Press and Sun-Bulletin from Binghamton, New York • Page 21

Plays at Goodspeed Page4C WWL section Kids and money Page GC The Evening Press Binghamton, N. Y. Aug. 21, 1984 1 lip- Hot tips nMir Ty KEITH HITCHENS PHOTOS Tom McCreesh Irish-American fiddler has concert at Cornell Tom McCreesh, considered one of America's pre- mier traditional fiddle players, will give a concert 8 p.m. Saturday in the Commons Coffeehouse in Ana- I bel Taylor Hall at Cornell University in Ithaca.

Advance tickets are $4 and are available at The Ithaca Guitar Works, Borealis Bookstore and The Commons Coffeehouse. Tickets at the door are $5. Children under 12 are $3 either in advance or at the door. Seating is limited. McCreesh performs both American and Irish tradi- 1 tional music.

Patricia Fiery, 13 Colfax Binghamton; Debbie Rubino, 109 Oak Binghamton, and Carol Dznba, Newell Road, Endicott (left to right) rehearse for Sunday's Parking Ramp dance in downtown Binghamton. i Dance returns to the ramp f-TTT i-i-ji mi i ii Timi mi ihh.iji.. 1 fmv- "If Storytime By ANN TRENEMAN A few months ago, dancer and choreographer Lois Welk was driving by Cortese Restaurant in Binghamton when a gleaming white automobile trimmed in light brown caught her eye. "The car was parked outside. We, of course, came to a screeching halt," said Welk, artistic director of Binghamton's American Dance Asylum.

"I went into the bar and asked for the car's owner. He was standing right next to me." The owner's name was Albert Spak, and, as it turned out, he was was pleased to have his hand-built, 1929 Mercedes replica be a part of Welk's current dance project. That Welk would recruit a car to be part of a dance indicates her current project is no ordinary one. It is the 1984 Parking Ramp Dance, the fourth such project Welk has organized in the Water Street Ramp in downtown Binghamton in the past six years. The event is free and is set for the seventh floor of the ramp Sunday and Sept.

2 with two performances each day at 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. While some seating is available, you should bring a lawn chair to be sure of having a seat. For Welk, whose dances often blend her post-modern style of choreography with multi-media effects like slides or film, the parking ramp setting continues to fascinate. "The whole concept and the whole environment is still very intriguing for me," she said last week as she relaxed after a rehearsal at the Whitney Center for Dance in Binghamton. "It's a challenge to work in a space that has so many problems and inspirations built into it." Problems include the concrete floor, which is hard on dancers' legs and requires a specific type of choreography.

For Welk, who revels in bringing dance to such an atypical stage, the inspiration has resulted in a project even more multi-layered than usual for her. Twenty-six dancers, with levels of experience ranging from novice to professional, are coming from as close as Binghamton and as far away as Albany, Corning and New York City to be in the ramp dance. The performance itself is divided into five parts. "Part one is very theatrical It's slow-moving, and its inspiration is really drawn from the environment," Welk said. "Part two is lighter with lots of movement.

There is a big use of the space and bright colors." Then comes an interlude, and to a backdrop of slides shot of Binghamton graffiti, break-dancers will make their entrance. The mood calms as violaist Mary Barton and David Perez and Olive Lockett play and sing an accompaniment to slide images of Binghamton created by photographer Joseph Buemi. The last section, characterized by Welk as happy and uplifting, is a pure-movement dance. While the inspiration behind the parking ramp dance comes from Welk, the primary funding this year came from the department store chain owner Albert Boscov. "I approached Al Boscov, and sent him a video tape.

