A VERY GREEN Valentine Craft Workshop

Cornell Cooperative Extension holds some GREAT workshops, and now just in time for the coming Valentine's Day they are offering up another one...imagine making your loved one a beautiful Valentine's Woodland Terrarium! A great gift for mom, and the price of the workshop includes your materials.

Thinking About Opening Up a New Business?

A great chance to live your dream of owning your own business...then check out the Small Business Grants available here in Sullivan County. Want too know more, then make sure to attend two informational meetings on Thursday, January 12 at 6:00 p.m. in the County Government Center in Monticello and on Wednesday, January 18, 2012, at 6:00 p.m. in the Callicoon Town Hall.

SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS

For ‘Main Street’ and ‘Agri-Business’ Enterprises in Sullivan

MONTICELLO – A new Sullivan County grant program will provide funds for small businesses that are connected to agriculture or are located in downtown areas of villages or hamlets. The deadline to apply is Friday, February 3.

The Microenterprise Assistance Program (MAP) is made possible with an $185,000 grant from the NYS Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. It is being administered by the Sullivan County Division of Planning and Environmental Management.

“The program will provide grants between $5,000 and $35,000 for business start-ups or existing enterprises with five or fewer employees. It targets two types of small businesses: ‘Main Street’ goods and services located within downtown areas of village or hamlet business districts, and ‘Agri-Business’ enterprises are farms, agriculture-support businesses, and businesses that process local farm-based products,” said County Manager David Fanslau.

Additional funding is available through the county’s Main Street Revolving Loan Fund and Agri-Business Revolving Loan Fund. “The goal is to help bridge the gap for small businesses looking to get started and to take advantage of other funding and support programs that are available,” said Planning Commissioner Luiz Aragon.

The MAP is a collaboration among the Division of Planning, the Sullivan County Center for Workforce Development, Sullivan Renaissance, Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce and Liberty Community Development Corporation.

Conditions of the grant include requiring participating businesses to contribute at least 10% of the cost of the project. Also, businesses must create at least one new job that can be offered to or made available to persons from low or moderate-income households. New positions created must start by September 2013.

To receive the grant businesses must also participate in an Entrepreneurial Training Program. Chamber President and CEO Terri Ward said, “The partners have worked hard to assemble a roster of trainers and presentations meant to benefit small businesses in every stage of their development. The classes explore topics from developing a business plan to marketing your product, financing your plans, and finding, hiring and managing employees.”

The deadline for grant applications is Friday, February 3, 2012. Sullivan County Planning will hold public information sessions about the program on Thursday, January 12 at 6:00 p.m. in the County Government Center in Monticello and on Wednesday, January 18, 2012, at 6:00 p.m. in the Callicoon Town Hall.

For more information or to request an application, contact the Sullivan County Division of Planning at 845-807-0541 or planning@co.sullivan.ny.us.

Thursday Night Check In

Greetings sports fans...do apologize for the lack of a Thursday "News on the Run" post today, and apologize in advance for tomorrow, but dealing with issues surrounding a medical procedure I have to go through tomorrow morning, so between today, and the procedure tomorrow, guessing it will be Saturday before I am feeling my usual chipper self.

The temperatures are back up today, and it is almost nice out...stepped outside just a bit ago for some fresh air after being cooped up all day. After the frigid temps of the past couple of days, it seems almost balmy out. Other than some clouds, the weather looks good through Monday.

The news media seems intent on bashing us into a stupor with their nonstop coverage of every little nuisance from the upcoming New Hampshire primary....lastest breaking news is that the Boston Globe has endorsed Huntsman in the New Hampshire primary...talk about a slap in the face to Mitt Romney. My question...did they do it to help drag out the Republican Primaries, keep Mitt from being the "Chosen One" until later in the day. The any one but Mitt train continues rolling down the tracks.

Please Bring Your Own Bags When Shopping

Go to any store, any day of the week and start counting how many bags, both plastic and paper, are being used to put our purchases in...those bags use a lot of very valuable natural resources. Fourteen MILLION trees a year are harvested just too supply Americans with the over 10 Billion paper bags we use each and every year. Plastic bags in this day of four dollar a gallon gasoline consume some 12 million barrels of oil in the making of the 380 Billion plastic bags we use (just here in America) each and every year. These starling figures do not include natural resources consumed in the production, warehousing and transportation of these single use bags. At at time when the world's natural resources are being out paced by our ravenous human consumption rate, we simply cannot afford this frivolous use of our world's natural resources.

