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Nate Robson / The Citizen

Karolyn Grimes, right, talks with Auburn residents Joe and Barb Rielly inSeneca Falls Friday where visitors came to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the film “It’s a Wonderful Life,”which has apparent ties to the vi llage.Grimes played Zuzu in the film.

KELLY VOLL

The Citizen

PORT BYRON — Families ofveterans lost to war, retired vet-erans,active duty service mem-bers, teachers and communitymembers were honored with lushevergreen wreaths Friday as PortByron students honored thosewho fought for their freedom.

For the second year, the DanaL.West High School Student Gov-ernment Organization held aWreaths Across America cere-mony to honor those who haveserved our nation and to remem-ber those who served and are nolonger alive.

Linda Townsend, a teacher atPort Byron and the SGO advisor,and students read from a scriptprovided by Wreaths Across Amer-ica — a nonprofit organizationthat aims to expand the wreath-laying tradition at ArlingtonNational Cemetery and elsewhere.

“We can travel from one endof this great nation to the otherand not have to ask permissionto go,” student Randy David readfrom the script. “We are free tovote for whomever we feel shouldbe in government office and weanswer to no one but our ownfeelings. We have the right to suc-ceed and we have the right to failat whatever endeavor we wish to

pursue.”Congress unanimously declaredthe second Saturday of Decembereach year as National WreathsAcross America Day, according

to Townsend. Townsend and PortByron students will be present atthe public ceremony that will beheld at noon today at The EpiscopalChurch of SS. Peter and John inAuburn, by the Vietnam Veter-ans Chapter 704.

Simultaneously, at sites all overthe country,including ArlingtonNational Cemetery,wreaths willbe laid today for veterans whosacrificed for freedom.

The students’ Friday ceremo-ny, held at the high school,featuredseven wreaths, one each repre-senting the Army,Marines, Navy,Air Force, Coast Guard,Merchant

Marine and Prisoners of War/Miss-ing in Action.

In addition to holding theirown ceremony and participatingin Auburn’s, the students soldwreaths this year and in years past

to help people honor and recog-nize loved ones.

Port Byron native and PortByron high school graduate retiredRear Adm.Richard West,whosefather is Dana L.West High School’snamesake,was the keynote speak-er.West recalled his childhood inPort Byron — playing ball, goingto school and not thinking muchabout conflicts overseas. Littledid he know he would spend hislife in the Navy.

“I served with the greatestyoung men and women this coun-try can provide,” he said.

West said that 2 million serv-ice members have deployed since9/11, but said he worries that they

are being forgotten.“But 9/11 was 10 years ago,”he said. “There is a danger that

Sarah Jean Condon / The Citizen

Retired Rear Adm. and Port Byronhigh school graduate Richard

West talks about his experience inthe Navy, and about honoring thepast, present, and future veteransof the United States military.

Citizen.

THE

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2011 75 cents ■ © 2011, A Division of Lee Enterprises THE CITIZEN, AUBURN, NEW YORK

INDEX

Advice/Horoscopes A6Calendar B3Classified B5Comics A6

Lake Life B1Nation&World A5Obituaries A5Opinion A4Sports A12Sudoku A6Weather B4

Circulation: (315) 253-3700

Other calls:(315) 253-5311

The Citizen is online atwww.auburnpub.com

INSIDE OPINION

TodayHigh 33Low 23

 AureliusOfficials continue tomonitor wells after big September fuel spill.

See Page A3.

INSIDE SPORTS

Moravia wrestling hosts  Auburn, Southern Cayuga.

INSIDE LAKE LIFE

See Page A12.

INSIDE NATION / WORLD

 Witnesses say staff fledas India hospital burned.

See Page A5.

Their view 

Theevi-

dence keepsmounting 

that morepeople will benefit fromhealth carereform ...”

Opinion, A4

“

Lake LifeKentucky communities were shaped by theirShaker roots.

See Page B4.

Ira Fast-moving fire routsfamily from home.

See Page A3.

Union Springs makes big fourth-quartercomeback to takeMarathon into OT.

See Page A12.

