(Lenox, NY) Extra Help Program now allows more people with Medicare to pay $2.50 for generics, $6.30 for brand named prescription medications.

If you have limited income and resources, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates that Extra Help can save participating seniors as much as $3,900 per year. To qualify for the full benefit, you must make less than $16,245 a year (or $21,855 for married couples).

If your income is higher you may still qualify for a partial benefit. To learn more visit medicare.gov.

Don’t Lose ‘Extra Help’

Many people with Medicare automatically receive Extra Help (also called the Low-Income Subsidy, LIS) because they have Medicaid, a Medicare Savings Program (MSPs) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

If you are no longer eligible for Medicaid, MSP and/or SSI, you may lose deemed LIS status despite still qualifying for Extra Help.

How do you know this applies to you? If you receive a letter from Social Security (printed on gray paper) you need to take action to avoid losing Extra Help.

If you need help filling out the application to recertify for Extra Help call Madison County Office for the Aging HIICAP 315-697-5700.

Farmers Market Coupons

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Markets has issued coupons redeemable at Oneida, Canastota and Hamilton Farmer’s Markets. If you have not received coupons this year, the Madison County Office for the Aging still has a limited number of coupons available.

To be eligible you must be age 60 or older and affirm that you are low income based on one or more of the following criteria: Eligible for or currently receiving SSI, Food Stamps, Public Assistance, Section 8 HUD Subsidy or have an income of less than $1,670.00 per month if single or $2,247.00 per month if married.

One booklet per married couple.

Coupons are worth $20 in Farmer’s Market products. (Each booklet has five checks of $4 each.)

The coupons are free and can be used to buy fruits and vegetables at any participating Farmers Market. They cannot be used in your regular grocery store. Coupons will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information, call the Madison County Office for the Aging at 697-5700.

Grandparents Day Spaghetti Dinner Planned

A spaghetti dinner will be held in honor of Grandparents’ Day Saturday, Sept. 11 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the City of Oneida Recreation Center, Cedar St, Oneida.

Dinner includes spaghetti with sauce, meatballs, sausage, bread and butter, tossed salad, dessert and beverages.

Bring your grandchild/children and get one child’s meal free.

The cost is $7 for adults, $5.50 for senior citizens and $4 for children 12 and under.

Oneida Kids Club Members will be assisting with meal service.

All proceeds will go towards programs and services provided by the Madison County Office for the Aging, Inc.

Come enjoy a great meal and support a good cause.

For more information call OFA at 697-5700.

(Wampsville, NY) A few weeks ago, I talked about Madison County gaining possession of four portraits of former members of the New York State Bar Association who served the county in some capacity.

Until the 1960s, the four were conspicuously hanging in the Madison County Courthouse. During a renovation of the courthouse in the 1960s, the paintings were removed from public view and memory.

The paintings are the likenesses of Judge Benjamin Franklin Chapman of Clockville and later Oneida, General William J. Hough of Cazenovia, Judge Sylvester Beecher of Lenox and Judge Thomas Barlow of Canastota.

While the county attempts to restore the four portraits for public display, I scoured local archives to understand more about the men whose portraits donned the courthouse walls a half century ago.

Over a series of articles, I will introduce you to each of these men. I started with Benjamin Franklin Chapman and most recently talked about William J. Hough.

This week I will feature Judge Thomas Barlow of Canastota.

Thomas Barlow was born March 14, 1807, in the town of Duanesburgh in Schenectady County. He moved to Canastota in September 1831 to marry his first wife, Cornelia G. Rowe, and later would take a second wife, Charlotte Spriggs, also in Canastota.

Barlow started his first law practice here and would remain in Canastota for the better part of his life.

Barlow studied law with the Hon. Arphaxed Loomis and E.P. Hulburt of Little Falls, Selleck Boughton of Rochester, Aaron Hackley of Herkimer and G.B Judd of Frankport. He received an honorary Master of Arts degree from Hamilton College in 1851.

