Sustainable Action Week at SUNY New Paltz

April 25 to May 1

There's a lot of great stuff happening in New Paltz this week - check it out!

RSVP on Facebook

Field biologist Marc van Roosmalen to speak at SUNY Ulster

Cultural Diversity Day with
Marc van Roosmalen
World-renowned field biologist and Amazon researcher
Wed., 4/20, 7 PM
Student Lounge
Vanderlyn Hall
SUNY Ulster
491 Cottekill Road
Stone Ridge

4/19/11: Carbon Nation @ BSP

For event details, click here.

Photo: Peter Byck

A Magnificat Festival, April 30 and May 1, 2011

From Betsy Tuel (husband Bill is singing):

This spring the combined choirs of Ulster Choral Society and Camerata Chorale will present a "Magnificat Festival", consisting of three settings of the famous biblical text by JS Bach, Vivaldi, and JC Bach.  We will be joined by professional soloists and the Bach-Handel Festival Orchestra.
The concert dates are:

• Saturday, April 30, 8:00 PM at the Poughkeepsie United Methodist Church
• Sunday, May 1, 4:00 PM at the Overlook United Methodist Church in Woodstock

Advance tickets are $15.

WORLD PREMIERE - “SCATTERED STARS” - BY JANE BARSUMIAN

From Vivi Hlavsa:

Jane Barsumian

On a program full of “lovable” music the world premiere performance of a new work by Jane Barsumian will be of outstanding interest to area concert goers. The WOODSTOCK CHAMBER ORCHESTRA, conducted by Artistic Director David Leighton, will present its final concerts of the 2010-2011 season, featuring Jane Barsumian’s newest work, “Scattered Stars.”  The program also includes “Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No. 1” by Ottorino Respighi, “Adagietto” from the Symphony No. 5 of Gustav Mahler, “Czech Suite” by Antonin Dvorak and “Overture to The Wasps” by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

 Performances: 

• 8 pm Friday, April 29 at Olin Hall, Bard College, 
• 8 pm Saturday, April 30 at Pointe of Praise Family Life Center, 243 Hurley Avenue, Kingston, and 
• 3 pm Sunday, May 1 at Saugerties Reformed Church, Main Street, Saugerties: 

Tickets: adults $20.00, college students $5, K-12 with accompanying adult, free. Subscription sets are available (4 tickets good for any concert).
Jane Barsumian, a resident of the Hudson Valley for some thirty-three years, is well known for her remarkable skills as violinist, pianist, organist, vocalist and composer.  “Scattered Stars” is her first work for chamber orchestra and audiences will have an opportunity to hear her music in full panoply of orchestrated imagination.  Her style is charming, witty and actually beautiful.  Yes, you read that correctly – this is contemporary music you will enjoy.  Born into a musical family, father was a concert violinist, composer and conductor, mother a church organist for seventy five years, Jane Barsumian studied piano with Frank McConnell, Edgar Roberts and Antoinette Lind, violin with Norman Black of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Henk Schram of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, and composition with Grammy-winning composer Joan Tower.  For the 2002 Woodstock Cycle Jane composed music and text for the Cantata "Healing." She is the 2006 winner of the Hymn Competition of the Eastern North Carolina Religious Arts Festival, and has written service music for the Episcopal Church.

The WOODSTOCK CHAMBER ORCHESTRA, formed in 1980 by musicians from the Woodstock area, now is comprised of professional musicians from the entire Hudson Valley. The WCO regularly commissions music by local and regional composers and each season performs in Woodstock, Kingston, Saugerties, and at Bard College.

Ulster County Recycling Event

It’s that time again. 

Tell your neighbors, family members and friends about the upcoming 

FREE Household Hazardous Waste, Pharmaceutical Waste and Electronics Recycling Event 

 

Saturday, April 16, 8 am to 2 pm

  999 Flatbush Road, Kingston, NY

You must have an appointment!!

By offering alternatives for the safe disposal of household hazardous waste, Ulster County is taking a proactive role in protecting the environment by preventing these items from ending up in landfills or contaminating water sources and waste water treatment plants.
 

This FREE collection provides a safe disposal alternative for: 

• hazardous pesticides, solvents and household chemicals. 
• lead and oil based paint, paint solvents (Note: latex paint will not be accepted as it is not a hazardous material)
• fertilizers, pesticides, 
• household cleaners, hobby chemicals, etc.

