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As COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, continues to spread rapidly around the world and throughout the United States, concern for member health and safety are foremost in our minds.... keep reading

Design Processes, Recruiting Employees, Snow and Ice Lawsuits, Plant and Project Warranties and more... keep reading

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DeForest residents will now need a sticker for entry into the villages yard waste collection site, located at 610 N. Stevenson Street. The village board approved the decision at its March 17 meeting.

Its a decision that will better regulate the site to village residents only.

The sticker, which will need to be renewed every three years, can be placed in the corner of the vehicles windshield. Stickers are available for single-family residences, duplexes and up to a four-plex. Theres a maximum of two stickers per single household.

Residents can apply for stickers at Village Hall or on its website, then a sticker can be mailed to the household or available for pickup at Village Hall. With the current health concerns, the village is advising residents to conduct business via the website, if available to do so.

With the boards approval, it will now be illegal to use the yard waste site without a sticker. However, Public Works Project Coordinator Greg Hall noted in a memo that as the year gets started, the village will be lenient in the first few months as residents learn that a sticker will be needed for the site. Hall said that the village will also notify its residents on social media and through email.

Hall said that the sticker will reduce the costs associated with non-resident dumping and alleviate the pressure of enforcing it. Any person violating the restriction in the future will be subject to forfeiture and not be allowed to use the waste site.

The yard waste site will open April 1, as the village does not have current health concerns about doing so. It was noted that people dont usually come in large groups and dont generally touch a lot of village equipment.

The operating hours are 5-7 p.m. from Monday through Thursday, with additional 8-10 a.m. hours on Tuesday. The site is also open Saturdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., and is closed Fridays and Sundays. The schedule is subject to change.

Accepted items are brush, branches, sticks, twigs, grass clippings, sod, dirt, leaves, garden waste, flowers, pine cones and pine needles. Residents are asked to separate grass clippings and leaves from other brush for placement at the site. No garbage is allowed. Firewood, by paid permit, and wood chips are available to residents.

Also at the meeting, the board passed a resolution to vacate and discontinue a portion of Bear Tree Parkway, Williamsburg Way and a portion of Pederson Crossig Boulevard. It was part of the Hooper development project and the resolution vacates those roads so new roads can be platted in replacement. A public hearing is scheduled during the May 5 board meeting.

Board approves to road repairs, grant process for Yankee Conservancy Basin

At the March 17 meeting, the village board approved the bid from Scott Construction, Inc. a company based in the Wisconsin Dells area to seal chips and fill cracks on several of the roads. The total bid was for $165,653.50. Chip sealing would cost $105,066.50 and the crack filing would cost ($60,587).

It is part of the regular street maintenance to prevent water intrusion and prolong the life of the asphalt. A road can typically be chip-sealed two times during the asphalts life span.

The areas identified for chip sealing include Yorktown Road (from Vinburn to Rumley); Shooting Star; Rumley Run; Star Gazer (from Rumley to the transition); Apple Blossom; Linde Street; Valeria Drive; Sunset Drive; Campbells Street; Clover Lane; Constitution Lane (Yorktown Road to transition); Eaglewatch Drive; Eagle Nest Lane; and Overlook Terrace.

The areas identified for crack filling include: Yorktown Road (Vinburn to Rumley); Valeria Drive; Campbell Hill Court; Regal Court; Natchez Court; Schuykill Court; Cumberland Court; Lincoln Green Court; Lincoln Green Road; Little Potato Way; North Towne Road; Liberty Drive; Shooting Star; Apple Blossom; Rumley Run; Star Gazer; Williamsburg Way; and Linde Street with large cracks on clover Lane; Overlook Terrace; Eaglewatch Drive and trails Southbound Drive to Mack Lane, the south side of Innovation Drive and a few spots on Upper Yahara River Trail.

The board also approved the submission of a state grant regarding the Municipal Flood Control Grant Project for the Yankee Conservancy detention basin.

The proposed project would cost an estimated $1.5 million with Dane County willing to commit $500,000 to the project with $500,000 matching funds through the Urban Water Quality grant program. Additional funding may be available through Yahara WINS. The village board indicated it would fund up to $250,000 with an additional $220,000 needing to be secured.

Director of Public Services Kelli Bialkowski said, We need to find $220,000 or modify the project. She went on to say that just submitting for the grant is not committing (the village) to (the project).

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Sticker needed for use of yard waste collection site - HNGnews.com

How many times in your life have you said, "If only I had time for ... " Perhaps you regret many things you couldnt do the carpentry project or the book you intended to write or the gardening because of your job and duties and social commitments?

