HANNAWA FALLS -- Red Knights Motorcycle Club New York Chapter 35 is sponsoring a charity ride for Cerebral Palsy Association of the North Country Saturday, July 16.

The ride starts at The Birches at 11 a.m. Registration is from 9 to 11 a.m., at $15 per bike or $20 with a rider. If you want only the meal to be served after the riders return, it is $10.

There will also be door prizes.

Everyone is welcome.

Info: Calvan, 261-4534, Ted, 384-4639, or John, 265-8675.

By CRAIG FREILICH

POTSDAM – Stage coach rides and a craft beer expo will be among the new features this year during the 44th annual Potsdam Chamber of Commerce Summer Festival.

From Thursday to Saturday, July 14 to 16, Market Street between Elm and Main will be shut down to traffic to make way for almost non-stop music on the Northern Music and Video Main Stage as Potsdam welcomes locals, college alumni and visitors.

CANTON – Twenty-five students from China, Russia and other countries have traveled to the North Country this summer to immerse themselves in American culture and take part in SUNY Canton's international summer program.

The students arrived on Sunday, July 11 and will be on campus for almost a month. They are visiting from Kazan State Finance and Economics Institute and Lomonsov Moscow State University, both in Russia, as well as Guangdong Women's Polytechnic College in China.

Congressman Bill Owens voted Tuesday to provide assistance to victims of 2011 flooding disasters, including homeowners in upstate New York who were recently denied individual assistance by FEMA to recover from flood damage this spring.

The measure failed (http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll561.xml) on a mostly party-line vote, 181-244.

POTSDAM – The village’s economic developer has left to join the Adirondack Park’s oldest economic development organization.

Jim Murphy began his duties this week as the new executive director of the Adirondack Economic Development Corporation (AEDC). He comes to the AEDC with an extensive background in regional economic development and has participated in several initiatives designed to bring people together to improve the quality of life in the North Country region.

COLTON – The North Country Library System will offer computer classes at the Colton Hepburn Library Thursday, July 14.

At 10 a.m. Computer Basic for Beginners will be offered, followed at 11 a.m. by Basic Email Skills.

Then, on Thursday August 11, Downloading EBooks From Your Library will be presented at 10 a.m.

To reserve a spot, call 261-2310.

POTSDAM – Telephone service throughout St. Lawrence County has been disrupted this afternoon, with many landline phones unable to receive or make calls.

Slic Network Solutions and Nicholville Telephone officials said they and other phone service providers are “experiencing issues with calls outside of their own networks.”

The situation is only affecting phone service, not e-mail and Internet service, they said.

Slic and Nicholville Telephone said they are working to restore services as quickly as possible.