Next Issue Coming Soon-- The Editorial Board is working and playing and creating the next issue of The Afton Vision. 

The Afton Vision is published three times a year. All those in the 13730 zip code should be receiving a copy at the beginning of June 2013. Look for our usual town and village news and updates, highlights about local businesses, about new projects like the Afton Community Gardens, advice about lessening the damage of tomato blight from The Resilient Gardener, some important tips on how to keep your computer information safe and secure, where to exercise in town, the Arts column featuring a couple of local potters, concerns about the increase in traffic if hydro-fracking is permitted in our area, and So Much More!!

Read us in print, here in the blog, or get a complete online pdf by request (email to aftonvision@gmail.com)

Keep reading and we will keep writing.

Welcome.

The Afton Vision Group is a circle of concerned citizens whose mission is:
To remember Afton's past as we help build a livable future.
We meet monthly to discuss topics of interest and to organize local events. The Afton Vision newsletter is one of our current projects. 
The Afton Vision is sent free to all households, approximately 1400, in the 13730 zip code.
Pdf copies are sent to those who request it via email (aftonvision@gmail.com). Our growing subscriber list includes a number of people in the region who are interested but do not live within our designated mailing group as well as people who no longer live in the Afton area.
Each article of an issue will be posted separately on this blog to make it easier for readers to respond or to post questions.
The Afton Vision Group also plans to use this blog to update stories and publish information about our other projects and other community events.
Please send notices to aftonvision@gmail.com.

Forum on Gas Lease Issues

Informational Forum on Gas Lease Issues

to Take Place on March 14^th in Norwich

Oxford, NY—Concerned Residents of Oxford is holding FLEASED FORUM/Chenango County, an informational forum for Chenango County landowners regarding gas lease issues. Landowners in neighboring counties are also invited to attend. The forum will take place on Thursday, March 14^th, 6:30 pm, at United Church of Christ, 11 West Main Street, in Norwich. The event is free and open to the public. Note on parking: Please park on street, in public parking lots, or in County Office Building lots, not in Church parking lot.

Geologist Ellen Harrison and Attorney Joseph Heath, of Fleased.org, will present information on landowner’s rights concerning a range of topics including: the implications of gas leases on insurance coverage, property uses, and mortgages; whether it is possible to sign a “good lease”; how Norse’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing affects the leases that they currently hold; lease assignments such as overriding royalty interests and reciprocal capacity agreements and how they impact current leases; and what the recent force majeure decision in Binghamton means for expired or soon-to-expire leases in Chenango County.

Landowners wishing to terminate their gas leases will hear what they need to do to officially cancel a lease at the end of the primary term. Clearing the land records usually falls to the landowner. Landowners who are not in active gas leases are cautioned to check their deed papers to verify if there was ever a gas lease on their property. Even a decades-old lease remains a liability for the current landowner if not properly released by the gas company and filed as such with the County Clerk’s office. Forum attendees will hear what steps can be taken by a landowner in this situation.

Following their presentations, Harrison and Heath will take questions from the audience.

FLEASED FORUM/Chenango County is organized by Concerned Residents of Oxford, and co-sponsored with CDOG and C-CARE.

Contact: Concerned Residents of Oxford, PO Box 631, Oxford, NY 13830

email: concernedresidentsofoxford@gmail.com

tel: 607.226.6483 (Mina T

Animal Emergency Committee

-          Dona Davey and Pam Strurz

There’s a problem and I have to leave my home in a hurry.  What do I do? 

May I take my cat with me?  Where is the emergency animal shelter in Afton?  If nobody is at home, will someone rescue my dog?  Where can I take my horses when there are floods?   Who can I call for help?  The answers to these questions and more may be found in the Afton Emergency Plan-Animal Annex developed by the Animal Emergency Committee of Afton.  A copy of the plan may be found in the town clerk’s office and on the town of Afton website (https://sites.google.com/site/aftonanimaldisasterpreparation/).

The plan was developed in response to mandates from FEMA and the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2006. They require communities to establish procedures and resources to evacuate, house and care for animals, both large and small, during all types of disasters:  weather, geological and technological.  The Afton plan is activated when a state of emergency is declared and human population shelters are opened for evacuees. In Afton, the animal shelter is located in the Afton Central school bus garage.   This was strategically planned so the animal shelter would be close to the human shelter located in the Afton Central School.