I have often said aloud: "If I could just stop time ... " Well, some of you may be feeling time has practically stopped, and this is the year you do have time for gardening.

These suggestions are especially for people who havent done much gardening or yard work before new homeowners or renters who are just learning to take care of a yard.

Its also for people who might have hired others to do the work during a busy time of life, but things have changed now its DIY time.

Some folks may be pinch-hitting, indoors and out, for someone in health care or doing other essential services. Whoever you are, there are some things everybody with a yard ought to know:

First two hints for your and the yards health:

Do not walk on wet lawn or soil. Your feet or equipment harm turf grass and other plant roots, and make the soil compacted so plants cannot thrive. When the soil is crumbly in your hand and you cant make a mud cake, then its time to get out of there.

Do prepare for a workout. This is no time for weekend warriors to be seeking physical therapy. Warm up your muscles before you do garden work. Stretch. Its easy to underestimate what gardening is really like: It looks so pretty.

Actually yard and garden work can be more strenuous than a gym workout, even if you could join your favorite exercise class.

What the yard wants

1. Pick up sticks: Pile them somewhere on your property. Even if you are not allowed to build a compost pile using food waste, you can make a pile of branches, twigs, leaves and cut grass. Eventually the pile of organic matter will decompose and form a fine soil amendment.

2. Do the weeding: Stroll your property and try to identify the weeds. Show pictures to other gardeners online, or do research to figure out whats a weed or a perennial ground cover or desirable plant. In case of an unknown plant, a good trick is to put it in a pot to grow until it reveals itself.

Once you are clear which are weeds, dig or pull them up. If they have deep roots (dandelions) dig straight down and dont leave pieces behind or they will regrow. No chemicals needed. Its another workout.

3. Fix weak lawn patches: If you see a thinning or bald patch of lawn, the DIY method would be to scratch up the area with a rake, add some good compost or garden soil (up to one-half-inch thick), and spread some grass seed that is suitable for the site. Dont hesitate to call a lawn care professional with questions about seeding, sod or soil.

Also consider: If your lawn is more than you need, or there are areas where its never pleasing, replace it with native flowering plants or ground covers that will delight many birds and beneficial insects.

4. Do corrective pruning: Pruning is one of the earliest spring tasks if you do it correctly.

If you are new to this, do not attack a poor shrub with your hedge clippers or electric saw to make it shorter. Shearing or topping most plants (haircut style) is simply bad pruning.

Instead, first look at your landscape shrubs and small trees for broken or dead branches. Remove them using hand pruners, loppers or a small pruning saw. Always make the cuts just above (outside) another branch or a node where a new branch can grow. Choose a branch or node that points outward, where you would like a branch to be.

If you see an odd, disproportionate shoot or branch, also cut if off. But dont get carried away with pruning. Get a good book or online instructions from International Society of Arboriculture, Davey Tree, or other arboriculture sources. For large trees, contact an arborist.

What flower beds want

In addition to picking up sticks and weeding (once the soil has dried), early spring is the time for first steps:

1. Cut back dead perennial debris: It is better to stay out of a perennial garden or a mixed border if you dont know whats in there, as you can damage the crowns of many plants that show up much later in spring.

But if you see stems and leaves from last season, cut or rake them out. Be gentle around emerging plants. Hellebores the first perennials to flower are probably blooming already, so do cut away any of the old, raggedy leaves from last season.

2. Dont uncover most perennials: Generally it is too soon to remove the mulch thats protecting most plants. Leave them covered, since wide temperature fluctuations can be expected. Plants prefer to wake up gradually.

3. Help the flowering bulbs: If you see patches of crocuses or daffodils trying to poke through the mulch or ground covers, pull back whatever is smothering them. They can handle the cold and deserve to have their moments in the sun, literally.

If you have tulips, consider protecting them with chicken wire or netting, if deer or rabbits are likely to visit. Repellent sprays may work, too.

Time to do these things is a gift, even if it may be for reasons we would not have chosen. For those who are new to landscape and garden care, this could be your time to take charge of your own place. Enjoy the process.

Sally Cunningham is a garden writer, lecturer and consultant. She and Jim Charlier are the authors of Buffalo-Style Gardens: Create a Quirky, One-of-a-Kind Private Garden with Eye-Catching Designs (St. Lynns Press, $24.95).

