by Thaddeus Flint
The New Lebanon Central School District budget easily passed Tuesday, with 231 votes in favor of and 53 against.
The $12,440,790 budget for the 2013-14 school year comes with zero percent increase in the tax levy.
A proposition to renovate the District’s bus garage also passed with 202 votes for the $1.2 million project and 75 against it.
School Board Vice President Raymond Sowalski, who championed the demolition of the historic Union Free School building, failed in his bid for re-election. Sowalski received 121 votes, while Martha Esposito received 175 votes. Tim Lambert and Sharon Putnam each took in 172 votes. Alexis McDonald received 97 votes. Esposito and Putnam will be new to the Board, Lambert served from 2008 to 2011.
Current Board Members, JoAnn Gavrity and David Kroboth, did not run for re-election.
Panthers Blow By Wildcats
by Ben Gaines
The Hoosick Falls Panthers finished pregame warm-ups on a sunny 87 degree Tuesday while the skies to the south were black from the severe thunderstorm that was pounding the Town of Petersburgh only a few miles away. The last meeting of the two teams was the first game of the 2013 season with Falls winning 7-2 with Josh Brogue pitching.
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Bingo For Baseball
There will be Bingo and a 50/50 raffle on Friday, May 31, at 6 pm with the proceeds to benefit Hoosick Falls Little League Baseball/Softball. Bingo will take place in the Hoosick Falls High School Cafeteria. Winners will receive awesome prizes. The entrance fee is $10 for adults and $5 for children 10 and under.
For more information, contact Kim Funck at 518-686-5809 or funck1@hughes net.
Charlie Dogs In Petersburgh
The Petersburgh Fire Auxiliary will host one of its annual Charlie Hot Dog Fundraisers on Friday, May 31, at the Fire House. The sale will begin at 4 pm and run to 6 pm.
The dogs cost $9 a dozen, $4.50a ½ dozen or $.75 each. If you’d like to pre-order your dogs, please call Janet Snyder at 658-3053 or 339-7311 prior to the 31st.
We look forward to seeing you, and thank you for your continued support!
Walter A. Wood Alumni Reunion
The Walter A. Wood Alumni Reunion will be held on Saturday, June 8, at the Pittstown Volunteer Emergency Corps Building. Dinner will be served at 12:30 pm. Special classes to be recognized are the graduating classes of 1963, 1953, 1943 and prior years. Anyone who has graduated fifty years ago or more is eligible to attend. Any graduate who has not received a letter and is interested in attending, please contact Mrs. Janice Tate at 518-686-7036. Reservations close on June 1.
An Evening Of Classical Music At The New Lebanon Library
Classical musicians Katherine Liccardo and Joseph Gotoff will be performing at the New Lebanon Library on Tuesday, May 28, at 7 pm. They will perform a program of works for violin and cello at this event, which is free and open to the public although donations for the performers are appreciated.
Violinist Katherine Liccardo is concertmaster of the Mannes College of Music Orchestra and an avid chamber musician. She has performed in venues throughout the New York area such as Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Isaac Stern Auditorium and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and Symphony Space.
Cellist Joseph Gotoff ‘s recent accomplishments include performances with world renowned composer and pianist Lowell Liebermann and well received concerts in venues ranging from the City Museum of New York to Christie’s auction house.
For more information on this event, please call the Library at 518-794-8844. The Library is located at 550 State Route 20, 1/4 mile north of the yellow blinking light at the intersection of Routes 20/22.
Rick Leab To Perform At The New Lebanon Library
Berkshire musician Rick Leab will be performing at the New Lebanon Library on Thursday, May 30, from 6:30 to 8 pm. He will be performing a number of works for mandocello, guitar and rhumba box. This event is free and open to the public, although donations for the performer are appreciated.
Leab has been active in the Berkshire County music scene since the 1960s. A renowned drummer, he has performed with Dooley Austin, Straight No Chance and BTUs, among others. Currently he plays with Dublin Porter, a Berkshire trio that performs traditional Irish music.
For further information on this event, please call the Library at 518-794-8844. All are welcome and the event is free. The Library is located at 550 State Route 20, 1/4 mile north of the yellow blinking light at the intersection of Routes 20/22.
Troy’s Great Fire
Kathy Sheehan, Rensselaer County Historian, will present a program on Troy’s Great Fire of 1862 to the Poestenkill Historical Society. “The air was full of smoke and cinders!”…
A major portion of Troy was destroyed when a spark from a locomotive started the fire on the wooden covered Green Island Bridge with ashes cast as far as Poestenkill and Sand Lake. Troy was one of the first communities in this area to buy steam controlled fire trucks so the firefighters were able to contain the fire laterally. The fire was stopped at what is now 8th Street to the east, Federal Street to the north and Congress Street to the south.
Come and hear many more interesting facts regarding this event. The date is May 28 at 7 pm at the Poestenkill Town Hall. For more information, please call Pat at 283-5223.
Postal Service Letter Carriers Helps Stephentown Food Pantry
The Stephentown Food Pantry has added to the shelves about 800 lbs. of food collected in the recent Postal Service Letter Carriers’ Food Drive. Thanks go to the carriers and all the generous people of Stephentown and East Nassau who donated food. The collection from the East Nassau Post Office was split between the Stephentown Food Pantry and the pantry in Nassau. This broad community support allows the Stephentown pantry to provide food for 8 to 14 families per week.
The Stephentown Food Pantry offers short term assistance to residents of Stephentown and Hancock, MA. The pantry is open every Saturday morning, weather permitting, from 9 to 11 am at the Stephentown Federated Church, Garfield Road. Appointments are not needed, but new clients should bring identification showing their street address, such as a current utility bill. As always, requests for help are confidential. For more information, call 518-487-8606.
This volunteer group has been serving the community since 1983. If you missed the food drive and wish to donate money to help stock the pantry, you may send checks to the Stephentown Food Pantry Treasurer at P. O. Box 387, Stephentown, NY, 12168. The pantry is also a member of the Food Bank of NENY in Latham, NY. You may request any contribution you make to them be applied to the Stephentown Food Pantry account as part of their Adopt-A-Pantry program..
May Events At GLSP
May 27, Monday – Treasure Hunt at 10 am. Follow the map, find the clues and, with luck, your team will find the loot! Pre-registration is required; call 279-1155. The cost to enter is $2 per person or $5 per family.
May 27, Monday – Memorial Day Sand Sculpture Treasure Hunt. Registration is at 12:30 pm. Judging is at 2 pm and awards at 3 pm. There will be prizes for all.
May 31, Friday – Star Watch. Join members of the Albany Area Astronomers and explore the night sky. Enter via the winter entrance, and meet at the Deerfield pavilion. The rain date is Saturday, June 1. Call 658-9144 to confirm.
National Trails Day
Saturday, June 1, is National Trails Day. Come out for a morning of fun cleaning up the Park’s trails, and enjoy a complimentary barbecue and prize raffle at noon. Registration is at 9 am; work from 9:30 to 12 pm. Please pre-register by May 31 at 279-1155.