Also being accepted at the event for FREE are electronics for recycling including: 

• computers and their components,  keyboards, printers
• VCRs/DVD players
• monitors/TVs. 

Ulster County residents will also have the opportunity to discard their unused and/or expired medications at the event for FREE. Bring any prescription or over-the-counter pills, ointments, lotions and liquids for disposal. 

The Agency is pleased to be able to provide an opportunity for residents to properly dispose of hazardous waste and to recycle electronic waste.  For a complete list of acceptable items for this event, visit www.ucrra.org/recycling/hhw.htm

How to schedule an appointment:
You must schedule an appointment if if you are interested in participating in the event. Please visit our website at www.ucrra.org or call the Recycling Hotline at (845) 336-3336 to request more information or to make an appointment.

Ulster County Residents ONLY.
No businesses.  No organizations.  No farms.  No institutions.

4/5/11: Health Care panel in Hyde Park

Health Care Reform: What Does It Really Mean?
Tuesday, April 5
8:30 AM to 2:30 PM
Henry A. Wallace Center
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
4079 Albany Post Road, Route 9, Hyde Park

With the premise of health care as a human right, this will be a day of exploring the impact of health care reform on women, small businesses, seniors, African-Americans, Latinas, Latinos, and Americans with disabilities. As leaders in their fields, the featured speakers will illustrate, educate and debunk myths of health care reform.

Keynote Address: Geeta Desai, President, AAUW Poughkeepsie
Luncheon Speaker: Jamie Torres, U.S. Health & Human Services Regional Director, Region II–NY, NJ, PR, VI
Other Speakers and Workshop Leaders:
Susan Dooha, Executive Director, Center for Independence of the Disabled, NY
Margaret Moree, Director of Federal Affairs, The Business Council of NY State, Inc.
Michael Olender, Associate State Director, AARP
Lois Uttley, Executive Director, Raising Women’s Voices

Cost: $10 (suggested donation)
To register: call 845-229-5302 or e-mail mmartinetti@ervk.org (optionally, order a $10 box lunch when you register)

Maine Governor Denying History, Removing Mural, Renaming Conference Rooms

Dolores LaChance forwarded this article by former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich. 

Why We Need a Fighter in the White House: "Maine Governor Paul LePage has ordered state workers to remove from the state labor department a 36-foot mural depicting the state’s labor history. Among other things the mural illustrates the 1937 shoe mill strike in Auburn and Lewiston. It also features the iconic “Rosie the Riveter,” who in real life worked at the Bath Iron Works. One panel shows my predecessor at the U.S. Department of Labor, Frances Perkins, who was buried in Newcastle, Maine.

The LePage Administration is also renaming conference rooms that had carried the names of historic leaders of American labor, as well as former Secretary Perkins.

The Governor’s spokesman explains that the mural and the conference-room names were “not in keeping with the department’s pro-business goals.”"

Wasn't the Department of Labor set up to protect workers? How bizarre?

3/27/11: Second Annual Hudson Valley Hunger Banquet

Image source: Ulster Publishing

Sunday, March 27
3 PM to 5 PM
Mount St. Alphonsus
1001 Broadway (Route 9W)
Esopus

To reserve your seat online, click here.

To read the 3/24 Hudson Valley Times article, click here.

To see this event on Facebook, click here.

Queens Galley web site

3/4/11: Roberta Gould poetry reading in Saugerties

Author Event with Roberta Gould

Friday, March 4
7 PM to 8 PM

The Inquiring Mind Bookstore
65 Partition Street
Saugerties

Reading from recent books and new poems


Image Credit: Foothills Publishing
(click this link if you want a sneak peek at a poem from this collection!)

2/23/11: Concert at SUNY Ulster

Music Scholarship concert in memory of Lee Herrington
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
7:30 PM

SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge

Quimby Auditorium

Featuring:

Community Concert Band

College Jazz Band

Rondout Valley School Concert Band

College Chorus

Suggested donation: $2 (student/senior), $3 (adult), $10 (family)

Until the Violence Stops

Please join us:

Sunday February 13, 2010,  2:00 pm

 Upstate Films, 132 Tinker Street, Woodstock

 A V-Day Benefit Screening of

 “Until The Violence Stops”

an Eve Ensler Film

 

To benefit The Washbourne House

Ulster County’s Battered Women’s Shelter

 A program of Family of Woodstock Inc.