Take a look at another recent column fromSally Cunningham:

Relieve stress in your garden, as pressures from pandemic increase

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The gift of time in the garden, given the pandemic - Buffalo News

Even an introvert like moi was getting stir-crazy at home, where my husband, Lee, and I are taking the coronavirus pandemic seriously. People who can choose to follow the CDCs preventative guidelines and dont are invasive weeds in our national garden.

My Church of Dirt and Flowers has always been a place of peace for me. So when the temperature recently reached 40 degrees, I realized I could stay healthy and safe working outside in a patch of dirt Id nearly forgotten. Time to carpe the diem. Carrying a spade, weed bucket and hand trowel, I marched out to face the Garden of Dread, a curbside swath on the east side of our backyard past the gate, with a flowering quince at one end and a bed of wild roses at the other. In the unkempt area between them, tall knots of quackgrass were trying to smother the struggling hollyhocks and irises.

I love taking care of the flower garden in our front yard, and I watch for shagginess in the narrow beds of sweet peas, honeysuckle, hollyhocks and roses that grow along our fence lines. But its easy to ignore the Garden of Dread lurking behind a small thicket of lilac trees. Those lilacs became our toddler granddaughters secret hideout during the year that Lee and I took care of her.

Sammy found magic among the lilacs low-growing limbs. Many mornings I stood guard while she scrambled over the branches and explored their cozy shelters. Our fairy child, I thought, with her red-gold hair and polka-dot boots. We turned a tangle of leafy branches into the hideouts front door, which Sammy and I decorated, using imaginary paint and twigs as our brushes. She frowned when I suggested red for the door, with happy yellow trim. Everything pink, she said in a voice as stern as a 2-year-old charmers can be.

We needed the Garden of Dread then, because its quackgrass and roses formed a scratchy, thorny boundary between Sammys hideout and the street. From her first trip to the lilac grove, her grandpa and I taught her never to go farther than the edge of the tall grass. Our weekdays with Sammy ended when she started preschool, but we left the garden untouched for another year. It became even more dreadful as the roots of the quackgrass grew deeper and more defiant. Soon it had become a jungle for Benjamin BadKitten, the tiger king of B Street, useful as camouflage when BBK flattened himself into a rotund pancake to spy on sinister-looking cats or dogs.

Last week I made a good start on taking down Bens espionage headquarters, digging down to those long root ends with as much torque as my brittle knees permitted. After every few shovelfuls, I knelt, used the trowel to bang off loose sod and then carefully threaded out the roots by hand. After four hours, during which every muscle below my waist moaned in protest, I had cleared a fine patch. Ill have another go at the rest of the roots soon, to help me remember that the Garden of Dread is only a season in natures cycle of renewal and hope.

Sydney Craft Rozen recently discovered that, of more than 7,500 tomato varieties in the world, five out of the nine plant varieties she wanted to grow were already sold out. This is why she never buys lottery tickets. Email her at scraftroze@aol.com

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Feeling healthy and safe outside in the Garden of Dread - Moscow-Pullman Daily News

What if I were to tell you that the ancient royal capital of Connacht still exists today, with many of its ceremonial and ritualistic buildings still visible?

Rathcroghan in Co Roscommon is one of the most important prehistoric and early medieval landscapes in all of Ireland, according to Daniel Curley, manager of the visitors centre in the local village of Tulsk. Most archaeologists would agree that the 240 ancient monuments in the area make up an archaeological landscape on a par with Newgrange or Tara.

Yet Rathcroghan is barely known to most of us. Why?

While ground-breaking research and excavation were being conducted on the great sites of Co Meath from the 1960s onwards, Rathcroghan was largely forgotten until relatively recently, Curley explains. Anything west of the Shannon tends to get ignored, particularly in Roscommon and east Galway.

The story of how the local community has begun to lure visitors to this neglected region of linear earthworks, burial mounds, ringforts, field boundaries, temple sites, and even a ritual gate to the otherworld is remarkable.

This land was, and still is, some of the most fertile territory west of the Shannon, says Curley, and so over five millennia was able to attract and sustain populations better than anywhere else in Connacht. Locals knew the monuments in their fields were potentially the same ones described in the great tales of the Ulster Cycle about Queen Maeve, who had her royal seat at Rathcroghan, and of the great cattle-raid of Cooley, which began here.

The traditional farming methods practised here meant the remains have been remarkably well preserved, so you can actually see in the landscape scenes described in these Iron Age tales, says Curley.