In July of 1831, he was admitted as an attorney to the Supreme Court, and in July 1834, he was given the degree of Counselor of that court. In January 1835, he was admitted solicitor and counselor of the Court of Chancery.

From February of 1843 until January 1848, Barlow was the First Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Madison County.

He served as a state senator, as well, from 1844-48.

Barlow’s civic work went far beyond the boundaries of Canastota. In 1841, Barlow was made a corresponding member of the New York Historical Society out of New York City. In July 1853, he was elected a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and less than a year later, he was elected a corresponding member of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin as well.

In April of 1854, Barlow was named a corresponding member of the New Orleans Academy of Sciences. Barlow was also elected a like member of the Buffalo Society of National Sciences in 1862.

He enjoyed nature so much that he formed his own exhibit gathering, mounting and displaying birds, small animals and insects. He lectured occasionally to societies and universities about natural history and his passion entomology.

Barlow has an interesting place in Madison County history, as well. After the 1873 fire in Canastota destroyed many local documents, Barlow contributed much of the history from his era and before from his personal records.

The book “History of Chenango & Madison County” from 1880 goes so far as to say the book would not have been as detailed without the information that Barlow gave them.

For more information on anything Madison County history, feel free to contact me at 315-366-2453 or email matthew.urtz@co.madison.ny.us.

Matthew Urtz is Madison County Historian.

Check out our latest headlines www.madisoncountycourier.com

To register call BRiDGES at 697-3947. Registration deadline is Tuesday Sept. 14.

Antique dealers/flea market vendors are wanted. A 10-foot-by-10-foot space is free; indoor space is limited. There is plenty of outdoor space if dealers have their own tents.

Security is provided.

Quality dealers are needed to build this show. Call 315-697-2950 or email gscincny@twcbc.com for more information. This fundraising event is to benefit the non-profit’s mission of preserving wetlands and wildlife for future generations.

On Sept. 11, the fifth annual Walk for Recovery will take place Saturday Sept. 11 at the Great Swamp Conservancy located in Canastota. The whole family will enjoy the walk beginning at 10:30 a.m.

Following the nature walk, all may enjoy food and a wagon ride. No fee, no registration, no reason not to come! We can’t wait to see you there!

Sponsored by BRiDGES Madison County Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, the Walk for Recovery is part of a national initiative known as National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, which is supported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

On Sept. 11 at 1 p.m., the “Swamp Snappers” Camera Club will meet at the Great Swamp Conservancy of Canastota. Workshops, speakers and field trips will be offered, and everyone is welcome, especially beginners.

The purpose is to enjoy nature while learning about photography, to further the understanding of nature through photography and to promote the ethical practice of nature photography. Members share and critique their photographs, and will be displaying their work at the Canastota Public Library in November.

September meeting will be preparing for the Canastota Show. Cheri Sassman will be teaching how to mat and frame photos. Bring photos you would like to show.

For more information, call the GSC 315-697-2950 or email gscincny@centralny.twcbc.com.

(Lenox, NY) It started innocently enough: “Dear Linda, we’ve been told the City Slicker should come out and do a story on the Great Swamp Conservancy, when are you available?”

Uh, SWAMP? Did they write SWAMP? I don’t do swamps. Wet, dark, creepy, full of spiders? Wrong writer, I play farm, not swamp! Curiosity got the best of me: “Why do you want me at this Swamp? Why is it great anyways?”

“Because we’ve got a ton of stuff going on here, and no one knows about it! You like trying new things right? C’mon out, then tell folks so they’ll visit, too, and find out for themselves!”

Huh. OK, but NO SPIDERS, got me? I can take wet, cold, dark, snakes, critters and all the mud ya’ got, but I’m allergic to spiders! Laughing, they promised to keep me safe.

I readied my GPS for another adventure. Turns out it was RIGHT there off the Canastota exit, just past Dick & Bert’s Diner on North Main! There’s a swamp in the middle of Canastota? Who knew?