                

  Tickets $12.00 in Advance or $15.00 at the door

 Call 845 331-7080 ext.127

 or mail your check to The Washbourne House

PO Box 3817,  Kingston, New York 12402

Attn.Kathy Moretti

Need help with preparing your taxes?

The United Way of Ulster County announces the availability of free tax preparation services for low wage workers making up to $43,352 per year (with 3 or more children). 

The Hudson Valley Mall site will operate January 29, and each Saturday in February from 10 AM to 2 PM.  There are fifteen other sites throughout the county that will also be available from January 29-April 15.  See below for locations and call 845-802-7190 to make an appointment.

Volunteer tax preparers, certified by the IRS, will be on hand to help residents access the Earned Income Tax Credit, and other tax credits which may total up to $7,000.

The following sites are available:

Ellenville Public Library, 40 Center Street, Ellenville, Saturdays, 2/5, 2/19, 3/5, & 3/19, 10 AM to 1 PM

Hudson Valley Mall, Route 9W, Kingston, Saturdays, 10 AM to 2 PM. (We’re located in the former Lady Footlocker store front, next to H&M.  As you leave JC Penney, go past the customer service desk, turn right.) 

Department of Social Services, 1061 Development Court, Kingston, Monday-Friday, 8 AM to 4 PM

Town of Olive Library, 4033 Route 28A, West Shokan, Mondays, 1 to 3 PM

  

West Hurley Library, 42 Clover Street, West Hurley, Wednesdays, 10 AM to 12 PM

Port Ewen Library, 128 Canal Street, Port Ewen, Thursdays, 9 AM to 12 PM

Community Action Center, 70 Lindsley Avenue, Kingston, Tuesdays, 11 AM to 3 PM

Kingston Library, 55 Franklin Street, Kingston, Mondays, 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM and Tuesdays, 1 to 4 PM

St. John's Episcopal Church, 207 Albany Avenue, Kingston, Thursdays, 9 AM to 3 PM

Stone Ridge Library, 3700 Main Street, Stone Ridge, Mondays, 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM

Bridge View Apartments Senior Community Room, 34 Sterling Place, Highland, Every Other Friday

St. Joseph's Church, 34 S. Chestnut Street, New Paltz, Tuesdays, 9 AM to 3 PM

Reformed Church, 92 Huguenot Street, Education Building, New Paltz, Fridays, 9 AM to 1 PM

St Charles Church, Route 44-55, Gardiner, Every Other Wednesday

Kiwanis Ice Arena, Washington Avenue, Saugerties, Wednesdays, 10 AM to 3 PM

Journey to Freedom - songs and stories of Sojourner Truth - March 5, 2011

Music of Sojourner Truth in Concert

Save the Date!

Cynthia Lowe, Ulster County Community Foundation, Esopus Town Supervisor John Coutant, Anne Gordon  AAUW member, and Pastor Evelyn Clarke at the dedication of the Sojourner Truth Memorial Park in Port Ewen.

On Saturday, March 5, Journey to Freedom - songs and stories of Sojourner Truth will be presented by the Sojourner Truth Memorial Fund and Heritage Folk Music, Inc at St James Methodist Church in Kingston. A variety of local singers and storytellers will give a 2 hour program, beginning at 7 pm. Admission is $10.

The concert will include songs written by Truth, spirituals, and songs from the Abolitionist movement and the Civil War. Storytellers Evelyn Clarke and Terry Gittens will be joined by singes, Betty & the Baby Boomers, the Veterans in a New Field, and several others. Refreshments will be served, accompanied by fiddlers, Earl and Mimi Pardini.

St. James Methodist Church is a fitting location for the concert. In 1827, the congregation welcomed as a member, Isabella Van Wagonen, a freed slave who later took the name Sojourner Truth. As a dynamic speaker advocating the end of slavery, voting rights for women, and basic human rights for all, she became one of the most notable women in the 19th century.

There is a statue of her in the National Women's Hall of Fame, and most recently, a statue of her was unveiled in the U.S. Capitol by the First Lady, Michelle Obama. The proceeds from this concert will be used to erect a statue of her in The Ulster County town, Esopus, where she was born and lived for the first 30 years of her life.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

7:00 pm

Journey to Freedom - songs and stories of Sojourner Truth

St James Methodist Church, Kingston 

Stone Ridge Library Concert: December 11, 2010

From Rokki Carr:

Saturday, December 11, 2010
3:00 pm - Marbletown Reformed Church

The Stone Ridge Library will host a free Holiday Concert of Traditional International Holiday Music performed by students in the Graduate Vocal Arts Program of the Bard College Conservatory of Music on Saturday, December 11 at 3:00 PM in the Marbletown Reformed Church, Main Street in Stone Ridge.

