CommunityPress_1224

Lights on the River - December 6

The holiday spirit will sparkle in Tioga County on Friday, December 6, as historic Owego celebrates Lights on the River from 5:00pm to 9:00pm.

It’s an evening of fun and merriment, live entertainment, food, shopping, holiday lights, and the evening ends with a fireworks display over the river.

O’Tannebaum at Tioga Historical Museum

The Tioga County Historical Society’s 22nd annual O’Tannenbaum Holiday Showcase and fundaiser is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, at the Tioga Historical Society’s Museum at 110

Front Street in Owego.

The last day of O’Tannenbaum is Saturday, December 14.

For more information, call the museum at 607-687-2460.

Kids Can Call Santa 625-HOHO

Although he is very busy this time of year, the Apalachin Lions Club has persuaded Santa Claus to take phone calls for three nights in early December. Santa has been happy to do this for the children in the area for many years and is looking forward to talking with his many young friends so he will know what they want for Christmas.

To talk to Santa call 607-625-HOHO

(607-625-4646) between 6 PM and 8 PM on December 2nd, 3rd, or 4th.

For the seventh consecutive year, Tioga State Bank (TSB) has earned national recognition, winning a Best Banks to Work For award from American Banker magazine. TSB was honored for all that their employees do for their customers and communities.

TSB President and CEO Robert Fisher stated, “Great banks are defined by exceptional people. I am immensely proud of the hardworking, talented, and dedicated team at TSB and the strong culture we have built together. This continued recognition affirms our team feels supported, appreciated, and recognized. We are committed to our culture and overall mission of making a positive impact on the lives of our customers and

communities.”

The Best Banks to Work For program, which was initiated in 2013 by American Banker and Best Companies Group, identifies, recognizes, and honors U.S. banks for outstanding employee engagement and satisfaction. Tioga State Bank, with 100 employees and $547 million in assets, provides financial services to the Southern Tier of New York State and Northern Pennsylvania with eleven conveniently located community offices in Broome, Tioga, Chemung, and Tompkins counties. Tioga State Bank website address is: www.tiogabank.com and phone number is 1-888-303-4872. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.

Tioga State Bank Receives National Recognition

Open Mon, Tues, Thurs: 10am-7pm; Fri & Sat: 10am-2pm www.apalachinlibrary.org

December Programs

Storytime: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30am Join Miss Wendy for read alouds, singing, playing, dancing, and crafts! Tuesday and Thursday each week are the same theme. No registration required. Please note there will be no Storytime the weeks of Christmas and New Year’s; Storytime will resume on Jan. 7. Mahjong: Mondays | 2pm-4pm No experience or registration required. Tech Time with Tina: By Appointment Call to sign up for some one-on-one help with any tech topic!

Zen Before Zzzzzs: Tuesdays 6 pm Grab your yoga mat and join yoga instructor Sheehan Shotwell for an inspiring yoga practice each week. Please note the new start time. No registration required. Evening Book Club: Thursday, December 5, 6:30 pm (RESCHEDULED from November 21) Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon A gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18thcentury midwife who investigates a shocking murder. Place a hold for this book in the catalog or find it on

Libby as an eBook or audiobook. The January book will be determined on December 5. No registration required.

Senior Sampler: Ukulele Concert and Lunch: Friday, December 6 | 11am -1pm Registration is required.

Pokémon Club: Saturday, December 7 | 11am-1pm. No registration is required. How to Sew Zippers Workshop: Saturday, December 14 | 10am12pm See next page for details. Registration is required.

