As the morning sun first broke through the treetops today I was out for my morning constitutional and came across a band of merry-men already hard at work in the forest. Usually at this hour the only movements that I see are the squirrels and birds heading for the freshly filled feeders in our yards and the deer grazing quietly up on the hill. And of course there’s always Murphy, the Ace’s golden retriever, a huge smile on his face as he greets me on my walk--tail wagging to beat the band--looking for the biscuit that he knows is hidden in my pocket.

I listened and watched as the newly arrived workers began their day and I noticed a familiar face among the members, Al Snover, from the Tioga County Tourism office. Al informed me that his crew, a part of the federally funded "Summer Youth Employment Program", was here to work on the trails that run through the state forest in Hullsville as well as the state forest over in Jenksville. There was a mountain bike event coming up soon and they wanted everything to be just as it should for the visiting bikers. These guys do a terrific job of keeping the trail systems of Tioga County in top-notch condition. Where needed, they lay down special fabric and then spread carefully measured amounts of gravel and stone on top of it so that soil erosion can be prevented as much as possible.

You can also hear the chain saws humming as they clean up fallen limbs, brush and anything else that could create a problem for trail users. All of this is done so that the popular day-use areas can be best utilized by a wide variety of visiting nature lovers, some local residents, some not. Hikers, skiers, mountain bikers, canoeists and fishermen all owe a great deal to them for the wonderful job that they do in allowing us improved access to some of the most beautiful areas available here in the Southern Tier. In my opinion, their efforts are just what we need to help draw more tourism into the area.

So, who exactly are my "Knights of Sherwood Forest?" They’re your neighbors actually: James Evans--Owego; Paul Defide---Apalachin; Brian Nornhold---Owego; Leroy Hartman---Owego and Dan Bidwell from Apalachin are some of the members of the Elite Crew that I found preparing the trails that day. Others are Supervisor Matt Slocum from Binghamton; Howie Gilbride, TJ Hooker and Dwight Evans—all from Owego, and Gordon Cressman from Newark Valley.

There are certainly quite a few more team members who commit their time and talents as well; young men and women who have something to contribute to the community and leave the place in which they live a bit nicer and cleaner than they found it.

Where else are you likely to find members of the group? You’ll see them in Tioga County Schools and other community facilities as they put in a four-day workweek and then take classes on day number five. These classes help to prepare the squad for any number of careers that they may enjoy and express an interest in.

A big thank you should also be going to several local agencies for providing the opportunities and the funding for these projects. The Tioga County Tourism office, the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Soil and Water Conservation folks and the Owego Job Center are all helping out in a number of ways, financially and morally.

I hope that you’ll take a few moments to think about the work that these individuals and others like them do for you and me. We’re lucky to have them. For more information on this project as well as many others that go on in Tioga County you can reach the Tourism Department at their web site

< http://www.co.tioga.ny.us/> or get in touch with them directly at the address listed below.

Tioga County Tourism Office
188 Front Street
Owego, NY 13827
607-687-7440 - Phone
607-687-9028 – Fax

In the next issue: Small Town retail. What can you do to combat the "Invasion of the Big-Box Stores?".