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The Eaton Calendar – September 9

The Eaton Calendar – September 9

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 9, 2019

  1. NEW – Wellsboro Couple Named Outstanding Volunteers in 2019 for Hurricane Harvey Work in Texas
  2. NEW – Acting Up to Start 17th Season This Tuesday, Sept. 10
  3. History Comes Alive with Charles Sacavage as Theodore Roosevelt This Wednesday, Sept. 11
  4. NEW – 43rd Annual Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally Opens This Thursday, Sept. 12
  5. NEW – Sept. 10-14, 2019 Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally Schedule
  6. NEW – Volunteers Needed to Help at STPR® on Sept. 12, 13 or 14
  7. NEW – STPR® Waste Management Spectator Areas
  8. NEW – Well Armed Woman Shooting Chapter to Attend Enhanced Concealed Carry Event This Thursday, Sept. 12 at Troy
  9. NEW – “Every Brilliant Thing” to Open This Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 13, 14 & 15
  10. NEW – Refuse to be a Victim® to be Presented This Saturday, Sept. 14 in Elkland
  11. NEW – Producers Showcase to be on Main Street This Saturday, Sept, 14
  12. An Evening of Blues with Tas Cru and the Gabe Stillman Band is This Saturday, Sept. 14
  13. NEW – Cherry Springs State Park Offers Free Stargazing Programs Sept.14, 20 & 21
  14. Step Outdoors Tryathlon & 5K Run/Walk Registration to End Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 11:59 p.m.
  15. NEW -Tiadaghton Audubon Society to Meet Wednesday, Sept. 18
  16. NEW – Tioga County Lyme Disease Support Group to Meet Thursday, Sept. 19
  17. NEW – Register by Friday, Sept. 20 for Mill Cove’s Second Annual Clays for Kids
  18. NEW – Joe Crookston to Perform Friday, Sept. 20
  19. NEW – Hometown Science Festival is Saturday, Sept. 21 on The Green
  20. NEW – Second Chance Heading Home Center Benefit is Saturday, Oct. 5

Diane Eaton
dianetn@ptd.net
(570) 724-3800

WELLSBORO COUPLE NAMED 2019 VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR FOR THEIR HURRICANE HARVEY WORK IN TEXAS

Husband and wife, Tom and Laura Rose of Wellsboro are on a mission. They are looking for people willing to travel to Refugio County in Texas to help repair or replace homes damaged in Hurricane Harvey.

“More volunteers and funds are needed to get the people of Refugio back on their feet,” Laura said. “It’s been two years since Hurricane Harvey devastated the area and there is still a lot of work to be done.”

On Aug. 24, 2017, Harvey, a Category 4 hurricane, made landfall. Hardest hit were Texas and Louisiana. Also impacted were six other states and Caribbean islands. With damage estimated at $125 billion, Harvey is tied with 2005’s Hurricane Katrina as one of the costliest on record. In Texas alone, there were 103 storm-related deaths with an estimated 300,000 structures and 500,000 vehicles damaged or destroyed.

Tom and Laura had both retired in 2016. “Our plan was to spend several years living in our RV, traveling in America and doing disaster relief work. We had done a lot of relief work after Katrina,” said Laura.

The couple changed their plans when Laura’s mother was diagnosed with brain and lung cancer, “In November of 2016, we leased our home in Wellsboro, got in our RV and headed for my mother’s in Athens, Georgia,” Laura said.

“When Harvey struck, Tom and I were still in Georgia taking care of her 24/7. That’s how we found out about the nonprofit RV Disaster Corps in Waco Texas. They were asking for volunteers who owned recreational vehicles to go to Refugio to help with disaster relief. We completed the required training and testing online and were accepted. After my mother passed away in November of 2017, we notified the RV Disaster Corps we were available for deployment,” said Laura.

The Roses arrived on Jan. 1, 2018. One room in the town’s chamber of commerce building was serving as the Refugio Volunteer Reception Center.

“At the center, Tom and I helped homeowners fill out applications identifying the type of work that had to be done to make their property habitable, from clearing fallen trees and other debris to replacing roofs to sheet rocking walls. The majority of work completed in 2018 was to reduce mold by putting up tarps over holes in roofs and broken windows to keep homes dry until it could be determined whether they could be repaired or had to be demolished,” Laura said.

It wasn’t long before the center’s director and the Roses realized the center was not big enough. “Tom and I were attending the First Presbyterian Church in Refugio and knew it was the perfect place for it.” The church said yes.

Tom set up the center’s website and Facebook page and created databases and spreadsheets so information about home locations and needed repairs could be linked to volunteers based on when work could be done.

Laura helped stock the center with tools and supplies for volunteers, created a bunkhouse where they can sleep, a shower trailer and a kitchen. She also cooked meals.

The Roses stayed in Refugio for four months. “We left on April 30, 2018, spent two months last summer in Alaska and about five weeks in Wellsboro before returning to Refugio for six months, from November of 2018 to April of this year. We’re going back to Refugio for the third time early this November and will stay there for six months, through April of 2020,” Laura said.

Through the Volunteer Reception Center, Laura and Tom have worked with many different organizations while in Texas, from the American Red Cross to the Salvation Army, Samaritan’s Purse, Seventh Day Adventist Disaster Aid, Mennonite Disaster Service, Habitat for Humanity, All Hands and Hearts and the Texas-based Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group.

“The First Presbyterian Church of Wellsboro, our home church, is supporting our efforts in Refugio through its Missions Committee,” Laura said. “We are planning to return to Wellsboro when we get too old to be on the road. Tom just turned 70 and says he’s good for another five years.”

