Trooper Kyle Yerman of the New York State Police states Chrystelle C. Kelly, 23, of Sherrill was driving a 1998 Ford east on West Hill Road. Kelly attempted to stop but was unable to do so due to her brakes failing. Kelly proceeded through the intersection of State Route 12B and onto State Route 315 where she left the north shoulder of the roadway. Kelly’s vehicle then struck the Deansboro Superette building and continued across a yard where it struck a second residence. Kelly’s vehicle came to rest partially inside the residence. Kelly suffered injury to her hand and was transported to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital by Oriskany Falls Ambulance.

A passenger in Kelly’s vehicle, Evanne Lackey, 17 years old of Canastota, suffered injury to her back and was also transported to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital by Central Oneida County Volunteer Ambulance. Both were wearing seatbelts.

Kelly was issued traffic citations for inadequate brakes, speed unreasonable, failure to stop for a stop sign, driving out of restrictions, and aggravated unlicensed operation.

The State Police were assisted by Kirkland Police Department, The Oneida County Sheriff’s Department, and the Deansboro Volunteer Fire Department.

The $1 million truck, ordered from Ferrara Fire Apparatus in Holden, La., replaces a 23-year-old piece of equipment that became outdated and increasingly costly to maintain. The central feature of the new truck will be a 100-foot, mid-mounted ladder.

“Hamilton College and the Town of Kirkland are fortunate to have the protection of highly trained volunteer firefighters,” added Stewart. “Proper equipment is essential to them, and Hamilton is pleased to make this contribution to the fire department and, by extension, to our neighbors in Clinton. It is a gift made with gratitude for the vitally important work done by these dedicated volunteers.”

(Oneida – May 17) – New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Regional Director Michael A. Shamma joined New York State Police Zone 1 Commander Captain Frank Coots, Madison County Sheriff Allen Riley, and Oneida Police Chief David Meeker recently to kick off this year’s Aggressive Driving Targeted Enforcement Campaign, which is designed to increase awareness of the problems associated with unsafe driving.

The campaign will feature targeted enforcement throughout the summer at several locations in Madison and Oneida counties, including: Route 5 (Seneca Turnpike) in the City of Oneida; Route 365 from Route 5 to Route 365A; Route 5 in the town of New Hartford, from the Kirkland town line to Route 5A (Commercial Drive); and Route 5A in New Hartford to the Yorkville village line.

“In cooperation with our law enforcement partners, we are educating the public about the perils of aggressive driving, while working to alleviate traffic congestion and improve the efficiency of the state’s highways,” Shamma said. “Utilizing state-of-the-art technology, we are modifying traffic patterns in response to real-time traffic conditions, notifying motorists before they hit delays and helping to avoid some of the frustration that often leads to aggressive driving.”

In addition to the State Police, the following local enforcement agencies will be participating in the program: the Madison County Sheriff’s Department, the city of Oneida Police Department, the Oneida County Sheriff’s Department, and the Town of New Hartford Police Department. Enforcement will continue in the targeted locations at various times throughout the summer.

Every year, aggressive drivers cause hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries. The State Police define an aggressive driver as “anyone who operates a motor vehicle in a selfish, bold or pushy manner – without regard for the rights or safety of the other users of our streets and highways.” Three main factors have been linked to aggressive driving – irresponsible driver behavior, congestion leading to increased travel times (particularly in urban areas) and reduced levels of enforcement. The State Department of Transportation, State Police and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC) have joined together in an effort to reduce the incidence of aggressive driving through a program of engineering, education and enforcement.

“After the engineering and the education, it is vital to enforce the laws to reinforce the seriousness of this message,” said Coots. “Our goal is to keep drivers focused on what is most important – getting to their destination safely. It has been shown time and time again that a strong enforcement program reduces the incidence of aggressive driving behavior – and that benefits everyone.”

Engineering countermeasures focus on design and operational changes – a key role for NYSDOT engineers. Advances in traffic engineering are intended to reduce speeding, add capacity to congested roadways and reduce the likelihood of driver stress. Elements of highway design can also lessen the potential for and severity of injuries related to accidents caused by aggressive drivers. In urban areas, Intelligent Transportation Systems help reduce driver frustrations by providing advanced warning of roadway conditions.

