Parade Of Boats

On a whim I decided to check out the Parade of Boats held last night. All I had was my small Canon digi-widget camera, no tripod. I pushed my camera to the limit while using a lakeside railing for support. No great shots, certainly nothing to be blown up to an 8x10, but OK for a blog like this.

(Click on each image for larger view.)

Cover Up

A while ago in Speak Out – the Press-Republican’s comment/rant feature – someone made an observation entitled “Steps” about the glob of dumped cement left over after the front entrance to the Public Library had finally been refurbished. (Speak Out: June 28, 2009) It’s been sitting there for untold months in the median strip between the Oak Street curb and the sidewalk.

The Speak Out contributor wondered with the fix-up being done with the streets and sidewalks in the area, maybe the city could finally remove that hideous hunk of concrete marking up the lawn.

So far all that has been done is this:



It looks so much better, eh?

Car Accident: Margaret And Elm

Thursday, around 6:23 PM. I heard some sirens while walking down Miller Street and noticed that something was going on at the intersection of Margaret and Elm streets.



I ended up near some bystanders checking out the scene. Two cars were bashed but it seemed no one was seriously injured. Off the street near the sidewalk there was a baby in a child safety seat, not crying. Next to the child seat a woman was being interviewed by a police officer. I stayed out of the way and didn't get any details about what had happened. (Sometimes the Plattsburgh PD acts as if it's illegal for me to keep back and take a few shots with my camera.)



One bystander said there had been more accidents at that intersection since the city took out the stoplight. He said a few people were used to the stoplight and would forget it was no longer there.

Some time ago the city in its infinite wisdom replaced the stoplight with stop signs only for the Elm Street traffic. During the busy times I had seen how people on Elm Street would get stuck, waiting for an open spot in the Margaret Street traffic. The worse time was in the afternoon when Oak Street School was in session, the school buses and cars with parents picking up their kids.

Also, no stoplight made it a bit trickier for anyone traveling on foot. And without a stoplight people who enjoyed speeding had a straight shot down Margaret Street, especially with the school zone.

The bystander made a comment that the city was trying to save money by taking out the stoplight.

If it's true that more accidents are happening at Margaret and Elm, then the city is losing money every time police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks are sent to the scene.

Time to undo the mistake. Replace the stoplight before someone is killed.

Nature’s Fireworks

All images: Saturday evening, July 4th.

(Click on each image for larger view.)

Go Green

New Art Gallery In Town

When I arrived: 50-60 people, crowded into one room. Good. That made it easier to take photographs.



In the past I’ve attended art events with only five people standing around (yours truly included). Taking shots of a few people wandering about in an empty room isn’t that visually interesting. No dynamics.

(Of course, I could always take the same five people and clone them in a photo-editing program to create a crowd, but then I would have to explain why so many quintuplets showed up wearing the same clothes.)



So what drew the crowd? The opening of the Helen Wilcox Gallery at the Plattsburgh Public Library on Saturday evening. A large room on the second floor of the PPL had been renovated. In the past it was used for events such as book sales, presentations, and music performances. The walls were adapted to display many works by local artists, a new function for the room. An adjacent room had also been renovated to display quilts.



Carol Hochreiter, President of the Friends of the Library, said that there would be four exhibitions per year on a three-month basis. The next one is scheduled in September featuring the works of Gharan Burton and Kim Leclair, followed by a exhibit by Bill Amandon in January, 2010.

More for information email friendsoflib12901@yahoo.com.

Jungle Devours Miller Street Sidewalk

Visual Pun: Blues CD

Visual Pun: Lighting

Invasion