PO Box 121, Palatine Bridge, NY 13428 • Ph: 518-673-3011 OR 800-836-2888

The

Country Editor

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

It’s easy & economical to add a picture to your ad!

For Information Call

1-800-836-2888

Lawn & Garden

VALLEY LAWN SERVICE.Mowing, shrub trimming,mulch and clean-ups. Fullyinsured, free estimates. 315-894-4331.

Lessons

ERNIE BALL, D’ADDARIO,Dean Markley GHS guitarstrings (lessons available).Imagineering Drum & GuitarShop. 27 West Main St. LittleFalls. 315-823-1500

Lumber &Wood Products

HEMLOCK LUMBER, SidingBoards, Framing Lumber,Beams. Miller’s, 6027Cty.Hwy.18, WestEdmeston. 6milessouth ofU.S.Rt.20

Magnets

BUSINESS CARD MAGNETSonly $75.00 for 250. FreeShipping. Call Beth at LeePublications 518-673-0101 [email protected] Pleaseallow 7-10 business days fordelivery

Music

EVANS, REMO DRUM-HEADS, drumsticks by Pro-Mark, Zilojian, On Stage.Imagineering Drum & GuitarShop. 27 West Main St. LittleFalls. 315-823-1500

GREG BENNETT Guitars.Authorized dealer. Imagi-neering Drum & Guitar shop.27 West Main St. Little Falls.315-823-1500

Motorcycles

2007 HARLEY DAVIDSON1200 XL Custom Vance &Hines Pipes, Vance & HinesFuel Pak, Stage 1 EFI Kit,Black, 8,500 Miles, $7,500.Exce l len t Condi t ion!518-378-3279FOR SALE: 2000 LS SuzukiSavage, 11,000 miles,leather saddle bags, colorgreen, excellent condition.518-573-7468, 518-573-2969. Or trade for 4 wheeleror snowmobile.

Real Estate For Sale

10 ACRES. Bridgewater,NY.Outstanding Views. Electric.$32,000.00. 845-783-8408F o r S a l e B y O w n e r . c o m#23928210

TEN ACRES West CanadaSchools, wooded, pond, elec-tric at road, eight miles toUtica, broker/ owner financingwith 20% down. $32,900. 315-796-4425

Recreational Vehicles & Motor Homes

BLUE-OX TOW BAR Aventa-11, Cover, Cables, $200.00;bike rack for ladder, $20.00.315-269-8582

Services Offered

PATRICIA’S SERVICE TOSENIORS: Helping you athome with shopping, meals,housekeeping. Pat 315-297-7063

TED’S Painting and HomeRepairs: Book now throughApril 30th get FREE powerwash w/deck staining, goodfor April, May, June only. Call315-429-3253

Tires &Tire Repair Service

FOR SALE: 2 11R22.5 tube-less radial truck tires, like new,$200; 6 lowboy trailer tires,750-15, 12-14 ply, mountedon 6 hole rims for a tiltbedMiller trailer, $275.00. 315-429-8010 leave message.

USED TIRE SALE: HugeInventory, mounting & balanc-ing FREE. No appointmentnecessary! Save money callAuto World, 534 North PerryStreet, Johnstown 12095 518-762-7555

Tractors

MASSEY FERGUSON 65tractor/ backhoe with frontend loader and extra rims,$4,000 or best offer. Dan518-706-0249

ADIRONDACK CAMP in park,Speculator area, redone, nice& clean, 2/3 bedroom, privatebeach access, $1,100 yearlylot rent. Your weekend get-away. Won’t last long, only$29,950. 315-868-9207 fordetails.

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by Sam Mazzotta

Getting a Pet-Sitter

Dear Paw’s Corner: Irecently got a new job,and I need to have some-one come and feed mycats and walk the dog be-cause I don’t get homeuntil late at night. Howcan I find a pet sitter Ican trust? — Missing MyPets Already

Dear Missing: DogVa-cay.com, a pet boardingservice, recently put out alist of five things youshould do when consider-

ing a potential pet sitter.Hopefully these will helpin your search:

• Interview the pet sit-ter, and have your pet in-terview him or her aswell. See how the sitterand pets interact.

• Ask for references atthe very least. While petsitters aren’t required tobe licensed or insured,they should have refer-ences you can contact —typically other clients.Some pet sitters will havea certification through aprofessional organization

like Pet Sitters Interna-tional, meaning they havetaken additional pet-sit-ting and business cours-es offered by that organi-zation.

• Ask basic but impor-tant questions. Nothing’stoo trivial for your pets.What time will the sittercome? Where will yourdog be walked? What’s atypical visit like?

