Recycle your holidays

HONESDALE, PA — Once all the excitement of Christmas morning has come and gone, you might get overwhelmed by the great mass of mess: boxes, paper and other stuff.

But, say officials at the Wayne County Recycling Center, don’t throw it away.

Staff at the Wayne County Recycling Center urge everyone to recycle what they can this season and keep it out of the landfills.

“Instead, do the right thing,” said Randy Heller, county recycling and solid waste coordinator. “And save money at the same time by recycling them.

The Recycling Center accepts the following:

• Cardboard boxes—boxes do not need to be flattened, but Styrofoam must be removed prior to drop-off. The center does not accept Styrofoam.
• Wrapping paper—paper is acceptable for recycling provided it is not metallic foil or cellophane. Ribbons are not recyclable.
• Christmas lights—recycle old, worn-out strings of Christmas tree lights.
• Christmas trees—Natural trees are accepted as well as metal artificial trees. All ornaments, tinsel and lights must be removed.

The recycling center will be closed on on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, December 31 and January 1. Municipal recycling has been suspended until January 8, 2022.

HPAC and other groups receive funding

HURLEYVILLE, NY — The Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre (HPAC) will receive a grant from Humanities New York (HNY) for an Indigenous Women’s Voices summit.

A news release from HNY announced the grant, adding that it is part of a total of $360,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding that the humanities group is distributing.

The grants, HNY said,  range from $5,000 to $10,000.

The Indigenous Women’s Voices summit will “celebrat[e] contemporary Indigenous women-identified artists and scholars and spar[k] dialogue on Indigenous history and leadership through a month of programs and public discussions,” according to the release.

Just over 22 percent of applicants were funded, HNY said.

The emergency/recovery support grants, such as ARPA funding, sustained the cultural sector through the pandemic. “These funds,” HNY said, “bolster New York State’s civic infrastructure and its economy—in 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the arts and culture sector contributed $119.9 billion to New York’s economy, representing 7.8 percent of the state’s GDP and 466,926 jobs.” An Economic Impact of Coronavirus on the Arts and Culture Sector survey from Americans for the Arts found over $338 million in pandemic-related losses to date for New York State.

To learn more about HNY, visit https://humanitiesny.org.

To learn more about HPAC, visit https://hurleyvilleartscentre.org/.

Sullivan ‘Holiday Hunt’ going forward despite opt-out

MONTICELLO, NY — This year, Sullivan County will take part in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) new holiday deer hunt, which ends  January 1, 2022.

That’s despite the county legislature’s vote earlier this year, which opted out of the hunt, which is an additional short bow and muzzleloader season. The legislature was concerned that it would interfere with snowmobiling and small-game hunting, that pregnant does might be shot, and that it would stress deer after a busy hunting season.

However, county spokesman Dan Hust said, the DEC informed the county this month that the state legislation allowing counties to opt out has not yet been passed, so all counties remain required to allow bow and muzzleloading hunting during the last week of this year.

For more information, visit  https://www.dec.ny.gov/press/124388.html.

 

Anne and Mike Baglione will perform at the Sullivan County Historical Society on Sunday, January 2.

Ring in the New Year with folk tunes

HURLEYVILLE, NY — The Sullivan County Historical Society will host an afternoon of live music to celebrate the New Year (and the end of 2021) on Sunday, January 2 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.  

Special guests will be the Orange County duo of Anne and Mike Baglione. Their music, a mix of Americana, folk and bluegrass, has been described as like a cozy fire in winter—warm, humble and inviting. Both Anne and Mike are multi-instrumentalists, so listeners can expect guitars, mandolins, accordions and banjos.

The Historical Society will be serving hot chocolate and whipped cream to go along with the music. As always, Little Sparrow will host the concert.

The event is free of charge, but the historical society will be accepting donations toward its upcoming music programs. The museum is located at 265 Main St. in Hurleyville. Face masks will be required.

For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/scnyhistory or call 845/434-8044.

The Sullivan County Historical Society’s website is at https://www.sullivancountyhistory.org.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is considered a Day of Service nationally. Dr. King is pictured during the August 28 Civil Rights March on Washington, …

Sullivan 180, partners, to hold Day of Service youth summit at HPAC

HURLEYVILLE, NY —  The Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre will host “What’s Your Blueprint?”, a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service youth summit, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, January 17.

The event is free of charge and is open to Sullivan County youth in grades nine through 12.

Dr. King’s speech, “A Blueprint for Your Life,” is the foundation of the event.

At the summit, teens will learn about the importance of their voice and their ability to act for change, and will work on a personal “blueprint for life,” according to a news release. Interactive workshops and collaborative art projects are designed to open minds and hearts to greater service for themselves and their schools, a spokesperson from Sullivan 180 noted.

Damola Akinyemi, former international basketball player, founder of Ayo Fitness and former co-lead of the Warrior Kids healthy-choices program, will be the keynote speaker.

Each student will receive four hours of community service time to be used toward graduation requirements.

The summit will be held in partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Sullivan County, the Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre, Sullivan 180, Sullivan Renaissance, Sullivan Allies Leading Together, the Sullivan County Human Rights Commission, and The Center for Workforce Development. Refreshments and lunch by A Single Bite will be provided.

Registration is required. To register, please visit https://www.Sullivan180.org.

Creating cards, spreading joy

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — Four hundred cards. All the nursing homes and care centers in the county.

The Western Sullivan Public Library’s second annual Holiday Card Shower, which bestowed cards made by children onto nursing home and adult care center residents in Sullivan County, was deemed a resounding success.

The effort was made possible by an outreach grant from the Ramapo Catskill Library System.

Many other people made it happen too, according to the library. The patrons, the Kindness and Compassion Club (KC Club) at the Sullivan West School District, and the library’s staff all worked together.

The library particularly thanked the KC Club. A group of students in grades four through six, its goal—part of Rachel’s Challenge—is to spread kindness and compassion throughout the school and community, and to do good things for both.