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Fractured! hits the stage |
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 The cast and crew of season seven's Books Alive! program has been working hard for weeks to bring you a spectacular show on Saturday. The children's theatre project began in 2005 as means for local children to experience literacy in a new way, by bringing stories to life through drama, dance, and music. Seven years later, this program is stronger than ever, with 37 children, ages 8 to 13, participating. Fractured! is a presentation of fairy tales with a twist, performed under the direction of Adrienne and Jim Perine, with an original score by Barbara Ganin. The two shows scheduled for Saturday will be at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., at the John G. Borden Middle School. Tickets will be sold at the door for a suggested donation of $5 per person or $10 for a family of four. Refreshments will be available, as well. We hope to see you there! |
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Cast party to follow Tubman portrayal  Carolyn Evans is back!
The talented actress - who portrayed Sojourner Truth during a library-sponsored show back in 2009 - will be offering another performance Wednesday at 4:30 p.m., this time as Harriet Tubman. Bring your kids and celebrate Women's History Month with what's sure to be an interesting and educational program! Immediately following the show, there will be a cast party for Books Alive! performers! Cast members are invited to toast their success with pizza, salad, and drinks. Carolyn Evans will be there to talk and answer any questions, as well! Both Evans' performance and the cast party will be held in the community room of the Town Hall. |
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Library supporters rally in Albany
 Three busloads of library champions made the trip to Albany Tuesday as part of New York Library Association's Library Advocacy Day.
Wallkill was well-represented, with attendees that included a patron, a Friend of the Library (Shelly Runowich), a staff member (Anne Thompson), and a board member (Ronald Juk, seen above wielding the power of the people).
Library aid funding is below 1994 levels. No other educational institutions are so underfunded. Advocates like those who traveled to Albany are asking that legislators restore library aid to 2010 levels, or at the very least give libraries the same 4 percent increase as the schools. |
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Coming up this week at the library Today: Nintendo Game Club for ages 10 and under meets at 4 p.m.
Tomorrow: Fractured!, season seven's Books Alive! musical, is being performed at 1 p.m. and again at 5 p.m. at John G. Borden Middle School.
Tuesday: Mommy & Me resumes at 10:30 a.m., followed by Book Buddies at 11:30 a.m. Lego Building is being offered at  4 p.m. Local author Hope Ives Mauran will be at the library at 7 p.m. to discuss and sign copies of her book, Be the Second Coming.
Wednesday: Toddler Story Time takes place at 10:30 a.m. Book Buddies follows at 1 p.m. A Flower Pin Workshop will be offered at 3 p.m. Carolyn Evans portrays Harriet Tubman at 4:30 p.m. in the community room of the Town Hall, followed by a cast party for the Books Alive! performers. DS Gaming for ages 10 and up takes place at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday: Ages 5 and up are invited to make a Self-Realization Collage Poster from 4-4:45 p.m. - bring in photos or magazine pictures of things that represent you, your interests, and what you'd like your future to hold, then make a collage out of them!
The Knit/Crochet Club meets at 6:30 p.m.
Friday: Toddler Story Time takes place at 10:30 a.m. The Nintendo Game Club meets at 4 p.m. |
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Historical details make for great read  The Hangman's Daughter is both an engrossing historical novel and intriguing mystery.
It's 1659, the Thirty Years' War has finally ended, and there hasn't been any witchcraft hysteria in decades. But now, a drowned and gruesomely injured boy, tattooed with the mark of a witch, is pulled from a river and the villagers suspect the local midwife. Jakob Kuisl is charged with extracting a confession from her and torturing her until he gets one. Convinced she is innocent, he, his daughter, and her would-be suitor race against the clock to find the true killer. Author Oliver Potzsch, himself the descendant of a line of Bavarian executioners, keeps his readers hooked to the very end of this multifaceted thriller. |
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Website of the week....
 Science Daily is a news website for science buffs that features articles from a huge assortment of fields, from astronomy to biology to nanotechnology and more.
Universities and other research institutions provide the news releases for many of the site's articles, while other stories are written by Science Daily's staff.
Those interested can subscribe to a free daily newsletter, distributed by email, which contains links to all the day's articles, along with a short introduction to each. Scientists and laypeople alike are sure to become fast fans of this site!
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Every vote counts in our community!
 Living in a small rural town, I realize more than ever how my one vote for a candidate or an issue truly matters. Often local races are won by just a handful of votes. Budgets or bond votes succeed or fail based on our participation and the ability to rally support or opposition. Political leaders feel compelled to support initiatives that they know are important to their constituents, and they only know what is important if we tell them.
I witnessed this first-hand on Tuesday when three busloads of 146 library supporters traveled to Albany for Library Advocacy Day. Though we didn't have the numbers that the CSEA had that day, we did have a presence and an audience in the offices of several of our state representatives. The fact that we were there discussing the importance of libraries and talking about the importance of restoring state funding DID have an impact. If we were not there, our voices would not have been heard, and our leaders would probably not feel compelled to advocate for libraries during the budget talks. They need to be reminded of the fact that libraries have not received an increase in state funding since 1998. That's 14 years! Our rally cry on Tuesday was to at least provide libraries with the same 4 percent increase that is being considered for the public schools. That increase would primarily support our library system - the consortium of 46 libraries that we are a part of and that provides all of us with the inter-library loan services (ILL), the online research tools, and the system services, like downloadable books and the online catalog, that we all utilize and, quite frankly, take for granted because they run so well. What if these services were not available here? What if we had to cut ILL because RCLS lost funding? What would our job seekers do if our online career services and testing were suddenly made unavailable because we didn't have the funds to offer them? How would we be able to move forward into our digital future without being able to offer eBooks, online research tools, public access computers and wireless Internet services?
This scenario is not completely unbelievable. Without state funding, these services will not continue. Our political leaders need to hear from you about how important library services are. They need to know how much you care. They need to know that libraries are busier than ever in these rough economic times and our state funding needs to support that. Please take a moment to let them know. Thank you!!
What can I do now to support this effort?
- Call your legislator, either at his or her district office, or in Albany.
- Tell him/her how important your library is to the community.
- Tell him/her that increased funding for libraries is ESSENTIAL and CRITICAL.
- Use this template to write your legislator.
Senator John J. Bonacic's local contact info:
201 Dolson Avenue Suite F
Middletown, NY10940
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