The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

eastwickpress

Public Meeting/Forum On Open Meetings Law And FOIL

By

submitted by Colleen Teal, New Lebanon Town Clerk

A Public Meeting/Forum will be held at the New Lebanon Town Hall on Tuesday, April 29, at 7 pm on Open Meetings Law and the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).

Robert Freeman, Executive Director of the Committee on Open Government, will be directing a public forum, open to everybody, to talk about and answer questions regarding public access to government information in New York State. This is your opportunity to get your questions answered regarding local government, including but not limited to your Town Board, Zoning Board and Planning Board, access to Town minutes and FOIL requests.

This public forum will last as long as is necessary as Robert Freeman is dedicated to staying to answer questions until no more questions remain.

Hoosick Grange March 2014 News

By

It was another stormy Wednesday night on March 12. We had to cancel our meeting and move it forward one week to March 19. We had some very daring Grangers who attended that meeting. We had the Photography Contest. Berta Burr took first place in the Scenery Category; Martha Babbitt won first in the People Category, and Corrine Philpott won first in the Animal Category. We also had the Apple Pie Contest, and Corrine Philpott came in first. These winners will go on to the Rensselaer County Pomona Contest If their photographs win there, they will go to N.Y. State Grange to be judged. After the contest we all enjoyed apple pie and ice cream.

The March 26 Meeting

What a surprise – March 26 was good weather. We had a covered dish supper, and it was delicious. We had our program right after supper.

The Lecturer announced who our speaker was, David Filkins. David has been a teacher for sixteen years. He taught GED, General Educational Development, in the Schenectady School System. When a person doesn’t have a high school education, they could get a GED. David told us the first thing the student did was take a test of twenty-five questions to see “How Are You Smart?” All these tests are published by McGraw Hill. They also publish all the books to study for the test. In 1978 they revamped the test. David said the Grange was a big push behind this program. They revamped again in 1988, 2002 and 2013. The 2013 test is a test on getting ready for college. The test consists of fifty questions and an essay at the end. This test is given all over the U.S.A. and Canada, in English, French and Spanish and Braille. Many famous people have taken the G.E.D. After a person passes the GED, you get a Certificate of Employability. David has taught in many unusual places, like the jail. He said he felt very safe there. He answered questions. The Lecturer thanked David for a very interesting program.

Our next meeting is on April 9. Marion and Omer Brenenstuhl are in charge of the program. They are having Paul Davendonis from the Rensselaer County Sheriff Department as speaker. The Refreshment Committee is Marion Hynick and Berta Burr.

Don’t forget – we are having a food drive or money for the HACA  food closet.

Grafton Historical Society April Meeting

By

The Grafton Historical Society will meet at 7 pm in the Grafton Town Hall on April 16.

Researching Local History Online

Bob Mayo will give a presentation on how digitized New York State newspapers available on the internet can be used to research local and family history.  He will discuss some of what he learned about Taconic Lake history and his own family history in the process.

Bob lives year round on Taconic Lake in the Town of Grafton, where he is President of the Taconic Lake Association.  He worked for over 20 years at IBM and is currently the Director of the Libraries at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.  Bob blogs on local nature and other subjects at http://rensselaerplateaulife.blogspot.com/ and maintains a weather station that provides a feed to the internet and local TV station WNYT (Channel 13).

The program is free, and the public is welcome. Refreshments will be served.

HAYC3 Twirlettes Celebrate The Wizard Of Oz’s 75th Anniversary

By

The Twirlettes invite family, friends, relatives and community members to join them for a performance celebrating the 75th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz. Under the direction of Ms. Davia Plusch, the girls mix the original beloved characters and story of the movie with contemporary pop, country and rock songs and coordinated baton twirling routines to re-tell it in what can be described as a typically creative Twirlettes interpretation.

[Read more…] about HAYC3 Twirlettes Celebrate The Wizard Of Oz’s 75th Anniversary

St. Mary’s Academy Builds The Eagles Nest Summer 2014

By

St. Mary’s Academy is excited to announce the formation of “The Eagles’ Nest” Summer Program. Our summer program will offer weekly themed programs in which students will be challenged to continue to enrich their academic knowledge through hands on activities, crafts, and play. The programs will group children by age and encourage them to continue growing in their ability to work with one another, assuming responsibilities, and to follow the Catholic faith.

PreK-2nd Grade (Beagles-“Baby Eagles”) – Continue to provide enrichment in letter and number recognition, hand writing, sight words, fluency in reading, etc. Children will participate in circle time, games, crafts, exercises, nap/rest (PreK), story time, and hands on activities.

3rd-5th Grade (Eagles) — Continue to provide enrichment in math (multiplication, division focus), reading fluency,hand writing, science and social studies topics through hands on activities, games, crafts, exercise, and story time.

The program will be offered from 7:30 to 4:30 daily beginning June 23 and ending August 22. Registration will be offered on a weekly, daily and hourly scale. Afternoon snacks will be provided and campers should bring their own lunch.  The cost for five full days a week is be $120.

Please contact Principal, Maureen Daurio at 518-686-4314 or mjdauriosma@gmail.com for more information.

