Really, I am delighted that 2020 is over and done with. Our family matriarch Grandmother Helen a proud former resident of County Cork in the southern part of Ireland was always on the scene for all major family events.

On New Year's Eve just when the magic midnight hour was at hand she would jump up and run and open the front door of the house and after a minute she would then slam it shut.

We all thought she was dipping into the sherry again, but Grandma explained it was an Irish tradition to open the door to let the old year out and the new year in.

My mother was very adamant that Grandma Helen not pass along any of her many Irish superstitions to us, so there was never a mention of throwing salt over our left shoulders to stop bad luck - well at least not when my mother was around.

Given what 2020 brought us, just to be on the safe side, I opened both the back and front door of the house, so I am feeling optimistic now that “anno horribilis” 2020 and all its harms are gone!

I was not happy to learn that the price for disposing of a bag of garbage at the County Transfer Station increased from $2.00 (15 coupons for $30.00) to $3.00 (10 coupons for $30.00) starting January 2nd- a fifty percent increase. Last increase was from $1.75 to $2.00 some years ago.

I guess I will have to up my composting skills this year which is long overdue. The only other increase this year was to the price of a ton of waste from $100.00 a ton to $110.00. I asked Rob Doherty, the legislator in our district and Chairman of the County Legislature, what constituted the increase during a time when so many people are unemployed and struggling financially.

Rob told me he was the only legislator that voted against the increase as he saw no pressing need for it and he understands during these tough times any increase is not a good idea, and this Transfer Station increase will probably just lead to more illegal dumping along our roads and in the woods.

Rob told me he is looking to hold more litter pluck programs to help keep the County clean and looking good for all the visitors we have been getting.

If you are a member of #Team Izzy, #fight like a kid, you would know that it is the homegrown cheerleading network for Isabella Giglio, our Yulan neighbor and warrior princess who is undergoing some tough medical treatment for a rare type of brain cancer.

On Saturday January 2nd, Izzy was celebrating her eleventh birthday. To help her celebrate the Yulan Fire Department organized an amazing Birthday Drive By. I have read about and seen videos of these fire truck drive byes but being there and experiencing the sheer volume of noise was exciting.

The Drive By featured seventeen emergency vehicles with flashing lights, sirens and horns blasting away from not only our Yulan Fire Department but also fire trucks and emergency vehicles from Glen Spey, Shohola and Lumberland as well as a long line of cars and trucks with neighbors honking their horns, waving, and shouting out birthday wishes to a widely smiling Izzy.

Happy Birthday Izzy, and we are so enormously proud of you and many thanks to the members of the Yulan Fire Department for stepping up with so much kindness to help make Izzy's birthday so special!