In 1999 the local community built a visitor centre to share the rich lore of their area, but it was a forlorn-looking place akin to a GAA changing room, offering little reason for people travelling along the N5 to stop. This was how things remained until about five years ago, when people started taking notice of Rathcroghan and murmurings began to spread about a new lost citadel at the sacred centre of Connacht.

We received some funding to renovate the information displays at the centre, says Curley. This chance to retell the story in our own words, based on our own research and our interpretation of the latest scientific investigations was like a jolt of adrenalin.

The tiny team of locals became newly enraptured by the wonder of the place, spurred on to find more funding to renovate the exterior of the building, and the cafe and shop. Each improvement led to more tourists coming through the doors, says Curley, and the impact was dramatic: between 2015 and 2019 visitor numbers rose from 9,000 to 22,000.

For a tourist site in an unprepossessing patch of mid-Roscommon to experience such growth without any significant support from Filte Ireland or the OPW, or any outside agency, was verging on miraculous. Most of it was due to word of mouth, and a continuous stream of ecstatic reviews on sites like TripAdvisor, where visitors who just happened to wander into the centre and sign up for a tour would write glowing accounts of discovering a lost archaeological world, brought vibrantly to life by the passion and intensity of Curley and his tour guiding colleagues, Elaine Conroy and Mike McCarthy.

Rathcroghan is an extraordinary site, once a skilful guide has pointed out the scores of ancient remains that lie all around, mostly now covered in a layer of earth and sod. Geophysical investigations of the most prominent earthwork, Rathcroghan Mound (known locally as Queen Maeves fort), reveal broad parade ramps and enclosures where ceremonial processions of dignitaries, high priests and perhaps even sacred animals may have been led in great public rituals of kingship or burial or nature worship.

Southwest of it is what was once known as a hell-mouth, or an entrance to the otherworld, called Oweynagat Cave. Its a small hole in a field at the bottom of a grassy lane that youd never notice unless it was pointed out. It looks like a foxs den until you crawl inside and see the carved ogham stone hidden above you. A long tunnel leads into an enormous limestone fissure beneath the earth. References in lore suggest it may have been a chamber of transformation, or a place of connection to the divine.

With Rathcroghan set to become an increasingly popular tourist site, the community has turned their attention to making the region more sustainable for themselves. Until now the archaeology had largely been a burden.

The old remains have been a massive negative for farmers here, explains Curley. It stops them from cutting silage, from ploughing and from modernising their farms. Its actually removing them from the landscape because for decades they havent been able to get planning permission. The local primary school closed down because there were no young people left.

While interest in taking up farming is low enough in Ireland, here it has become chronic as young farmers see no chance of modernising due to the archaeological constraints. The only option seemed to be to sell the land off to some agricultural conglomerate who would have no connection with the areas ancient lore. The team behind the visitor centre realised something had to be done, and managed to secure the first grant given by the European Innovation Partnership to an archaeological rather than a natural landscape. They now have 1 million to be spent over five years to help farmers shift to a more suitable and sustainable type of farming.

Farmers will spearhead the process, taking minor steps like fencing off a ringfort that is being eroded by cattle, or more elaborate transformations, such as replacing modern breeds of heavy European cattle with the smaller native breeds referred to in ancient historical and mythological tales of cattle raids in the area. A next step could be to replace the monocrop of modern Italian rye grass with a native meadow of biodiverse grasses and herbs, as was here for eons.

One farmer has sought funding to re-establish a virtually extinct species of Roscommon sheep famous in the area for centuries, while another wants to establish a traditional fruit orchard, says Curley. Others are investigating the potential of native woodland.

Rathcroghan could become not just a major archaeological tourism site, but also a unique food-producing region cultivating meat, vegetables, cheese, nuts and fruit in similar ways to our ancient ancestors. Ambitiously, it could even become the first area in Ireland with its own EU-recognised designation as a re-established Iron Age farming landscape, producing unique products in a biodiverse ecological sanctuary.

It will take time for farmers to abandon slurry tanks and chemical sprays, and shift to the mindset and practises of their forbearers who tended this land for millennia, but the fact that the current farming model cannot work for their children encourages at least some of them to take the leap.

Its about thinking outside the box, says Curley, getting people to imagine a different future. In truth, we can only offer relatively small financial assistance to farmers over the five years, but we can provide training too, in skills like working with traditional animal breeds, stone wall construction, etc. Im certainly not promising its going to be easy, but the opportunities to create something truly world class here in Roscommon is palpable. It just requires us working together.