“People in Refugio County are still living in hotels or motels or with family and friends because they can’t get back into their own homes,” Tom said. “We are asking groups and individuals to volunteer and come to Refugio to lend a hand. Desperately needed are estimators, people who can go through a home and estimate the cost of making needed repairs as well as skilled tradesmen – plumbers, electricians and construction workers.”

Anyone who wants to donate funds, volunteer to help with repairs or build new homes or in any other way are invited to contact Laura Rose at (570) 453-7985 or laura.max.r@gmail.com. The Roses will be in the Wellsboro area until mid-October.

To see the video on YouTube about the RV Disaster Corps in Refugio County, visit https://youtu.be/rqy4fe0u_Pk. To view the website Tom created, visit http://refugiovolunteerreceptioncenter.org.


Photo by John Eaton
Tom Rose holds the certificate and his wife, Laura, the wood-based, glass engraving they were awarded for being named RV Disaster Corps Volunteers of the Year 2019 for their work in Refugio County, Texas.

HISTORY COMES ALIVE WITH CHARLES SACAVAGE AS THEODORE ROOSEVELT THIS WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 11

At 7 p.m. this Wednesday, Sept. 11, Charles Sacavage will portray Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, on stage in the Deane Center’s Coolidge Theatre at 104 Main Street in Wellsboro.

“He was a big game hunter who became known as the conservationist president,” said Sacavage who physically resembles Roosevelt. “I will bring out the incidents in his life that contributed to his evolution from outdoorsman to conservationist. Roosevelt never took himself that seriously. People will get to laugh as they learn more about him.”

Sacavage will talk in the first person as Roosevelt, something he has been doing for about 50 years; first as a high school history teacher in Pottsville and then for distance-learning programs for Pennsylvania’s Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29 when his live, interactive television programs were broadcast to students in schools across America. “If you want to be a great teacher you have to be a great entertainer,” said Sacavage. There will also be time for questions and photos.

Tickets are $15. Children 12 and under accompanied by a paying adult are admitted free. For information, call (570) 724-6220 or visit www.deanecenter.com.


Photo provided
Charles Sacavage as Theodore Roosevelt

SEPTEMBER 10-14, 2019 WASTE MANAGEMENT SUSQUEHANNOCK TRAIL PERFORMANCE RALLY SCHEDULE

(Subject to change – all times are approximate – see the latest schedule at www.stpr.org)

TUESDAY, SEPT. 10:
7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Registration: Competitors, Crews, Officials and Volunteers
Tioga County Fairgrounds

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 11:
7 a.m. to Noon; 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Volunteer Registration
Tioga County Fairgrounds

9 a.m. to Noon; 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Competitor and Crew Registration
Tioga County Fairgrounds

THURSDAY, SEPT. 12:
7 a.m. to Noon; 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Registration: Competitors, Crews, Officials and Volunteers
Tioga County Fairgrounds

5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Crew and Volunteer Registration
Tioga County Fairgrounds

5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Novice Competitor School
Tioga County Fairgrounds

6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Parc Exposé with Competing Rally Cars
The Green in Wellsboro

7:30 p.m.
Posting of Day One Start Order
The Green in Wellsboro

8 p.m.
Ceremonial Start
Competing Rally Cars
Main Street by The Green

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Volunteer Registration
Waste Management Complex

11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Spectator Gates Open
Waste Management Complex

11:01 a.m.
STPR® Day One
First Car Starts Stage 1 – Lebo I
Twelve Mile Spectator Area

11:27 a.m.
First Car Starts Stage 2 – Randall I
Cushman Spectator Area

12:52 p.m.
First Car in Service
Waste Management Service Area (50 Minutes)
Waste Management Complex

1:52 p.m.
First Car Starts Stage 4
Waste Management Complex Spectator Areas

3:42 p.m.
First Car Starts Stage 5 – Lebo II
Twelve Mile Spectator Area

4:08 p.m.
First Car Starts Stage 6 – Randall II
Cushman Spectator Area

5:28 p.m.
First Car in Service
Waste Management Service Area (75 Minutes)
Waste Management Complex

6:55 p.m.
First Car Starts Stage 8
Waste Management Complex Spectator Areas

9:15 p.m.
First Car Starts Stage 10
Waste Management Complex Spectator Areas

9:26 p.m.
First Car Finishes Stage 10 and Day One
Waste Management Complex

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
8:30 a.m.
Posting of Day Two Start Order
The Green in Wellsboro

8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Parc Exposé with Competing Rally Cars
The Green in Wellsboro

10:31 a.m.
Ceremonial Start
Competing Rally Cars
Main Street by The Green

11:10 a.m.
STPR® Day Two
First Car Starts Stage 11- Asaph
Asaph Picnic Spectator Area

12:02 p.m.
First Car Starts Stage 12 – Thompson
Wilson Point Spectator Area

12:31 p.m.
First Car Starts Stage 13 – Sliders
Cushman Spectator Area

2:02 p.m.
First Car in Service
Waste Management Service Area (50 Minutes)
Waste Management Complex

3:33 p.m.
First Car Starts Stage 15
Waste Management Complex Spectator Areas

5:04 p.m.
Last Car Finishes Stage 15 and STPR® 2019
Waste Management Complex Spectator Areas

7 p.m.
Podium Ceremony/Champagne Spray
Waste Management Complex

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO HELP AT STPR® ON SEPT. 12, 13 OR 14

The 43rd Annual Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally® is Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 12-14.

Due to increases in rally activity for spectators, more volunteers are needed than ever before, especially on Sept. 13.
Those who want to volunteer for STPR® can register in person at the Tioga County Fairgrounds in Whitneyville, midway between Wellsboro and Mansfield off Route 6. Dates and times to register are as follows: Tuesday, Sept. 10 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Wednesday, Sept. 11 from 7 a.m. to noon, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Thursday, Sept. 12 from 7 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Volunteer registration is also being held from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Waste Management Complex on Friday, Sept, 13.