Sadly, the strain on our natural resources in the name of single use bags is only the beginning of the story. Of the 380 Billion plastic bags we use each year, only about 100 Billion end up being recycled...some of the rest end up in landfills for hundreds of years, the ones that do deteriorate leaving behind a toxic legacy, while others end up in our environment where they kill birds, land and marine animals. It is estimated that plastic pollution kills one million birds each and every year. Add to this all the toxins being pumped into our air and water during the various production stages for these single use bags, and it is a source of pollution we can do without.

Please, for your children, end the use of single use bags by bringing your own. It is an easy step we can all take to make this world a better place for all of its inhabitants.

Re-Usable Shopping Bag Sources

ReUse It
One Bag at a Time
Eco Bags

Hump Day "News on the Run" amd Other Tidbits

Went out to get tires on my car today and they were not in, so camera in the car decided to go for a little drive, take in some of the derelict beauty that abounds in and around Sullivan County, old abandoned homes and bungalow colonies around what seems to be every turn, each reminding one of the hey days of times long ago past. It was a good drive, and will be sharing some of the pictures I took over on "Midnight in Mountaindale", so hope you will pop over and have a look.

Received a fabulous response to the critique of the Keurig K Cup machine from Evadne over at "Hospitality Green" which included a link to a great You Tube video on one use plastic bags...will share that later today as well in an article on the subject.

Wednesday "News on the Run"

Well, the big news is the Iowa Caucus from yesterday, the networks trying to whip all of us into a frenzy, the Republican Party trying to get their constituents to coalesces around the winner, one Mitt Romney who won by (drum roll please) EIGHT WHOLE VOTES...OMG, it's almost a landslide. Lets be honest here...if Ron Paul had not been in the race, Santorum would have shellacked Mitt last night. The truly GREAT NEWS in the aftermath of last night's caucus...Rabid Tea Party darling and Republican Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann is standing down, ending her quest for the White House. That singular piece of great news almost makes it worth having to tolerate the Iowa caucus for the past few months...ALMOST.

Locally, a Corrections Bus with 16 passengers on board has overturned on Interstate 87 North just past the 14A exit, shutting down all traffic. Injuries are reported. Suddenly thinking some of these prisoners are going to be needing attorneys for their civil cases.

WHOOPS....seems that the 2012 Olympic Games are off to a BAD START...seems that some 3000 tickets for Synchronized Swimming have been sold that do not exist...those with non-existent tickets are being offered a chance to exchange them for other (more valuable) tickets, but this is still a BLACK EYE for London and the Olympic Games. Sure, a lot of people will be happy to get tickets to events that are in much higher demand, but some of those 3000 fans are probably serious followers of Synchronized Swimming.

In a political "Who Cares" moment, in trending news McCain is going to endorse Mitt Romney. As the Church Lady would say, "Well isn't that SPECIAL".

A question for CNN...why do you have a malicious link know to corrupt our computers as a sponsored link on your webpage?

OVERSTOCK iPad2: $37.97 TODAY ONLY: 64GB Apple iPad for $37.97. Limit One Per Household. The Link:

http://affiliate.gmtracker.com/rd/r.php?sid=657&pub=300016&c1=dealfun6&c2=CNN.com+-+News+Section&c3=

Hope everyone has a great day, and if you are going outside, do DRESS WARMLY, as it is frigid out there.

As Promised...Tuesday "News on the Run"

Cannot believe it is just after seven in the evening, and I am just getting time to come back here and put up the Tuesday "News on the Run". It has been a hectic and busy day, but one that could be very rewarding as this new year unfolds. To early to say anything further on it, but there are good things out on the horizon.

In local news, it is COLD AS HELL outside today...I mean bone chilly, numb fingers COLD outside. Which might explain why the town of Fallsburg had a crew out by 21 Main Street replacing a part of the water supply line today. Should have taken them out a pot of hot coffee, as those guys work really hard on behalf of all the citizens in the Geographical foot print of Fallsburg, our hamlet a part thereof.