Weve got this far as a community, whos going to stop us now? r

athcroghan.ie

Originally posted here:
It's one of Ireland's most important prehistoric sites, but you may not have heard of it - The Irish Times

HOT SPRINGS -- A top-heavy eight-horse field in the $90,000 Gazebo Stakes for 3-year-old horses today at Oaklawn is an extreme long shot to take many minds off the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Gazebo purse itself is an example of ongoing changes at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, led last week by the closure of racing-ground doors to fans and the facility's casino. As a byproduct of casino profit lost, limited on-track betting, and non-existent restaurant and concession sales, the track has reduced race purses as of today.

The Gazebo purse has been reduced from $125,000. Purses for maiden special-weight races have been cut from $87,000 to $60,000. Whereas an allowance-optional $62,500 claiming race paid a purse of $94,000 Friday, today the same will pay $64,000.

"We have to do that," Oaklawn President Louis Cella said. "It's not sustainable at the high-purse level when everything is shut down. It's not sustainable, so we have to have cuts. Quite honestly, I hate the phrase, it's an awful phrase, 'feel your pain', but we're all feeling the pain together. We're working with the horsemen, and they've been great. They understand it. We're working with them together. We're family, and we're going to get through this together."

"If anyone is going to complain that we're running, and the purses are cut, they need to have their head examined," trainer Robertino Diodoro said.

Gazebo morning-line second-choice Long Weekend trainer Tom Amoss is self-quarantined in southern Louisiana because of contact he had last Saturday with New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton, who was diagnosed with coronavirus Thursday. Trainer Jeremiah Englehart hosted Payton and is self-quarantined in Hot Springs.

Nevertheless, the races go on, at least for now, and Amoss has high hopes for Long Weekend, by Majestic Perfection, who won an optional-claiming 6-furlong race in 1:09.58 at Sam Houston Race Park in Houston on Feb. 19 in his last start.

"That race at Sam Houston was basically our prep for the Gazebo," Amoss said.

Amoss took on Long Weekend before his first race, a 5-furlong maiden special-weight, won in 58.48 at Churchill Downs on June 23. He said he immediately knew he had a sprinter in his barn.

"He's a very good sprinter," Amoss said.

In Lost Weekend's second of three career starts, six months before his win at Sam Houston, he finished sixth of seven in the Grade II 61/2-furlong Saratoga Special at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Aug. 10.

"We probably got in a little hurry with him to try such a big race as the one we did at Saratoga," Amoss said. "It set us back. In an effort to do right by the horse, we gave him some time off, and he's rewarded us."

Oaklawn's Gazebo is next up for Lost Weekend.

"I think he has every chance to be a top sprinter, and not just regionally, but on a national scale," Amoss said. "I'm hoping we can take our next step forward ... in the Gazebo."

Muddy Waters Stables' and Ingrid Mason's Lykan enters off a 6-furlong optional-claiming win, at 20-1, in 1:10.07 at Oaklawn on Feb. 23.

Lykan, trained by Mason, has a career record of 2-0-4. Both wins were ridden by Tyler Baze

Baze said he felt as if the Congrat's colt has just started to figure out what it takes to run fast.

"He's just been like a big baby, but he's working lights out and I think he's ready to go," Baze said. "Since he's been here at Oaklawn, after that last race, he's really feeling his oats. I know we'll probably be 10-1 or something, but I think the light bulb has kind of went on for him."

Baze said he knows the Gazebo is weighted with talent, perhaps led by 5-2 morning-line favorite Little Menace, a son of Into Mischief, owned by Phoenix Thoroughbred III, and conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.

He also mentioned Hugh Robertson's Beau Oxy and Jack Dickerson's and Zack Ames' Marvin, both trained by Mac Robertson.

Baze said Lykan seems ready for the challenge.

"There are several good ones in there, but I like our chances," he said.

Rick Lee's Gazebo Stakes picks

9 The Gazebo. Purse $90,000, 6 furlongs, 3-year-olds

LONG WEEKEND*** defeated allowance rivals at Houston by nearly 7-widening lengths, and he has a series of strong works at Fair Grounds. The one to catch. BEAU OXY proved best of two winning an allowance race at Fair Grounds, while eased up late, and he drew a favorable post. LITTLE MENACE followed a decisive maiden win at Churchill with a determined allowance win over this track, and the steadily improving colt has enough speed to be in a good spot turning into the stretch.