My GPS was still acquiring satellites. And yes, of COURSE I stopped at the diner – I was going to a swamp people. Can you say ‘last meal?’

Shockingly, it was bright, open, green, diverse and inviting. This is a swamp? What’s going on here? At the cheery visitor’s center I receive a hearty welcome from Mike and Rusty Patane, the visionaries behind the Great Swamp Conservancy or GSC.

There is stuff to look at and do inside and out, and I didn’t need my bug spray, boots or Benadryl! I had no idea where to start, so they gave me the grand tour.

Three hours flew by, and I hadn’t even scratched the surface!

There are so many current achievements and future plans for the swamp, it’s hard not to get excited. There is WAY too much for one column with word limits, so I’ll hit the highlights for now:

Currrent

* A visitor center inviting you to look, touch and ask questions – hello, parents and teachers!

* Scheduled speakers plus educational crafts to do as a family, no matter the weather

* 115-acre trail system for all to enjoy, mountain bikers in season and walkers year-round

* Bobwhite quail program now six years old with 1,500 babies this June alone!

* Swamp Snappers photography club – join in educating others while enjoying nature

* Revolving events calendar specific to each season exploding with dates not to be missed

Future

* An agricultural museum reflecting the contributions of the Canastota muck farmers

* Native American display of authenticated artifacts reflecting origins in Madison County

* 1840 Schoolhouse refurbished into educational complex with period schoolmarm!

* Repurposing the former farm silo into a wetlands observatory – how cool would that be?!

Aren’t you tired of the same old parks and outings with your family? Why not try something different?

Go to the GSC, walk their wide, well-marked trails, bring a cooler for the picnic area, stroll the grounds and gardens lovingly tended by Charlotte McManus, volunteer extraordinaire!

Attend a talk on dragonflies, join in on swamp creature day, learn about seashells, Walk for Recovery, attend the “Fall Migration Antique Show & Kids Konservation Days!”

Visit gscincny@centrqlny.twcbc.com, and LOOK at all the stuff coming up. If you can’t find something to catch your interest, you must be a Grinch. GSC is the only nature center in Madison County, and a hell of a resource for families to enjoy, especially now in tough economic times. What else offers so much for so little?

And guess what else? They want YOU! Your ideas, your creativity, your mental and physical skills! You got brains? They want brains! And STUFF! You got antique-y stuff from olden days? They want it! Especially with family names on it!

And time? You got time? To catalog, research, garden, plan, care for critters, contribute in some way? They’ll take that too! Be a volunteer, be a member, be a visitor, the biggest lesson to be learned at the GSC is to just “be.”

That’s something we all desperately need more of in these stressful times. The Great Swamp awaits YOU!

City Slicker Alert

This just in from the Eatonbrook Sportsmen’s Club: Eatonbrook Road & Gun Club Plans Open House

(West Eaton, NY) The Eatonbrook Rod & Gun club will host a Family Open House Sunday, Sept. 12, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. We will have booths set up for each sporting group at the club: trap shooting, Coon Hunters, 4-H Shooting Club and Bar 20 Cowboy Action Shooting.

There will also be live trap shooting, 4-H 22-caliber target shooting and a complete Cowboy Action Shooting stage going on through out the day.

The club will have hamburgers, hotdogs and soda for sale all day long. We’re proud of our Club and its sportsman’s heritage. We would like our neighbors to know what’s available locally and the fun we’re having.

For more information, contact club President Rich Taber at 315-837-4265.

Linda J. Haley is a nine-to-five working stiff reporting on her love of rural life as she learns about all things country.

Check out our latest headlines www.madisoncountycourier.com

Mya is a great dog, she loves everyone she meets and is especially fond of children making her the perfect match for any kind of home. She is well-mannered and no training is necessary, she is housebroken and walks well on a leash. When Mya was found she had a slight limp that appears to be an old injury, although this being said she is in good health and even enjoys playing fetch. So if you are looking for that perfect match for your family, we’re sure Mya is the girl for you.

