AMENIA — Celebrating the achievements of their community’s rising scholars, both the Amenia Fire Company and the Wassaic Ladies Auxiliary joined together to help send this year’s graduates out into the future on a strong footing by awarding a few local standouts college scholarships on Wednesday, July 7.
Starting at 7 p.m., the scholarships were at the forefront of the Amenia Fire Company’s meeting agenda on Wednesday evening. Directing the company’s attention to the scholastic awards, Amenia Fire Company President Rich Howard announced that every year, the Fire Company offers a scholarship to each child of a Fire Company member. Each scholarship totals $250 for their first semester and $500 for their second semester.
One by one, Howard called the names of the recipients, each of whom stepped forward to shake his hand and accept their award. This year’s recipients included Kadence Bracey (who was unable to attend the meeting), Liam Murphy, Karlie Klingner and Cassidy Howard.
“Congratulations as you prepare for the future,” Howard said once all of the recipients had received their scholarships and returned to their seats.
On behalf of the Wassaic Ladies Auxiliary, Auxiliary President Bonnie Howard awarded this year’s Auxiliary scholarships to Murphy, Klingner and Howard, totaling $300 each.
As they were invited up to the front of the room to retrieve their awards, each recipient was encouraged to talk about their future plans with the company.
Having recently graduated from Webutuck High School, Klingner said she plans to attend Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., for veterinary school to study large animal surgery.
A graduate of Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village, Conn., Murphy shared his plans to attend Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y. While he was enrolling with an undeclared major, he said he has an interest in psychology.
Howard shared her plans to attend SUNY Cobleskill to pursue equine studies.
With generous applause, Amenia Fire Company members congratulated this year’s scholarship winners and wished them good luck before returning their attention back to the meeting.
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On Thursday, Oct. 30, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., the Norfolk Library will host a free public screening of “Tiananmen Tonight,” a film by Bestor Cram and Michael Streissguth about the 1989 student uprising in China and the daring coverage by Dan Rather and CBS. Director Cram will introduce the film.
A documentary filmmaker whose life was forged in the fire of Vietnam, where he served as a Marine, Cram earned the Navy Commendation Medal. He returned home to become a conscientious objector and leader of Vietnam Veterans Against the War. After working in the MIT Film Studies Program, he founded Northern Light Productions in Boston, producing media for museums, and has made more than 30 feature documentary films.
His credits include the 1995 Academy Award-winning documentary “Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision,” as well as “After Innocence and Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner.” His film “Unfinished Symphony,” premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.
JA: When did you begin telling stories?
BC: I began my filmmaking adventure as an organizer for Vietnam Veterans Against the War. I arranged for a group of filmmakers to document our march, which followed the ride of Paul Revere in reverse, a warning to folks to become patriots and oppose the war.
JA: How does our current political and moral dilemma, with journalism under fire, inform this film?
BC: The film is about a momentous event that became a defining example of how television journalism lived up to its promise, providing in-depth, ongoing reporting that enabled an audience to understand the evolution of a news story. It provides insight into the decisions journalists face in dealing with management, restrictive budgets, governmental impediments, and the dilemmas that arise when reporters become part of the news.
JA: What drew you to the story of Dan Rather and CBS in China?
BC: Dan Rather and his team were in a ratings fight, but more importantly, they were fighting to reestablish their reputation as the gold standard in TV journalism.
JA: How can we protect our free press?
BC: The bottom line rules capitalism. When corporations become owners of the press, they no longer view news as a public service but as another commodity on the balance sheet. I believe the best way to protect the free press is to limit who owns it.
JA: What is the role of the press, and of film, in truth-telling?
BC: The role of the press is to inform. The role of film is also to inform, but its format is essentially an editorial perspective. Telling the truth is more a process of what is chosen to be presented and its sources.
JA: How do you define bravery?
BC: Bravery is the notion of expressing oneself physically and intellectually based on one’s conscience, kind of a Henry David Thoreau ideal. Following the law is part of citizenship, but ensuring the justness of the law is also part of citizenship.
JA: Do you think China is more or less repressive now than in 1989?
BC: Economically, people are better off. But the price paid for not contesting the Chinese totalitarian regime is one of accepting the repression of free speech and the rewriting of history.
JA: What do you want people to take away from this film?
BC: Appreciation for the quality and courage of the journalists who reported Tiananmen, and a consideration of what is being done in TV journalism today. And a reexamination of the stand the Chinese took then as an inspiration for how movements today can shape change, knowing that there are consequences to be considered when dealing with governments.
JA: What is your current project?
BC: A feature documentary called “Not Your Average Citizen,” the story of Boris Nemtsov, leader of the Russian opposition and critic of Vladimir Putin, who was gunned down outside the Kremlin in February 2015. As Nemtsov often said, “Freedom comes at a high price.”
More at notyouraveragecitizen.com.
Register at norfolklibrary.org
Abstract artist Vincent Inconiglios' love and enthusiasm for color and form are evident all around him at his Falls Village studio, where he has worked for 25 years. He is surrounded by paintings large and small, woodcuts, photographs, collages and arrays of found objects.
The objects Inconiglios has found while out walking — in Falls Village, near his studio on Gansevoort Street in New York City, and in other places throughout the world — hold special importance to him. Appreciation of them, he says, comes from “seeing while exploring. I am always finding things.” His particular delight is finding objects that look like faces, many of which will be featured in the ArtWall show at the Hunt Library.
The found objects inspire him, are his “friends,” and serve as muses for his work. He has had some in his collection for more than 50 years. “I’ve always thought of them as parts of me.”
As he shows these objects and tells how he found them, his enthusiasm is contagious. It suggests a new way of looking at the world, even at the most mundane bits of debris.
The sheer volume of paintings and collages displayed in his Falls Village studio attests to his interest in form, color, and composition.
Inconiglios will bring his sense of play and love of discovery to his show, “Face Time,” opening at the Hunt Library in Falls Village on Oct. 25, with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. It features faces in collages, photos, and found objects. The works will be on display until Nov. 21.
Inconiglios explained a little about his process. “If I am stuck,” he said, “I’ll cut something and put it down. One thing leads to another and forces me to focus.” Next month, in a workshop with children, he will share techniques like this that have guided him in his work.
The children, students at Lee H. Kellogg School in Falls Village, will create their own face collages. Inconiglio enjoys the spontaneity children bring to their creations and is eager to work with them.
On Nov. 13, Inconiglio will give an artist’s talk at 5:30 p.m. at Hunt Library.
He looks forward to feedback about “Face Time,” commenting, “I’d rather get bad feedback than no feedback.”
For more information, visit: huntlibrary.org/art-wall/.