PP HORSE JOCKEY TRAINER ODDS

4 Long Weekend Talamo Amoss 3-1

8 Beau Oxy Vazquez Robertson 7-2

5 Little Menace Cohen Asmussen 5-2

3 Lykan Baze Mason 8-1

6 Marvin Canchari Robertson 4-1

7 Fly to the Bank WDe La Cruz Helzer 10-1

1 No Shirt No Shoes Birzer Anderson 15-1

2 Nucky FDe La Cruz Miller 15-1

Sports on 03/21/2020

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Long Weekend looking to step it up in Gazebo - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Construction is set to begin later this year on a $3.5 million expansion of the Whitehall Division of Police headquarters, 365 S. Yearling Road, at the cost of a city gazebo -- at least for a short time.

The project's timeline is uncertain, but it probably won't begin until May, said Megan Meyer, community affairs-manager for Whitehall.

The gazebo that was just north of the police station already has been removed in preparation for the project, Meyer said, but it will be replaced when the work is finished.

A new gazebo made of materials that are easier to maintain will take the old structure's place, Meyer said.

The 13,000-square-foot addition largely will be built onto the north side of the existing building, Meyer said.

Parking for the police station will be added on the former site of Minuteman Pizza on the west side of South Yearling Road, north of Doney Street. That building will be demolished later this year, Meyer said.

"The expansion will entail a new state-of-the-art emergency dispatch center and emergency operations center, an updated reception office and additional space for police officers," Meyer said.

The scope and size of the project are subject to change, pending the results of requests for proposals from contractors yet to be received by the city, Meyer said.

The project includes technology upgrades of about $1 million, Meyer said.

The expansion would have multiple benefits for the division, said Whitehall police Chief Mike Crispen.

"The increased space will provide (additional space for) report-writing and evidence-processing," Crispen said, along with a "state-of-the-art dispatch center and improved customer-service capabilities."

The expansion would increase the area of the emergency-operations center and would double the space for evidence storage, Crispen said.

kcorvo@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekCorvo

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Gazebo removed for Whitehall police stations expansion - ThisWeek Community News

Among the condominium complexes, shopping centers and eateries in Livingston sits 10 acres of picturesque pastures where more than 36 miniature horses once roamed, much to the delight of passing motorists and patients at the Saint Barnabas Medical Center, which sits near the sprawling fields.

The Evergreen Miniature Horse Farm has been a fixture in the Livingston community for more than 40 years. Boasting a gazebo, a stream and multiple barns, the property was a slice of heaven for those wishing to step away from the hustle and bustle of Livingstons ever-expanding properties.

Its a beautiful property, said Linda Gloshinski, land preservation specialist at the Land Conservancy of New Jersey. When youre there, you kind of look around and you feel like youre in New England or something. It doesnt give you the feel of being in the township of Livingston, which is a suburban setting.

Established by longtime Livingston resident Andrew Licari, the farm was fueled by his deep love and appreciation for horses. After purchasing four miniature horses from the United Kingdom, Licari knew he found his calling.

We started showing (the horses) and, before you know it, we were going to shows all over the board, Licari said. We must have had over 500 trophies. My stallions were the best stallions.

Soon enough, after Licari began breeding his miniatures, 36 horses were set out to pasture on the farm.

Ive never had so much fun in my life, he said. All the money in the world couldnt give us the pleasure we had when those horses were born.

Licaris mindset stayed the same as the years went on. When contractors came knocking hoping to develop on the land, Licari refused.

I had contractors come by the dozens over the years, he said. I wouldnt let anyone put any condos there.

One organizations pursuit of the land was persistent though and, after over nine years of negotiations, Licari decided to sell the property.

The Land Conservancy of New Jersey, a nonprofit accredited land trust, promised the farmland would be preserved, rather than developed. The land was sold to the Township of Livingston, with the conservancy serving as the open space adviser, assisting with the transaction. The deal was announced in February.

Theyre keeping it as a farm and thats why I sold it to them, Licari said. When my grandkids pass by, they can still say Thats grandpas farm.

Gloshinski, who handled the acquisition of the farm for the Township of Livingston, echoed Licaris wishes to keep the property as is.

Its in great condition, there really isnt anything that needs to be done with it, she said. Were very happy that Mr. Licari ended up preserving the property. The property did have the potential to be subdivided and he was approached by developers over the years, so I think the town was very grateful that, in the end, he decided to sell to the town for preservation rather than to a developer for residential development.

According to Gloshinski, the township has formed a committee to decide how to use the land. While no official plans have been made yet, Gloshinski believes decisions will be made this summer.

