FIRE PREVENTION
Steve Calamari has seen fire prevention classes from both sides. As a kid, he attended Eugene Conley’s presentations at the Storm King Engine Company. Now, as an adult, Mr. Calamari is teaching the class himself. He’s been doing it for five years.
When he started, he would follow a set of notes. Now, by his own admission, he wings it. He says that if he forgets something, the kids are sure to remind him.
Mr. Calamari is now the assistant chief of the Storm King Engine Company. On his days off from work last week, he taught classes from Cornwall-on-Hudson. With help from Kerri Hogan and Brian Moynihan, he started with Greg Zwickel’s fourth-graders.
To keep the kids involved, Mr. Calamari kept asking them questions, and he never stumped them. When they were finished with the safety tips, the students went into the bay to see the apparatus.
As soon as they left, another class was due to come in. Mr. Calamari recalled his days as a student. He said he still had a picture from one of his visits to the fire house.
ACORNS
The acorn project at Willow Avenue School fits well with the syllabus for third-graders. That’s not a coincidence. During the summer, three teachers (Kelly Hogan, Linda Line and Eleonora Panzanaro) met with members of the Black Rock Forest Consortium to plan the project for the year.
On Sept. 30, the third grade visited the forest to collect acorns from red oak, white oak and chestnut trees. The activity was described in last week’s Local.
When they returned to the classroom, the students counted the acorns, weighed them and saw how many would float in water. The floaters were discarded, because they were infested with weevils and were not viable sources of food.
The chestnuts were by far the best producers of acorns. The school will return the acorns to forest manager John Brady, who will freeze them.
In the winter, the students will return to the forest to create an acorn garden. In the spring they’ll see a video showing the types of animals that visited the garden and ate the acorns. Third-graders Patrick Cosgrove, Paul DiGovanni and Ben Schlosser provided information for this article.
WINDOW PAINTING
The Cornwall Lions Club is hosting its annual Halloween Window Art Contest on Saturday, Oct. 25. Local students from kindergarten through sixth grade can participate.
Kids can get their window assignment, art supplies and a trash bag at their distribution center at any time between 9 a.m. and noon. Artists should remember to bring their own paint brushes.
Kids who live or attend school in the Village should go to the Village Square Bandstand; all others should report to the volunteers in front of Clark & Associates, 288 Main Street.
A first and second prize will be awarded in the following age groups: kindergarten, Grades 1 and 2, Grades 3 and 4; Grades 5 and 6. In case of rain, the contest will be held the next day.
PUMPKIN CONTEST
The largest pumpkin in Cornwall can be seen in front of Prima Pizza on Main Street. Kids 12 and under are invited to guess the weight between now and Halloween.
The three who come closest will get prizes. First prize is a pizza shipped anywhere in the USA; second prize is a complete dinner, and third is a margherita pizza.
ZOMBIE WALK
Abigail Moore, an eighth-grader, has organized a Zombie Walk from 6 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18. It starts at Brid’s Closet on Main Street. People pay a small fee to dress up like a human back from the dead. The money goes to the animal shelter that was destroyed by fire last year. Call 458-8726 for information.