Or, to volunteer, go to the STPR® website, and then to the following direct links: Volunteer Job Descriptions – https://stpr.org/volunteers/volunteer-job-descriptions/ and Volunteer Registration – http://stpr.org/volunteers/.

STPR® WASTE MANAGEMENT SPECTATOR AREAS

Waste Management Inc. has built three brand-new spectator areas on its property in Antrim, near Wellsboro for the 43rd Annual Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally® being held on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 13 and 14. Fans will be able to view rally action from four different vantage points, including the jump at the original spectator area.

The only service area for STPR® rally cars and crews will also be on Waste Management property in Antrim. It is also open to spectators.

Parking for spectators at Waste Management is free.Tickets for admission to the spectator areas are available for purchase now through Sept. 12 at the Wellsboro Area Chamber of Commerce office at 114 Main Street in Wellsboro, at the parc exposé on The Green from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. this Thursday, Sept. 12 and this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 13 and 14 at the spectator area gate at Waste Management in Antrim. Admission is $7 per person on Friday, Sept. 13; $5 on Saturday, Sept. 14; or $10 for both days. Children under 12 and active military personnel with identification will be admitted free.

The three new spectator areas are the grassy knoll, inside loop and pit mound.

The Grassy Knoll Spectator Area sits on top of a hill with plenty of space for many spectators to park and put up canopies and lawn chairs. There will be food vendors and portable bathrooms onsite. From this grassy knoll, spectators can see and hear rally cars on Waste Management’s STPR® 2019 short and long courses. It’s especially thrilling at night when spectators can see headlights punctuating the dark sky as rally cars travel the course. Spectators can come and go from this spectator spot.

The Inside Loop Spectator Area is a great place to see rally action. It is perfect for photographers who want to get closer to the cars running the course. Visible from this spectator area are major portions of the short and longer courses as well as the jump. There is space for parking, canopies and lawn chairs. There will be food vendors and portable bathrooms onsite. This spectator area is all dirt. Once spectators set up in this area, they will not be able to leave until the rally is over. On Friday, Sept. 13, spectators will remain in this area from 6 p.m. until approximately 10:40 p.m. and on Saturday, Sept. 14 from about 3 p.m. until 5 p.m.

Grass has been newly planted at the Pit Mound Spectator Area so spectators cannot put up canopies. It is recommended they bring umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun and the rain. Spectators can get in and out of this site during the rally and will have access to food vendors and portable bathrooms.

Spectators who have attended STPR® in previous years will be familiar with the Jump Spectator Area. This is where all of the jump photos have been taken in the past. There will be portable bathrooms but no food vendors here.

The Waste Management Service Area is located between the ticket booth and all spectator areas, which are about the same distance from the service area. Spectators are welcome here to see the rally cars, competitors and crews.

For more information about the rally, visit the STPR® website at www.stpr.org.

WELL ARMED WOMAN SHOOTING CHAPTER TO ATTEND ENHANCED CONCEALED CARRY EVENT THIS THURSDAY, SEPT. 12

Members of the Well Armed Woman Shooting Chapter, Tioga County, Pa. will be attending the Enhanced Concealed Carry Event at 6 p.m. this Thursday, Sept. 12 at the Troy Sale Barn at 50 Ballard Street in Troy, PA 16947. The doors will open at 5:30 p.m.

During this free program, Tioga County Sheriff Frank Levindoski and Bradford County Sheriff Clinton “C.J.” Walters will present information on Pennsylvania firearms laws; physical, home and technology security; and personal protection devices.

Registration is required. Those who plan to attend the program at Troy are asked to register online at www.reppickett.com or www.repowlett.com or by calling State Representative Tina Pickett’s Towanda office at 570-265-3124 or State Representative Clint Owlett’s Troy office at 570-297-3045 or his Wellsboro office at (570) 724-1390.

Members of the Well Armed Woman Shooting Chapter had planned to meet on Sept. 12 since the Friends of the NRA Banquet is being held on Sept. 19, the chapter’s regular meeting date. “It makes sense for our members to attend this event in Troy on Sept. 12 so we are encouraging them to register,” said Marilyn Jones. She and Pat Butts are chapter co-leaders.

Women who don’t own a firearm and want more information before making a purchase or want to find out about joining the chapter are invited to contact Jones at (570) 549-2794 or jones_mk@yahoo.com.

REFUSE TO BE A VICTIM® TO BE PRESENTED ON SATURDAY, SEPT. 14 IN ELKLAND

What can you do to make yourself safe in and out of your home? How can you make your house hard to break into? What do you do if you are alone and your car breaks down on the road? How can you avoid becoming a target?

These questions and more will be answered during the Refuse To Be A Victim®.program for men and women. It is being held from 8 a.m. to noon this Saturday Sept. 14 at the Cowanesque Valley Rod and Gun Club at 128 Addison Hill Road in Elkland, PA 16920. Certified course instructors are Marilyn Jones and Pat Butts.

Those who attend this crime prevention and personal safety program will learn common sense techniques on how to minimize the risk of becoming a victim at home, in the workplace and in other situations. Included are personal safety strategies and tips on how to create a personalized safety plan to be prepared for whatever happens.

The fee is $10 per person. To register, send your name, address, phone number, email address and date of birth to Marilyn Jones at jones_mk@yahoo.com. Those with questions can call Jones at (570) 549-2794.

PRODUCERS SHOWCASE TO BE ON MAIN STREET THIS SATURDAY, SEPT. 14

In conjunction with the 43rd Annual Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally, the Wellsboro Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Producers Showcase at various locations along Main Street between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. this Saturday, Sept. 14.