Education efforts focus on public awareness of aggressive driving and the consequences. Drivers are encouraged to be polite and courteous, think before reacting, consider the possible consequences of their actions and avoid behaviors that provoke aggression. Drivers should also remember to stay patient when driving in traffic and never respond to challenges from other drivers. It helps to remember that everyone makes mistakes and not all unsafe driving actions are intentional or personal.

Enforcement is the final tool in the effort to reduce the incidence of aggressive driving and is the focus of this campaign. It has been found that the fewer enforcement actions are taken, the more frequently the aggressive behavior occurs. State Police have had an anti-aggressive driver program since 1995, but in 2002 the State Police, NYSDOT and the GTSC began a statewide campaign of vigorous enforcement and education. The goal is to raise awareness and eradicate the seven most common aggressive driving behaviors:

*Excessive speed

* Frequent or unsafe lane changes

*Failure to signal

*Tailgating

*Failure to yield right of way

*Disregarding traffic control devices

*Driving while impaired

The targeted enforcement areas began heavy patrols on May 17 with increased enforcement continuing throughout the summer. Violators will be ticketed. Motorists are advised to obey all traffic laws – including mandatory seat belt use and the ban on hand held cell phones.

Activities for children of all ages visiting the Junior Master Gardener Booth include recycled cardboard feeders, a NY State bird coloring activity, NY State owl masks, and a bird beak tool activity. 

The 14^th Annual Herb & Flower Festival will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday June 26^th in the Parker Scripture Botanical Gardens Cornell Cooperative Extension, Oneida County, NY.

The location is on Second Street off of Judd Rd. in Oriskany, near the former Oneida County Airport.

The Junior Master Gardener Booth takes its cue from the overall theme of attracting birds with proper garden habitat.  Some of the free classes gear themselves toward this as well as there will be the Kirkland Birding Club taking groups on birding tours on the Nature Trail at CCE.  Further information about the Festival can be found at 736-3394, ask for Holly Wise.

The Junior Master Gardener Program just started this spring at Fort Stanwix National Monument. The program helps children grow and learn through “hands-on” experiences and activities.  The children are growing plants for a community service project and in turn grow themselves.

 The Junior Master Gardener (JMG) program provides a positive learning experience for youth to develop leadership, responsibility and community pride through organized gardening activities. This national Junior Master Gardener (JMG) program combines a unique gardening based curriculum and web based instruction, community service, character growing education and service-based learning, into a fun and exciting certification program for youth.  This Oneida County 4-H produced program is designed to incorporate science, math, language arts, geography, history and other subject area disciplines into the “hands-on” gardening based activities.

Stop at the JMG booth and grow a New Friend!

The Junior Master Gardening Group at the Herb and Flower Festival meets every Sunday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The program is free of charge. The program is primarily for children from ages 8 to 12 but is open to anyone interested in growing new friends.

For more information about the Junior Master Gardener Program, call Fort Stanwix National Monument, 315-338-7730.

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On Tuesday, May 4, Cate Thiele of the Kirkland Town Library visited the two New Discoveries classrooms at the Clinton Elementary School to interact with the children and read fun, engaging stories.  The visit comes after the “Week of the Young Child” which took place at the end of April and celebrated the agency’s preschool children.

The New Discoveries Learning Center serves both preschool and daycare children ages 3 to 5 years old.  Students at different developmental levels work and learn together in an inclusive preschool setting.  There are various sites across the Mohawk Valley including Barneveld, Chadwicks, Clinton, Rome and Utica.  The preschool and daycare programs are licensed by New York State Department of Education.

All New Discoveries Learning Centers are now accepting fall applications for preschool and daycare children.  To register a child, contact Gineene Comito-Paulson at (315) 798-4006 ext. 266.

For more information contact Holly Wise, Extension Educator at 736-3394 or check out our website at cce.cornell.edu/oneida/.

