St. Joseph's Place at Bon Secours wins Port Jervis scarecrow contest

Port Jervis, N.Y. — On Sunday, Sept. 25, staff and residents of St. Joseph’s Place, a long-term care facility at Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis, won first place in the fifth annual scarecrow contest at the annual Fall Foliage Festival.
The Port Jervis Tourism Board sponsors the festival, which features vendors, live music, a Roaming Railroad for children, a petting zoo and more.
The creative St. Joseph’s Place entry was The Tin Man, a character from the 1939 award-winning motion picture, "The Wizard of Oz." It was the fourth time in five years that the people at St. Joseph’s had submitted a handcrafted scarecrow for the contest. And in that short period they have won first place twice along with second and third place in the other two years.
The idea,” said St. Joseph’s Place Recreation Director Kelly Fedrizzi, “was the brainstorm of Activity Aides Stacie Denalla and Jess Mailet along with the residents of St Joseph’s. This event is a favorite among the staff, and residents every year. Everyone worked very hard on this project, and it was an incredible accomplishment of creativity and skill.”
Residents and staff spent two weeks building The Tin Man out of tin cans and metal roof flashing.
It will be on display for six weeks, along with other scarecrow entries, at Skinner’s Park on Easte Main Street across from Bon Secours Community Hospital.