On display and for sale will be products created or grown in this area, such as baked goods, vegetables, woven and knitted alpaca fiber products, photographs, honey and maple products, goat milk soap and lotions, handcrafted jewelry and wine.

Located in front of Northwest Bank at 61 Main Street will be New View Farms with artisan breads (Italian herb, everything and beer bread), sticky buns, muffins, homemade candy and homegrown produce such as organic garlic; Sweely Lane Sweets with a full line of honey and maple products; and Locey Creek Alpacas with knitted and woven alpaca fiber products, such as blankets, ponchos, foot inserts, hats, gloves and scarves.

On the sidewalk between the Penn Wells Hotel at 62 Main Street and the Arcadia Theater at 50 Main Street will be Asaph Maple Farms with organic maple syrup, bourbon barrel aged maple syrup, maple cream, maple barbecue sauce, maple hot wing sauce and maple mustard.

In front of Indigo Wireless at 64 Main Street will be Gary Keeney with pumpkins, winter squash, gourds, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, sweet and hot peppers and ornamental corn, all dependent on availability, and his daughter-in-law Heather with handcrafted porcupine, feather and crystal healing jewelry.

Bernadette Chiaramonte’s Edge of the Woods Photography will be in front of State Representative Clint Owlett’s office at 74 Main Street with metal prints of area wildlife and landscape photographs she has taken.

Oregon Hill Winery at 87½ Main Street will feature its locally made wines.

In front of the Deane Center at 104 Main Street will be Triple D Farms with maple barbecue sauce, maple mustard, maple candy, maple cream, maple cotton candy, maple nuts, maple syrup, maple popcorn and maple hot dogs and Pure Hart Soap with an assortment of handcrafted goat milk soaps and lotions along with beeswax products, including beard balms, salves and lip balms.

For more information, call the chamber at (570) 724-1926.


Photo by John Eaton
Heather Keeney is shown with a display of her handcrafted jewelry. She creates porcupine, feather and crystal healing jewelry.

“EVERY BRILLIANT THING” TO OPEN THIS FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, SEPT. 13, 14 & 15

Even though the topic of “Every Brilliant Thing” is very serious, this one-man play is described as funny and heart-warming.

Performances starring Hamilton-Gibson’s Artistic Director Thomas Putnam are at 7:30 p.m. this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 13 and 14 and at 2:30 p.m. this Sunday, Sept. 15 and at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 20 and 21 in the Warehouse Theatre at 3 Central Avenue in Wellsboro. Seating is in the round; audience members choose their own seats.

The play follows a seven-year-old boy whose mother is hospitalized after a suicide attempt. To make her happy, he begins writing a list of every good thing in the world worth living for – ice cream, staying up past your bedtime to watch TV, nice old people who aren’t weird and share snacks with you.

As the boy grows up, the list is forgotten and then rediscovered when he is in college. He continues where he left off, this time adding more mature things: skinny dipping, falling in love.

Soon, other people ask to make copies of it and add their own items to the list. What began as a child’s attempt to cure his mother’s depression turns into a community tribute to building resilience and appreciating life’s little blessings.

What is unique and fresh about this show is the way the audience is involved.

English playwright Duncan Macmillan, whose works often focus on psychological issues like addiction and suicide, teamed up with comedian Jonny Donahoe to produce the play because he wanted people to know “You’re not alone, you’re not weird, you will get through it and you’ve just got to hold on.” Macmillan felt that nobody was talking about suicidal depression in a “useful or interesting or accurate way.”

The play is written in such a way that it is a safe place to be and everyone can relax as they explore what could be a difficult topic.

“The beauty of ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ is that it takes the same impulse that people have toward spiraling downward and changes the direction,” said a woman who acted in the play. “This show encourages spiraling up and becoming obsessed with gratitude and beauty in everyday moments. The play was the best thing I’d ever read that combined this serious subject and comedy. It is a beautiful piece of theatre activism.”

Before and after each performance, audience members will have the opportunity to stop at a resource table provided by the United Methodist Church of Wellsboro. There will be information about suicide awareness, prevention and survivor support and where someone who is struggling with thoughts of suicide or knows of someone who is can find help.

There will be talk-backs following each performance. Audience members are welcome to stay to discuss what they just experienced.

Tickets for the show are $12 for adults. Reservations are recommended. To reserve seats, call (570) 724-2079 or visit https://hamiltongibson.ticketleap.com. Sponsors are Drs. Tina Tolins and Grady Gafford; Lee and Janet Bellinger; and the United Methodist Church of Wellsboro.

43RD ANNUAL WASTE MANAGEMENT SUSQUEHANNOCK TRAIL PERFORMANCE RALLY OPENS THIS THURSDAY, SEPT. 12

The 43rd Annual Waste Management Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally® opens Thursday, Sept. 12 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. with a parc exposé on The Green in downtown Wellsboro and two days of rallying on forestry roads in Tioga and Potter counties and Waste Management Inc. property near Wellsboro on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 13 and 14.

STPR® is round eight of this year’s nine-event American Rally Association Championship series.

“With STPR® being held in September and being eighth on the national schedule rather than third in June like last year, we were expecting to see a huge field of competitors in 2019 due to the hunt for championship points and that’s what’s happened,” said James Monks of Wellsboro, 2019 STPR® rally chairman.

As of Sunday, Sept. 8, 75 teams have entered STPR® 2019. Fifty will compete in the ARA Regional Rally, nine are entered in both the ARA Regional Rally and STPR®, the national rally; and 16 are entered in STPR® only. The course is the same for both. The number of entrants will continue to change right up until the rally begins on Friday, Sept. 13. Two weeks before last year’s STPR®, 41 teams had registered.