The township formed a committee to figure out what exactly they want to do with the property, but they are going to be keeping the barns and the gazebo on the site, she said. They really wanted more land for outdoor passive recreation, so this property was ideal. By the summer, they should have a plan for the proposed uses.

As for Licari, his love of horses continues. For 40 years, we had a lot of good time with (the horses), he said. I just love horses. As for the horses, Gloshinski revealed Licari gave them to a friend in Georgia prior to the closing.

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Sprawling horse farm in Livingston to be preserved - nj.com

Decisions have a short shelf lifeduring a pandemic.

On the afternoon of Thursday, March 19, Ted McGreer was intent on keeping open Ted's Shoe and Sport, on Main Streetin Keene, New Hampshire. His nine employees needed the money. And his customers needed sneakers and orthotics for the solitary walks and runs that had become their sole reasons to venture outside. Even as traffic dropped to 10 or 15 customers a day, the staff was frantically wiping down pens, door handles, and credit card keypads. For regular clients with predictable shoe sizes and preferences, McGreer offered curbside service and home delivery.

The next morning McGreer spoke up at a virtual town hall for the Keene business community,a recurring event established by the city's mayor, George Hansel, for the duration of the coronavirus crisis.He expressed gratitude for the "kind, generous, and compassionate" customers who continued to support the business. Then he mentioned that weekend marked the store's 20thanniversary. "But I am uneasy for the health of my employees," he said. "So I am going to come out and say we are closing retail operations. I feel sick to my stomach about it."

McGreer concluded, "I love each and every one of you. We are in this together."

Keene, with a population of around 23,000, is avibrant city in a bucolic corner of southwest New Hampshire. The business district, composed of about 150 mostly family-owned stores, is clustered on Main Street, a leafy boulevard of trim brick buildings. There is the Keene Statecollege campus, a nearly century-old theater, and a gazebo. Tourism has been rising every year. A $30 million arts-and-culture corridor is in the works.

Keene's business owners compete, of course. Still, it is the kind of place where a restaurateur who runs out of mixed greens will borrow some from the bistro down the street. Where veteran merchants mentor a newbie opening her first store. And where business owners describe other business owners as family. So even as fears of Covid-19 shutter store after store and merchants weigh unpleasantdecisions, Keene's business owners are closing ranks as never before. "We already have a strong sense of community here and we are building on that," says Hansel, the mayor. "I think that will make the difference in weathering this storm."

The power of a clever promotion

Even as McGreer grieves the temporary closing of Ted's Shoe and Sport, he is thinking how to help his fellow merchants. In the works: a store-sponsored virtual run. Participants will pay $20 to register online, andthen do a 5K witnessed only by their cellphones. McGreer will transfer 100 percentof the proceeds to gift cards for use at local businesses chosen by the runners.

If the generosity is typical of McGreer, the creativity shows the influence of Luca Paris, McGreer's best friend. Paris launched Luca's Mediterranean Caf in 2000, the same year McGreer opened his shoe store: The two businesses bookend Main Street.He is a zealous booster of Keene's small businesses, including other restaurants, whose owners he talks about and sometimes interviews on his weekly radio program.

Paris's greatest strength is his promotions: He is an imaginative and puckish marketer. Last week when the governor mandated delivery and curbside service only for restaurants, he pulled out rolls of toilet paper from storage, slapped on stickers with the restaurant's logo, and wrote on their wrappers "We've Got Your Back ... Side." One roll went into every bag heading out the door to customers. "My only goal was to make people happy," Paris says. "Now, oh my God, they are all over Facebook!"

Paris also sometimes borrows ideas from others, like when he recently urged business owners to buy meals for their staffs and to patronize a different local restaurant each time. He got that from Jerel Gomarlo, the third-generation owner of Gomarlo's Shop 'n' Save Supermarket, which is a few minutes away in Swanzey, New Hampshire.

While Covid-19 panic has tripled the supermarket's business, it all but closed the small restaurant next door, so Gomarlo started buying breakfast there for a staff that has now swelled to almost 40. The next day he expanded the practice to lunch and has been spending between $500 and $700 each day at a different Swanzey or Keene establishment.

"I know if I had to shut my doors for any length of time, more than likely we wouldn't open back up," Gomarlo says. "This might help them get by a little bit."

Shutting down, but paying it forward

Last June, Taryn Fisher opened the Keene Fine Craft Gallery in an elegant brick building directly across Central Square from Luca's Mediterranean Caf. The store, which markets products from the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, is a decorator's dream of graceful blown glass, delicate prints, and saturated color textiles.

