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Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:58:00 -0700

In 1796 Seneca War Chief Cornplanter was granted 15,000 acres along the Allegheny river by Pennsylvania for his assistance to the State as a loyal and a steadfast protector of American families settling in the wilderness of the upper Ohio River basin. In what would become the oldest standing Indian treaty, George Washington granted the land to Chief Cornplanter and his ancestors forever.
Forever ended in 1965 when the completed Kinzua Dam flooded the Allegheny river and covered the ancestral lands of the Seneca leader. Their homes, their only viable farmland, and the graves of the ancestors were now under hundreds of feet of water. Despite petitions from Tribal leaders to JFK to stop the proposed Dam in 1960, the President and United States ..................MORE
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Busy weekend at Sinnemahoning State Park - Cameron County Endeavor

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:21:55 -0700

Busy weekend at Sinnemahoning State Park
Cameron County Endeavor
Next weekend will be a busy one at Sinnemahoning State Park in Cameron and Potter counties. Seats are still open for the Birds 'n Brunch pontoon excursion ...

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Why Do We Celebrate the 4th of July?

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:59:00 -0700

By: Kim Moon

After learning about why we celebrate the Fourth of July, check out our main 4th of July page more great crafts, activities, and recipes to try out during your Independence Day celebration.
Most people in the United States celebrate the 4th of July, but do you know exactly why the holiday is so important to our country? Imagine how you would feel if someone older than you (maybe an older sister or brother) kept telling you what to do all of the time and kept taking more and more of your allowance.

That is how the colonists felt in the years leading up to 1776. Great Britain kept trying to make the colonists follow more rules and pay higher taxes. People started getting mad and began making plans to be able to make their own rules. They no longer wanted Great Britain to be able to tell them what to do, so they decided to tell Great Britain that they were becoming an independent country. (To be independent means to take care of yourself, making your own rules and providing for your own needs.)
The Congress met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and they appointed a committee (a group of people working together to do a specific job) to write a formal document that would tell Great Britain that the Americans had decided to govern themselves. The committee asked Thomas Jefferson to write a draft (first try) of the document, so he worked for days, in absolute secret, until he had written a document that he thought said everything important that the committee had discussed.

On June 28, 1776, the committee met to read Jefferson's "fair" copy (he put his best ideas together and wrote them neatly.) They revised (made some changes) the document and declared their independence on July 2, 1776. They officially adopted it (made it theirs) on July 4, 1776. That is why we call it "Independence Day." Congress ordered that all members must sign the Declaration of Independence and they all began signing the "official" copy on August 2, 1776. In January of the next year, Congress sent signed copies to all of the states.
The Declaration of Independence is more than just a piece of paper. It is a symbol of our country's independence and commitment to certain ideas. A symbol is something that stands for something else. Most people can look at a certain little "swoosh" and know that it stands for "Nike." Well, the signers of the Declaration of Independence wanted the citizens of the United States to have a document that spelled out what was important to our leaders and citizens. They wanted us to be able to look at the Declaration of Independence and immediately think of the goals we should always be working for, and about the people who have fought so hard to make these ideas possible.

The people who signed the Declaration risked being hanged for treason by the leaders in Great Britain. They had to be very brave to sign something that would be considered a crime! So every time we look at the Declaration of Independence, we should think about all of the effort and ideas that went into the document, and about the courage it took for these people to stand up for what they knew was right -- independence!

Zeroing Out the Moleskine, vol. 223

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:31:25 -0700

I have a 36 mile commute to work, and it took 1 hour, 25 minutes for me to get there on Monday. I was massively late, and so agitated I almost blew a hole in the side of my brain. The next two days I tested alternate routes, and both were only slightly better. I’ve lived in [...]

A Stern Warning and Trash Chicken

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:48:21 -0700

Yesterday I posted an article about the death of Scott Baio at Mockable, and the sky immediately turned black and all hell broke loose. Maybe the Big Guy didn’t care for my “humor?” I don’t know, but for a few minutes I thought we might have a situation on our hands. I was about to order [...]

Succesful 2009 Woodland Hobbit & Fairy Festival

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:51:00 -0700

Despite looming dark clouds and legions of "friendly flies", the 2nd Annual Woodland Hobbit and Fairy Festival in the Pennsylvania Wilds brought plenty of visitors to Hemlocks Springs Historic Crafts and Cultural Arts Center in Keating Summit on June 13. Turnout was most likely affected somewhat by the current economic situation as well as the predicated weather for the day but overall the festival was a success that built on and expanded many of the activities offered at last year's festival. Well over 100 attendees, most dressed as fairies, hobbits or other woodland fantasy creatures enjoyed music, stories, arts and crafts and much more. "We want the festival to keep growing and really appreciate the suggestions and comments from those who attended. Those suggestions allow us to make changes, upgrades and adjustments to keep the festival improving every year." said organizer Bonnie Wood.