Afternoon Book Club: Thursday, December 19 | 1pm House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz Sherlock Holmes returns in the first new adventure to be officially approved by the Conan Doyle estate. Place a hold for this book in the catalog. The January book

Chamber of Commerce Spotlight on Business

The Tioga County Chamber of Commerce spotlighted Lopke Rock Products on November 13th. Lopke is the leading producer of sands and aggregate materials, as well as specialty rock products and topsoil in the Southern Tier of New York and

the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania. For over 50 years, the name Lopke has stood for quality, job performance, and gravel products. They offer crushed stone products with more than 10 locations to serve their customers

Tioga County Legislative Meeting

The Twelfth Regular Meeting of 2024 will be held at 12:00 P.M., Tuesday, December 10, 2024, in the Edward D. Hubbard Auditorium of the Ronald E. Dougherty County Office Building at 56 Main Street, Owego, New York 13827. All Committee Meetings and Legislative Worksessions will be held in the Legislative Conference Room

of the Ronald E. Dougherty County Office Building at 56 Main Street, Owego, NY 13827. Individuals requiring any accommodation or auxiliary aid may contact the Legislative Office at (607) 687-8240. With advance notice, necessary auxiliary aids will be provided at no cost to the person requesting assistance.

Foodbank Of the Southern Tier and the Apalachin Lions “WALK-UP MOBILE FOOD PANTRY”

Thursday December 12th, 10-11 am at St. Margaret Mary’s Church 1110 Pennsylvania Ave. Apalachin, NY 13732.

Pre-registration is required. Reg-

istration is the Wednesday before –December 11th at 8:30am until full limit of 125 is reached. If you register please attend. Register by phone by calling 2-1-1 or Online at: www.foodbankst.org/cfd

This is a “Walk-up” pantry bring a cart or bags to carry food!

Adopt-a-Child Christmas Program

Catholic Charities of Tompkins/ Tioga (CCTT) and the Joshua House of Owego are once again partnering this season to provide a gifting program for local children. This annual Adopt-a-Child program is helping well over 300 kids in Tioga County, NY this year.

“It’s so important to us that each child wakes up with a gift to open on Christmas morning,” says CCTT Executive Director, Renee Spear. “It’s hard to imagine any one child in Tioga County waking up and having nothing, and unfortunately, this would be the case if it weren’t for initiatives like this.” Spear states that this year the organization will be serving the highest number of vulnerable children in the program’s history.

Tags are available in the community at various locations including: Tioga State Bank, 5th Ave, Scott Smith & Son, Roasted Coffee Bar, ScovilleMeno, The Goat Boy, Confection Connection, all in Owego. Engelbert’s Farm Store and Tioga Downs, in Nichols Bostwick’s Antique Mall in Candor. Each tag represents a child that has been signed up for this program and has age, gender, clothing size, and some shopping ideas or specific

needs listed. More details are available at each location, or you can contact Michelle with any questions: michelle.mclaren@dor.org

“We’ve built a lot of connections over the last couple of years with this program and we are beyond grateful for the businesses that have pledged financial support to help these children”, Spear adds. Gratitude for sponsoring is due to: Scott Smith & Son, Radigan Media and WEBO.

A ribbon cutting was held last month for the Evergreen Cemetery, East Ave, Owego. The ceremony was held at the gate to the cemetery on Friday November 8th.

Evergreen Cemetery is a tourist destination, providing the best view of the

Photo by: Sebby S. Truesdail

Village and the river valley. They wanted to showcase to the community all of the recent upgrades. Following the ribbon cutting everyone was invited up to the summit to see the paving job, the new parking area, and the new walking trail.

Book Reading and Signing

Riverow Bookshop will be hosting a reading and book signing of DISTANT SKIES: An American Journey on Horse-

back, by regional author Melissa Priblo Chapman on Saturday, December 7 from 2-4pm. The book recounts how Chapman, at 23-years-old, set out from Binghamton, New York with her puppy, to satisfy her lifelong dream of riding her horse across the country. Destination: Needles, California, over 2,600 miles away. Part American road trip, part coming-of-age adventure, and part uncommon love story this remarkable memoir explores the evolution of the humananimal relationship, the raw beauty of a life lived outdoors, and the mostly-kind people met along the way. Following Chapman’s presentation, for those seeking to learn more about working with horses and how to train them, author Lynn Acton will be available with copies of her book, WHAT HORSES REALLY WANT: Unlocking the Secrets to Trust, Cooperation, and Reliability. Join Riverow Bookshop located at 187 Front Street in Owego, NY on December 7 from 2-4pm. For more information visit Facebook or call 607-687-4094.

