Potato Fest lauds King Spud
Lightning strike causes fire in Town of Wayland home
Aug. 21st concert to enlist humor
Mother Nature wallops area with deluge, causing flooding
Village begins process of finding a full-time code enforcement officer
Dansville man fulfills dream at Arkansas "big cat" refuge
OPINION: For what it's worth... don't shut out the kids

Potato Fest lauds King Spud

WAYLAND - The aroma of potatoes cooked in any number of ways will soon drift over this northern Steuben County community as the Wayland Rotary Club again hosts the annual Finger Lakes Potato Festival at Victory Park on Saturday, Aug. 26 and Sunday, Aug. 27. The festival honors the "ground apple" for the role it has played in the economic history and development of the Wayland area.

The local Rotarians promise fun and excitement for everyone, blending the most popular events from previous festivals with new entertainment.

Saturday is filled with activities from morning till night, beginning with the 10K Run and 5K Spud Walk in the morning, along with a Civil War Encampment in the morning to the ever-popular performance of the Fiddlesticks (a bluegrass band) throughout the afternoon. And, of course, a Potato Festival wouldn't be complete without a Potato Hunt for the kids (5-11 years of age), which is scheduled in the afternoon. First place will be a bicycle. There also will second and third prizes.

The antique car show and the tractor pull will be held on Sunday. Sunday afternoon, Mort and the Inner Tubes will perform. With pony rides and a petting zoo for the kids, potato treats throughout the weekend, and a host of other events, the 2000 Festival is sure to be a memorable event - one visitors will be sure to look forward to year after year, say the Rotarians.

Saturday Events

9 a.m. - Potato pancakes served all day

9 a.m. - 10K run and 5K walk

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. - Civil War encampment

10 a.m. - Arts & crafts and a variety of food selections, plus pony rides and a petting zoo

11 a.m. - Hots, hamburgers and potato specialties

11:30 a.m. - Prince and Princess contest

12 noon - 5 p.m. - Music by Fiddlesticks

3 p.m. - Potato Hunt

Sunday Events

7:30 a.m. - Catholic Sunrise Service

8 a.m. - Potato pancakes all day

8:30 a.m. - Antique car and truck show

9 a.m. - 5 p.m. - Pony rides and petting zoo

11 a.m. - Tractor pull

1 p.m. - Music by Waylandaires

1 - 5 p.m. - Music by Mort and the Inner Tubes

1 - 5 p.m. - Various entertainment

4 p.m. - Chainsaw wood carving raffle

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Lightning protection system is best answer to reducing the chance of fire, though it is not 100 percent foolproof

By DAN BISHOP
Genesee Country Express

WAYLAND - Wayland and Dansville and the surrounding area has seen plenty of rain this summer. Unfortunately, with summer rain often comes dangerous lightning.

The most recent victim of a lightning strike was the Philips home on Emo Road in Wayland. Friday morning at around 9:30 a.m., the Philips residence was struck by lightning. Although no family members were injured as a result, the house sustained heavy damage.

According to Wayland Fire Chief Randy Moore, the fire most likely started after lightning came through an antenna. After a period of smoke, the fire broke out in the upper bedroom of the house.

"Electrical lightning is a strange thing," said Moore, "it goes everywhere." The Philips house was no different, as Moore suspects the lightning traveled through the electrical wires. Assisting the Wayland Fire Department were the Perkinsville, Cohocton, Atlanta, and South Dansville fire departments. The fire departments put approximately 35,000 gallons of water and foam on the fire to control it and eventually put out the blaze. Moore said that the fire was under control in a half-hour.

This is the third fire in the Wayland area attributed to lightning. A home in the village of Wayland and a Cohocton church were struck earlier in the week. A home in the Conesus area was struck earlier this summer, as were several barns throughout Livingston County. According to the Underwriters Laboratory Inc. (UL), a lightning protection system is an affordable way to protect the home in the event of a lightning strike. UL employs the most trained lightning protection representatives in the world.

UL defines a lightning protection system as a means by which an electric discharge may enter or leave the earth without passing through and damaging structures made of wood, brick, tile, and concrete. Although UL realizes that this system does not prevent lightning, it will control it and prevent damage by providing a low resistance path for lightning energy.

The system includes at least two groundings which go underground at least 10 feet. Mike Sprague of the Steuben County Office of Emergency Management stresses the importance of the groundings being connected together.

"It is very important to have one common ground," says Sprague. By not connecting the groundings, Spague you offer an open invitation for an electric charge.