The purpose of the Woodland Hobbit and Fairy Festival is to bring out the artist in each person through exposure to the natural world. Musicians, arts and crafts, a puppet show, storytellers and much more were all prominent features of the 2009 festival all offered in the outdoors. "The Center itself is nestled in a hollow high in the Allegheny Mountains so a natural theme is only, well . . . natural!" commented Wood. "Going Green" was part of this year's festival and a Nature Place tent featured information on how indiviuals can help the environment.

Plans for next year including expanding on the environmental theme as well as introducing more activities and crafts geared toward adults. "One of the suggestions we received this year is to have more activities for adults because we did have adults in attendance without children. We'll be working on organizing adult activities and crafts as we plan for next year's event and appreciate the input from our visitors," said Lori Hansen who handles marketing for the Center.

Finally, Wood offered this word of thanks to all those who helped with the festival. "On behalf of myself and the Fairy Council of Hemlocks Springs Center, I would like to thank all our dedicated volunteers and sponsors for making the second annual festival a success. Without the hard work of our volunteers, the festival absolutely would not be possible. A very special thank you to our volunteers from the ATF (Adult Training Facitily) at Dickinson Mental Health. Your hard work once again added so much to the success of the festival. We also thank all of the festival attendees and hope to see you next year!"

Mountain Lines by Nelson Haas

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:04:00 -0700

See this image in full resolution HERE

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Madoff in McKean County?

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:07:00 -0700

Bernie Madoff could be spending the rest of his life in McKean County.Madoff is the convicted mastermind of the largest Ponzi scheme in history, and was sentenced this morning to 150 years in federal prison.Alan Ellis, an attorney and author of the "Federal Prison Guidebook," tells CNN that he believes Madoff will probably get sent to one of four institution – two are in upstate New York, one is in New Jersey and the other is FCI-McKean.For the full story, go to CNN Money.com.
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Celebrity Death and Family Fun

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:31:15 -0700

How many actual albums did Michael Jackson release during the past thirty years? Three? Four? Hell, he’s only a few ahead of me, and I’ve been sitting around eating Funyuns and power-farting into upholstery my entire adult life. In any case, it’s been a bad couple of weeks for celebs, hasn’t it? Maude, Ed McMahon, Farrah [...]

Fireworks planned in Emporium

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:23:00 -0700

LINK
An aura of colors will still illuminate the sky for Emporium's Independence Day celebration despite the loss of a major sponsor and an increase in costs.Committee President Hollis Langley said the contributor's donation had amounted to 30 percent of fund-raising. To top it off, expenses jumped 20 percent.But community support has helped raise about $6,000 to put on this year's display."The people have really came through for us," he said. "We are in for this year."Entertainment kicks off at 7 p.m. with a clown, music and face painting at the Cameron County High School's athletic facility. Emporium Borough Councilman Max Narby will be the master of ceremonies.The fireworks will be set off by R & R Fireworks Inc. of Houtzdale. The display will begin at about 10 p.m. Rain date is July 5. "We have always had positive comments," Langley said. "I tell you, it's (Cameron County) a very patriotic area. It's important you celebrate the Memorial days and the Fourth of Julys and those types of holidays."A few fund-raisers are being planned, including running a food stand at the Cameron County Arts "Art Fest" July 4 on Broad Street among others.In the fall, Langley said, the committee plans to get a jump start on funding sources for next year's display. Any money collected during this year's fireworks will be used for next year's.Donations may be sent to: Emporium Fireworks Committee, PO Box 141, Emporium, PA 15834.For additional information, contact Langley at 486-3821.
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Community Project a Success!

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:45:00 -0700

The employees of GE Transportation (Emporium) ,and members of IUE/CWA Local 88607, worked on their 2009 Community Awareness Project. This years project was a cooperative effort building a new playground complex at the South Park playground. The GE team was also assisted by members of the Cameron County Recreation Board and by the Cameron County Probation Department. There were approximately 30 sets of hands in all, digging holes, setting posts, and assembling the play area. The project was 90% completed in just under five hours. A delicious lunch was provided by the Recreation Board , and the playground should be ready for the kids by next week.

A big thank you goes out to the Emporium Foundation, the CC Recreation Board, CC Probation Department, the management and workers of GE Motor Coils, and to neighbors and community members for their help in making this project a pleasure and a success.

photos by Holly Manginell (more at http://camconative.dotphoto.com/)

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Sunday July 5th, 2009