POTSDAM – Parking in downtown Potsdam will be free of charge during the Christmas shopping season.

The village has approved a resolution making parking free on the streets and lots of downtown from Nov. 19 to Dec. 31.

The Potsdam Chamber’s Holiday Shopping Weekend is Dec. 3 and 4, offering special events and sales at local businesses.

Shoppers will be able to enter the Gift Certificate Giveaway, with top prizes of $100 or $50 in Potsdam Chamber Gift Certificates which are accepted at over 130 businesses in Potsdam.

From left to right are Amy Schnauber, Director of Government Relations for LeadingAge NY and Robin Leonard, CNA.

CANTON - LeadingAge New York, formerly NYAHSA (New York Association of Homes and Services for the Aging), recently recognized United Helpers’ Robin Leonard, Staff Development Assistant for Maplewood Campus, with a 2012 Employee of Distinction Award.

CANTON - Morristown artist Charles Chapman, noted for among other things his landscapes of the Grand Canyon and his portrait of Frederic Remington, is the subject of the next Brown Bag Lunch at noon, Thursday, Nov. 17 at the St. Lawrence County Historical Association.

Charles S. Chapman: A Morristown Artist, a free program by Anne Spies, is open to the public and will include images covering Chapman’s work and life.

POTSDAM – The Ministerial Association of Potsdam is hosting a panel introduction and discussion of different religions represented in the Potsdam area at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17 in the Fireside Lounge in the Barrington Union on the SUNY Potsdam campus.

This event is free, open to the public and handicapped accessible.

For further information contact Susan Stebbins at 267-2047.

CANTON -- Assistant Professor of History Melissane Schrems has arranged to bring a copy of the Records of Fort de la Présentation (1740-1750) to St. Lawrence's Owen D. Young Library.

The records are in French and will serve as a research source for Native American history, the history of the Oswegatchie Iroquois, early Ogdensburg and the French and Indian War.

Schrems, a member of the Fort de la Présentation Association board, first came across the documents while doing research.

MASSENA –Coatings specialist Nancy Hewlett from Triple “A” Building Center will be presenting a free how-to clinic, “Painting 101,” from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17 at the store at the corner of Malby Avenue and Rt. 37.

Hewlett will be on hand to demonstrate the basics of successful interior painting, such as choosing the right color, surface preparation, priming, and paint application.

She will discuss the tools and materials to have ready before you get started.

POTSDAM – The Potsdam Chamber of Commerce, 24 Market St., has scheduled its first planning meeting for the 2012 Summer Festival.

The meeting is at the Chamber’s office at 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17. They would be happy to hear suggestions, ideas and input on next year’s version of the annual events.

Info, RSVPs: Marylee Ballou, 274-9000, [email protected].

The season for the Clarkson University Volleyball team may have come to a conclusion on Saturday against Cortland in the NCAA New York Regional Semifinals, but the Golden Knights continue to pick up honors during the awards season as senior Sara Artus (St. Regis Falls, NY) and sophomore Lani Durio (Austin, TX) each gained American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American notice on Tuesday.

(Canton, N.Y.)- The SUNY Canton women’s basketball team dropped a 79-39 decision to Keuka College Tuesday night at home.

The Roos (0-2) had another solid night rebounding as they held a 41-29 edge on the Storm (1-0). Freshman Cortney Whalen (Hammond, N.Y.) scored a team-high 10 points and grabbed four rebounds for the Roos.