In national news, it is ALL ABOUT IOWA...give us a break please. It is a close race right now with Santorum in the lead, Mitt in second, and Ron Paul in third. All this for a winner that is going to end up with MAYBE 25,000 votes. Again I have to ask...has the time come to push Iowa and their caucus to the back burner of national politics right along with New Hampshire?

Will see everyone in the AM....been a very long day, and I really could care less who wins in Iowa.

"News on The Run" Later in Day

Greetings sports fans...a couple of meetings combined with a FLAT TIRE on my little car have me running around like a headless chicken here this morning. Heading out now to get the tire fixed, then have a 12:30 lunch meeting so look for our Tuesday "News on the Run" installment later on in the day.

One quick news note...The Iowa Caucuses are tonight, which means having to hear about everything Iowa is almost at an end! YEA! This is your ace reporter signing out for now from downtown Mountaindale NY.

Good News...We Have a New Domain

Greetings Readers...

Effective Immediately, you can now also reach us using www.mountaindalenynews.com which will instantly bring you right to our Mountaindale After Dark blog. We are very proud to bring you Mountaindale NY News, and finding the domain name of MountaindaleNYNews is a god send for us as we strive to brand our blog as the number one source for Mountaindale NY News and Events.

If you have Mountaindale NY News, please email our editor at marcwoodsocialimaging@gmail.com or give us a call at (845) 693-4513 Mountaindale After Dark is home of "News on the Run" bringing you all the breaking MountaindaleNYNews and Events.

You Are Invited

Greetings Mountaindale Folk:

Found myself needing a way to express and share some of my creativity now that my "Second Time Around Gallery" has been put on hold indefinitely as I look for an alternative space in which to house said gallery and coffee shoppe. So, have created "Midnight in Mountaindale" where I will be sharing my more creative writing, photographs, drawings and anything else that seems fitting for such a space...just getting started, but hope you will have a look.

Keurig K Cup...The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

First, have to admit that I did not buy my Keurig K Cup machine, but instead received it as a Christmas gift...thanks Santa. I have always owned a Mr. Coffee, so sort of feel like I am cheating using any other brand of coffee maker at the age of 55, and since Mr. Coffee does have a one cup machine out, I would probably have gotten that if I had been shopping for myself. That said, lets get to the good, the bad and the ugly where my new Keurig K Cup machine is concerned.

The Good

The machine is pretty sweet, very easy to use, and convenient...oh, did I mention attractive? It also makes a pretty good cup of coffee...not a GREAT CUP OF COFFEE, but a pretty good cup of coffee. When you come in from say shoveling snow and want a quick hot cup of Joe, Keurig is there and READY TO BREW.

The Bad

Their system makes a very small cup of coffee. Seriously, if I want to use the Keurig to make my morning cup of coffee, it requires the use of two single serves to make one decent sized cup of coffee...since I usually have two of my cups of coffee each morning, that is four single serves that have to be loaded up and brewed, two per cup. Also think Keurig is screwing the consumer selling the filter as a separate item...give us a break, at what these machines cost, you could give us a filter for use with our own coffees as a part of the deal.

The Ugly

First, the machine leaks...not sure where, but if I leave water in my water tank, by the next morning I have to take a kitchen towel and do a little bit of wipe up around and under the machine.

Secondly (and this goes for EVERYONE selling single serves) we the consumers are seriously being RIPPED OFF. I know most people are not paying attention, but when I went shopping for coffee today to use in my machine, I paid attention to the price...seems the average price comes out to around 60 cents a cup give or take a few cents...this sounds reasonable only if you compare said price to stopping in at Starbucks. However, if you do a bit of math, you realize that Keurig, Green Mountain and everyone else is laughing ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK as we are paying between $26-$33 PER POUND for these single serve brew cups.

Lastly, these new Single Serves are the next plastic bottle problem that will end up taking hundreds of years to decompose in our land fills. The machines may be great for brewing a cup of coffee, but those little plastic cups are bad for the environment.

The long and the short of it...the Keurig is a great little machine for brewing a cup of coffee, but really only affordable if you invest in the filter that allows you to use your own coffee. As a big coffee drinker, I could easily use six of these single serves a day at a cost of 60 cents each. do the math, and it amounts to a drink at home coffee habit of well over 1000 dollars a year. Catching coffee on sale at $5.00 a pound, that is 200 pounds of coffee a year, and trust me, I do not drink that much coffee. Even going top drawer, I would be hard pressed to spend that much money a year, and to be honest, if I did I would be drinking a GREAT CUP OF COFFEE instead of just a pretty good cup of coffee.

