The Alford Community Church invites you to celebrate the season of Thanksgiving at the historic 1817 church in Alford Center. This service will be held on Sunday November 20th at 9 AM, followed by a special coffee hour.

The Alford Church’s regular services are held on Sundays at 9 AM. Church suppers are held on the second Saturday of every month, open to all neighbors at 6 PM at the town hall, please bring a covered dish to share.

PLEASE NOTE: The Alford Town Government does not endorse any particular religious views. This is a community news posting entered verbatim as it was received, it is not intended to offend any other beliefs.

The Larry Chernicoff Sextet at The Clark Art Institute
Saturday October 8 at 8 pm
The Clark Art Institute Auditorium, Williamstown, MA

Tickets are $25 ($20 for Clark Art Institute members). Tickets will be available at the door, but if you want to reserve now, call me at 413 528 6021.

My quintet has been together, on and off, since 1984, with the same five guys. Four of us will reconvene this time, but one of the sax players, Tim Moran, can’t make it – he has to be in Peru (really!).  So I’ve invited electric 5-string violinist Derrik Jordan to join us. And this time we’ll be a sextet, with Berkshire sax legend Charlie Tokarz (who’s played with us before) along for the ride.

We’ll be performing some new compositions and some old ones, including fanfares and waltzes, sometimes meditative and quiet, sometimes jazzy and funky, with influences ranging from New Orleans, India and South Africa to 1960’s doo-wop.

And please pass this note on to friends who might dig our music.

Sincerely,
Larry Chernicoff

“This is an unusual and engaging band, with energy, lyricism, and humor… very memorable. Catch them next time they’re around.” – Albany Times-Union

“Rhythms collided, chords didn’t quite change when and where you expected…and that’s what makes the music of the Larry Chernicoff so compelling and intriguing. The world-class improvisers each had his moment in the spotlight. Hovering over all this was composer and visionary Chernicoff … who once every year or so … pops out as a musical wizard leading one of the hottest bands around.” – Berkshire Eagle

“With a group of truly world-class players, … it became difficult to tell where Chernicoff´s writing ended and the improv began.  And the sound was, in a word, heavenly.” – Metroland

“Listeners certainly are provoked to think, and glow just a bit.” – Berkshire Eagle

If you sustained losses or damage from Tropical Storm Irene you may be eligible for disaster aid.

• For more information or to Apply: http://www.disaster.assistance.gov
• Or Apply on your smartphone at: m.fema.gov
•  Or you can call to Apply: 1-800-621-FEMA (3362)
•  The TTY number is 1-800-462-7585
•  For 711 or Video Relay Service, call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362)

When you apply for disaster assistance please have the following available:

• Social Security Number (including your spouse’s)
• Private insurance information, if available
• Address and zip code of the damaged property
• Daytime telephone number
• A telephone number where FEMA can reach you or leave a message
• An address where you can get mail
• If you want your disaster assistance funds sent directly to your bank, provide the FEMA agent with your bank account type (savings/checking), account number and routing number

Disaster assistance for eligible recipients is available without regard to race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. This information is current as of September 2011. You can download an official PDF copy of this document here: FEMA_Disaster_Assistance_2011

I decided to do a little storm-chasing and to shoot some video around Alford of the after-effects of Hurricane Irene. I mainly intended the video for family and friends, with some of my own music in the background, but decided to share it with you too.

Here in Alford we were very fortunate compared to places in New York State and in Vermont. We only received 5 inches of rain compared to the 12 inches that other areas got, and we did not have sustained high winds in Alford unlike the other unfortunate areas. We did have some pretty good bursts of heavy wind, especially on Crooked Hill and along Route 71 while I was out filming. Some of the gusts had to be 50-60mph, enough to rock my car while driving and to push hard against me when I got out to film!

We had some trees down and flooding in many areas, as well as some power and phone outages, but we were very fortunate. The Alford highway Department did an excellent job of marking the troubled areas with signs and cones, and they were on top of clearing downed trees and getting the utility companies to get us back online as soon as possible. Two thumbs up to the Alford Highway Department, excellent as always! We also thank all of the emergency services and personnel for being on standby for a worst-case scenario!

Sincerely,
Arthur Dellea

Ed McCormick is the Emergency Management Director of Alford and Egremont, he issued the following notice on Friday 8/26/2011:

“Hurricane Irene is expected to affect our towns on Saturday afternoon and Sunday. If the predictions are correct we may lose electric power and water service. If you are elderly or have a medical condition please call #528-0182 ext. 10 to give your name and address so that personnel can check on you during or after the storm. If you have an emergency dial 911. Please prepare yourself for strong winds and heavy rain and check on your neighbors to see if they may require assistance. If necessary a Shelter is prepared to be opened at Mt. Everett School. WSBS at 860 AM Radio will carry additional information.”