Since Bill and I just couldn’t seem to stop going to meetings and taking photos, it seemed like a good idea to take Juliann up on the offer to do a Palisade News website when she suggested it a couple of months ago.
We were really lucky to be able to avail ourselves of the expertise of Stan Stephens, a new Palisade resident and businessman. His business, Long Point Digital, is located above the Slice O’Life Bakery where he specializes in digital marketing and web design. I have no idea how he has managed to still fit in the door of his office; if I worked above the bakery, I would soon need the freight elevator to get myself upstairs…then there’s the doorway!
But, I digress; although it isn’t exactly the same as our old newspaper, we’ve tried to keep it familiar in attitude and coverage. Bill and I both attend lots of meetings and functions, Brenda still talks to everybody, I’m going to be back on the sidelines and in the auditorium of my favorite Palisade High School Bulldogs, and now we have the added input of Juliann Adams from the Palisade Chamber of Commerce, and Stan of Long Point Digital to add variety. We also welcome input from readers, residents and visitors alike. Feel free to comment, we’d like to make the website useful to the community. We’ll be adding things like a community calendar. A few other bells and whistles have been discussed, so keep in mind that we’re just getting started.
I’m really excited to be back on the job, I just love Palisade, and didn’t realize how much of a blabbermouth I seem to need to be… I’m especially excited that the new website launched on the weekend of the first Sunday Market, and of course, the Bluegrass Festival at Riverbend Park.
It’s a laid back crowd in Riverbend Park this weekend, everyone seems to have a great time listening to Bluegrass music, enjoying the spectacular scenery, and visiting with friends.
Bluegrass weekend has come to be my very favorite weekend of the whole year, I just love how friendly and communal the whole experience is. I was bummed that I couldn’t camp this year, but my new work schedule at The Daily Sentinel (3 – 10 a.m.) would make me a really rude camper. I have three different alarm clocks that go off at 2 a.m. I’ve always been an early riser, but even I can’t wake up that early without help.
The weather has really cooperated, as has the river, and there was a full moon to boot. The music gets better all the time, and the people love to dance! Sarah Brooks is a regular force of nature on the dance’floor.’ It’s such a great festival and gets better every year. Thanks to everyone that comes, and everyone that volunteers. It has turned out to be a world class event in a home-town venue, and I look forward to it all year.
I’ve seen fruitstands opening, and you know what that means, tomato and mayonnaise sandwiches on Slice O’Life Vegetable Bread, and corn on the cob with butter!!! I was thrilled to find a new size of Helman’s, it must be called Gigantic or Monster-sized, it barely fits in the door of the fridge.
There are delicious cherries this year, although the apricots seem to have gotten hit with the cold earlier in the spring. I was delivering newspapers the other day and ended up at Barbara Bikki’s place in The Vinelands. She gave me a paper sack and we walked over to the tree in her yard and picked handfuls of the sweetest cherries I’ve ever tasted. What a treat!
The Sunday Market starts tomorrow and runs each Sunday through the summer. There are lots of good things to eat as well as local alpaca, lavender and honeybee products. Check it out, downtown Palisade from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
And last, but certainly not least, Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there in cyber-Palisade. Although my dad lives in Phoenix, I’ll be sure to talk to him for a while at least, and he’ll be surprised to hear the website is up and running already. He has always encouraged me to ‘go for it,’ as he did with this new venture, and I sure appreciate having a fan. Happy Father’s Day to my ‘Daddy-O’ and I hope you enjoy many more.
Keep checking in at Peach Town News, we’ll keep updating every day or two, we don’t really have a schedule yet. Teaching dinosaurs like Bill and I to do this has probably been as challenging for Stan as it was for him to put the website together, we can’t thank him enough for his help.
Till next time…shop local, and eat lots of good fresh fruit and veggies. They don’t get any better than this!
Thrilled to see you back, Betsy! Have missed having news about what’s going on in Palisade – and your interesting chatter. :)
I just learned about this site from Karen at the library and am so glad! Thank you for doing it.
As the owner of property on Main Street I have attended two public meetings about the “Main Street Improvement” project. Frankly I do not feel the property owners, or the citizens of Palisade, have been adequately informed of the scale and impact of this project. I sincerely hope that the Peach Town News will help share accurate information on this issue. If I understand correctly, Main street will be narrowed to allow room to widen the sidewalks on east and west sides. Property owners were notified by an invitation taped to the front door (12 of 23 the properties are non owner occupied, 2 are churches). These owners will see an increase in their property tax with the creation of a “Special Improvement Tax” inorder to contribute funding for the sidewalk enlargement. Is a letter in the mail too much to ask? I am all for accessability for those with mobility issues and the benefit of pedestrian walk ways. In this particular situation the narrowing of the street concerns me. My overall feeling when leaving the public meetings was that it was a done deal and there was nothing that could be changed at this point in time. I do not feel this is in the best interest of the town. I would like to see the unsafe sidewalks repaired, ramps at all corners, but to keep the sidewalks the present width to preserve the existing width of Main Street for the safe use of cyclists and motorists.
Arden Blatter
Hello, thanks for your comments. I don’t really have an explanation for why you were notified by a note on the door, seems like the post office could use the business, at least! I’ll do some investigating on the Main Street project and we’ll put together a story in the next couple of days. You raised some good points, I’ll see what I can find out. You’ve probably already done this, but you could also write/email Frank Watt, the Public Works Director for the Town of Palisade.
Thanks also for giving the website a try. Although it isn’t quite the same as a newspaper, at least it is a forum for all of us Palisade residents to find some local news. It’s an all volunteer effort at this point so we’re trying to cover as many different topics and events as we can get to.
We’ve got some other additions coming, such as a local calendar, weather and some local links that may be useful to citizens. Please keep checking, we’re trying to get at least something new posted every day or two. The most recent news will be at the top, with the exception of the “Welcome” that will probably stay where it is for a couple of weeks.
Welcome Back Betsy,
I am so grateful to have you and the crew (Bill and Brenda) working up the latest in Palisade news. Thanks to all of you for your great effort in keeping local! I’m looking forward to reading lots of your great writings.
Thanks so much for your comments, Lisa. I apologize for the tardiness of my response, I’m still learning our new software, and even plan to tackle Facebook next. Yippee! We’re really glad to be back, it’s taking a little bit to get used to publishing all the time as opposed to a weekly deadline, it should be easy, but change is harder for us dinosaurs (Bill and I, that is!). Keep checking the PeachTown website, we’ve got more improvements planned and will be posting stories as things happen here in Palisade.