Performers include Julia Bullock and Ilana Zarankin, sopranos and Christina Lalog, pianist. The program will include a variety of familiar and lesser known works representing all traditions. A dessert buffet will follow the performance. All are welcome.

Take Action - Nuclear Arms Verification START Treaty

From AAUW member Dolores LaChance:

The Senate is currently considering ratification of the new START Treaty.

The goals of the START Treaty, to reach a near term reduction of nuclear weapons with mutually agreed verification, will make for a stable strategic relationship between the two nations.This would be the first arms control treaty between the United States and Russia in a decade.

The START treaty calls for regular inspections and timely exchanges of information regarding nuclear arsenals. It would not only reduce the number of deployed nuclear weapons in both the United States and Russia but could also influence other nations to follow suit.

The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations passed the new START Treaty by a bipartisan vote in September 2010 after months of hearings and support from high ranking members of the previous seven administrations.

The Senate should ratify new START

.
 TAKE ACTION

1. Tell your Senators to ratify the new START Treaty

2. Send this alert to other concerned citizens – your grassroots network, your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Encourage them to contact their Senators today!


BACKGROUND

• Learn more about what the League is doing on Arms Control.

• Sign up to receive League of Women Voters Action Alerts directly by email. Don’t miss an opportunity to take action! It’s easy to sign up and the League will never share your email with others.

A Support Group: for Women Coping with a Loss

MHA: the Mental Health Association in Ulster County, Inc presents

Women & Loss

A FREE Support Group in Kingston

Wednesdays 4:00pm - 6:00pm

October 27, 2010 - November 24, 2010

For Women Seeking Support & Comfort

In Coping With A Loss Of Any Kind Including:

~ The Loss of A Job

~ The Loss of A Family Pet

~ The Loss of Self-Identity

~ The Death of A Loved One

~ The Loss of a Partner (due to Separation, Break-up or Divorce)

Registration is Required. Please call (845) 339-9090 Ext. 115

Feel free to post or distribute the attached flyer.

10/19/10: GASLAND at UUCC Kingston

If you haven't seen GASLAND yet,
get thee to the UUCC tonight! --

7 PM on Tuesday, October 19
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Catskills
320 Sawkill Road
Kingston, NY

Sponsored by the Social Action Committee of UUCC
as part of its Issues Of Our Times series. Free admission.
For more information, call Paula at 845-679-2821.

10/18/10: NYS Gubernatorial Debate

Tonight at 7 PM:
Watch the first-ever NYS Gubernatorial Debate
live — on your TV or online.

The Blog Action Day Post: Water

Image via Wikipedia

Unsafe drinking water and lack of sanitation kills more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.

Water: 38,000 Children a Week: Every week, nearly 38,000 children under the age of 5 die from unsafe drinking water and unhygienic living conditions.

More people have access to a cell phone than to a toilet. Today, 2.5 billion people lack access to toilets. This means that sewage spills into rivers and streams, contaminating drinking water and causing disease.

Living here in the Catskills, it's hard to believe that clean, fresh water could be a problem anywhere. Of course, I know that it is a problem. The facts  speak for themselves.

But, I also know that fixing this problem is within our grasp. Here are some water solutions posted on the Blog Action Day site.

Water solutions:
The good news is that there are great organizations working on solutions and new tools that empower people to do their part to address the water crisis.

• Building Wells: Organizations like Water.org and charity: water are leading the charge in bringing fresh water to communities in the developing world.
• Technology for Good: Do you want to measure how much water it took to make your favorite foods? There’s an app for that. More Info »
• Conservation Starts at Home: The average person uses 465 liters of water per day. Find out how much you use and challenge your readers to do that same. More Info »
• Keeping Rivers Clean: We can all take small steps to help keep pollution out of our rivers and streams, like correctly disposing of household wastes. More Info »
• Drop the Bottle: Communities around the world are taking steps to reduce water bottle waste by eliminating bottled water.More Info »

We can also take a big step toward protecting our water by passing legislation to stop hydrofraking. Watch Gasland and contact your elected representatives.

