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JILL SCHMELZER Amherst Reporter

+ THE GREAT OUTDOORS - This past weekend was the annual Schmelzer Family camping extravaganza. My parents have been going on this weekend getaway to Allegany State Park since before I was born. It is a weekend of wilderness, campfires, football games, hiking trips and most recently paint-ball wars.

My father and mother packed the car Friday morning, and everyone piled into the vehicle. My aunt and I met everyone in the mountains later that evening because of work obligations. But once we were all safe and sound inside the cabin, the festivities began.

My dad started one of his "inferno" fires, because, as he likes to say, "They are too hot and too big." To stay warm, my brother and I danced around and sang while we listened to the songs of the 1960s and '70s. The rest of the family settled into their cabins, and we played poker and enjoyed each other's company for the remainder of the night.

Saturday morning came fast, and after breakfast we went on a 3-mile hike up Osgood Trail. It was rainy, but surprisingly not too cold. About 10 of us trudged through the mud and up the side of the mountain.

I had to stop a few times because my heart was pounding so hard from the incline workout that I thought I wasn't going to make it. I knew I had to stay tough after my 7-year-old nephew ran up ahead of me, yelling back, "Come on, slowpoke."

We made it to the summit and looked over the top of the mountain, my sister took the annual family photo, and we started our decline.

On the way down, my heart wasn't working so hard, but my legs burned from the workout. We had to take extra precaution because of the slick conditions.

One by one, my cousins and other family members hopped over a 2-foot-high tree trunk that had fallen and lay across the trail. It was my turn, and I stood on top of it, and acting like I was 10 again, jumped off as everyone watched and waited. Sure enough, I rolled my ankle, screaming "ouch, ouch ouch" and causing the rest of the hikers to break out in laughter. I hobbled the rest of the way down the mountain and made it to safety. My ankle was sore for a few hours, but I was fine.

The rest of the night consisted of Scattergories tournaments, S'mores and more "oldies" music. It was a perfect weekend away.

by DAVID F. SHERMAN Managing Editor

 HOLIDAY DEADLINES - Next week's Bee will be delivered one day earlier than normal because of the observance of Thanksgiving. That means the deadline for editorial material will be 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16. Classified advertising must be placed by 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17. The Bee will be available on newsstands and delivered to homes on Tuesday, Nov. 21 with the normal schedule returning the following week.

 THE REAL ELECTION RESULTS -You may have missed it last week, but the real contest for re-election in the House of Representatives did not take place in Western New York. Williamsville native Neil Abercrombie edged out Republican Richard Hough with 69 percent of the vote in Hawaii District 1. Abercrombie, a Democrat, was first elected to the House in 1990.