Coming into STPR® 2019, Subaru Rally Team USA’s David Higgins is in the lead with 102 national drivers’ championship points. To clinch his 10th American Rally Association Championship title, Higgins is looking for a win at STPR®.

On Aug. 23 and 24, Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew took first place overall in Minnesota’s Muscatell Ojibwe Forests Rally. Their third event win of the season gave them a commanding lead in ARA national championship points. “From here we’ve got a solid lead going into the last two events of the year, so we’ll stay focused and try to get the job done in Pennsylvania,” Higgins said.

Higgins and Drew in their Vermont SportsCar-prepared 2018 Subaru WRX STI also finished first at the Oregon Trail Rally, and at the New England Forest Rally in Bethel, Maine and Errol, New Hampshire.

Piotr Fetela is in second with 82 championship points. He and co-driver Dominik Jozwiak took first in this year’s ARA season opener, the Sno*Drift Rally in Michigan in their 2017 Ford Fiesta Proto ERT. The Polish born rally star whose team is now based in the Chicago area (Hanover Park, Illinois) has been running in U.S. rallies since 2009 and finally broke through with the overall win at Sno*Drift.

Barry McKenna of New York City is third with 70 championship points. He and co-driver Andrew Hayes won this year’s 100 Acre Wood Rally in Missouri in their 2011 Ford Fiesta for their first ARA overall win. Although not well known in the U.S., McKenna is not a novice to rallying as he has won events in Canada as well as his native Ireland.

Cameron Steely is currently fourth with 61 ARA championship points. He, along with co-driver Preston Osborn, is one of the growing number of rally entrants from Colorado. Steely started rallying in 2016 capturing the rally America 2WD title before switching to a 2008 Subaru STi. In August, Steely/Osborn finished fifth overall and won the L4WD class at ARA’s Muskatell Objibwe Forests Rally.

In Wellsboro, Higgins will face off against Subaru teammate Oliver Solberg who is in fifth place with 53 championship points. In April, Solberg and co-driver Aaron Johnston of Sweden won the Dirt Fish Olympus Rally in Shelton, Washington in their 2018 Subaru WRX STI. This was their first overall ARA win.

The Solberg name has been tied to the Subaru brand since Petter Solberg was crowned the World Rally Champion in 2003 driving the now iconic blue and yellow Subaru WRX STI. His son Oliver was just two years old. Now 17, Oliver joined Subaru Motorsports USA this year and is driving a blue and yellow Subaru in the American Rally Association Championship series alongside Higgins.
 He claimed his first ARA win in April by finishing first overall at the Olympus rally in Washington. He will celebrate his 18th birthday on Monday, Sept. 23 after his STPR® run.

Jeff Seehorn and co-driver Karen Jankowski of Spokane, Washington won the ARA’s Idaho Rally International but will not be at STPR®. They are in seventh place with 26 championship points.

STPR® rally teams have a driver and co-driver (navigator) for each car. The competitors race in stages on closed public roads, trying to get from the beginning to the end of each stage as fast as they can. Unlike other forms of motorsports, no practice is allowed and teams only have one chance to review the course at the public speed limit before the event. In competition, the navigator barks out the route instructions while the driver proceeds through forestry and Waste Management roads sometimes at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour.

Rally information is available on the STPR® website at www.stpr.org.

Keep track of event announcements via social media at the following links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STPRRally
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stpr_rally (@stpr_rally)
Instagram: http://instagram.com/stpr_rally (stpr_rally)
Website (entry list, spectator information, volunteer info, press notes, schedule, results): www.stpr.org
American Rally Association: https://www.americanrallyassociation.org


Photo provided by Subaru Rally Team USA
Co-driver Craig Drew (left) and David Higgins, defending American Rally Association champions, need to win STPR® to clinch the 2019 American Rally Association title.


Photo provided by Subaru Rally Team USA
Seventeen-year-old Oliver Solberg (shown) won the 2018 RallyX Nordic Supercar class and is the youngest driver to ever compete in a World Rallycross Supercar. This year, under the banner of fSubaru Motorsports USA, Solberg and co-driver Aaron Johnston will be competing at Wellsboro Sept. 13 and 14.

ACTING UP TO START 17TH SEASON THIS TUESDAY, SEPT. 10

Acting Up! Hamilton-Gibson’s free readers theatre program for adults 55 and older, is entering its 17th season on Tuesday, Sept. 10. Barbara and Larry Biddison are the program coordinators.

Since 2005, when the Biddison became the coordinators, an ever-changing group of fun-loving men and women has gathered in the living room at the Hamilton-Gibson office at 29 Water Street in Wellsboro from 2 to 3 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, September through May. There are no fees and no long-term commitments.


The one-hour sessions bring together congenial and mutually supportive people in a relaxed, informal atmosphere that provides a low-key, low-pressure opportunity to experiment with “reading with expression.”

The main focus on Tuesdays is a group reading of a story or play or a series of poems. Participants often bring short poems, humorous stories, or thoughtful articles to share aloud with the group. They also enjoy bringing to life vintage radio scripts, interesting essays and original short plays written by Acting Up participants. “There’s always plenty of fun stuff to read aloud among friends,” said Larry.

Each Acting Up session is self-contained. Those present are not obligated to attend other sessions.

Though regular attendance is not required, the Biddisons are pleased with the strong repeat turnout. “We look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones,” Barbara said. 

“This is a safe place for people who have a fear of speaking in public, as well as for those who have always wanted to act but weren’t ready for the stage,” Barbara added.