• Give the sitter asmuch info as possibleabout your pets. Onceyou’ve decided to take ona sitter, make sure he orshe knows your pets’ par-ticular habits, favoritefoods, specific medica-

tions and when to takethem, etc.

• Monitor your pets.When you get home, howdo your pets react to you?Do you notice behavioralchanges? Are they han-dling your absence well?Pets might not take to anew schedule right away,but if they don’t adjust,you may need to considera new sitter or a differentpet-care option.

(c) 2013 King FeaturesSynd., Inc.

by Slim Randles

When the Rafter Ebranded recently, abunch of us went out tohelp. It’s a badge ofpride to have workedyour way up the brand-ing ladder.

As a kid, you flank thecalves; you grab them,throw them and holdthem down. This is con-ducive to abrasions,muscle strain, and in-voluntarily changing thecolor of your shirt.

As you get older, youget to handle the brand-ing iron, then move upto giving shots. Afterthat comes earmarking.When you reach thepinnacle of branding,that is, when you ownthe calves, then you getto rope the calves and

drag them up to the fire.It is a swirling caul-

dron of heat andhooves, excited cowdogsand bawling cows.There is the smell of ma-nure and singed hairand sweat and corraldust.

At the Rafter E, Iwielded a syringe as theyoungsters got theirteeth rattled by theheavy stuff.

Wasn’t the first timeI’d given the shots,though. Once during abranding at the TriangleCross, I was about toimmunize a calf whenthe calf jumped and Istuck the needle into mythumb.

Hurt like the dickens,of course, but at least itwas effective. I haven’thad black leg since.

100 Spruce St., Ilion • Hours: Mon-Fri 8-5

(315) 894-5087

Discount Tires

Authorized Tire Center

Full Line Commercial Truck, Industrial - OTR Tires

GoodyearDirectDealer

4SeasonsTruck, Tire & Auto Center

• Power Trans Service

• Power Coolant Flush

• Air Conditioning Service & Recharging

• Fleet Accounts Welcome• Goodyear National Accounts

& Credit Cards Accepted• All Light Truck & SUV Tires on Sale• Retreading Available & Sold• Cooper - Bridgestone/Firestone

SEAMLESS GUTTERSby

AMERICAN HOUSECRAFT

Spring SSale(518) 773-5973 OR (518) 568-712516 Colors and Leaf Guard Systems Available.

Over 40 years experience, fully insured.

We require no down payment, payment is due on completion of your job.

Call for Free Estimate.� � � � ��

Slovenian-AmericanSpring Fling

Sunday, June 2 from 1-6 p.m.DeCarlo Staffo Post

Loomis Street Extension, Little Falls

$20 per person (children under 10 FREE)Includes: 2 p.m. roast beef buffet dinner with all

the fixings. Homemade Slovenian potica for dessert. Live music, dancing, reminiscing, and good times

with friends!

Advance ticket reservations are requiredby Wednesday, May 15.

Live Slovenian polka music byFrank Svet and friends!

Enjoy homemade Slovenian potica for dessert!

Contact Janet at 315-868-1522 to purchase your tickets by May 15!

Tickets are also available at theDecarlo-Staffo.

EVERY SUNDAY at 6 PM

Doors open at 3pm

Games Start Promptly at 6pm

Handicap & Wheelchair Accessible

Sponsored byOur Lady of Great Grace Orthodox Church

at theItalian Heritage Club & Community Center

644 Bleeker Street, Utica

OVER $2,000 in prizes

NYS Lic # BC30-103-022-08779

Municipal License # 5119

Food & Pull Tabs Available

Does Reaching

26,100Homes in Herkimer County

by US MailMean Anything To You?

518-673-0129Home Country

Those who agreewith us may not

be right,but we admire

their astuteness. ~Cullen

Hightower

He who has athousand friendshas not a friend

to spare,and he who hasone enemy will

meet himeverywhere.

~Ralph WaldoEmerson

Paw’s Corner

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Sam Swarey

315-868-8207

�� Ownerr Applicatorr Onn SiteOwnerr Applicatorr Onn Site�� Fullyy InsuredFullyy Insured�� Professionallyy TrainedProfessionallyy Trained

526 Hard Scrabble RoadLittle Falls, NY 13365

Metal • Standing SeamRubber • Shingles • Roof Painting

If you want the BEST roofing system at the BEST Price

Call Now and get booked for this Summer.

Call Today for a FREE No Obligation Evaluation!Call Today for a FREE No Obligation Evaluation!

Let us show you how toSAVE MONEY on your roof!

Let us show you how toSAVE MONEY on your roof!

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The Country Editor North 5.8.13

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