My suggestion...if you are a big coffee drinker, don't waste your money unless you want to have it around as a convenience for that occasional quick cup of coffee for you or a guest. By the way, pardon the plug in my photograph, but I JUST LOVE the Coffee Mate Gourmet Creamers.

Putting Iowa Caucus in Perspective

Will be so glad when Tuesday January 3rd has passed, and we can stop hearing about the importance of the Iowa Caucus...though we will still have to tolerate pundits talking about who comes out of Iowa with the BIG MO.

Lets use numbers to put the Iowa Caucus and the Big Mo in perspective. There are only 3 million people in the entire state of Iowa, or about one percent of America's population base. Of those, the pundits are guessing 125-150,000 will actually participate (vote) in the Iowa Caucus. Pick a candidate, any candidate, and give them 50 percent of this vote. OMG, we should let Iowa dictate who has the BIG MO, who is the odds on favorite to win the presidential nod because they have the support of say 67-75,000 voters in the outback of Iowa?

This whole thing is stupid...New York City has how many registered voters. Pick another state, say Florida, or Pennsylvania, even California...any of those states pick a winner, and perhaps we should stand up and take notice, but Iowa...IT IS A JOKE. Huntsman says Iowa grows corn, and if we are honest, New Hampshire has a catchy slogan, but other than that, giving any serious credence to either states choice to be the Republican Standard Bearer is a joke, and if they are honest, all the major networks know this.

Brisk Morning Outside...Monday "News on the Run"

Thought I would get a early start on my day here, keep to my New Year's resolution, so bundle myself up and walked down to the post office...which is closed for the New Year's holiday...should have figured that since the Rose Bowl Parade is being held this morning, rather than on the 1st day of the year as is normal...looking forward to seeing the Occupy Movement float that will appear at the very end of said parade. Let me tell you, it is almost bone chilling nippy outside. The frigid temperatures of winter are here, my fingers numb from my walk....good news is I walked about two miles, and took a couple of good pictures.

News on the Run

Inflation to hit Powerball in a big way...the one dollar chance at wealth and fame is about to cost you twice as much. Powerball has announced plans to DOUBLE the price of a ticket to $2 beginning on January 15. Bad enough that the lottery preys on the hopes and dreams of our poorest citizens hoping to get lucky, but now the government wants to steal twice as much from them.

In good news for Equal Rights, same sex marriages/unions are slowly making inroads to becoming the norm in America. The GLBT community only needs one more state to recognize same sex marriages/unions to see twenty five percent of states joining the 21st Century, and granting all couples equal rights under the law. Marriage licenses are given to same-sex couples in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and the District of Columbia.

Like father, like son...Mitt Romney is refusing to release his tax returns, and one does have to wonder, "What does he have to hide?" Oddly, when his father unsuccessfully sought the Republican Presidential nod in 1968, he too refused to release his tax returns. Guess history really does repeat itself.

In STUPID NEWS, a man tried to buy a microwave and vacuum with a One Million Dollar bill. I mean seriously folks...he has been charged with two felonies, but think anyone trying to pass off a non-existent bill that large, and expect change back has some serious mental issues...he needs counseling, not prison.

Rose Bowl Parade prepares for Occupy Movement Protest...personally, would love to see the Occupy Movement hold a major protest today on National Television in front of a viewing audience numbering into the millions. Maybe such a action would wake up a few more people.

There is today's "News on the Run"...going to get myself showered here, and head out to run some errands. Think I will take my camera with me and hope for a few more good shoots.

Happy 2012 Everyone, and "News on the Run"

Give Iran Credit...This site looks safer than Entergy's Indian Point.

Welcome to the first day of a brand New Year...let all of us around the world pray that this year is a far better one than 2011 was. The weather here in Mountaindale is still unseasonably warm, and we so far have dodged the winter snows we are so used to seeing by now. Don't want to say it, but if we continue on in this fashion, though I would welcome the mild winter, one has to let one's thought wonder to Global Warming and Climate Change. Perhaps it is time we as a world society embrace the concept (as relates to consumption of goods) that less is more. As relates to FRACKING, perhaps we have to accept that we cannot afford a alternative energy source that creates far more methane than other fuel sources while at the same time contaminating our fresh drinking water supplies.