“We are thrilled to be a very small part of a very big movie,” said Mike Bova, publisher of M3P Media, LLC.

According to promoters, the film stars mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano as Mallory Kane, a young, tough, beautiful freelance covert operative. She is hired out by her handler, Kenneth, to various global entities to perform jobs that governments can’t authorize and heads of state would rather not know about. For all her looks and youth, Mallory is still the best in her field, and her skills are in constant demand.

After a mission to rescue a hostage in Barcelona, Kenneth quickly dispatches Mallory on another mission to Dublin. There she partners with another operative, the suave and debonair Paul. When the operation goes awry and Mallory finds she has been double-crossed, she needs to use all of her skills, tricks and abilities to escape an international manhunt, make it back to the United States, protect her family and exact revenge on those that have betrayed her.

According to information on IMDb.com, producers have signed actors Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Ewen McGregor and Channing Tatum, to name a few.

Knockout, which is filming now, is being directed by Steven Soderbergh, who also directed “Erin Brockovich” and “Ocean’s Eleven.”

The movie is expected to be released sometime next year.

Auditions have been cancelled for Feb.24 at 7 p.m.

The new time is:

OPEN AUDITIONS FOR: THE ODD COUPLE (female version)

WHEN: Saturday, February 27, 2010 – 2:00 PM

WHERE: Players of Utica Theatre, 1108 State St., Utica

CASTING NEEDS: 2 Men (30 – 40 years old) Hispanic or Hispanic accent, 2 women (30 – 40 years old), 4 women (20 years old and up).

DIRECTED BY: Win Haslam

REHEARSAL: Kirkland Art Center beginning in March – specifics to be announced at auditions

PRODUCTION DATES: April, 15, 16, 17, 18, 2010 at the Kirkland Art Center

For further information visit www.playersofutica.org or call 724-7624

Performance dates are April 15, 16, 17, 18, 2010 at The Kirkland Art Center.

Casting needs are:

2 Men (30 – 40 years old) Hispanic or Hispanic accent

2 women (30 – 40 years old)

4 women (20 years old and up)

Production assistance is also needed.  If you are interested in assisting with props, costumes, makeup, rehearsal prompting, set design/construction/decoration, lighting and sound, please plan to attend and sign up during the open auditions.

Rehearsals will begin in late February or early March. The director plans to rehearse three nights per week at the Kirkland Art Center. A schedule will be set during the auditions.

SHOW SYNOPSIS:

Unger and Madison are at it again! Florence Unger and Olive Madison, that is, in Neil Simon’s hilarious contemporary comic classic: the female version of The Odd Couple. Instead of the poker party that begins the original version, Ms. Madison has invited the girls over for an evening of Trivial Pursuit. The two Constanzuela brothers have replaced the Pidgeon sisters from the original version. But the hilarity remains the same.

About Players of Utica:  Players of Utica, a non-profit community theatre, has been continuously producing shows in Central NY since 1913.  We have entertained more than 1 million individuals with first-class community theatre.   Players of Utica is an equal opportunity community theatre organization.

For more information, a complete history, and to support or participate in Players of Utica, visit our web site at www.playersofutica.org.

(Whitestown, NY) The Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension, Oneida County have announced that the Herb and Flower Festival will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 26^th in the Parker Scripture Botanical Gardens at 121 Second Street, Oriskany, NY.  Attracting birds to your garden is expected to be one emphasis of the 14^th Annual Festival.

Holly Wise, Extension Educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension says that “the festival is shaping up to be an exciting event with an emphasis on gardening to attract birds as well as other topics to create wonderful gardens.”

Key note speaker Matt Perry, a Naturalist Director from Spring Farm Cares and a member of the Kirkland Bird Club will be speaking at one of these sessions.  There also will be children’s educational activities focusing on the birds and their habitats.

Workshops will be held in the spring at the Extension, 121 Second Street, south of Judd Road about 0.3 miles east of Airport Road, Oriskany.

For further information, contact Holly Wise at (315) 736-3394 x 125 or by e-mail at hlw2@cornell.edu.