Laurie Barkauskas and Nick Bankert sport Snofest shirts and tickets by this year’s Snofest Raffle prize.

It’s not uncommon for departments within the Town of Webb to cross-over and pool their talents to prepare for a big event. But no event relies more on the collective efforts of personnel from almost every department than Snofest which will be held Friday and Saturday, March 8 and 9 in Old Forge.

For the last few weeks, the Department of Public Works and Highway Department crews have been hauling snow to the grounds of the George T. Hiltebrant Recreation Center, the site of Snofest, to assure there is enough snow coverage for snowmobile demos and the daredevil jumping shows—two major highlights of the event.

Windy Kelley, Laurie Barkauskas, and Sandy Booton show off this year’s Snofest shirts. Photo by Dana Armington

The Snowmobile Trail Crew has been working hard to keep the trails maintained for the busy weekend.

Phil Martin of Big Moose Yamaha/Arctic Cat qualified their efforts after taking a few snowmobile reps out to test run some sleds on Wednesday, March 6.

“The trails are in beautiful shape. If we get the snow that’s being forecasted and the temperatures stay down, it’s going to be one of the best Snofest events to date,” he said.

The Wastewater Treatment staff has prepped and cleaned the pavilion for the indoor vendors, and of course, the Tourism Department has been busy fielding calls, selling trail permits and getting word of the event out to the public.

Snofest brings dealers from the top four snowmobile manufacturers—Arctic Cat, Polaris, Ski-Doo and Yamaha—to the area to offer a sneak peak of 2014 sleds and accessories.

Weather permitting, demo rides will be provided by all four companies.

The daredevil sledders of Tree Line Sled Style will present performances on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at noon and 6:30 p.m. The Saturday evening performance will feature a back-flip finale under a display of fireworks.

Food and a beer garden will be available on the premises. Raffle tickets for an 11’ enclosed Blizzard snowmobile trailer can be purchased at the pavilion for $10. Only 500 will be sold.

Event t-shirts will also be available for purchase.

Doors to Snofest will be open from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Snofest 2013 is a Central Adirondack Association-sponsored event.

A crew from major movie studio Warner Bros. was in the area from March 4 to 6 to film scenes for an upcoming movie, Winter’s Tale.

Ximena Gardner with the Ultimate Arm on Porsche on Raquette Lake with members of the Warner Brothers crew in the background. Photo by Wende Carr

The crew teamed with Kurt and Ximena Gardner of Adirondack Mountain Productions to film winter scenes at Raquette Lake, Stillwater and Boonville.

Warner Bros. cinematography and visual effects crews came to the Adirondacks to film scenery which will be dropped in, or layered over, the green screen of footage which has already been produced by actors at another location.

Rich Nelson, Kurt Gardner and Scott Liddle at the Raquette Lake filming suit. Wende photo

Winter’s Tale, which was adapted for the screen by Director Akiva Goldsman, tells the story of an orphan-turned-thief, who falls in love with a dying girl. The time period is the late-1800’s and present time.

The story is set in New York City as well as a site on the Hudson River. Scenes representing the Hudson River region were shot in the Adirondacks.

According to Sean Fergusen, assistant director of the film, the area’s vistas with frozen lakes were just what the production team was looking for.

A chase scene in which the film’s antagonist and protagonist, Colin Farrell and Russell Crowe, fight a battle takes place on mysterious Lake of the Coheeries. Though the Lake of the Coheeries is an actual lake located in New Castle, NY, the footage was shot at Stillwater.

Footage that was shot at Raquette Lake will appear in a scene leading up to the battle.  Continue reading →

All area residents will have the opportunity to meet with their federal, state and county representatives at a gathering to be held at View on Friday, March 15.

Among those who will be attending the Meet and Greet event are State Senator James Seward, State Senator Hugh Farley, Assemblyman Marc Butler, and Herkimer County Majority Leader Patrick Russell.

Representatives of the Herkimer County Legislature and the Hamilton County Board of Supervisors will also be present.

The event will begin at 1 p.m. with lunch provided by Five Corners Café. All are welcome to attend.

The event, which precedes the annual Old Forge St. Patrick’s Day Parade, is sponsored by CAP-21, the Old Forge St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee and the Central Adirondack Association.

For planning purposes, attendees are asked to RSVP to CAP-21 at (315) 369-3353 or info@cap-21.org.

Reed and Barbara Proper, honorees at left, with Alison Swartz

Nick Rose, CAP-21 executive director, and Reed and Barbara Proper of Thendara were among those honored at the 2nd Annual Creating Healthy Places Recognition Luncheon  held at Francesca’s Banquets and Catering in Ilion on Friday, March 1.

The event, sponsored by Herkimer County HealthNet, recognized individuals and organizations from across the county that have committed to create healthy places in their communities.

The Propers were recognized for their efforts in managing the Old Forge Farmers’ Market, while CAP-21 and Rose were recognized for securing two grants through Herkimer County HealthNet for the Town of Webb Recreation Department.

Keynote speaker at the event was Congressman Richard Hanna.

The St. Bartholomew’s Catholic Church Confirmation class, under the direction of Father Shane Lynch, will host a breakfast at the church following the 10 a.m. mass on Sunday, March 17.

The breakfast will honor both St. Patrick’s Day and The Feast of St. Joseph, which falls on Tuesday, March 19 this year. It will be held downstairs in the fellowship hall of the church.

Frankie Zammiello of Frankie’s Taste of Italy will head the cooking crew. Students will set up, decorate, cook, serve, visit with diners and clean up afterward.

The class of 15 eighth and ninth grade students have been meeting monthly over the course of two years, to review and enhance understanding and practice of the faith, Father Shane said.

Their preparation will culminate in a Confirmation ceremony on Saturday, May 11 at the 5 p.m. mass. Bishop Terry La Valley will preside over the mass and administer the sacrament.

The breakfast is open to the public and free of charge. Donations will be accepted for the food pantry.

Forestport Town Board members opened bids Friday, March 1 for the construction of two new bridges in the hamlet of Forestport. The board received eight bids from contractors ranging from $606,324 to $970,000, said Deputy Town Supervisor John Isley.

Following the opening of the bids, the board decided to review the project and meet again on Wednesday, March 6.

At the March 6 meeting, the board passed four resolutions which included the rejection of any and all alternate bids. An alternate bid was received separate from the main construction bid for the power coating of color to the bridges.

The board directed fiscal advisors to print and mail bond notes in the amount of $650,000 by March 11 and to sell such notes on the New York bond market by March 20.

The $650,000 bonding amount was approved by voters on September 18, 2012.

The board reviewed both contractual and administration costs for the project that could be as high as $681,250. The amount above the bonding amount was budgeted in this year’s town budget.

The board directed the town attorney to review and advise the board on the contractors’ proposed contracts prior to awarding of the contracts.

A special meeting will be held on Monday, April 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the Forestport Town Hall for the purpose of awarding the contracts for the project.

The construction project is expected to begin when weather permits and to be completed by October 1, 2013.