CANTON – TAUNY kicks off the 2011 First Thursday for Kids program with a carving class with Ron Riley on Thursday, Jan. 6, from 3:45 to 5:15 at 53 Main St.

Children ages 8 to 12 are invited to carve animals in bars of soap using plastic knives and popsicle sticks for tools. For beginning carvers, soap is often the first medium used because it is soft and easier to carve than wood.

The cost for the workshop is $8 for TAUNY members and $11 for non-members; all materials are provided.

UPDATED 3:45 PM DEC. 27

MASSENA – More details have been released in connection with the Christmas Eve arrests of six people for recent purse snatchings at St. Lawrence Centre.

Four Massena residents were arrested on felony charges and jailed with bail as high as $100,000, state police said. Two others were released on appearance tickets.

As the nation prepares to observe the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the New York State Military History Museum and Veterans Research Center is making capsule histories of 360,000 New York Civil War Soldiers available online.

The entire roster of New Yorkers who served during the Civil War Years, 1861-1865, is now available online, as well as the five annual reports issued by the Bureau of Military Statistics from 1864 to 1868 that chronicle the accomplishments of New Yorkers in battle.

LAWRENCEVILLE – The Lawrenceville Fire Department Auxiliary will hold its monthly breakfast at the fire hall Sunday, Jan. 2 from 7:30 a.m. to noon.

The cost is $6.50 for adults, $5.50 for seniors, $3.50 for under 12 years and free for under 5.

The menu includes ham, sausage, home fries, eggs, toast, pancakes, maple syrup, fruit, beverages, sausage gravy and biscuits.

Takeouts are available. For more info, contact 389-4439 or 328-4939.

St. Lawrence County may have avoided the blizzard pummeling much of the Northeast, but it has not escaped the storm’s effects on holiday travelers.

Cape Air has cancelled flights to and from Albany in Massena and Ogdensburg until tonight, and Trailways bus drivers warned passengers in Potsdam that their connecting busses might not be operating downstate.

Most of New England and the greater Albany area are in the midst of the storm.

However, all is predicted to remain calm in St. Lawrence County, according to the National Weather Service.

To the Editor:

The Lights on the River committee would like to thank everyone who has made this year’s event such a success.