To the editor,
Thank you to the over 40 people who attended the public hearing on Hoosick Falls Armory mostly speaking in favor of keeping the Town offices at the Armory and to the 350 people who signed the petition. So, we begin with a vision, a vision of success, a vision for the next chapter in Hoosick Falls history. And it all happens AT THE ARMORY
[Read more…] about Letter To The Editor – The Armory’s Great Potential
Saint Nick At Saint Mary’s
HooRWA Annual Meeting
The Board of Directors and Staff of the Hoosic River Watershed Association are pleased to invite the public to the 26th Annual Meeting of HooRWA. The guest speaker will be Russ Cohen of the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game, Riverways Program, who will speak on “Why We Should Care About Wild Trout Streams and their Inhabitants.”
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Commemorating The 150th Anniversary Of The Civil War – Letters From A Stephentown Area Soldier
by David Flint
Calvin A. Haynes of East Nassau, NY, at the age of 24 enlisted in August 1862 at Troy in the 125th New York Infantry Regiment. His letters home to his wife Lucy have been transcribed by John Minitti of Winchester, MA, and are here reproduced, with some editing, courtesy of the New York State Library, Manuscripts and Special Collections.
Haynes is writing from Camp Douglas where he and fellow 125th soldiers are on parole following their surrender at Harpers Ferry in September, 1862.
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The Life Of George Holcomb – George Begins Making Liquor
by Alex Brooks
The previous episode ended in mid-October of 1815. During the next six weeks, George gathers a lot of apples and makes cider, applesauce and “cider cheese” and makes trips to Albany to sell all these products. During this time the Still House is finished, mostly by the work of his cousin Sylvester. On December 1, 1815, George sets off for Troy to get a license for the stilling.
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Hue And Cry To Save The Armory In Hoosick Falls
by Bea Peterson
On Monday, December 12, the crowd attending the public hearing on the future of the Armory filled the meeting room in the Armory and overflowed into the hallway. Town Supervisor Keith Cipperly handed out pages of information on the costs of operating the Armory in 2010, including fuel costs, which exceeded $20,000. Cipperly also passed out a sheet explaining that the Town could purchase the building for $1, but if it was not maintained, the State could take it back. Cipperly reiterated his feeling all along that the Armory is too costly to keep.
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BCS Capital Plan Passes By Wide Margin
by David Flint
Berlin School District voters have approved a plan to renovate the school buildings at Berlin and Cherry Plain at an estimated cost of $6.8 million. The count in Tuesday’s referendum was 373 Yes versus 173 No. The vote authorizes spending $1.8 million from an existing capital reserve fund and borrowing up to $5 million, with the latter amount expected to be reimbursed from State aid.
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Corkscrew Rails And Tales: History Of The Rutland RR From North Bennington To Chatham
by David Flint
For those in the Taconic Valley who remember the days when the trains of the Rutland Railroad were part of the daily scene, or for those who just have a nostalgic interest in railroading, James R. “Jim” Jones has created a special treat. The radio personality, railroad buff and media professional has just put out the sixth and last in his “Rutland Remnants” DVD series, this one entitled “North Bennington, VT to Chatham, NY – Corkscrew Rails & Tales.”
Jones describes it as a documentary in the style of a Ken Burns production. “I prefer that local people tell the story, not me,” he said. Some of the local people that appear include Art Koepp of Stephentown, Carol Lobdell VanHeusen of West Lebanon, Bruce Cobb of Chatham and Bev Bowman Chiarella of Canaan.
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Hoosick Town Board Action – Out Of Town Bookkeeper
by Bea Peterson
Margaret Casey told the Hoosick Town Board on Monday that she was disappointed that a non-Hoosick person was appointed Town Bookkeeper when so many local people need jobs. Cipperly responded that he had asked Laura Reynolds if she wanted the job and she said no. Casey replied, “Laura already has a job.” Cipperly said he reviewed several resumés, some from local people, and he felt Tyler Sawyer was the best qualified. He noted that bookkeeper is the one appointment the Town Supervisor can make.
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Bly Hollow Problem Settled In Holiday Spirit
by Kieron Kramer
Perhaps it was the holiday spirit, but, after a difficult year with plenty of meetings in which more heat was generated than light, the Berlin Board ended its regular meetings of 2011 with much more light than heat. “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,” said Board Members Richard deLeon Jr. and Sheila Hewitt at the end of the meeting.
The best example during the meeting on Thursday, December 8, of a rediscovered sense of community was the very amicable and simple resolution of the contentious issue of the dangerous intersection at Bly Hollow and Watson Roads. [Read more…] about Bly Hollow Problem Settled In Holiday Spirit