“Several participants have gone on to be in Hamilton-Gibson radio plays and HG Women’s Project productions while continuing to attend Acting Up and Acting Out.”
 
When an invitation is received to perform outside HG’s familiar living room, any volunteers who feel up to the challenge of reading aloud in public can become participants in the Acting Out program. Acting Out offers entertainment for schools, libraries, churches, senior centers, assisted living facilities, personal care homes and organizations, such as the Wednesday Morning Musicales.

Anyone interested in seeing what Acting Up is all about is welcome to attend a Tuesday session. For more details, contact Larry or Barbara Biddison at (570) 724-4586.


Photo by John Eaton
Coordinators Barbara and Larry Biddison prepare for the start of the 2019-2020 Acting Up! season.

AN EVENING OF BLUES WITH TAS CRU AND THE GABE STILLMAN BAND IS SATURDAY, SEPT. 14


Photo provided
This Saturday, Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m. Tas Cru (shown), internationally acclaimed blues artist, and the Gabe Stillman Band, including drummer Jesse Roedts, ace guitarist and singer Gabe Stillman, and bassist Colin Beatty, will perform a great night of blues at the Deane Center’s Coolidge Theatre at 104 Main Street in Wellsboro. The Williamsport-based band will play their hard-stompin’ brand of American blues with influences of soul, R&B, funk, and New Orleans jazz. Cru and Stillman will then perform original music from Cru’s most recent albums. Admission is $22. This is a bring your own beverages and snacks event. To reserve a table at no extra charge, for tickets or more information, call the Deane Center at (570) 724-6220 or visit www.deanecenter.com.

CHERRY SPRINGS STATE PARK OFFERS FREE PROGRAMS SEPT. 14, 20 & 21

COUDERSPORT — Free stargazing programs are being held in September and October at Cherry Springs State Park at 4639 Cherry Springs Road, Coudersport, Pa. 16915. Preregistration is required for all stargazing programs. The park is 12 miles from Route 6 in Galeton via West Branch Road and 15 miles from Coudersport via Route 44.

Stargazing programs will be cancelled if it rains or thunders.

Anyone may observe the night sky at Cherry Springs on his or her own without attending a stargazing program. All visitors should arrive before dark. Search for the Clear Sky Chart online for 48-hour forecasts about viewing conditions.

Cherry Springs State Park is one of the top dark sky destinations in the world. It was the first to be designated a Dark Sky Park in the eastern United States. Night sky enthusiasts flock to the park to see its dark skies, which are famous for great views of the Milky Way, planets, hard-to-see astronomical objects and phenomena.

Cherry Springs is an 82-acre state park surrounded by the 262,000-acre Susquehannock State Forest. Because it is remote, the park’s nighttime conditions for stargazing remain the same as before the introduction of electric lighting in the late 19th century.

In 2008, the park was named a Gold Level Dark Sky Park by the International Dark Sky Association, the highest designation that can be given to a dark sky site.

Full Moon & Planet Watch is Sept. 14
The free Full Moon & Planet Watch will be from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14 in the park’s Night Sky Viewing Area. Explore some of the moon’s fascinating features from highlands to volcanic plains and discover where lunar landings took place. Get an up close look at the moon and planets through park telescopes. Preregistration is required.

Free Night Sky Tour is Sept. 20 & 21
From 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 20 and 21 go on a Night Sky Tour in the park’s Night Sky Viewing Area, experience the splendor of the night sky. Park staff will give a laser-guided tour of the constellations and recount the legends and myths surrounding them. Afterwards, take an up close look at celestial objects through park telescopes. Preregistration is required.

To Preregister for Stargazing Programs
Online preregistration for the Full Moon & Planet Watch and Night Sky Tour stargazing programs is required. Visit http://events.dcnr.pa.gov/cherry_springs_state_park. If there is a problem with registering online or for information about these free programs, call (814) 435-1037 or email cherryspringsee@pa.gov.

STEP OUTDOORS TRYATHLON & 5K RUN/WALK ONLINE REGISTRATION TO END TUESDAY, SEPT. 17 AT 11:59 P.M.

Online registration ends this coming Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 11:59 p.m. for those who wants to participate in the 12th Annual Step Outdoors Tryathlon or only do the 5K Trail Run/Walk on Saturday, Sept. 21 at Hills Creek State Park, 111 Spillway Road, Wellsboro, PA 16901. The park is seven miles northeast of Wellsboro in Charleston Township via Charleston Street and Hills Creek Lake Road.

The focus of the Step Outdoors TRYathlon is on trying rather than winning, on camaraderie rather than competition and on personal challenge rather than place of finish. There are no competitive categories in the Tryathlon and 5K. Every finisher will receive a medallion.

Individuals of all ages can take part. A great introductory event for the novice, the Tryathlon is also for the seasoned triathlete because of its unique course.

To register online or download a printable registration form, visit www.stepoutdoors.org. Or, register online at https://runsignup.com/Race/PA/Wellsboro/StepOutdoorsTryathlon5K?remMeAttempt=

Those who mail in a registration form must complete it and mail it to Wellsboro Parks and Recreation, Attention: Tryathlon, 227 Nichols Street, Wellsboro, PA 16901 in time to ensure it arrives by Tuesday, Sept. 17. Checks for the entry fee should be made payable to the Step Outdoors Tryathlon.

Individuals who register online to do the 5K Trail Run/Walk only will pay a $20 entry fee and to do the three legs of the Tryathlon solo, a $25 entry fee. For two- or three-person Tryathlon teams, the entry fee is $60.

Those who register by mail by Sept. 17 or in person on Sept. 21, the day of the event, will pay a $25 entry fee to do the 5K Trail Run/Walk only and to do the three legs of the triathlon solo, a $30 entry fee. For two- or three-person teams the entry fee is $65 per team. At registration on race day, any surplus event T-shirts will be available for purchase while supplies last.