In order to be better prepared to help the community in the event an emergency occurs, the Animal Emergency Committee is currently accepting donations of non-perishable supplies such as crates, feeding bowls, bedding and cleaning products as well as monetary donations.    Other fund raising efforts include raffles of quilts and pillows and applying for grant monies. Committee projects include Evac-Pacs, available at the town clerk’s office, to assist owners in preparing for evacuation with their pets or preparation for care at home, and educating the public about the need for emergency planning.

Animal owners are responsible for the safety of their animals. The best plan if you have to evacuate is to take your animals with you or, if you don’t evacuate, to stockpile enough food, water and medications for yourself and your pet for a two week period at home.   Work with friends and neighbors to have a plan for evacuating your animals if you are not home.  Listen to local radio stations for emergency information, or call the town office, town supervisor or police for updates on town emergency plans.

     BE PREPARED!

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED FOR THE FOLLOWING

Care of shelter animals

Clerical help in shelter

Evacuation of animals

Fund raising

Public information projects

Call Dona Davey to join -

607-639-2409

Tech Talk: Keeping Your Computer Safe – For Free

-  Don Gersch

Once upon a time, say in the late 1990s or early 2000s, if you had a virus on your computer you would probably know about it,  Your machine would slow down, or crash on a regular basis, or very unusual things would happen, such as graphics suddenly appearing on your screen.  Often in those days, viruses were created by 14 year olds trying to see what mischief they could make.  Now, in 2012, if you have a virus, or to use a more general term, malware, on your computer, it is unlikely that you will know about it immediately.  That's because it will now hide on your computer and attempt to give information about you to the people who created it – things like your credit card number or your bank account figures.  These days malware is usually created by people trying to steal from you.

One thing hasn't changed, although it may be even more important now – you need to have security programs to protect you, and they must be up to date and working.  Luckily, although there are many good protection programs that you can buy, there are also very adequate programs that you can get for free.  One good anti-virus program is AVG Free (http://free.avg.com).  AVG will update itself automatically and can be set up to run scans on any schedule that you choose.  Once it's set up it will pretty much take care of itself.  It's important to note that when you download and install a free program, you be sure that you are using the free or basic version.  If the web site or installation program suggests an upgrade or demonstration version, don't go for it.  There will either be an immediate charge, or the demo will only last for a set period of time, usually 30 or 90 days, and then ask that you buy it.  AVG Free will remain free, but will need updating as new versions come out.  If you decide for any reason that you don't like AVG Free, another good program to try is Avast Free (http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download). 

Anti-virus programs, including AVG Free, are good at blocking malware, but are not as good at removing it, if you allow it onto your system.  This often happens through no fault of your own.  An excellent program for removing malware from your computer is Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free (http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytesfree).  However, it is important to install Malwarebytes Free before you have a problem.  Often malware, once on the computer, can block security programs from installing.  Unfortunately, unlike AVG, Malwarebytes, in its free version, does not run automatically, you must run it so it can update and scan on whatever schedule you wish.  Running it at least once per week would be recommended.

Whether you decide to use these free programs or one of the commercial security suites, it is essential that you not only have good security programs, but that you be sure they are updating and scanning your computer on a regular basis.

(This article appeared on page 11, Winter Issue 2013, The Afton Vision)

LOCAL CONSIGNMENT STORES

Some area consignments shops

All have additional information online

(via website and/or Facebook)

v  Rainbow’s End

o   37 Main St., Sidney

o   563-8911

v  House of Consignment

o   214 Main Street, Unadilla

o   369-2827

v  Green Giraffe

o   54 State Highway 357, Unadilla

o   369-3234,

  Exclusively Children’s Items

v  Snips and Snails

o   28 North Main St, Bainbridge

o   967-4393

AND

v  The Kid’s Rooms

o   78 Genesee St, Greene

o   656-7304

This list was on the back page of the Winter 2013 issue of The Afton Vision to accompany an article (below) about consignment. 

Interested in growing your own fruit?

Need to understand pruning?

Want to bring old trees back into production?

JOIN AFTON’S

FRUIT GROWING NETWORK

Starting in the late winter with a series of hands-on pruning workshops, continuing through spring nursery stock planting, growing season care and hopeful harvests, the Network’s aim is to increase the knowledge base necessary for personal and community self-sufficiency.  Whether you want to learn, teach or share, if you enjoy fruit and fruit growing , add yourself to the list of people to be notified about Network events this season.

Contact mikebernhard@frontiernet.net