He was very supportive of the project," Welk said. "He is underwriting the majority of the production costs. In addition to that I have a $1,500 LIFT (Local Incentive Funding Test) grant and a couple of smaller donations." Lack of funds is the main reason that, after ramp dances were staged 1978, 1980 and 1981, there was no parking ramp dance in 1982 or in 1983. "It was because of change in public policy regarding arts funding at the state and federal level and the lack of support from Broome County," Welk said. Although Boscov is the project's primary backer, the intense activity sparked in downtown Binghamton by his new department store has made rehearsal time difficult to find- "We were up there from 10 p.m.

to 12:30 a.m.," Welk said of a recent rehearsal. The equipment for the dress technical rehearsal, she noted, was set up last Saturday and Sunday from 11 p.m. to dawn. Such problems, however, do not pale Welk's pleasure in once again having a chance to work on her pet project. "It was really just a piece of good timing and good luck serendipity, really that (in Trouble in Bugland by William Kotz winkle, illustrated by Joe Servello (Godine, 1983; 152 pages; ages 9 to 11).

By DEBORAH H. WILLIAMS The five stories in Trouble in Bugland are William Kotzwinkle's sincere tribute to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In these pages, an astute Sherlock Holmesian character solves all kinds of mysteries with help from a somewhat inept Dr. Watsonish assistant. Inspector Mantis is a it highly-observant, quick- 1 nfeA'M thinking chap with an un- fortunate propensity toward gambling; Dr.

Mary Ellen Lagana of North Phar salia is among the out-of-town danc-! ers recruited for the 1984 Parking; Ramp Dance. 1978) out of the three ramps I picked the one that was on the verge of being one of the bust est in town," she said. Hopper is a good-humored soul with a weakness for popcorn and pretty females. The two share exciting adventures full of court intrigue, murder and thievery, in settings which range from the neighborhood antique IT i Rent-A-Kid fills needs of community By CONNIE KELLAM It got off to a slow start, but the Rent-A-Kid job service program offered by the Johnson City YMCA, has picked up momentum and is filling the needs of the community while helping local youths. Funded by the United Way and the New York State Division of Youth through the Broome County Youth Bureau, the job service program is in its first year.

It began in May and will continue through December. Thirty-four workers were placed during the week of Aug. 4, and 23 job orders were filled. Some jobs required more than one person1 to do the work, says Don O'Brien, branch manager at the Johnson City YMCA. Most of the requests received are for yard work, says administrative aide Mike Pucek, who registers any youth age 12 to 21 to do jobs in the community.

Anyone with a job to be done can ask for Rent-A-Kid assistance, but to give prospective employers an idea of what the youths will do, the YMCA lists the following services: babysitting, housework, washing dishes, odd jobs, sales help (including store clerks), spreading shop to the dense jungles of Banana Land. The companions are fortunate in that they have more than mere human resources at their commands. Mantis is tall and green, with super-sensitive antennae and a fiercely gripping pincer; he is, inu fact, a praying mantis. Hopper, a grasshopper, has the advantages of four hands and a powerful leap. All the rest of characters are bugs as well, and although they speak in English and act with human motives, their bug attributes often influence the -crimes andor their solutions, In "The Emperor's Crown," for example, a moth whose body exactly matches those of the hornets in the royal guard squadron is discovered only because the chemistry of her saliva differs dramatically from theirs.

In "The Caterpillar's Head," termites, incensed by the theft of their totem, follow and devour the thief, leaving nothing behind but a pile of dust where his shoes used to be. And a fly, losing his head in battle, manages to survive for weeks afterward in the grim but touching story, "The Headless Monster." Trouble in Bugland features many detailed line drawings. The black-and-white illustrations most effectively convey the Victorian settings; the brightly-colored full-page drawings sometimes confuse the eye. Kotzwinkle's subtle sense of humor, strong narrative style and attention to specifics combine to assure the attention of mystery-and-logic lovers. Taken as a whole, the stories and illustrations are a fine, if fantastic, introduction to the moods and methods of Sherlock Holmes and company.

Williams is the coordinator of children's services at the Binglumton Public library. Her book reviews appear in the Tuesday thin section. i I BCUCE UVDAE DUAit Matthew Scarlett clears away tree branches he cut at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Garrison, 40 Albert St, Johnson City.

