“Maii:” The Wonder of Water

Diata Diata International Folkloric Theatre in part with the Hudson Opera House present “Maii:” The Wonder Of Water. An original play by Pamela Badila respecting the essence and purity of many different exaggerated aspects of water. Free admission. Thu-Sat at 7 p.m. at Hudson Intermediate School.

GhostWALK Hudson Ghost Story Writing Contest

GhostWALK Hudson Ghost Story Writing Contest for youth ages 11-18, due June 1. Winning tales published in August in Register-Star and Chatham Courier newspapers, and performed live by teen actors from Walking the dog Theater’s Afterschool Drama program in November 5’s GhostWALK Hudson tour. A panel of judges will look for the best and/or scariest stories written by Columbia County youth, which young actors will then bring to life in various “haunted” buildings in Hudson as part of the GhostWALK Hudson Tour on November 5, 2010. The winning story will be told in the select locations, evoking some of the history of our community. Judges include playwright James Farrell, Register-Star reporter Andrew Amelinckx, novelist Rebecca Stowe, author David C. King, playwright Susan Willerman, columnist Kate McLeod; Emily Arnold McCully; Mike Bowman; illustrator and author Jacqeuline Rodgers; and young adult fiction writer MJ Caraway.

Hudson school notes

Lynn Sloneker’s Unmuffled keeps the closest eye on the Hudson school system. Several recent items:

From “Rumor Patrol: Rees running?: Board member Patricia Abitabile – re-elected to a second term in 2009 – submitted a letter of resignation from the board, effective June 30, during a closed door session, April 27. Abitabile’s decision to quit was announced to the public in the Saturday edition of the Register-Star. The matter will be discussed at the meeting of the full board 7 p.m., May 10 in the cafeteria of Hudson High School.

From “On the agenda…”: The Claverack building and the former Greenport School were concurrently declared surplus property by the BoE on March 31, 2009, and a proposal to sell the buildings was approved by taxpayers in May 2009. Despite the 2009 voter directive, the board continues to approve funding for the renovation and repair of the Claverack building, as well as for instructional use.

From “Rumor Patrol: Rees running?: Former Hudson City School District Board of Education President Frank Rees may be a last-minute addition to the field of candidates vying for two open board seats in the district’s annual election set for next week….According to several sources, Mrs. Rees was actively soliciting signatures in support of her husband’s candidacy from school faculty and staff last week.

WGXC at Hudson Children’s Book Festival

WGXC's Kaya Weidman records NY State Senate candidate Didi Barrett at Hudson Children's Book Festival.

Just as WGXC’s Kaya Weidman was about to sit down and interview Fidel Mareno, who was going to talk about Native American rights and the American Indian Pow Wow Aug. 14 in Stephentown, Didi Barrett showed up. We had asked the Democratic candidate for New York State Senate representing Columbia and much of Dutchess counties (a seat held by Republican Steve Saland) to stop by our table in Hudson High’s gym, but everyone arrived at the same moment, and then a recorder failed. Indeed, it was a whirlwind day with so many folks stopping by the WGXC table at the festival, which was even busier then in its first year. Eventually we got another recorder working, and a conversation between Barrett, Mareno, and WGXC staff ensued about absentee voting, Native American rights, and other issues.

Fidel Mareno speaks with Didi Barrett at the Hudson Children's Book Festival.

WGXC's Kaya Weidman records Robert Yellow Fox at Hudson Children's Book Festival.

Later Weidman sat down with Robert Yellow Fox, and spoke about Eagleton School, a private year-round residential, psycho-educational treatment facility for boys and young men ages nine (9) to twenty-two (22) years, with Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, Pervasive Development Disorder, Communication and Cognitive Delays, Behavioral Disorders, Emotional Disorders, and Learning Disabilities. Listen to their discussion here or paste this link:
http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/05
/RobertYellowFox_HCBF_WGXC_050110.mp3

WGXC’s Emily Bennison also made recordings of children’s authors during the event. Click on the author’s name to listen to mp3 audio interview.

Anne Broyles
Ann Jonas
Barbara Slate
Danielle Joseph
Donald Crews
Ellen Jensen
Gail Carson Levine
Zetta Elliott

Five candidates for two Hudson school board seats

Five candidates are vying for two seats for the Hudson City School District, Board of Education: Carrie Haddad, Joshua Hatala, Justin Cukerstein, Peter Merante, and Mary Daly. Unmuffled says:

Daly is the only incumbent in the field. This is her third run for the board. Her first attempt, in 2004, was unsuccessful; she was subsequently elected in 2005. One vacancy is the seat formerly held by Jack Mabb, who resigned from the board following his election as Stockport Town Justice in November 2009. That opening is for a one-year term, and the winner will be seated immediately following the election. The second opening — Daly’s current seat — is for the standard five-year term, effective July 1. In addition to electing two members of the BoE on May 18, voters will also be asked to approve the district’s $41 million spending plan for the 2010-11 school year and approve a $6 million bond referendum to finance a major roof replacement on four of the district’s five buildings. Read the entire story at Unmuffled.