At Keene's first virtual town hall, on March 17, Fisher listened to one of her mentors, Good Fortune Jewelry & Pawn owner Roger Weinreich, speak eloquently about merchants' responsibility to the community and the importance of "flattening the curve." Weinreich and his wife and co-owner, Maddie, were in self-imposed lockdown following travel abroad and had transitioned their store to by-appointment only. His words struck home for Fisher, who that same day closed her store, hanging in her window a large sign: "CV-19 Pandemic Update. Need to shop? Contact us via email. We'll make an appointment." But passers-by still wandered in. So on Friday, after hearing McGreer announce his closing, Fisher took the final step and locked her door.

"I am shut down and it hurts. It just hurts," Fisher says. Her isolation is especially painful because she has no employees. Two days before shutting downshe was sitting in her store, miserable and alone, when Perparime Abdullahu, owner of the neighboring Indian restaurant Royal Spice, dropped by to check on her. The two got to talking, and Abdullahu ended up ordering a custom plaque engraved with her children's names: a $225 sale.

As Abdullahu left, she told Fisher she was on her way to pick up lunch from Luca's, and further impressed on her the need to support the community.So Fisher got lunch theretoo,and the next day ordered from Yahso Jamaican Grille, a new downtown business. Naturally, she posted a Facebook video touting both restaurants.

Inspired by the spirit of camaraderie, the following day Fisher called Shannon Hundley, managing partner of Life Is Sweet, a candy store and bakeryacross the street, and offered to hand out $5 coupons for treats to the gallery's customers who came by for appointments. Because Life Is Sweet didn't have ready-made coupons, "I will just write $5 on my business card and give them that," said Fisher. "Go and get a free cupcake. It's on us." (Fisher is picking up the tab for now. She and Hundley haven't discussed how they'll work it out later.)

Fisher expectsto make a red-or-green decision inlate April. "Red is:It is over. I am toast," she says. "Green is:I can do this. Just hang on." One or two businesses may not survive, she concedes. "But people here have been working on Main Street for 20 years or more. They are doing what they can to keep this thing alive."

Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled the last name of Ted's Shoe and Sport owner Ted McGreer.

Published on: Mar 25, 2020

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How a Group of New Hampshire Entrepreneurs Are Leaning on One Another to Stay in Business - Inc.

This is one of a series of guest columns from candidates in contested races in the May 12 West Virginia Primary Election.

Any parent or grandparent knows that children will happily spend the better part of any nice day at the spray park. April Dawn Park in Milton used to be the only spray park in the area. A small corner in town with a few swings and things to climb on, with controlled patterns of water spouting out in the wet area, can provide hours of fun for children. It also has a beautiful picnic facility. Now Barboursville has a spray park and soon St. Clouds will have one. This was so needed in West Huntington and will, no doubt, be a busy destination for families.

A community center in the area would be another great addition, as has proven to be true in other parts of the city. Caring area residents and volunteers have made these facilities neighborhood hubs for youth and adults. Were so fortunate in Huntington to be among community-minded professionals who volunteer and organize activities at these centers. West Huntington is home to a large population of senior citizens, many of whom, like myself, are lifelong residents of the area. There is also a large senior citizens home on Madison Avenue. As much as seniors would benefit from informational sessions or just get-togethers at a great meeting place like a community center, they happen to be the people who have lived the longest and have accumulated the most wisdom to share with each other and everyone else. From help with homework to sporting activities, coordination of neighborhood watch programs, speakers and an occasional dinner, community centers are important to the areas that they serve.

I would like to see a Huntington Police field office in West Huntington. Huntington police officers are also great volunteers. Bringing residents and police officers together facilitates safer neighborhoods for people and for police officers.

Central City has so many unique places to visit that you wont find anywhere else, with some new small businesses dotted in the area. Of course, we want to see more of them. The Central City Days event is an annual reminder of everything the area has to offer. You can shop, eat and relax with a book any day of the year there. The gazebo on 14th Street West is available to rent for special events. West Huntington puts on a stellar Veterans Day parade every year that everyone should see.

I am a life-long resident of West Huntington. I know many of the residents and business owners well. Many of you know that I served as a county magistrate until my retirement last year. I spent years assisting people and families in resourcing the help that they needed. I think West Huntington needs a focused representative who is determined to address the needs of the area. I believe that I can do that.

Johnny McCallister is a Democratic candidate for Huntington City Council seeking to represent District 2.

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Johnny McCallister: West Huntington needs focused representative - Huntington Herald Dispatch