Getting abundant natural gas through hydraulic fracturing contributes to global warming as much as coal, if not more, according to a study quoted by political news website TheHill.com.

New Year's Day "News on the Run"

Guess the first big news story is the fact that this is the first "News on the Run" segment of 2012. We thank all of our loyal readers, who in the first two months have pushed our readership up over 1000 unique visitors a month. We look forward to providing you a lot of great content this year, and in years to come.

The Iowa Caucuses...OMG, can we please get it all over with. It really is time for all involved to admit that Iowa and New Hampshire are two little tiny states that do not deserve the amount of attention they get from politicians and the National Press every four years. If these two states represented lets say 4 percent of America's population, maybe an argument could be made for them going first, but the two states combined represent less than two percent of America's population...New York city alone almost has almost twice the number of citizens as the two states combined...yet, we get FEW VISITS from Presidential Candidates here in our state. As to picking a winner in this Ugly Duckling contest...the state loves tossing down surprises, so going to go Santorum, Mitt and then Ron Paul...big surprise might be that Newt does not even garner 4th place.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blinked, and backed down on his threat to block the Hormus Straight is again saber rattling, this time using Iran's Cental Bank.

“The central bank is the backbone of dealing with the enemies’ pressure and it must with strength and self-confidence have the solidity to eliminate all of the enemies’ plots,” he told the bank’s governing board, according to a statement on the presidency website.

Perhaps 2012 is already shaping up as the year "The Middle East Burns". Start looking at the map, and most of the Middle Eastern nations are in political shambles, governments already toppled, or in fear of being toppled. In Bahrain, police used brute force against anti-government protesters after a teen's politically charged funeral.

"MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) -- Riot police in Bahrain fired tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades as they clashed Sunday with hundreds of opposition supporters..."

Meanwhile, over in Syria the supposed impartial Middle Eastern Observers there seem to be playing the part of the three monkeys who hear, see and speak no evil again the Syrian President and his troops who are ruthlessly attacking and killing innocent citizens.

An Arab League advisory body has called for the immediate withdrawal of the organisation's monitoring mission in Syria, saying it is allowing Damascus to cover up violence and abuses.

In yet more disturbing news from Iran...seems they have produced their first ENRICHED Uranium Fuel Rod. If they can make a fuel rod, they can created highly enriched (bomb grade) materials for us in a NUCLEAR BOMB. Holy Shit batman! Our own Gaseous Diffusion plants in Portsmouth, Ohio and Padukah, Kentucky allowed America to be a leader in both the nuclear arms race, and in the Nuclear Energy Industry...Iran having the capability to make fuel rods is a disturbing bit of news heading into 2012. Couple this with their overtures to Iraq, and this is a situation the whole world should be paying close attention to.

In shades of 2011 all over again, a 7.0 Earthquake hit Japan shaking buildings, and given every one a scare to state the new year off with.

TOKYO – A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck under the sea south of Japan on Sunday, shaking buildings in the capital but causing no apparent damage or tsunami.

Speaking of Earthquakes, seems Fracking is causing more earthquakes, this time in Ohio. Do hope that New York DEC is paying attention...just imagine Fracking causing an earthquake along the the Fault Line that Indian Point's nuclear reactors sit atop of...WAKE UP FOLKS!

McDONALD, Ohio (AP) — Officials said Saturday they believe the latest earthquake activity in northeast Ohio is related to the injection of wastewater into the ground near a fault line, creating enough pressure to cause seismic activity.

It is beautiful here in Mountaindale today, and hope everyone has a great start to this new year.

Happy 2012 everyone!

Mountaindale Luminary Attacked Over Night

Last night as I rolled back into town, it was nice to see the remnants of the "Luminary Exhibit" lighting up our small quaint Main Street. It was very disappointing this morning to look out the window of my apartment living room and see that vandals had attacked the exhibit at some point after midnight. Several (maybe two dozen) of the luminary containers look as if they were kicked over, or in some cases tossed over into the yard of the abandoned school.