Woodstock Relay for Life tomorrow night

Photo by Suzanne Hunter

Watch out for the two Fools!

10 Terrible Things Tweens Tweet About Parents

Barbara Williams of FindaBabysitter.org recently submitted this to The Shiretown Blogger's email bag. It was more than appealing to The Shiretown Blogger in an era where social media controls some of us.

Barbara told me about a story recently published on her website, FindaBabysitter.org, about negative tweets posted on Twitter about parents. It is interesting and many are unaware that anything posted in cyberspace is permanent, and can be seen by thousands.

The following is a link to the story.

http://www.findababysitter.org/blog/10-terrible-things-tweens-tweet-about-parents/

Thanks for submitting Barbara! 

Congratulations to the winner of The Shiretown Blogger's Mystery Photo

On Monday, The Shiretown Blogger posted a photo taken on Sunday afternoon in Woodstock and asked readers to guess where the photo was taken.

In the photo was a fire hydrant on the hill in the new "Keenan subdivision" behind Currie's on Houlton Street. (Karnes Drive to be exact).

Mike Smith was the first one to guess correctly and specifically. Congratulations Mike! You now can choose where the next Shiretown Blogger Mystery Photo will be taken. (Expect an email from The Shiretown Blogger soon asking you to pick the location of the next mystery photo). 

Can anyone guess where this is?

Look closely at the photograph above, and try to figure out where it was taken.

Let's see how well you know Woodstock!

To submit your guess, email The Shiretown Blogger at anathandelong@gmail.com. Or submit your guess via The Shiretown Blogger's Facebook page! (https://www.facebook.com/shiretownblogger) Or even via Twitter! (@SBloggerNateDog)

The winner gets to pick where the next mystery photo will be taken, on condition that it is in Woodstock or in close proximity to the town, as it is hard for me to travel very far outside of Woodstock easily. 

Fallen pole on Houlton Street leads to detour, power flickers and outages

A mishap involving a tractor-trailer and power lines spelled the demise of this power pole and caused numerous power outages in the immediate area, with power flickering across town and reports of power flickering in Grafton.

Witness accounts and reports from members from the Woodstock Police Force on hand say that shortly around 2 pm on Tuesday, May 28th, a tractor-trailer hit the power lines above it near the Corner Store and the Valley Solid Waste Commission's recycling bin nearby.

The impact broke the pole at the intersection of Houlton and Charles Streets, knocking out power in the immediate area and causing power to flicker throughout town.

Power crews were on scene working to replace the pole, repair the downed wires and restore power to the area.

According to NB Power's website, it was estimated that seven customers in the area lost power. The website also said that service would be fully restored in the area as late as 8:30 pm Tuesday night.

As for traffic disruptions, Houlton Street was closed from the end of Broadway to the end of Charlotte Street. Charles Street was closed from King Street South to Water Street South. Pat Shaw of the Woodstock Police Force estimated that traffic would be disrupted until 6 pm.

Woodstock Town Police and NB Power crews were on hand monitoring the scene

NB Power crews hard at work

Wires down across Houlton Street

NB Power had equipment on hand to drill for a new pole and prepare to replace the damaged pole

Wires down on Charles Street beh

NB Power truck on hand

Installing the new pole

Pat Shaw of the Woodstock Town Police monitoring one end of the scene

Side view

Detour by Charlotte Street. Rogers crews were on hand

Missing stop sign at intersection of Broadway and Park Street

Location: Intersection of Park Street and Broadway (Broadway hill)
Problem: The stop sign at the intersection is missing. It has been missing for nearly a month now
Effects of Problem: Though stopping at the intersection should be common sense, some may fail to stop at the intersection.
Party Responsible: Town of Woodstock Public Works Department
Solution: N/A

About Woodstock Town Watch


New to The Shiretown Blogger, Woodstock Town Watch is a way for blog readers to voice concerns about things they see in Woodstock that are not right or problems that should be addressed.

If you see anything that isn't right or needs to be addressed, snap a picture of it and send it to The Shiretown Blogger. It will be posted on the blog (hopefully for public works' staff to see) and you could make a difference! 

Should The Shiretown Blogger cover tourist attractions throughout Carleton County this summer?

I have been debating whether I should spend my days off this summer traveling around Carleton County covering various tourist attractions for The Shiretown Blogger.

To refresh your memories, we have a variety of different tourist attractions in our own backyard that are more than worthy of attention and promotion. They include, but are not limited to, the variety of historic homes in Woodstock, Connell House, the Old Carleton County Court House, the Covered Bridge Potato Chip plant on the outskirts of Hartland, the Hartland Covered Bridge, and the Potato World museum in Florenceville-Bristol.

