Potsdam, NY, Jan 25, 2013 — Drive through the village of Potsdam and you can't miss a small plot that's filled with old toilets. The property owner says it's art, while village leaders wish it would just disappear. A Clarkson University digital arts professor has used the idea as inspiration for a new exhibit.

Todd Moe talks with Clarkson's Steven Pedersen about Eaux D' Artifice at Creative Spirit Community Arts Center in Potsdam. Pedersen's show uses video, interactive art, and images based on the public toilet display to explore ideas of place and what it means to make art.  Go to full article

Potsdam, NY, Jan 18, 2013 — Gun sellers in the North Country are digesting the new state gun control laws passed this week. Most aren't happy with what they're finding out.

North Woods Outfitters in Potsdam caters to hunters. The modest shop has a country store feel, with wood paneling and homemade shelving. A steady stream of customers walks in Thursday morning. A couple older guys with NRA patches sewn on their jeans jackets head straight to the counter where the ammunition is.

Store owner Rick Jones looks a little worried. He says boxes of bullets are flying off the shelves.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Jan 18, 2013 — Potsdam's Minor Swing warmed up a sub-zero morning in the North Country with their own take on Django Reinhart-inspired "gypsy jazz" as they played live in our studio.  Go to full article

Brooklyn, NY, Jan 16, 2013 — Musician Christopher Battles is hoping to make his mark as an acoustic singer/songwriter in the big city. He grew up in Oswego, graduated from the Crane School of Music and now lives in New York City. He studied percussion and music education at Crane, and when he's not performing on the street or the stage at a coffee house, he's a substitute band teacher. Over the past year, he has shared his musical journey via audio postcards.

Last summer, he released his first solo EP recording, titled Miles upon Miles. EPs are usually an artist's debut recording and contain just a few musical tracks. Miles upon Miles is among the finalists for the 2012 Best Folk Song in the USA Songwriting Competition. In his final audio postcard in the series, Christopher takes us into the recording studio and shares his thoughts about the permanence of recording his music.  Go to full article

Potsdam, NY, Jan 04, 2013 — There are 9,000 U.S. veterans in St. Lawrence County alone - thousands more across the North Country and across the border in Canada.

An event this Saturday aims to recognize those veterans' service to their country and also make sure they're aware of all the benefits they're entitled to.

The North Country Veterans Appreciation Day is tomorrow at Clarkson University from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m.

Mike Boprey is head of Veterans Services for St. Lawrence County and is one of the event's organizers. He told David Sommerstein one of the goals is to help veterans stay in the North Country, where job prospects are few.  Go to full article

Potsdam, NY, Jan 04, 2013 — The new year marks the start of a new chapter for the St. Lawrence County Arts Council. The group's new executive director, Rebekah Wilkins-Pepiton, who began her new duties this week in Potsdam. Hilary Oak, former executive director of the Arts Council, stepped down at the end of December to pursue other interests.

Rebekah Wilkins-Pepiton is a photographer and graphic designer with a keen interest in fostering working relationships between artists and their communities. She spoke with Todd Moe about her arts career that has taken her from teaching high school visual art in Colorado to serving in the Peace Corps in Southwest China for the past two years.  Go to full article

Potsdam, NY, Nov 28, 2012 — SUNY Potsdam President John Schwaller made a surprise announcement Tuesday that he's stepping down from his post, effective July 31. Schwaller didn't detail his reasons for resigning. In a letter to campus, he said simply "the time is right for new leadership."

Schwaller's unexpected announcement comes during a period of change at the SUNY campuses in neighboring Potsdam and Canton, one touched off last year with a controversial plan to consolidate presidencies at the two schools, with Schwaller presumably at the top.

SUNY leadership in Albany stepped back from the shared presidency after protests from the Canton College community. Now, Schwaller's announcement is renewing concerns about consolidation.  Go to full article

Potsdam, NY, Nov 09, 2012 — Veterans Day is this Sunday - a time to honor the service of all U.S. military veterans. A Potsdam woman traveled to a small village in France to retrace her father's footsteps during World War Two. Robin Collen's father, Leonard, served in the Army Air Corps. When his plane was shot down over France, he parachuted to safety and was rescued by local villagers.

As a child, Collen remembered tissue paper-thin air mail envelopes from France, and occasional war stories from her dad. When her father died in 2000, he left behind a map and note about the experience and his French rescuers.

A few years ago, after some web research, Collen says she was curious and determined to revisit her father's past. She and her husband, Bruce, traveled to rural France to try to connect with one of the women who helped hide her father from the Nazis more than 60 years ago. She wrote an essay to honor his experience and shared her thoughts with Todd Moe.  Go to full article

Potsdam, NY, Oct 24, 2012 — After more than ten years at its helm, the executive director of the St. Lawrence County Arts Council says she's stepping down, as soon as a replacement is found. Hilary Oak made the announcement earlier this season, and will stay on until her replacement is properly trained.

Oak joined the Arts Council in 2001 as board president and was named executive director in 2005. She, board members and volunteers have revived the group over the last decade. Under her leadership, the Arts Council has grown to include a gallery and gift shop in Potsdam and dozens of art education classes on the second floor of downtown Snell Hall.

Hilary Oak says it's time for someone with new energy, skills and creative ideas to lead the organization. She spoke with Todd Moe about the joys and challenges of helping to rebuild and strengthen the arts community in the North Country.  Go to full article

Potsdam, NY, Oct 23, 2012 — The Orchestra of Northern New York kicks off its 25th season this weekend in Potsdam and Watertown. The orchestra will perform Beethoven's 9th Symphony along with the combined choirs of the Potsdam Community Chorus and the Northern Choral Society. For many, the piece is among Beethoven's greatest works, and is considered by some to be the greatest piece of music ever written.

Todd Moe talks with music director and conductor Kenneth Andrews about 25 years of making music and conducting Beethoven. Andrews has led the Orchestra of Northern New York since it first began in 1988.

Saturday night's concert is in SUNY Potsdam's Hosmer Concert Hall at 7:30, and Sunday's concert is at 3:30 at Watertown's First Presbyterian Church. Tickets: 315-267-2277  Go to full article