~NEWS/Bulletin
Board~
Many Help Support GG Community Action Group
From The Mountain Eagle
By Erika Eklund
Published: Thursday, January 12, 2012
GRAND GORGE - The Grand Gorge Community Action Group may
work on behalf of a small community, but the big hearts
of group members and supporting businesses help bring big
things to the tiny hamlet which have a big impact on the
lives of the people who live there.
The hard work and dedication of the Grand Gorge Community
Action Group (GGCAG) helps bring beautification to the hamlet
as well as offering parties and activities to give back
to the community and the individuals who call Grand Gorge
home.
Each spring and summer the streets in Grand Gorge are lined
with wooden planters overflowing with flowers which are
purchased, prepared and cared for by the GGCAG. Last year,
they helped bring new benches to the hamlet and made possible
the purchase of signs at the four entrances to Grand Gorge
welcoming visitors to the community.
The group has a table every year at the Annual Grand Gorge
Methodist Church Fair and the Health Fair Day. Members sell
raffle tickets for gift baskets filled with local products
and goods and gift certificates to area businesses. Money
raised through raffle ticket sales help fund the annual
parties thrown by the group, which are anticipated all year
long by children and families in the community.
Party season kicks off in Grand Gorge with the annual Halloween
Party at the Civic Center. It’s a hugely popular event,
featuring games, crafts, face painting, candy and enough
homemade goodies to keep all the ghosts and goblins happy.
The party also features a costume contest which never fails
to provide impressive costumes and a good laugh. Last Halloween
brought more than 100 local kids to the annual party.
The annual Christmas Party is also a treasured community
event. Each year, children and their families from the community,
and beyond, attend the party at the Civic Center which features
holiday music, crafts, homemade goodies and culminates with
a visit from Mrs. and Santa Claus. Santa is able to give
each child a present with the help of Toys for Tots and
two bikes, one for a girl and one for a boy, are raffled
off. This Christmas brought nearly 100 children out for
the party.
After the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, members
of the GGCAG make sure to remember and recognize the senior
citizens who live in the Grand Gorge Senior Apartments and
help support their parties and events throughout the year.
Each January for the last five years, the group throws a
dinner party for the seniors as a way to thank them and
let them know they are an important part of the community.
Group members invited senior citizens who live in the Grand
Gorge Apartments to the annual dinner last Saturday and
served up an Italian feast of lasagna, tossed salad and
bread with cheesecake for dessert. An elegant table, made
up with centerpieces and candlelight, was set out for the
guests, who each walked away with a box of chocolates at
the end of the evening.
“It’s so fancy,” said Grand Gorge Apartments
resident Marian Petrishen. “Everything is just delicious.”
“We really enjoy doing this,” said Dave Martin,
GGCAG vice-president as he re-filled a glass with sparkling
cider. “These folks support us all year and its a
way we can give back to them.”
Members of the GGCAG love what they do, but said they wouldn’t
be able to accomplish any of it without donations and support
from individuals and local businesses throughout the year.
“These donors faithfully support our efforts year
after year,” stated GGCAG President Ron Thomson. “We
would not exist without theme.”
Those the group would like to especially thank include
Ably Insurance, Beauty Kreations, Becker’s Tires,
Brett and Lynn Braband, Lee Buchar, John Colliton, The Colonial
Motel, The County Store, Creekside Cafe, Rich Davis, The
Grand Gorge Methodist Church, W.S. Hinkley and Sons, Tom
and Mary Hynes, The Hitching Post, M.C. Auto, Jim’s
Great American, Luce Change, Stanley Kaminski, Margaretville
Telephone Company, The M-ARK Project, David Martin and Sons,
NBT Bank, The O’Connor Foundation, Pizza Palace ,
Ed Raeder, Gus Polli, Stewarts, Dan Tait Inc. and Van’s
Variety
GGCAG Treasurer Nancy Haney said the group’s latest
community project is being conducted through a partnership
with the M-ARK Project with assistance from the O’Connor
Foundation. The project, she said, will see to the installation
of a welcome sign along the Catskill Scenic Trail, or “Rails
to Trails”, entrance to the hamlet near Becker’s
Tire on Route 30. She said the sign will include a short
history of Grand Gorge and will be another way to introduce
guests to the community.
The GGCAC meets every three weeks at the Grand Gorge Civic
Center throughout most of the year. Members are taking February
off in preparation for another busy year and will hold their
next meeting on Wednesday, March 21 at 6 p.m.
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GRAND GORGE COMMUNITY ACTION GROUP
AT IT AGAIN !!!
On Sat. Jan. 8, 2011, at the Grand Gorge Senior Center,
a New Year’s Party took place. With great food, balloons,
music and 24 residents, it was a great evening. Local business
helped with their support: Grand Gorge Animal Hospital,
The Hitching Post, Ably Insurance, MC Auto, Pizza Palace,
Tait, Inc., W.S. Hinkley & Sons, Creekside, Collition’s,
Grand Gorge NBT Bank, and Vans Variety Store. Thank you,
we couldn’t do it without your help!
We also thank four lovely girls from the
Roxbury Girl Scout #406, NY Penn Pathways. They helped serve,
clean up and just added to the fun! Gabrielle Martin, Cassidy
Fane, Trinity Sorber, Katrina Davis. Thank you so much girls!