Hamburg Day fun, rain or shine

After several scattered monsoons most of the 15 vendors packed up and went home, but in the tradition of ‘the show must go on’ the contestants of the Little Miss and Mr., and Miss Hamburg contests persevered until this year’s winners were selected and crowned. Renee Pennachio, 3, was crowned Little Miss Hamburg and Alexander Ross, 7, was crowned Little Mister Hamburg. There were no contestants in the Junior Miss category this year. Kristen Sanders took the Miss Hamburg title and will represent Hamburg at the County Fair. Along with a trophy, Sanders was awarded a scholarship which she will put to good use at Ramapo College. The rain showers washed out the outdoor activities. Hamburg Recreation Chairperson Laura McCann offered to let the vendors move under the pavilion roof but most of them declined. Scattered tables were occupied by various public service organizations such as the New Jersey Initial Response Team, the Red Cross, Hamburg Fire Safety and Prevention and the local Parent Teacher Association. The New Jersey Initial Response Team (NJIRT) had three members and a search dog named Windy at the event. “The NJIRT is an all volunteer group that assists in wilderness searches,” said John Strowe of Lafayette. “Wilderness search is different from tracking or trailing as we don’t have a sample scent to give to the dog. Windy tracks with her nose up in the air detecting any human scent versus nose to the ground tracking a specific scent.” The handler guides the search based on any information available and wind direction but the dog conducts the search. “We will start downwind of the suspected location of the victim and work upwind,” said Strowe. The group also trains for and conducts high angle rescues such as cliffs and down into caves and old mines. The display table had a photograph of the group training in the Sterling Hill Zinc Mine located in Ogdensburg.