By Mark Boshnack

Staff Writer

Christmas lights could be twinkling on Main Street in Sidney Center this holiday season.

The Sidney Center Community Improvement Group has been meeting since November on issues involving the community, member Jessica Farrell said.

In an effort to take "small, but visible steps" in the community, the group is seeking donations to decorate the hamlet for the season, she said.

This includes seeking about 20 three- to five-foot tall artificial Christmas trees and the funds to decorate them with lights and ornaments.

The trees would be placed in the flower barrels that the group bought with a Main Street grant it received last spring from the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development.

A real tree is being sought for placement near the Sidney Center Fire House as a community tree, she said.

"It is an effort to make things happen" to improve the community, Farrell said.

The group includes about 20 people, and "we’re hopeful that a small effort will snowball," she said. Other activities are being planned.

There are no officers for the organization, which meets at 6 p.m. the first Tuesday of the month at the Sidney Center branch of the Sidney Memorial Public Library, she said.

Next month’s meeting will be held Nov. 9 because of Election Day.

The group is working with Sidney code enforcement officer Dale Downin to see what can be done to improve the look of downtown, she said.

Downin said that he has been in touch with Farrell once a month on issues.

The June flooding slowed enforcement down, Downin said, but "we are trying to meet their needs."

It has been at least 20 years since the hamlet was decorated for the Christmas season, Farrell said.

Monetary donations can be dropped off at the Maywood General Store or Jess F. Howes Building Supplies in Sidney Center or mailed to the Sidney Center Emergency Squad Christmas Fund, P.O. Box 435, Sidney Center, NY 13839.

The emergency squad is handling the donations for the improvement group.

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