On Sunday, the northern New York native will join more than 50,000 people at the starting line, competing in the 2023 New York City Marathon. But she will do so without her handcycle this time, using crutches instead.

“Why not?” she said. “It will be hard, and it will hurt. But because I can…I have so many friends that I race with that can not stand, can not walk. And that’s something that I still have the ability to do. ”

READ THE FULL STORY COURTESY OF WPTZ HERE

Not sure how to purchase your first home in this marketplace? Join the Virtual Open House Party for 1st Time Home Buyers March 20th hosted by Seven Days VT.

READ MORE ABOUT THE OPEN HOUSE PARTY COURTESY OF SEVEN DAYS VT AND REGISTER HERE:

The Artful Ice Shanties will be displayed at Retreat Farm (45 Farmhouse Square, Brattleboro, Vermont).

Visitors are welcome from dawn to dusk. Park at Retreat Farm, stop in at the welcome hut near the farmhouse, and then head into the square to see the shanties now until February 24th

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ARTFUL SHANTIES WITH WPTZ’S JACK THURSTON

Whether serenading your sweetheart long distance or in person, Green Mountain Chorus offers their 4-part harmonies as a unique Valentine’s Day Gift.

READ MORE ABOUT SERENADING YOUR SWEETHEART COURTESY OF WPTZ’S MICHAEL CUSANELLI

Snowblowers rev as volunteers lift blocks of ice used to make the bricks for the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Ice Palace. This year’s Winter Carnival takes place February 2 – 11. For more information visit https://saranaclakewintercarnival.com

SEE THE FULL ARTICLE FROM THE PRESS REPUBLICAN AND MORE PICTURES FROM JACK LADUKE HERE

Each year, 98.9 WOKO teams up with Hannaford Supermarkets to highlight 20 outstanding women who serve our Vermont and Upstate New York communities. Past winners have ranged from Cecile Brannon, the organizer of the Vermont Maple Festival to Tammy Carrol, the founder of Big Beautiful Life, a foundation dedicated to spreading joy to children in crisis.

From February 26th through March 22nd one winner per day will be recognized both on 98.9 WOKO and woko.com. A gathering of all the winners will be invited to an evening to remember as they’re celebrated as Hannaford’s 20 Outstanding Women at the Delta Hotel by Marriott on March 27th.

Nominations are being accepted now at woko.com.

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According to The Press Republican, Plattsburgh High School music director William Verity will direct the Select Vocal Ensemble for the last time at the Martin Luther King Celebration, 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 15, at the Blessed John XXIII Newman Center, 90 Broad St., in Plattsburgh.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Committee welcomes attendees to this annual celebration, whose theme for 2024 is, “Why we can’t wait: activating our power for equity in justice.”

Read more about William Verity’s legacy with the school and how this concert will pay homage to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

MORE: 

Hotels in both Vermont and New York are already gearing up for the solar eclipse coming April 8th.

This eclipse is a rare one — it will be the first total solar eclipse to directly hit the North Country in at least a millennium.

According to the Press Republican,  a partial eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017 brought more than 500 people to the Adirondack Sky Center and Observatory in Tupper Lake and around 1,800 to the Wild Center, but tourism officials expect visitation on April 8 to eclipse that figure many times over.

Mark Breen, Senior Meteorologist and Planetarium Director at the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury, told Vermont Public that “the path will basically cover all of the Adirondacks and St. Lawrence Valley, and in Vermont, the top of the area will be around Montreal, and the lower part of the area will run near Middlebury, Montpelier, St. Johnsbury and Bethlehem, New Hampshire.”

If you’re stumped on what to do this New Year’s Eve, there are LOADS of events going on both sides of the lake! From Karaoke fun at Park Place in Essex Junction, Vermont to Fulton’s Folly at Whiteface Lodge – take a peek at these listing to find something to ring in 2024!

Vermont – click HERE

New York – click HERE

Feeling lonely during the holidays? Both Vermont and New York have some excellent resources to help you break bread with your community and create lasting connections.

During the height of the pandemic, a group of Plattsburgh restaurants banded together on Facebook to offer food to the community. Their sense of community has only grown over the past few years and now, Plattsburgh Restaurants Together offers free Thanksgiving meals to the community. You can find them on Facebook here:

If you’re looking for a thanksgiving gathering in Vermont, there are several listed under Vermont’s 2-1-1 Resources here:

Have a very Happy and Safe Thanksgiving.