Wanderers’ Rest Summer Spectacular adoption special will extend to the end of September. The discounted adoption fee for an adult dog is $50, and a senior dog is just $25.

There is a two-for-one special for felines. The fee for adopting two cats is just $35, and the fee for adopting two kittens is just $45.

And don’t forget our Lucky 13 special. On any Friday the 13th throughout the year, the adoption fee for an adult black cat is just $13.

Wanderers’ Rest Humane Association is Madison County’s only animal shelter. For more information on adopting the animals you see here, or to learn more about all the pets looking for permanent homes, call 315.697.2796 or visit wanderers-rest.com.

The shelter is located on Sutherland Drive off of Route 5 in the town of Lenox, just west of the village of Canastota.

Check out our latest headlines www.madisoncountycourier.com

By Margo Frink

(Canastota, NY) The sixth annual Labor of Love for Erick will be held Sept. 5 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at ZEM’s Ice Cream, Hickory and Main streets in the village.

Ten musical groups have been lined up to perform throughout the day including the Flying Pigs, Against the Grain, Billy Lee Morgan and the Brass Exchange. Two stages will be set up to get groups up and playing without delay.

Between 60 and 70 gift baskets will be raffled off, along with a 32-inch hi-def TV and a quilt. Food will be available to purchase throughout the event, including ZEM’s ice cream. Putt-putt golf is only $1 to play.

Labor of Love is a fund-raising event hosted by the Stevens family and the staff at ZEM’s. When their son, Erick was tragically killed in an automobile accident in June of 2005, Rick and Penny Stevens wanted to do something to honor his memory. Money raised supports programs that Erick loved: music and sports. Since its inception, Labor of Love has raised $23,000 for equipment for the Canastota High School music program. The school also holds a concert each year on Erick’s birthday in April.

A portion of the proceeds also supports scholarships at the school and Canastota AYSO.

“We are very grateful for the support we still get,” said Rick Stevens. “It’s been five years, this is our sixth one and we still get more and more support for the cause.”

Admission is free.

For more information on how to donate, call Rick’s Rags at 697-8510.

Check out our latest headlines www.madisoncountycourier.com

Erick Stevens

There is a two-for-one special for felines. The fee for adopting two cats is just $35, and the fee for adopting two kittens is just $45.

And don’t forget our Lucky 13 special. On any Friday the 13th throughout the year, the adoption fee for an adult black cat is just $13.

Wanderers’ Rest Humane Association is Madison County’s only animal shelter. For more information on adopting the animals you see here, or to learn more about all the pets looking for permanent homes, call 315.697.2796 or visit wanderers-rest.com.

The shelter is located on Sutherland Drive off of Route 5 in the town of Lenox, just west of the village of Canastota.

Pictured: Give a big hello to our gal, Gabby and we’re sure she will have a few barks in greeting for you! Gabby is a 5 year old, female, Collie/Shepard mix that enjoys going for long walks and relaxing around the shelter. This lady was found wandering the streets of Canastota and hitched a ride with one of the local police officers to our shelter, but now she is ready to settle down and find a forever family to love. Although Gabby likes to talk she only does so to get your attention and once she has it will melt your heart with her doggie hugs and kisses. So if you are looking for a beautiful, friendly canine to add to your family, please give Gabby a chance, she is sure to steal your heart.

By Martha E. Conway

(Sullivan, Lenox, NY – Sept. 26, 2010) Partnerships are one of the top priorities for Wanderers’ Rest Humane Association, and thanks to a partnership with Jim “Doc” Marshall of Jim Marshall Farms Foundation, the shelter’s annual walk will return to its home county this month.

“Jim Marshall’s mission is animals helping people,” said WRHA Executive Director Glenn Ivers. “Ours is people helping animals.”

Marshall has a long history of using animals for therapeutic means for those coping with depression and recently has moved toward using his horses to help those with physical disabilities.