Feel free to email your suggestions to anathandelong@gmail.com. Or post them on The Shiretown Blogger's Facebook page. (https://www.facebook.com/shiretownblogger). Or tweet your ideas--within 140 characters or less. (@SBloggerNateDog).

I will be displaying a poll on The Shiretown Blogger for the next fourteen days posing the question "Should The Shiretown Blogger cover tourist attractions in Carleton County this summer?"

-Yes. It would be a great opportunity to promote all that our area has to offer.
-No. It is not necessary.

Please be honest and only vote once. The poll will close on June 8th, 2012, at midnight. 

The Shiretown Blogger appears in the Bugle-Observer

The Shiretown Blogger was pictured in the Friday, May 11, 2012 issue of the Bugle-Observer, Woodstock's fine community newspaper. The article, written by reporter Bryan Tait, described a presentation shared with members of the Carleton County Historical Society by renowned historian Robert Dallison, author of the newly-released book A Neighborly War: New Brunswick and the War of 1812.

In the picture, I am the brown-haired young man in the front row taking a picture of Dallison doing his presentation.

I know Bryan from covering the Slammers' hockey games for the blog. Great guy.

Bryan Tait, right, is seen here photographing Jake Logan following the Slammers' Kent Cup victory on home ice on April 20th. Slammers' team photographer and NBCC photography instructor Derek Croney is on the left.

The Shiretown Blogger reads agelessNB magazine

The first two issues of agelessNB

Today, The Shiretown Blogger made a stop at the historic Connell House in Woodstock to look after a couple of things for the Carleton County Historical Society. I noticed the first two issues of agelessNB, a magazine established by Woodstock town councillor and NBCC Woodstock journalism instructor Theresa Blackburn. I hadn't seen a copy of agelessNB yet, so I couldn't resist picking up a copy.

Upon arriving home, I sat down and dug out my newly-purchased copies of agelessNB and read them cover-to-cover. To say that the stories inside were nice would be a classic understatement. I thoroughly enjoyed reading agelessNB.

I cannot help but praise agelessNB publisher Theresa Blackburn, her editor Debbie Lutes, and photographer Derek Croney, just to name a few people. In an era where running a business can be difficult, hats off to Theresa and her staff for taking on the challenge and making it work. You are a true asset to the community.

The first issue of agelessNB featured local entrepreneur and musician John Thompson 

agelessNB's second issue featured New Brunswick Premier David Alward's parents, Rev. Ford and Jean Alward

Dilapidated fence in Connell Park affects Shiretown beauty

The fence along the campground in Connell Park has clearly seen better days.

The fence is leaning towards Connell Park Road, for one thing. The fact that it is leaning alone creates a dilapidated look.

It also is in dire need of a paint job, adding to the already-dilapidated look.

The straw that breaks the camel's back with the fence is the areas where the fence is broken, pictured above.

I personally like to think that a drive through Connell Park is picturesque. The only thing that takes away from that is the fence along the campground.

Any appearance of neglect at all could scare business away from the Connell Park Campground, meaning less money being spent by tourists in the town of Woodstock.

The only other thing taking away from the beauty of Connell Park (and Woodstock) is the sign at the end of the driveway to the Woodstock Y's Mens Club. It could use a facelift on one side.

Beautiful Victoria Day weekend weather in Woodstock

The sprinklers at Connell Park were in use for the first time in 2012 on Saturday afternoon

Warm weather on Saturday afternoon also allowed for the town's public works crews to do some construction in front of the Carleton Civic Centre.

A lady doing some gardening on Connell Street on Saturday afternoon

Various trees blossoming always add to a picturesque community

Two Fools on a Roof--Not something you see everyday

For the third year, Woodstock's Relay for Life organizers Andrew Garnett and Scott Dunlop have spent the May long weekend as two "fools," camping out on the roof of Home Zone Electronics in Woodstock in effort to fundraise for Relay for Life. The fools stay on the roof longer as they continue collecting donations and support. 

The fools raised around $10,000 last year in four days. They stayed on the roof for four days again in 2012, beginning with Thursday, May 17th. 

Local businesses can purchase signs in support of Relay for Life to display on the roof and on the fence at the race track on Relay night. 

You can see a lot of Woodstock's business district from the roof!

The two fools had a guest on the roof with them when I stopped to visit. Her painting talents were sure to keep the fools entertained.

Andrew Garnett, one of the fools, working the barbecue on the roof.

This bucket was used to send supplies and donations to and from the roof. 

The Two Fools. From left, Scott Dunlop and Andrew Garnett

The Shiretown Blogger (Nathan DeLong), right, poses for a photo with the two fools, Scott Dunlop and Andrew Garnett.

The roof access point

I got a hot dog from the two fools in exchange for a small donation and a visit to the roof. Thanks for the hot dog and visit! It was great!