FDA panel approves birth-control patch despite risk of clots, Page A5

QUICK NEWS

WOLVES WIN WILD ONE

St. Mary’s hopes show will  be entertaining, inspiring.

See Page B1.

6 918134 23456

Call it Bedford Falls, if only for a weekend

NATE ROBSON

The Citizen

SENECA FALLS — Seneca Fallslooked a little more like the fiction-al Bedford Falls Friday to anyonefamiliar with the 1946 film “It’s aWonderful Life.”

Visitors stopped at the village’spost office Friday where a specialpostmark was used for mail symbol-izing Seneca Falls connection to thefilm,others visited shops named aftercharacters from the film and mostmade sure to stop by the Hotel Clarencewhere actresses Karolyn Grimes and

Carol Coombs-Mueller signed auto-

graphs and talked with fans.Hundreds of people shuffled in

and out of the hotel lobby during theopening day of the weekend-longfestival where the two women answeredquestions, shook hands and huggedfans. Items presented for their per-sonalized signatures included black-and-white movie posters and pho-tographs,DVDs,movie memorabiliaand weathered VHS tapes.

SENECA FALLS

Wreaths

honor sacrifice

Sarah Jean Condon / The Citizen

Port Byron community members gather Friday at Dana L. West High School in Port Byron for WreathsAcross America,a program honoring veterans.

Port Byron students recognize area veterans

U.S. ARMED FORCESPORT BYRON

Parkgets

splashof cash

State funds bringOld Erie Canal plancloser to reality.

     ▼

SAMANTHA HOUSE

The Citizen

Port Byron is soon due to enjoya $150,000 slice of a $103.7 millioneconomic grant pie.

On Thursday,the New York State

Regional Economic DevelopmentCouncil program awarded the nine-figure sum to 74 central New Yorkprojects, 12 of which are based inCayuga County. Among the 12 is the$150,000 grant meant to benefit PortByron through an effort to developa canal park.

Awarded to the Canal Society ofNew York State, the grant is intend-ed to help make the long-desiredPort Byron Old Erie Canal HeritagePark a reality.

Thomas Grasso,president of thecanal society,is grateful for the fund-ing.

“We think (the park’s) got poten-tial,and thank God, so do other peo-ple,” he said.

The proposed park project is near-

ly 15 years in the making.Grasso said the proposed Port

Byron Old Erie Canal Heritage Parkwill be a rest-stop park — the onlyknown project of its kind in the coun-try — off of the state Thruway betweenthe Weedsport exit and the PortByron rest stop.Attendants will enterthe park through a visitor’s center.Thepark’s trail, snaking away from thevisitor center, will lead from Locke52 to the Erie House and end at ablacksmith’s barn.

“It will be a very unique site forprobably the whole United States,certainly in New York state,” Gras-so said.“There isn’t access to some-thing like that.”

With the canal society’s one-of-kind vision, Grasso said, bringing

the park to fruition isn’t an easy task.To create access to the proposedpark,a ramp off of the Thruway mustbe constructed. The visitor’s cen-ter will need to be built from scratch,and the crumbling remains of Locke52, the Erie House and the black-smith’s barn will require extensiverestorations.

In other words,the Canal Societyof New York State needs money, aresource the society has struggledto collect for more than a decade,making the $150,000 grant just theinfusion the society was seeking.

To bring the park to life withinthe near future,the society neededto raise about $1.25 million by 2013.Thanks to the state’s grant, the soci-ety’s president said the organiza-tion now needs $1 million,an amountit plans to match. For the next thecouple months, Grasso said the

‘Wonderful Life’festival celebrates

classic Christmas film.

     ▼

See ‘WE, A2

See FUNDRAISING, A2

IF YOU GOWhat: Wreaths Across America

When: Noon today,Dec. 10

Where: The Episcopal Church of SS. Peter and John, 169 GeneseeSt.,Auburn

Info: Wreath-laying for theArmy, Navy, Marines, Air Force,Coast Guard, Merchant Marinesand POW/MIA

See STUDENTS, A5

IF YOU GOWhat: It’s a Wonderful Life Festival

When: 9 a.m.to 10:30 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday 

Where: Village of Seneca Falls

Info: For a full schedule, visittherealbedfordfalls.com