Elks Christmas Party

On December 14th the Owego Elks Lodge will be holding its Annual Kids Christmas Party from 10am-1pm in the ballroom of the lodge located at 223 Front St., Owego. The party is free and open to all families with children under the age of 12 that live in Tioga County. Each child under 12 will receive an age

appropriate toy. Every child will receive a stocking with candy and other goodies. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be there, along with the Family Reading Partnership of Apalachin and Owego! Guests will enjoy food, drinks, and fun activities.

Apalachin Lions Thank You

The Apalachin Lions would like to thank the community for the hundreds of winter coats donated for those in need.

A special thanks to Blessed Trinity at St. Margaret Mary’s, the Apalachin Library, Johnson’s Pools & Spas in Apalachin Methodist Church Penn. Ave for collecting the coats, and the Open-Door Mission Outreach for distributing the coats for 2024.

NewarkValley HistoricalSociety

Come celebrate the holiday season with friends and family! Saturday, December 7th From 4:00pm to 8:00 pm Newark Valley Village Municipal Building and surrounding areas.

TURKEY TUESDAY FRIDAY Deep fried Haddock WEDNESDAY WING NIGHT

50 Years Ago by

It's December 1974. A 727 jet crashes into a mountain in Virginia during a heavy rain storm, killing 92 people.

The wine industry has five years to go metric (liters now, not "fifths"). Wilbur Mills resigns as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee after revelation of his relationship with stripper Fanne Foxe.

Georgia governor Jimmy Carter, 50, announces he will seek the Democratic nomination for President in 1976.

Nelson Rockefeller is sworn in as the 41st Vice President of the United States. This is the first time in American history that neither the President nor Vice President has been elected to their office.

Ford dedicates the Bicentennial Freedom Train in Alexandria, Virginia.

On Christmas Day, a young man wearing an Arab headdress crashes his car through the northwest gate of the White House at 7:00 am. He claims he is wired with explosives and keeps police at bay for four hours until he finally surrenders.

Jack Benny, 80, dies of cancer of the pancreas. He was diagnosed with the disease just a week ago. More than 2,000 people turn out for Benny's funeral service in Culver City near Hollywood.

In Olean, New York, a 17-year-old student goes on a 90-minute shooting spree at the Olean High School. Armed with at least three rifles, the student shoots and kills three people, and wounds 11 others before the police subdue him with tear gas.

In Owego, Dr. George Pritchard, 47, dies suddenly. Owego's mayor describes the physician as "one of the most popular people in Owego."

Tioga County is formally designated as a "Bicentennial Community."

Pennsylvania's minimum wage is raised from $1.60 to $1.90 an hour. It will be raised to $2.00 an hour on January 1, 1975.

The Spot Players in Owego perform the musical The Little Match Girl at the Tioga Theatre. The performers include teachers, students, and adults under the direction of Owego Free Academy teacher Stephen Day.

“25 YearsAgo”

Grand

Beverly Brown

A band of shoplifters hits Jamesway in Owego. The two men and three women flee with $150 worth of merchandise.

A teenaged boy wearing a ski mask attempts to rob a grocery store near the OFA. The boy flees when the owner pulls out a club that she keeps near her cash register.

A Christmas snowfall brings five inches of snow.

The Union-Endicott High School showband appears in the 1974 King Orange Jamboree Parade in Miami.

St. Patrick's School at 58 Oak Street in Binghamton is torn down because it costs $9,000 a year to maintain the 63year-old building.

Applications for unemployment benefits this month are double what they were last month. At the unemployment office on Front Street in Owego, the line of people stretches out onto the sidewalk.

James Ayers is sworn in as Tioga County Sheriff. His salary is $14,500 a year.

