The 2010 Blossburg Fall Festival sponsored by Blossburg V.I.B.E. was very successful this year. I didn't get any good shots of Keith's hayride.

Jill's husband Shane, my brother Josh, his girlfriend Wendy, and my/Jill's/Shane's office manager Kelly staffed the V.I.B.E. hot dog contest registration table.


Dave & his blond son Tyson


Kelly's triplets - Emily is the one facing the camera, the boys are avoiding me.


Mikki & Kelli painted pumpkins


Hannah painted pumpkins


Dave (one of Shane's workers) & Gordy (one of Shane's relatives) waiting for the hot dog eating contest to start.


Winner's brother


Timothy Jackson (one of Shane's numerous cousins) - note Tommy Mac's face in the background!


Gordy


Skynner


Skynner stopped to take a call.


Jill tallied number of hot dogs each contestant ate.


Winner!! He's actually not related to any of us, he's from out of town! He and his brothers and his mom came to the contest from several counties away.


Brothers & Gordy


First place guy, second place Bryan "Big Sushi" Kinat (another of Shane's relatives), and third place Gordy


Blossburg's Top Dog. He got a trophy, a shirt, a medal, and $50.


Parents of one of my high school classmates eating leftover hot dogs.


I used to co-coach the Battle of the Books club with my friend Robin, an English teacher at the high school.


Sue makes filipino food and people are very intrigued.



We had a country/rock band.

Shane's cousin Michael is the drummer.






My high school classmate Annie's son Jarrod cooked baked potatoes for the Boy Scout troup.


Jarrod & his Boy Scout pals.


My dad trying out pies. Jackie coordinated the pie-baking contest...

That my mom & aunt took second & first prizes (respectively).


Yet another cute kid.


More pix at

More info at

Next V.I.B.E. project that I'll be photographing: Light Up the Holidays contest.

9 minute video about the Pittsburgh protest against the Marcellus shale producers conference Wednesday. The conference featured Karl Rove as the keynote speaker, telling the gas companies that now we'll see an era of "sensible regulation". That's what Rove called the banking regulations before the banks took down the global economy.

The video includes several minutes of Gasland filmmaker Josh Fox. He's saying civil disobedience is going to be necessary to protect our homes, water, cities and forests. One person on a email list I manage called this "inspirational"... I'm sitting at my kitchen table crying because we're so fucked. The PA governorship is now held by Tom Corbett, who raised nearly $1M from oil & gas companies during his campaign. Thanks, Supreme Court, for Citizens United. Fuck you very much. The PA House, which passed severance tax legislation in the last session, is now held by Republicans, who are virulently anti-tax and pro-gas drilling, mostly unconcerned about the environmental and community impacts. The PA Senate was already held by anti-tax Republicans. PA Dept. of Environmental Protection already doesn't have sufficient staff to monitor gas wells and other gas infrastructure. With the US House turning Republican, it's really unlikely the FRAC Act will pass. The FRAC Act would make hydraulic fracturing subject to the Safe Drinking Water Act and give the US EPA authority to regulate fracing, eliminating the "Halliburton Loophole". Oh yeah, and Obama just came out for expansion of natural gas drilling as a concession to the new House majority.

The gas companies evidently think/hope we'll all move so they'll have unfettered access to our lands. Us pesky water-drinkers.

the unending gallery of hurricane lamps... Jill, Kelly & I went out to dinner at the hamilton club saturday night. i got new tires and I need a new muffler. Hot dog contest photos soon!

When I moved into my apartment, it had fleas. I immediately treated China Cat and they all died. However, she's super allergic to the bites and has itched so much that she's got scabs and bald spots two months later. Ew! I know, TMI. Sorry. I think I have a lead on an elizabethan collar for her, so that plus some neosporin might fix it. If not tho, I'm gonna take her to the vet. Anyone have recommendations for a gentle, reasonably priced veterinarian?

Thanks!

In other news, I'm working too much (regular work + this crazy research assistant position I took on for almost no money), have too many school responsibilities, an ethics exam Saturday, but my laundry's done... except for the two sets of sheets, blanket, and quilt that China's puked on this week. *sigh*

Ten things I like about my new apartment
1. I can have a kitchen table AND a couch!
2. Full-size freezers fit frozen pizzas.
3. Temperature control means not being so energy wasteful and preventing heatstroke by having windows open during sub-freezing temperatures. The furnace had a gas leak, but the property management took care of it. They also replaced the hot water heater promptly when it sprung a leak. The water was just warm before but now it gets HOT!
4. I have a full-size tub! Actually, the whole bathroom is full-sized. The bathroom is really cute and I got adorable towels with whales on them.


5. I have two walk-in closets.
6. It's quiet. I knew it would be quiet, but it's quieter than my bedroom at Uncle Dudley's in Pa. There you can hear the highway noise. It took me a bit to get used to.
7. I have a lovely east-facing double window in my kitchen that allows all the prisms to make beautiful rainbows.
8. The downstairs neighbors are Peter & Heidi.

9. My living room is big enough that my bike lives in it as well as the couch.
10. Nisha can come visit again!

Y'all teased me about how boring my natural gas posts/rants were so I stopped writing about it... but I think you might want to monitor this story and submit comments to DEC.

...the Department of Environmental Conservation has proposed a “Strategic Forest Management Plan” for Zoar Valley and the rest of the 770,000 acres of New York State Forests. These forests are patches of wild land scattered across the state, set aside for their unique natural wonders or for simple reforestation.

This plan was sprung upon us with a bare two months until the Oct. 29 deadline on comments. The plan would industrialize these wild preserves with deep-well gas extraction using hydrofracking and horizontal drilling.

Its 5-acre wellheads, massive truck traffic, maze of roads, insatiable demand for fresh water and inevitable pollution of surface waters with salt, heavy metals and radon has no place in our state, let alone in such vulnerable and revered places as Zoar Valley.

The DEC’s plan proposes not only “fracking” in the forests but using forest resources to support fracking elsewhere. The plan would inject the witch’s brew of waste water from other sites into exhausted state forest gas wells and hope that it would not migrate into our drinking water. It would “steal” fresh water from these forests and turn it into polluted fracking waste.

Also see

The Zoar Valley is one of the most spectacular wilderness areas of Western New York. I have hiked and snowshoed the rim trails of the gigantic gorge, looking down from the cliffs at Cattaraugus Creek, 400 feet below. I've navigated a canoe through the current and rapids on one-way trips from west of Springville to Gowanda. So much to do there, and so much to see - spring wildflowers, waterfalls cascading down the cliffs, virgin and secondary-growth forests, herons, hawks and even an occasional bald eagle - this is a sacred place that must be protected.

Recently, I was shocked to learn of a proposal by the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to allow gas drilling in the Zoar Valley State Forest using hydrofracking and horizontal drilling. The controversial fracking process contaminates millions of gallons of fresh water per gas well with toxic chemicals to help release the shale gas, permanently buries most of the water deep underground and has been blamed for contamination of drinking water and human illnesses. We can not let this happen in our beautiful Zoar Valley. Keep in mind too that the Cattaraugus Creek drains into Lake Erie, the source of drinking water in the Buffalo area.

The DEC writes that public comment is encouraged and will be accepted through 4:45 p.m., Friday, October 29, 2010. Please read the articles below, review the information on the DEC website, and submit comments to the DEC by email to State Forest Strategic Plan ( stateforestplan@gw.dec.state.ny.us ). Comments may also be mailed in a letter to Strategic Plan for State Forest Management, NYS DEC, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4255.