Cameron County News Blog

Fall means changing leaves, cool, crisp autumn air and Sizerville State
Parks Autumn Festival. This special event will be held on October 7, 2006
from noon until 4:00 pm. The Festival celebrates colonial skills and crafts
that pioneer families used around the house and homestead. This year, there
will be new events as well as returning old favorites.
Here’s what’s happening: The hands-on, make-it and take-it craft tables
will run from 12:00 noon until 4:00 p. m. in the Children’s Activity Area
between Pavilion #5 and Pavilion #6 (check the information booth next to the
Park Office for details and locations). The projects include: Pumpkin
Carving, Pioneer Games, Kite Making, Apple Cidering, Sun Prints, Leaf
Banners, Candy Making, Tin Punching, Birdseed Art, Paper Making and Pine
Cone Dipping. No fee is charged for these activities.
Special demonstrations and exhibits on-going are Beading, Maple Syrup
products, Tatting, Knitting, Musicians, Wood Carving, Kettle Korn, Candy and
Carmel Apples, and Wood Carving.
Smokey Bear will be making a guest appearance at 2:00 pm, compliments of
Emporium District #13, Bureau of Forestry.
Food vendors will also be on hand including a bake sale, Sandy’s concession
stand (with ice cream) and the Boy Scouts’ food booth.
Come join us and get a feel for what autumn was like for the pioneers who
settled this area. It is a wonderful event to attend as a family or as a
special day alone. Either way, you are sure to have a great time!

Want to shake off that cabin fever? Come join us for the 1st annual Winter
Snowshoe Building Workshop: Build you won pair of traditional style
snowshoes during a workshop on Saturday, October 28, 2006 from 9:00 am to
3:00 pm. The workshop will lead you step by step through the building
process with the completion of one wooden traditional snowshoe. The second
shoe is on your own, creating a product that can be passed on for
generations to come. Your snowshoe kit, provided by Country Ways, is brought
to you at a wholesale cost of $110. This fee includes the instruction,
adjustable bindings, ash wood frames, and nylon lacing. Everything you need
to complete your very own pair of quality snowshoes with confidence and
ease.
While you are completing your snowshoes you will be entertained and
educated on the history behind this rapidly growing wintertime activity.
After you complete your snowshoes be sure to return for the free, guided
snowshoe hikes scheduled through out the winter season at Sizerville State
Park.
Pre-registration is required to ensure that your kit arrives in time for
the workshop. Registration and payment is due by October 16, 2006. Please
contact the Sizerville State Park with questions and/or registration
requests at 814-486-5605. Workshop is limited to eight participants.

RepEMPORIUM - In response to the train derailment and subsequent chemical
spill that occurred in McKean and Cameron counties on June 30, 2006, Rep.
Marty Causer (R-Turtlepoint) recently wrote a letter to the Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) seeking a special account to finance the
restoration of the area affected by the spill.

"We must do everything that we can to restore the exceptionally valued trout
streams to their original state," said Causer.

When the 28 Norfolk Southern railroad cars derailed, 44,000 gallons of
sodium hydroxide spilled into Sinnemahoning-Portage Creek, causing long-term
damage for several miles downstream.

In his Sept. 1 letter to DEP Secretary Kathleen McGinty, Causer encouraged
the DEP to establish a special account to deposit all fines collected from
the Norfolk Southern Railroad as a result of the derailment.

"By setting aside an account specifically for fines paid as a result of this
incident, we can ensure that money will be available to pay for future
restoration projects in the area affected by the spill," said Causer. "I am
hopeful that the DEP will act quickly to create this account and I look
forward to working with them throughout the clean-up process."

# # #

EJS/aec