Thursday night TV shows include The Waltons, The Odd Couple, Paper Moon, Harry O, and The StreetsofSanFrancisco

Top tunes include Cats in the Cradle by Harry Chapin; Angie Baby by Helen Reddy; Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas; and You're the First, the Last, My Everything by Barry White.

Movies at local theaters include My Name is Nobody; The Man with the Golden Gun starring Roger Moore as James Bond; Disney's The Island at the Top of the World and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too; The Godfather, Part II; The Front Page; The Little Prince; and The Towering Inferno ("the world's tallest building is on fire. You are there on the 135th floor . . . no way down . . . no way out.") starring Steve McQueen (as the Fire Chief), Paul Newman (as the architect), Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Richard Chamberlain, Susan Blakely, Robert Wagner, and O. J. Simpson.

Have a Merry Christmas. See you in '25!

Opening of the Greater Owego Community Pool at OFA

Many local residents attended the Grand Opening of the Greater Owego Community Pool on Saturday, December 11, 1999, at 10:00 am. at Owego Free Academy in Owego. Speakers included Dr. Edward J. Reid, Superintendent and Master of Ceremonies; K. Paul Bartlow, President, OwegoApalachin Board of Education; Steven Hendrickson, Chairman, Greater Owego Pool Committee; Kathleen Horner, Exec-

utive Director, Tioga Opportunities, Inc ; and Senator Thomas W. Libous. Boy Scout Troop 37 provided the Color Guard.

Several local children swam "first laps" in the pool and the Binghamton University Diving Team presented a diving demonstration. An open house of the new classrooms was available after the grand opening.

Waterman Conservation Education Center Presents “Haudenosaunee Portraits and Close Ties,’ Paintings by Karen Kucharsk

Reception December 21st, 2024 1:00 – 4:00pm

Haudenosaunee Portraits and Close Ties’ is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, administered by fiscal sponsor The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes.

This project presents portraits of Haudenosaunee and non-native people whose work and ways of life support positive relations between cultures. The Haudenosaunee are indigenous peoples of this region and beyond. They believe in the message of the “Two Row” wampum belt, an agreement originally made for building good relations with the Dutch settlers, beginning in 1613, and which has carried through as a covenant for many governments and generations, including the present one. The exhibition is intended to offer insights about the caring and consideration these people have to our shared world and to us. They agreed to have their portraits painted for this purpose and to offer greetings to our community.

The Haudenosaunee people are often referred to as the Six Nations, whose independent nations formed a confederacy to end war between themselves centuries prior to the Colonial Era and the formation of the United States. They maintain an independent government and lifeway within the U.S. today.

The people portrayed have helped to shape a working understanding on cultural integrity, environmental responsibility, and governmental relations. They include: a traditional storyteller and a contemporary poet who provide outlooks to this world in very different ways; a paddler whose efforts to renew traditional water routes has led to treks highlighting the Two Row message to the United Nations and to Washington D.C.; a writer whose work has accentuated Haudenosaunee influence on the Suffrage Movement and Women’s Rights; a flute makermusician who shares the beauty and soothing power that emanates from indigenous arts, and; a Mohawk Chief whose portrait presents his

love for nature, tradition, and care for the Seventh Generation.

Artist, Karen Kucharski, chose to do this project because of the necessary changes to the OwegoApalachin School District regarding its former mascot, as a result of recent directives by New York State. The artist, in turn, hopes that this endeavor opens avenues for building neighborly friendships based on mutual respect, shared interests, and sensible causes. The Owego-Apalachin School District cares about native relations and the Town of Owego reveres Sa-sa-na Loft, a young Mohawk singer who was lauded for her talent in the mid1800s. This project builds on the past with a contemporary light. The Waterman Center is hosting this exhibition in support of the diverse cultural outlooks integral to the environment and its preservation.

The gallery will be on display at the Waterman Conservation Education Center, 403 Hilton Rd, Apalachin, NY December 16th - 31st.