Let’s hope change works

Congratulations to all those elected to municipal offices Nov. 8, and thanks to all who ran. Most who won office will be sworn in by Dec. 1. While all the positions that were filled are important to each town, it is arguable that the most widely significant are those related to the governance of Region One schools.The educational system of Region One represents the highest cost to taxpayers in Northwest Corner towns, but that only reflects the reality of its importance in defining society here. For those with children or grandchildren in the school system, the effects of the quality of area education are immediate and personal. For those area residents whose families are educated outside the region, or at private schools, the quality of education at the area’s public schools is still meaningful to their lives. After all, education greatly affects a person’s values and priorities in life, so those who live together in any region all benefit when its children receive a good education. There are new faces at the town level boards of education, and at the Region One Board of Education. Change can be a source of positive energy, even after a contentious race. This changing of the guard could, then, result in good forward movement for the schools of Region One. All those who ran for the education boards did so, surely, because they believed they could offer new ideas and implement action that would improve Region One schools. It is to be hoped that they were correct, and that they can now work together to make the public schools the best they can be, creating the best environment in which the area’s children can learn.

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Tuning up two passions under one roof

The Webb Family in the workshop. From left: Phyllis, Dale, Ben and Josh Webb, and project manager Hannah Schiffer.

Natalia Zukerman

Magic Fluke Ukulele Shop and True Wheels Bicycle Shop are not only under the same roof in a beautiful solar powered building on Route 7 in Sheffield, but they are also both run by the Webb family, telling a tale of familial passion, innovation and a steadfast commitment to sustainability.

In the late ‘90s, Dale Webb was working in engineering and product design at a corporate job. “I took up instrument manufacturing as a fun challenge,” said Dale. After an exhibit at The National Association of Music Merchants in Anaheim, California, in 1999, The Magic Fluke company was born. “We were casting finger boards and gluing these things together in our basement in New Hartford and it just took off,” Dale explained. “It was really a wild ride, it kind of had a life of its own.”

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Robert Cray’s soulful blues coming to Infinity Hall

Robert Cray

Photo provided

Blues legend Robert Cray will be bringing his stinging, funky guitar and soulful singing to Infinity Hall Norfolk on Friday, March 29.

A five-time Grammy winner, Cray has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and earned The Americana Music Awards Lifetime Achievement for Performance. He has played with blues and rock icons including Albert Collins, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton and many more.

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