Registration and check-in on Sept. 21 are from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the tent between the park’s bathhouse and concession stand. The pre-race talk for all entrants, especially those participating for the first time, will be at 9:45 a.m.

All runners and walkers, whether they are participating in the 5K only or all three legs of the Tryathlon will start at 10 a.m. at the same location and follow the same course on park roads and trails around the perimeter of Hills Creek Lake. The second leg of the Tryathlon is paddling a canoe or kayak around a 1.75-mile course identified with temporary markers on Hills Creek Lake. The event will end with bikers traveling 8 miles on a course of dirt and hardtop roads in and around the park.

For more information about the Tryathlon or 5K or about renting bikes, kayaks or canoes, visit www.stepoutdoors.org or contact Tim Morey by calling (570) 724-8561 or emailing tmorey@pa.gov.

TIADAGHTON AUDUBON SOCIETY TO MEET ON WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 18

The Tiadaghton Audubon Society is holding a business and planning meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18 in the Old Music Room at the Wellsboro Area School District Administration Building at 227 Nichols Street in Wellsboro. It is free and open to the public.

The public is encouraged to attend this meeting to help plan activities of interest for the coming year. Also to be discussed will be club business and financials.

For more information, contact the Tiadaghton Audubon Society by visiting tiadaghtonaudubon.blogspot.com or www.facebook.com/TiadaghtonAudubon/ or emailing tasmember@yahoo.com.

TIOGA COUNTY LYME DISEASE SUPPORT GROUP TO MEET THURSDAY, SEPT. 19

The Tioga County Lyme Disease Support Group meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19 in the Native Bagel at 1 Central Avenue in Wellsboro.

This meeting is free and open to anyone who lives in Tioga County or a surrounding county who wants to learn more about Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.

To be shown will be a video titled “Lyme and Reason.” The video is an interview with Dr. Steven Phillips, a Yale-trained, world-renowned specialist in Lyme. He discusses what Lyme is and is not; the common ties between tick-borne diseases and autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and rheumatoid arthritis; and why he disagrees with the CDC’s stance on chronic Lyme disease. A group discussion will follow.

Luke Dunham and Thomas Putnam, both from the Wellsboro area, are regional co-leaders with the PA Lyme Resource Network and of the support group. Both have been diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease.

For information, contact Dunham and Putnam by email at tiogacountylyme@palyme.org or by calling Putnam at (570) 439-2000.

REGISTER BY FRIDAY, SEPT. 20 FOR MILL COVE’S SECOND ANNUAL CLAYS FOR KIDS

Members of the Wellsboro Social Club Board of Trustees recently presented a check for $5,000 to Mark Hamilton and Gary Wilson, co-chairs of Mill Cove’s Second Annual Clays for Kids. The social club is the event’s major sponsor.

“We donated $5,000 to Clays for Kids to support this great cause because it benefits many community children,” said Wellsboro Social Club Board Secretary Jenny Harer. The Wellsboro Social Club at 127 Kelsey Street in Wellsboro is a nonprofit organization that offers activities and manages a restaurant and bar where members from the community and their families can relax and spend time together.

Volunteers, including the Mill Cove Environmental Area and Education Center Board of Directors, are organizing Clays for Kids. It will be held on Saturday, Oct. 5 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Thunder Ridge Sporting Clays at 619 Leon Brown Road in Middlebury Center, PA 16935.

Proceeds from this event will benefit the outdoor Mill Cove Environmental Education Center where children learn about nature up close and personal, and the Tioga County Children’s Advocacy Center, an Asa’s Place program, which will serve child abuse victims ages four to 18 at 16 Water Street in Wellsboro. The facility is expected to open late in 2019 or early in 2020.

The entry fee for men and women participating in Clays for Kids is $130 per person and for a team of four is $500. Lunch only is $20 per person.

Included in the entry fee are: four boxes of ammunition, either 12- or 20-gauge per shooter; 100 target rounds per shooter; golf cart use; lunch and an event T-shirt. Registrants must bring their own gun and eye and ear protection.

Registration and check-in for the Oct. 5 shotgun shoot will begin at 8 a.m. with the shoot to start at 9 a.m. The pork barbecue lunch and presentations about the beneficiaries, the Mill Cove Environmental Education Center and Tioga County Children’s Advocacy Center, an Asa’s Place program, will be at noon. At 1 p.m., a raffle will be held and awards presented to the top male, female and team shooters.

Friday, Sept. 20 is the registration deadline for shooters to guarantee an event T-shirt and ammunition.

Those who register online between Sept. 21 and Thursday, Oct. 3 or in person at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, the day the event is being held, will participate in the shoot but will not receive an event T-shirt and may not receive ammunition.

Register and pay online at http://bit.ly/clays4kids2019 on or before Sept. 20. Or to register, mail the following information: Individual shooter’s name, his/her shirt size (S, M, L, XL, 2XL or 3XL), type of ammunition (12- or 20-gauge) and his/her phone number or the name of each member of a four-member team, each team member’s shirt size (S, M, L, XL, 2XL or 3XL) and type of ammunition (12- or 20-gauge) and the name of the team’s contact person and the contact person’s phone number. Make checks payable to Mill Cove, Inc. and mail with the registration information to 54 S Main St., Mansfield, PA 16933 so it arrives before Sept. 20.

For more information about registering to participate in Clays for Kids or to learn about available sponsorship opportunities, call Mark Hamilton at (570) 772-1299 or Gary Wilson at (570) 337-8699 or email millcovepa@gmail.com.