The system also needs roof protection, like a weather vane, which is connected to the system and antennas connected to the roof conductors. All gutters and other metal on the ground should be connected to the system to allow the energy to pass into the ground. Surge arresters should be installed at the service panel to protect appliances. In addition, transient voltage surge suppressors should be installed to protect computers and other electrical equipment.

This system is what most people refer to as being "grounded." Although it does control lightning's energy, it is not a complete and total protection.

The Philips family understands the urgency to inform homeowners of the potential danger of a lightning strike. Said Mert Philips, "I wish someone would have told me how to prevent something like this."

Even though Philips sees the need to let people know how to protect themselves, he realizes that nature is an uncontrollable force. Their home was grounded but still sustained heavy damage.

More property damage and deaths occur as a result of lightning than from hurricanes, tornadoes, and flooding combined. No measure taken is one hundred percent foolproof, but by knowing the extreme power and inherent danger of lightning, one can take preventive measures to ensure a safer home.

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DANSVILLE - Displaying the kind of humor which makes up the majority of their own song lyrics, the next group to appear in Dansville's gazebo, corner of Washington and Knox streets, calls itself the Avon Philharmonic, though it has only three members. "It's a joke," explains leader Tom Greenfield. "We are actually an acoustic folk group that does mostly original material, mainly satirical in content." Much of the writing is done by Greenfield, a dean at SUNY Geneseo. He is joined by jazz guitarist David Sharman and Diane Hershey on violin or fiddle.

A la Tom Lehrer, songs deal with human foibles and topics from newspapers and magazines. "Chat Room Song" and "You Don't Fax Me Any More" deal with the tremendous impact of computers, especially on human relationships. Sometimes lyrics are political, though still light: "The Impeachment Song" and "Teddy Drive Me Home," about the Chappaquidick incident, for example. "Vaguely" is about a high school reunion, at which some people recognize or fail to recognize others. "The Goddes of Midnight Cable" is about staying up too late and watching junk TV.

The group often plays Thursday evenings at the Avon Inn, but each member also performs independently. Greenfield has appeared in night clubs and coffee houses all over New York State, as well as in festivals in Kentucky and New Jersey. Besides these appearances, he has been a guest performer and interviewee on radio stations in Rochester, Lakeville and at WRUM in Cleveland, Ohio. He even did a show at the Tea Room in Siena, Italy. Greenfield has won nine highly certificates of achievement in the Billboard Magazine annual songwriting competition and in 1982 was a national semifinalist in the folk category of the American Song Festival.

Media reviews have been highly complimentary. "(One of) Roches-ter's best acoustic club acts," Livingston County News. "This guy is hysterical ... a magical evening. The Acoustic Circus. "(Greenfield and Company) are very versatile and so good at everything they," The Clarion. "Unplugged and unrepentant," Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. The Louisville Courier-Journal cited Greenfield's concert with Alan Rhody and others as a "Best bet" selection.

The Monday, August 21 concert gets underway at 7 p.m. at the gazebo unless there is heavy rain. In that case, it will move next door to Brae Burn Recreation.

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By PETER VOGT
Genesee Country Express

OSSIAN - Portions of the Town of Ossian were overwhelmed with flooding last Wednesday following the second torrential downpour to hit the area in a week. Also hit especially hard were the Town of Portage and nearby areas in Allegany County.

Approximately 4-5 inches of rain fell in a relatively short time late Wednesday night, coming on the heels of two to three inches that fell on the southern portion of Livingston County late Sunday night and early Monday morning earlier in the week.

The main trouble in Ossian centered around Linzy Rd. where about 10 families were temporarily evacuated to the Ossian Town Hall. Dansville's Clara Barton Chapter No. 1 of the American Red Cross was called into service during the brief evacuation.

No injuries to residents were reported. A monetary figure for damages in both Livingston County townships was not available at press time but Livingston County Emergency Management Services Director Kevin Niedermaier said Wednesday morning that state and federal personnel were on the scene early this week, developing preliminary damage assessments.

The Ossian flooding resulted in basement flooding, crop damage, dammed creek beds, plugged culverts and washed out drives and ditches. One cracked building foundation was reported and Niedermaier said there was extensive damage at Sugar Creek Farm, later learned to include the loss 41 turkeys and about $8000 in hay.