Now showing: GASLAND at Upstate Films

If you haven't seen GASLAND yet, here's your chance! It's showing this week - Tues (10/5), Wed. (10/6), and Thurs. (10/7) at 5:45 PM and 8 PM - at Upstate Films in Rhinebeck, NY.

9/23/10: Public hearing on NYS DEC's State Forest Management Plan

Public hearing tonight (9/23):
6:30 to 9:30 PM
DEC Region 3 Headquarters
Main Conference Room
21 South Putt Corners Road
New Paltz

Wanted: 20 volunteers to train

The Ulster Literacy Association has a growing waiting list of eager adult students. We hope to attract 20 new volunteers for our upcoming 18-hour training class.

Here are the dates for the training:

Day One           Thursday, October 7, 5:30-8:30 pm

 Day Two         Sat., October 16, 9:00 am-4:30 pm

Day Three        Sat., October 23, 9:00 am-4:30 pm

The training will take place at 480 Aaron Court in Kingston, New York. And now, you can register online!

www.ulsterliteracy.org

Ulster Literacy Association, 480 Aaron Court, Kingston, NY 12401  (845) 331-6837 – office

Our mission is to provide adults with effective programs in reading, writing and communication skills necessary for them to achieve their personal and professional goals.

Staying in Place Presents NYT’s Jane Brody, Sept. 26th

From branch member Amy Godes:

Hear Jane Brody In Woodstock

The senior  support group, Staying In Place, a not-for-profit membership organization which helps people (50+) remain in their own homes as they grow older, is having a free public meeting on  Sunday, September 26th, at 3:00 p.m., at the Woodstock Rescue Squad building on route 212. 

The guest speaker will be JANE BRODY, best-selling author and NEW YORK TIMES Personal Health writer, who will talk about her latest book, JANE BRODY’S GUIDE TO THE GREAT BEYOND.  The book, a discussion of end-of-life issues, will be for sale and will be signed by the author.  Refreshments will be provided.  For more information, visit stayinginplace.org or SIPsoapbox.blogspot.com

Fall Bus Trips

To reserve, call ViVi at 845-331-0155 or write vvhlavsa@aol.com, then send your check, made out to AAUW-Kingston Branch, to ViVi Hlavsa, 191 Lapla Rd, Kingston NY 12401.  And tell your friends!

Corning Glass Museum

Monday, September 20th

Home to the world's most celebrated collection of glass and featuring an exhibit of Tiffany works.  Showcasing more than 3,500 years of glass and contemporary designs, the Museum offers an interactive look at new discoveries in glass and includes a live narrated demonstration of hot glassblowing.

Leaving at 8 AM and returning (with a stop for supper) at 8 PM.

Cost:  $59 including bus, driver tip and museum entrance; $56 for members of AAUW and SIP

Pepsico Gardens and the

Neuberger Museum

Sunday, October 17th: 

World-famous Pepsico Sculpture Gardens in Purchase, New York has 45 large-scale pieces of bronze, marble, steel, nickel, resin, granite and spruce by 20th century artists including such greats as Miro and Moore, while the Neuberger Museum features Modern and African Art.

Leaving at 9 AM and returning by 6 PM

Cost:  $47 including bus, driver tip and museum entrance; $44 for members of AAUW and SIP

Kafka's "Metamorphosis" at BAM

Sunday, December 5th

About this new production of Kafka, The London Times says "Illuminated by such brilliant theatricality that it's impossible to tear your eyes away.  Potent, startling, visceral and thoughtful."  The Brooklyn Academy of Music is a New York treasure.

Leaving at 11 AM and returing (with a supper stop) by 9 PM

Cost:  $88 including bus, driver tip and performance; $85 for members of AAUW and SIP

NYC's Museum of Arts and Design

Saturday, December 18th: 

Featuring quilts, jewelry and art objects of metal and wood. Plus a splendid Gift Shop!

Leaving at 8 AM and returning by 6:30 PM WITH A STOP AT TRADER JOE'S

Cost:  $54 including bus, driver tip and museum entrance; $51 for members of AAUW and SIP

*Open to all, AAUW trips are part of our mission to offer community enrichment and to raise funds for scholarships and grants to local, national and international programs, especially in support of women.  Membership in the Kingston Branch of AAUW is open to all people.

** Recently formed, Staying in Place (SIP) is a membership organization which provides social, informational and referral services at discount prices for seniors, aged 50 and older who want to stay in their own homes.  Currently based in Woodstock, SIP is actively helping other Ulster County communities to form similar groups.