Photo by John Eaton
Representatives of the Wellsboro Social Club and Mill Cove’s Second Annual Clays for Kids are shown with the oversized check that represents the club’s $5,000 contribution as the major sponsor of the Oct. 5 event. Pictured are: (standing, from left) Charlie Newlin, Wellsboro Social Club Board President Danny Dinnison, Clays for Kids Co-chairs Mark Hamilton and Gary Wilson, Joe Woodruff and Rob Dibble and (sitting, from left) Robin Adams, founder and executive director of Asa’s Place, and Board Secretary Jenny Harer. Newlin, Woodruff and Dibble are social club trustees.

JOE CROOKSTON TO PERFORM FRIDAY, SEPT. 20

At 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 20, nationally acclaimed American folk singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter Joe Crookston will perform in the Deane Center’s Coolidge Theatre at 104 Main Street in Wellsboro. A resident of Ithaca, New York, Crookston regularly tours in the United States, Canada and Ireland.

“I will be performing upbeat, high-energy songs along with artful and quiet songs,” Crookston said. Not only is he known for his lyrics, “created with wit, intelligence and heart” but also for his excellent musicianship and charismatic stage presence.

A master storyteller, Crookston has written many songs based on true American stories. His music is deeply rooted in the grand celebration of life, death, ancestry and the interconnectedness of us all.

In 2007, he was awarded a year-long Rockefeller Foundation songwriting grant for a project called “Songs of the Finger Lakes.” He traveled around the region setting its people and history to music.

After meeting Dina Jacobson, an elderly Holocaust survivor from Poland who was living in Elmira, N.Y., Crookston wrote “Blue Tattoo.” She bore an identification number tattooed on her body from her time in the Auschwitz concentration camp. That 2007 song was the inspiration for a 2014 documentary of the same name. The film is about how Crookston and Jacobson met and formed a unique friendship. Their common goal was to help keep the memory of the Holocaust alive and its lessons of humanity relevant.

In 2017, another of Crookston’s story songs, “Brooklyn in July” was made into a short film produced by Laura Delano and directed by Bob Celli. It is the story of Frank Walker, an African-American World War II veteran who was working as a chauffeur.

In Wellsboro, Cookston will perform two of his story songs, “The Letters of Florence Hemphill”, which he wrote about a nurse from Wilson County, Kansas who volunteered to serve in World War I, and “Blue Tattoo.”

Crookston is also a painter. When he sings those two songs, the supersized acrylic portraits he painted of Hemphill and Jacobson will be displayed on stage.

During intermission, the singer will have some of his 8½- by 11-inch matted, framed and autographed monoprints available for purchase. Crookston created them based on lyrics in his songs.

This concert is BYOB. Audience members can bring their favorite beverages and snacks and reserve a table at no extra charge. Admission is $20. For tickets and a table, call (570) 724-6220 or visit deanecenter.com.


Photo provided
Joe Crookston

HOMETOWN SCIENCE FESTIVAL IS SATURDAY, SEPT. 21 ON THE GREEN

On Saturday, Sept. 21 from noon to 4 p.m., children and adults are invited to take part in the third annual Hometown Science Festival on The Green in the heart of downtown Wellsboro. The festival is free and open to the public and will be held rain or shine.

“Our goal with the festival is always to spark interest and passion for science in our community by sharing important ways we use and rely on science every day, right in our own neighborhoods and backyards,” said Barbara St. John White, one of the event’s founders. “We do this by inviting local people working in science and science education to lead hands-on science activities for children and families.

Participating will be ecologists, botanists, citizen scientists, natural resource managers, professors, teachers and students representing more than 20 different organizations.

Musician and environmental science teacher Van Wagner of Danville, Pa. will give a presentation entitled “Soft Coal, Hard Times…The History of Bituminous Coal Mining in Our Region.” Wagner was a coal miner. He will also give a concert of his original songs about Pennsylvania’s cultural and natural heritage.

Members of the Physics Department at Mansfield University will lead “Marvelous Magnetism”, which will include a demonstration of how audio speakers work and the basics about the subtle and complex interaction between the sun’s plasma atmosphere and its magnetic field called the magnetohydrodynamics of the sun.

USGS Northern Appalachian Laboratory staff members will provide an opportunity to learn about the life history and ecology of freshwater mussels and American eels of the Susquehanna River.

Staff from the Tioga County Conservation District will lead activities in aquatic insect identification and the life cycles of the monarch butterfly.

Playing With Science STEM program after-school staff will launch water pressure rockets, build unsinkable foil boats and create coffee filter parachutes.

Professors and students from the Mansfield University Department of Psychology will share sensory kits so youth can better understand how human sensory processing works and how our sensory systems can be calmed or stimulated.

Members of the Tiadaghton Audubon Society will dissect owl pellets to teach children about owl diets and digestion and lead bird walks around town.

Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources staff will share their knowledge about two invasive insects, the spotted lanternfly, which is native to China, Bangladesh, and Vietnam and poses a severe threat to local crops like fruit trees and grapes, and the emerald ash borer, which is from Asia and responsible for the loss of so many local ash trees.

Professors and students from Lycoming College in Williamsport will bring live hellbender salamanders to the festival and share their knowledge about the biology and ecology of Pennsylvania’s new state amphibian.


Photo by Raquel Rogers
Children built and launched “stomp rockets” to learn about basic principles of physics and aerodynamics at the 2017 Hometown Science Festival. This year, there will be water pressure rockets among the more than 20 hands-on, science-based learning activities offering fun and excitement for children and families.


Photo by Raquel Rogers
A future entomologist? A young girl looks through a magnifying glass to sort and identify aquatic insects found in a stream at the 2017 Hometown Science Festival on The Green in Wellsboro.

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