Linzy Rd. runs west out of Ossian Center toward the forested hills forming the Rattlesnake Hill State Wildlife Management Area and Ossian State Forest. It ends at the foot of the hills where it intersects with Dannack and Scovill roads. Its entire course follows a highland valley floor shadowed by high hills. The main stream is Sugar Creek, which parallels the road and passes under it three times. Most of the creek's tributaries drop rapidly out of the hills and can empty large amounts of water into the valley rapidly.

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By PETER VOGT
Genesee Country Express

DANSVILLE - The full-time position of Dansville code enforcement officer has long been on the wish list of community activists seeking to improve the physical image of the village. Earlier this year the village board approved it and included it in the 2000-01 budget, but had been waiting for the county civil service commission to put its blessing on the title and job description before moving forward.

A week ago Tuesday, the village board authorized Mayor Barry Haywood to form a committee to look at prospective candidates. According to Haywood, three persons passed the civil service examination and are eligible to apply, though how many actually will is not known at this time.

Currently, the village has two part-time code enforcement officers, Timothy Wolfanger and David Miner. Wolfanger, who is the North Dansville town clerk, informed the village last year that he wanted to step down from the position altogether, but has stayed on to allow the village to follow through with the full-time spot. Miner, the village zoning officer, has indicated an interest in the position.

According to Haywood, the village will move forward as quickly as possible to interview applicants. "We owe it to Tim," remarked Haywood last week, praising Wolfanger for his selflessness in staying at the job well after he indicated he wanted to step down.

Haywood said letters have been sent to the Zoning Board of Appeals, Planning Board, North Dansville Town Supervisor Dennis Mahus (the position is shared with the town) and Village Police Chief Charlie Perkins, requesting representatives to sit on the interview committee. All letter recipients will have to work with the code enforcement officer.

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By DAN BISHOP
Genesee Country Express

A large tabby is probably the biggest feline most residents of Dansville will ever have contact with. But Orion, a 1995 Dansville High graduate, has up close encounters with lions, tigers and cougars on a daily basis.

Being an intern at Turpentine Creek in Eureka Springs, Arkansas was not the beginning of Orion's love affair with tigers.

"When I was eight, my family went to the Cincinnati Zoo and we were able to get up close with a few tiger cubs." The rest, they say, is history. "When it came time to pick a college, I knew what I wanted to do," says Orion, the son of Evelyn Lewis of Dansville.

Orion attended SUNY Oswego and graduated with a degree in zoology. When a friend from Oswego returned from Turpentine Creek after an internship, Orion was hooked. In late May, Orion got his chance at the wildlife refuge.

Turpentine Creek is a wildlife refuge based on 459 acres in Arkansas. The vision of the refuge is to provide lifetime support and loving care for abandoned, abused and neglected "big cats" and to educate the public on the importance of saving them from extinction. Turpentine Creek is a USDA licensed shelter that cares for other animals as well. All together the refuge currently houses 105 cats.

A typical day for Orion, an intern, begins at 8 a.m. Until noon the crew cleans the cages for the cats.

"With 105 cats, cleaning cages is a full time job," says Orion. It is a full time job that Orion does for the sheer love of the great cats. In exchange for housing at the refuge and grocery money, the interns provide their hard work without the luxury of a weekly paycheck. At noon the crew takes a long lunch, not because they want to, but because the summer heat prevents any major work getting done during the hottest part of the day. "It's been 100 degrees down here pretty much everyday," remarks Orion of the hot Arkansas sun.

After lunch the crew goes on work detail. Building cages, general maintenance and even creating habitat for the cats takes up the majority of the day. Only some of the cat population at Turpentine Creek has habitat. The organization needs funding to get all the animals out of cages.

When the gates are open the interns spend the afternoon talking with guests. And the guests come. Turpentine Creek is a popular destination for people, including a surprise visit from Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as well as a crew from ESPN.

After the crew eats their dinner, it's time for the residents of Turpentine Creek to eat. Over 1,000 pounds of meat is fed to the great animals on a daily basis.

"All our meat is donated by the Tyson Corporation, so we are very grateful," says Orion. Somewhere between 8 and 8:30 p.m., the exhausted staff at Turpentine Creek makes their way to their bunkhouse.

"We put in twelve hour days," says Orion. "In this heat it can make for a long day." Orion will be completing his internship at Turpentine Creek sometime in early September. The future for Orion is open to many possibilities.

"It would be very nice to return to Turpentine Creek," says Orion. "If that doesn't work out, I will most likely return to New York and work in a zoo."