The 2010 Canine Classic, formerly known as “Paws Along the Erie,” will be moved this year to Jim Marshall Farms on New Boston Road in the town of Sullivan.

“The Canine Classic is for dog owners, dog lovers and anyone else who wants to walk, with or without a dog, to support Wanderers’ Rest,” Ivers said.

Registration begins at 10:30 a.m., with a Wanderers’ Rest alumni dog parade at 11:30 a.m.

The walk begins at noon.

Ivers said exhibits on health education will be available, and pet vendors, pet photos, pet grooming and dog nail clipping will also be featured.

Games and horse-and-buggy rides will round out the day’s activities, which will be complemented with music and food.

A “Dog’s Best Friend” award will be presented to the following divisions raising the most money:

* Youth (under 18 years old)

* Adult (18 years or older)

* Family Team

* Corporate Team

* Community Team (use your imagination)

Registrants will receive a free t-shirt.

For more information, call 315.697.2796 or visit wanderers-rest.com.

To the Residents and Businesses in the Greater Canastota Area:

It is very apparent that the recent economic conditions have made it that much more difficult to provide for our homes and families. The same is true for the not-for-profit agencies that provide critically needed programs to the people in the greater Canastota area. In addition these agencies are experiencing a reduction in government funding while seeing an unprecedented increase in the number of requests for services from our local residents.

The Board of Directors is committed to keeping contributed dollars in the Canastota community. Here are just a few examples of how your donation can make a difference:

Your donation allows Loaves and Fishes to provide a hot lunch the last full week of every month.

Your donation gives Wanderers Rest the ability to provide a shelter for lost and abandoned animals.

Your donation enables Hospice to provide curative care and comfort care in a patient or family home.

Your donation offers the Canastota Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops the ability to provide leadership experiences for our local youth.

Your donation makes it possible for The Opportunity Shop to fill the shelves in their Food Pantry.

Your donation allows the Madison County Children’s Camp to offer a residential camp program at Camp Lookout to those who otherwise would not be able to participate.

The Board of Directors of the Canastota Community Chest has established a goal for the 2010/2011 campaign of $60,000 to continue our support of our sponsored agencies. Your help is once again needed to achieve this goal.  Your support of this campaign and the vital help that it will provide will be greatly appreciated by the 23 agencies that support the greater Canastota area. Any donor can stipulate a specific agency or agencies to which they wish their dollars to go from the list of sponsored agencies printed on the reverse side of this letter.

This year’s campaign starts Sept. 1 and will conclude on Oct. 31. Mail your tax-deductible contribution payable to Canastota Community Chest, Inc. along with the following form to PO Box 9, Canastota, NY  13032

All donors’ names will be published in the Madison County Courier unless otherwise instructed.

Sponsored Agencies of the Canastota Community Chest, Inc.: American Red Cross, Madison/Oneida Chapter, Boy Scouts of America-Revolutionary Trails Council, Canastota Boy Scouts, Canastota Canal Town Corporation, Canastota Children’s Council, Canastota Recreation Commission, Catholic Charities Oneida/Madison Counties, Celebration Children’s Center of Canastota, Inc., Community Action Program for Madison County, Inc., Girl Scouts-Foothills Council, Inc., Great Swamp Conservancy, Inc., Heritage Farm, Inc., Hospice & Palliative Care, Inc., Jim Marshall Farms Foundation, Inc., Loaves and Fishes Hospitality Center, Madison Cortland ARC, Madison County 4-H Foundation, Inc., Madison County Children’s Camp, Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), Ride for Life Equine and Family Center, Inc., The Opportunity Shop, Victims of Violence and Wanderer’s Rest Humane Association, Inc.

Patrick Milmoe, president

Patty Wells, vice president

Christine Crandall, secretary

Lois Pexton, treasurer

Board members

Janice Gray

Diane Karan

Sandy Nowicki

Mary Rouse

Sherry Smith

Penny Stevens

Ann Hopkins