The great outdoors by Rick Marsi 7 Rick Marsi is on vacation. His column will return next week. rnir CHUCK HAUPT Miss Southern Tier Mary Jo Lane, 17, U-l Ely Park, Binghamton, reacts with excitement as she is named Miss Southern Tier Sunday at the Quality Inn Lodge in Endicott. Mary Jo, a senior at Binghamton Central High School, won the title in the pageant that included 26 other contestants. She will go on to compete in the Miss Teen-ager Pageant of New York this week in Norwich.

After her high school graduation, she hopes to study commercial art. The Miss Southern Tier contest was the second pageant the Binghamton teen has entered. "A friend urged me to try," Mary Jo said. "She said 'You're pretty enough, and you've got the personality' so I entered, and I won." Tomorrow dirt, washing walls, moving furniture, maintenance, shoveling snow, trimming shrubs, washing windows, cleaning cellars, weeding, washing cars, running errands, putting up screens or storm windows, mowing lawns, caring for pets, raking, scrubbing floors, gardening, painting and farm work. Youths 14 or older must obtain working papers, and Pucek says the youth and employer decide on the wage for each job.

Rent-A-Kid youths call their prospective employers to set up the times and woik out the particulars. After the job is completed, the youth reports to Pucek either by telephone or in person. The employer is encouraged to report to Rent-A-Kid on the progress of the worker. "Reni-A-Kid fills a critical need," O'Brien says. "It improves the image of kids in Johnson City and effective communication between youth and adult.

We learn from an experiment base. The youth learns and we learn the needs of the community." Three Rent-A-Kid workers agree they have benefitted from the program. Lori Waters, 15, of 152 N. Broad Johnson City, says she has a lot more confidence in herself now, since working as a telephone solicitor three days a week. Phoning people for dona- and the feeling was mutual, said Lillian FrosJ ofKnappRoad.

"Besides making money, I am glad I met those people," said Bowers, explaining that he is a "people person." Bowers says he would recommend Rent-A-Kid to shy youngters, because they are sure to gain confidence through the program. For the Frosts, Bowers, 18, of Binghamton, cleaned screens, washed windows and stripped the wax off a hallway floor. The Frosts said they intend to use the services of Rent-A-Kid for piling wood and other odd jobs in the future Helen Garrison of 40 Albert Johnson City, is pleased with the program and also the work that Scarlett did at her home recently. She also plans to use the service again. "It is a marvelous help for both the youth and local people," Garrison commented.

"Scarlett did a good job. I might have procrastinated in getting my cellar straightened up, if I did not get his assistance." To hire a youth through Rent-A-Kid, call 729-4976 between noon and 4 p.m. If that is convenient time for you to call, a message can be left, and Pucek will return your call. tions has taught her to open up and be more talkative. "I thought that people would hang up, but they listen," Waters said, adding, "I've learned that people are more friendly around here.

It is interesting what people have to say when you ask them for donations. The Rent-A-Kid program has helped me feel better about myself." Although he was nervous about meeting people when he first joined the program, Matthew Scarlett of 9 Marlayne Drive, Johnson City, likes being involved in the program. He realizes people have work to be done, and, he says, it is not like calling strangers to solicit work: He also has found the program educational. From a Johnson City man who is a flower buff, Scarlett said he learned how to transplant flowers. Owning a car is a responsibUity Scarlett can't ignore when it comes time to fill the gas tank, so his jobs help.

"The pay is good," he said. "One guy pays me $4 plus an hour, and I earned $5 an hour from another man. Peter Bowers, whose main mode of transportation is his bicycle, recently completed a job for a couple in Vestal. He liked meeting them, i On tomorrow's Food page, meet chef Edward i Schlieder, who creates prze-winning culinary masterpieces for Le Chateaneuf, a downtown Bing- haraton restaurant. Inside Abby 3C Comics 7C Datebook 3C Housecall 5C Television 2C.