No matter where the future takes Orion, he will never forget Turpentine Creek. "I absolutely love tigers. I am amazed by them," he says. "I have been ever since I was little."

For more information on Turpentine Creek write to: Turpentine Creek, 239 Turpentine Creek Lane, Eureka Springs, AR 72632, or visit www.turpentinecreek.org.

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By PETER VOGT
Genesee Country Express

Kids. Too often they are viewed as a nuisance, even a threat. They can be rude, loud, know-it-all and aggressive. They consume a lot of our time, energy and money, and many of the rules communities enact (don't do this, don't do that type of regulations) are crafted with them in mind. Most of us want children, yet at some point we want them out of sight. They are at once a joy and a pain-and all of us used be one.

Time and time again I hear people (including even myself) rant and rave over kids doing this and doing that, none of it good. Hardly a season goes by that you don't hear cries to establish a curfew (one of my favorites), restrict gatherings, enforce no loitering laws, ban skateboards, ban in-line skates and even ban bicycles. Sound familiar?

This past week two occasions gave me reason to think this matter over. On Tuesday, five youngsters showed up at the Village of Dansville board meeting to inquire about expanding (and improving) the skateboard facility in Williams Park (off Red Jacket St.). Frankly, my hair bristles at the mention of skateboards, so you can imagine what I was thinking when the subject came up. At least I kept my mouth shut until I was able to collect myself and think rationally. After all, what harm is there in the act of skateboarding or most things kids do? Like I said, we all were kids once. We enjoyed a lot of the same pursuits. The toys may have been different, but one generation is generally much like another. Let's face it, the problem isn't the toys/activities in and of themselves, or even most of the kids, but a certain few. And even though we all want to be treated as individuals, we tend to punish groups when we establish laws and regulations. In the end, the good kids pay the price right along with their less than righteous peers. That's what I was doing last week at the village meeting, mentally punishing youngsters trying to do the right thing because somewhere along the line some miscreants gave me a bad taste about skateboards and now I lump them all into one pile. It was wrong of me-and we all are wrong when we do it.

How often have you heard someone ask how does a community keep its good kids from moving away? There are a lot of factors coming into play in small rural communities when it comes to keeping youths "down on the farm," to be sure, but you can bet your bottom dollar that if young people with something on the ball feel they are not wanted, they certainly won't stay, and probably won't come back to raise their own children here either. Don't do this, don't do that? Why stay?

If the community wants a bunch of automatons to sit, be quiet and look pretty, buy mannequins. Kids shouldn't be wallflowers. They need space to inquire, expend their seemingly limitless energy and just have fun. That's their nature. Rules are important and necessary for a community to function without anarchy, but to impose too many restrictions on everyone, let alone just on kids, stifles initiative and creativity. The end result is a stagnant community which none of us wants. We have to find a balance.

So what to do we do? Inappropriate behavior, disrespect and discourtesy by anyone need to be curtailed. Stay on the bad actors. Punish as appropriate. Provide the police with the laws to ensure that the truly antisocial behavior can be acted on, but don't go overboard. Sitting on a bench or steps laughing and horsing around isn't evil or necessarily a problem. Ensure the good kids do have the places and facilities to do the things their generation likes to do. Small communities can't come close to providing all the glitter and facilities of urban/suburban areas, but that's no excuse for doing nothing and locking kids out-disenfranchising them, if you will.

Something else to keep in mind is attracting the right kinds of families to the community. You know what I mean, the ones with parents who take a genuine interest in their children, who provide time, guidance, direction, encouragement and hope. Good schools are a must. Good jobs help, too. Quality of life issues such as community activities, facilities, shopping, churches, government, etcetera play major roles as well. Frankly, and I say this only because I live here and can speak from personal observations, Dansville has done a good job in a lot of these areas. The skateboard issue is a good example, even with some of the problems that have accompanied it. Nothing is ever perfect, but great strides have been made here and elsewhere in recent years to get things back on track.

As I reflect on my childhood here in Dansville, life was good. We did not lack for things to do. Kids were expected to behave, but seldom were we hemmed in by formal regulations. The authority of adults was not challenged very often, so if we were not minding our p's and q's, a word of admonishment or reprimand from anyone who was three, four or more years older than us put us straight. If we really got out of line, word got back to mom and dad pretty quickly and there was the devil to pay as individuals. Times have changed, but labeling all children as troublemakers and treating them as such isn't the answer to making our communities better. If kids are treated like outcasts, don't be surprised when they act like it.

God bless and have a nice week.

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