North Country Kitchen Table Conversations

In 2020, according to Microsoft News, New Yorkers reported 113 bigfoot sightings. Dean Gleason is the head of the Seaway Valley Bigfoot Association, which he began several years ago as way for people to report their experiences. He joins Jody Tosti today on “Community Connection.”

Bigfoot sightings are nothing new. According to the Encyclopedia Brittanica the British explorer David Thompson is sometimes credited with the first discovery of a set of Sasquatch footprints in 1811 and since then hundreds of alleged prints have offered proof of Sasquatches, including here in the North Country. Our Sales Manager, Mike Guimond, recently had what he believes was a sighting near Massena.

The exhibit “Akwesasne at Work” at the Akwesasne Cultural Center Museum opened earlier this month with images and stories that explore the historical work role of logging, ironworking and basket making. Museum manager, Iakonikonriiosta, (ya go ni gon lee yo sta) joins Jody Tosti today on “Community Connection.”

It’s Memorial Day, one day that is set aside each year to honor and recognize our fallen men and women in the military. Vietnam Veteran Stanley Crump, a Potsdam Amvets member and volunteer joins Jody Tosti on “Community Connection” to talk about today’s ceremony in Ives Park and what this day means to him.

North Country Bound is a play that explores the impact of prisons in the North Country from the viewpoint of retired New York State Corrections Officers and staff. Written by SUNY Potsdam Professor Rivka Rocchio, the staged reading tonight on ZOOM will include a Q&A and is free to the public. Rocchio has taught Theatre and English in prisons, high schools, and middle schools and joins Jody Tosti today on “Community Connection.” Rivka does amazing work and I look forward to a longer conversation with her when we're all vaccinated and can sit down at my kitchen table. 

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10224551918042700&set=a.3065371710543

Mountain Lake PBS will air the short film, Tree House tomorrow at 2 PM. It’s one of three films featured in the half-hour special Festival Films: Spotlight on New York Shorts. Producer and co-director of Tree House, Claire Kinnen joined me to talk about this movie that was shot in DeKalb, NY in a week with a very small budget. 

https://vimeo.com/336495086

It’s International Women’s Day, March 8th, a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. All this week on “Community Connection” we’ll hear from teachers, artists, and grassroots organizers starting with Dr. Jessica Rogers, assistant professor of Environmental Studies at SUNY Potsdam about her work that has taken her across the world. 

David Penepent has been on the frontlines of COVID 19 for nearly a year now helping with relief efforts in New York City and starting a grassroots program he calls “Hands With a Heart.” The SUNY Canton funeral services director has been featured in the New York Times, CNN, Univision and interviewed by filmmaker Spike Lee. He joins Jody Tosti along with some of his students who’ve been with him throughout this journey. 

BBBA is a film written and directed by Elijah Winfrey, a Massena-native, who used all local talent in the dystopian picture that was shot in several areas in St. Lawrence County. 

Matt is a former Watertown Daily Times reporter who covered the St. Lawrence County beat for many years.