Harvesting Wonderful Partnerships!

At this time of year there's so much to be grateful for in our homes and communities. I would like to thank the many individuals and agencies that helped support the Montezuma Heritage Park project.  First of all I'd like to extend a very warm thanks to the Park Design Committee. This group has remained committed spending hours of their time in multiple ways. Also, thank you to the many residents and businesses that have supported our fundraising efforts. Then, there are so many wonderful agencies that helped support the park project  including Cornell Cooperative Extension, Cayuga Community College, Cayuga County Planning, SUNY-ESF  Center of Community Design Research,  NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Creating Healthy Places to Live, Work & Play Grant (funded by the NYSDOH), Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, The Pomeroy Foundation, Cayuga Community Foundation, Mural Mania and Forever Wild for Everyone Programs.
Now we can add to our list the assistance awarded from Parks and Trails, New York and again this year, the National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) Program for their support.  PTNY Healthy Trails, Healthy People program will be helping us to enrich the quality of life by connecting to multi-use trails in a natural, cultural and historical park setting.  RTCA shares the benefits of the National Park System to help us further identify and accomplish our goals.

Through collaboratively working with these agencies, we will look forward to the coming year strengthening our vision, building constituencies and local support critical to long term success for the park. Easily accessible, close to home, multi-use trails will enhance opportunities for recreation, health and fitness, education and economic improvement, while focusing on areas of natural beauty and historic significance.

We hope you can join us this weekend for the Zumba-thon to benefit the Mural fund for the park. Many thanks to Kristen Decker and teachers from  Stepping Stone Fitness Center and Roy Wilson and his DJ Service for hosting this event.  Area businesses have been generous, and we have some great raffle donations waiting to be claimed if you're the lucky one! Come Zumba, or just watch and enjoy the music! We appreciate your support! It's being held Sunday, November 27, 2011, at the Town Hall, 8102 Dock Street off Route 90 in Montezuma from 1 PM - 4 PM. 

With partners like this, I'm confident the end result will be a park that enriches our lives with recreation, health, fitness, education and economic improvement!

CANAL SPLASH FOLLOWING THE FLOW TOURS - AUGUST 13TH

A series of events are planned in connection with state sponsored Canal Splash weekend in Cayuga County.  The second annual historic canal site driving and walking tour called, Following the Flow: The Tale of Two Erie Canals is sponsored by Old Brutus Historical Society,  Port Byron Lock 52 Historical Society and the Montezuma Historical Society.  Mike Riley, canal historian, will weave in interesting local history and canal stories to make the connections between man and river, ecology and geology, early explorers, settlers, industry and the evolution of New York’s canal system through Cayuga County.
For more information about canal history in Cayuga County go to:
http://www.cayugacountycanalhistory.org/

AUGUST 13TH SCHEDULE OF TOURS:

• 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM -- WEEDSPORT: Ongoing tours will be held at the Old Brutus Historical Museum in Weedsport, 8943 North Seneca Street featuring Erie Canal displays and heritage 
• 11:00 AM -- WEEDSPORT/JORDAN on Route 31 at the site of the former Lock 51
• 12:30 PM -- PORT BYRON at  St. John’s Church parking lot, Route 31, West
• 1:30 PM -- MONTEZUMA walking tour starts at the Heritage Park Byron Lapp Memorial Trailhead near the firehouse off Route 90.

MONTEZUMA COMMUNITY PICNIC & VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION

 VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR:  MARIAN ELLINWOOD

The Town of Montezuma will continue the celebration by honoring a community volunteer  created to recognize an individual who has unselfishly given to the community. This year’s award will be given to town resident, Marian Ellinwood. Marian has given countless hours and many years service to the community including serving as election officer for thirty-five years, and twenty years on the town planning board. She has helped many people preparing income taxes without expecting payment. For the last several years Marian and her husband, Don have devoted their life to daily visiting and caring for their son, Ricky who has been hospitalized in Rochester and Newark hospitals. In spite of the long days at the hospital, Marian faithfully continues to attend monthly planning board meetings.

•  4:00 PM at the Memorial Park pavilion,  Dock Street. Bring a dish to pass, table service and beverage. Meat and rolls will be provided. 
•  6:00 PM at the town hall, there will be a 1953 movie version of “A Farmer Takes a Wife,” starring Betty Grable and Dale Robertson. The movie was based on Walter Edmond’s novel "Rome Haul, " and is a tale of love and conflict along the Erie Canal in the mid 19^th century. 

SPOTTED TODAY IN MONTEZUMA....

Were they bald eagles, were they cranes, 

or was it the Easter Bunny? 

No....they were volunteer stewards doing service for our community in celebration of Earth Day. 

The second Clean Sweep event sponsored this week by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County worked on the other end of the towpath trail today in Heritage Park. Twenty-five volunteers with boy cub scouts and girl scouts, and American Heritage Girls traveling from Bloomfield came out to help with the clean up in Heritage Park.  Working on badges for "Care for My Environment" and "Leave No Trace," they were practicing being good stewards of our environment.

These groups and the leaders are dedicated to helping youth build integrity through service.  Thanks to Amy Barra, Environmental Educator at CCE for coordinating the event.

and to everyone -- THANKS -- GREAT JOB!