Some April Events At The New Lebanon Library

By

Doug Schmolz

Berkshire musician Doug Schmolze will be performing at the New Lebanon Library on Friday, April 11, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. This event is free and open to the public, although donations for the performer are appreciated.

Schmolze’s program will include traditional folk songs and sing-along favorites as well as songs from the American songbook from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s from composers such as Harold Arlen, Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hammerstein. He will also perform solo guitar pieces from Latin American and Spanish composers including Flamenco.

Doug Schmolze studied guitar and composition at the Berklee School of Music, classical guitar with Alexander Bellow and voice with Virginia Berry, Michael Diesen-Barrow, Diane Ingraham Barnes and Frank Kelley. He has sung with the Pro Art Choral, the Lorien Ensemble, the Berkshire Bach Singers, Berkshire Choral Festival, Berkshire Opera, and the Cantilena Chamber Choir.

Father And Son Author Team 

Local authors Michael and Diego Mongue will appear at the Library on Friday, April 18, at 3:30 pm, to talk about their quarterly comic book series, “Awesome Robot Science Fiction Action Comix.” The talk will be followed by Q&A and discussion, after which Michael and Diego will sign copies of the latest issue.

Awesome Robot started as letters left in Diego’s school lunches. Messages of encouragement like, “Have a great day at school” or “Eat your lunch and work hard” soon morphed into stranger missives, such as “Don’t eat cake from the cafeteria garbage pail.” These notes were accompanied by illustrations that eventually became the Awesome Robot series, the story of  Dennis the Robot and his misadventures.

Mongue is an artist residing in Williamstown, MA. His work has been shown at the Left Bank Gallery in Bennington, the Arts and  Crafts Guild in Dalton, the Flatiron Gallery in North Adams, the Amsterdam Whitney Gallery in New York City, and the Deborah Davis Fine Art in Hudson, the Firehouse Cafe in Adams. He is the author of M.Mongue: Acrylic Paintings from a Berkshire Artist, as well as the Awesome Robot series which he writes with his son, Diego, who attends the fifth grade.

All are welcome at this free event, which is most appropriate for school aged children although interested patrons of all ages are welcome.

An Evening Of Jazz And Swing With The Limb Shakers 

Berkshire band The Limb Shakers will be performing at the Library on Friday, April 18, at 6:30 pm.  They will perform a program of old time jazz and swing music at this event, which is free and open to the public although donations for the performers are appreciated.

The Limb Shakers have played swing dances at Club Helsinki and given concerts throughout Western MA and New York.

The band features Allen Livermore on saxophone and clarinet, bassist Seth Travins, and Alfred Brewer on trombone. Allen Livermore has performed at clubs, restaurants, resorts, colleges and arts spaces throughout New England and New York. “Sauerkraut Seth” Travins has toured extensively as bassist for Hudson Valley band The Wiyos. Berkshire-based Alfred Brewer performs on alto, tenor and bass trombones and euphonium. He currently studies with Norman Bolter at New England Conservatory.

Grains on the Brain 

Today tremendous attention is being paid to the impact of wheat on the human body. Join Kelly Crine, licensed occupational therapist, for a spirited discussion on this subject on Thursday, April 24, at 6:30 pm at the Library. This program is free and open to the public.

Crine, who has been studying nutrition for the past decade, will share what she has learned about how the consumption of grains can impact health. She will discuss and demonstrate methods for traditional preparation of grains to improve their digestibility

The New Lebanon Library is located at 550 State Route 20, ¼ mile north of the yellow blinking light at the intersection of Routes 20/22.

St. Mary’s Academy Fish Fry Fridays Are Back

By

St. Mary’s Academy is once again holding its famous Fish Fry Fridays. Every Friday through Lent you can buy a full fish fry dinner with a bun, French fries, homemade coleslaw and a homemade dessert for just $9. If you would prefer, we also have a macaroni and cheese dinner with the same delicious sides for $5.

Dinner is served at the Immaculate Conception Church Hall in Hoosick Falls every Friday from 5 to 7 pm, and this year, we have added a lunch time option beginning at noon. All proceeds go to benefit St. Mary’s Academy. Thank you in advance – your continued support is greatly appreciated.

Lions Penny Hunt

By

The Town of Hoosick Lions Club will hold its annual Penny Hunt in Wood Park on Saturday, April 12, at 1 pm. The Club will also have chocolate bunnies for sale for $5.

Road Race

Just a reminder that the Lions Club 5k Road Race will be held on Saturday, May 17. It’s never too early to sign up!

Blood Drive at Southern Vermont College

By

Southern Vermont College will be hosting an American Red Cross Blood Drive on Wednesday, April 9, from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm in the Mountaineer Athletic Center gymnasium. Donors are required to be at least 17 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds. The College invites and encourages community members to participate in the Blood Drive.

For more information or to sign up to donate blood, contact SVC’s Civic Engagement Coordinator Corie Steinke at 802-447-4667 or csteinke@svc.edu. Individuals may also contact the American Red Cross directly at 800-RED-CROSS or www.redcrossblood.org.