Hudson schools need new board members to finish the race

Unmuffled has two items today about the Hudson School District:

Nominating petitions for two open seats on the Hudson City School District Board of Education are now circulating. One vacancy is for a one-year unexpired term and the other for a five-year term. The first seat has been vacant since Nov. 2009, following the election of Jack Mabb as Stockport Town Justice and his subsequent resignation from the board. The second seat is currently held by Mary Keeler Daly. “Three or four” petitions have been picked up from the district office, according to Frieda Van Deusen, Clerk of the Board. But there could be more than four in circulation, she said last week. “Not everyone gets a petition from me,” Van Deusen said. At least two petitions are in the hands of Hudson City Democratic Committee Chairman Victor Mendolia. Working in partnership with board member Peter Meyer and Columbia County Democratic Committee First Vice Chair Cyndy Hall (a retired HCSD teacher), Mendolia is fielding Hudson residents Carrie Haddad and Joshua Hatala as candidates. Mendolia has been soliciting signatures on behalf of both candidates throughout the district.

Maybe the new board members could do something about this:

The Hudson High School track team went down to defeat Tuesday, but not because opponent Taconic Hills High School out-performed the Bluehawks on the track. Instead, the team was beaten by its home venue, when officials declared portions of the facility dangerous for competition. Despite an almost clean sweep of the running events, the HHS varsity team lost overall after officials awarded THHS the top three spots in the shot put and discus when the areas used for field events were deemed unsafe by the referees. The meet Tuesday was the first of only two home meets for Hudson scheduled during the 2010 season. Over the past three to four years, an increasing number of Patroon Conference schools have refused to compete at John Barrett stadium. Varsity boys track coach Sean Mulvey is expected to request that the one remaining home meet be relocated to the Emma Willard campus, located in Troy, 40 miles from Hudson.

Read the entire article at Unmuffled.

Hudson Children’s Book Festival

Last year WGXC made recordings of local authors and fair attendees, and this year we hope to have a table at this great event.

Cairo Talent Show winners

The Cairo Library and WGXC held a co-fundraiser Talent Show Friday night at Cairo Elementary School, that was a grand success. The Daily Mail has a story about the event here. We will post photos and a recording of the event soon. The winners:
ADULT
First place: Greg Stewart (played guitar and sang an original song)
Second place: Josh Adamson, as “Juan” (played guitar and sang an original song)
TEENS
First place: James Moore (played guitar along with a backing track of Guns ‘N’ Roses “Sweet Chid O’ Mine”)
Second place: Alex Hans and Maggie Saez as “Sun and Moon” (played keyboard and sang)
CHILDREN
First place: Keri Mahoney, Colin Mahoney, and Katie Feeney (step dancing)
Second place: Taylor Matzler and Taylor Nussbaumer as “TNT” (gymnastics and dancing)

Click here to listen to an mp3 audio recording of the entire evening, or paste this url into your media player:
http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/04/
CairoTalentShow_CairoLibrary_WGXC_032610.mp3

Youth band performances at Catskill Contra Dance

On March 12, 2010, WGXC and the Catskill Community Center hosted a benefit at the community center that included a contra dance, and youth bands performing. Here are the recordings of those bands:

Click here to listen to Jonathan Woodin’s performance:
http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/03/JonathanWoodin_CCC_WGXC_031210.mp3

Click here to listen to No Solutions’ performance:
http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/03/No_Solutions_CCC_WGXC_031210.mp3

Click here to listen to Seminal Stain’s performance:
http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/03/Seminal_Stain_CCC_WGXC_031210.mp3

Click here to listen to Loud Youth’s performance:
http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/03/Loud_Youth_CCC_WGXC_031210.mp3

Today’s local headlines

(NY State Assemblyman Peter Lopez interviewed by Cairo-Durham High students Michael Davis and Jordan Smith at the Catskill Community Center Sat. Aug. 22, 2009. Photo by Galen Joseph-Hunter.)

Politicians turn out in Catskill despite rain
Click here to listen to or download mp3 interview of NY State Assemblyman Peter Lopez by WGXC’s Jordan Smith and Michael Davis at the Catskill Community Center. WGXC interviewed members of the community yesterday in the Catskill Community Center.
Catskill and regional politicians and artists turned out Saturday despite the rain to celebrate the Quadricentennial (400 years of European folk on the Hudson River) Parade in Catskill. Organizer Fawn Potash wrangled all sorts of fabulous sorts such as singer Lex Grey as a mermaid on a float, a Rip Van Winkle impersonator, Kelly Benjamin on WGXC’s Radio Bike, Catskill Community Center‘s Drum and Bugle Corps, bagpipe player Ian Rawlinson, and the Freehold Civil Air Patrol Vanguard Squad, as well as local politicians such as Vincent Seeley (Town President), Peter Lopez (district Assemblyman), Greene County Legslators Keith Valentine (R, majority leader), Karen Deyo (R), and Forest Cotten (D), Catskill Town Supervisor Peter Markou, Town Councilmen Patrick Walsh and Michael Smith, and many others. Hilary Hawke has a good overview of the day’s events and more images on The Daily Mail’s web site.