The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

Berlin

Australian Benefit Breakfast

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submitted by Sherry Bowman-Kluck

There will be an Australian All You Can Eat Benefit Breakfast for Alissa Babcock on Sunday, April 27, from 8 to 11 am at the Berlin Seventh Day Baptist Church. Say g’day and cheerio to Alissa Babcock while enjoying a full spread of pancakes, eggs, bacon, biscuits with sausage and gravy, home fries, coffee, juice and milk for just $10. Children five and under eat free.

The program tuition to visit Australia as a Student Ambassador is about $7,000, which includes meals, transportation, accommodations and educational activities. This event is intended to assist with a portion of the tuition.

Paint The Town Purple

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On Friday, May 2, the Berlin FCCLA will join the Berlin Bears Relay for Life Team as they Paint the Town Purple! The festivities will be held at the Berlin Town Complex and are open to the public. There will be pulled pork and chili, a bake sale and purple ice cream floats, donated by Stewart’s. There will be a coffee can auction which will offer gift certificates and other nice prizes for children and adults. Food, music and raffles will occur from 6 to 9 pm. Drawing for the auction will begin at 8:30 pm. Donations are welcome.

Area residents are asked to show their support for the Relay for Life Team and for all those who have or are battling cancer. Fly a purple flag, hang some purple balloons or tie a purple bow on your mailbox! Purple bows are available from Tammy Osterhout, Dianne Mosher or at Berlin High School.

New members are always welcome on the Berlin Bears Relay Team. Sign up sheets for walkers will be available May 2. Luminaria bags will also be available at the Paint the Town Purple celebration. For $5 people may add names of cancer survivors or memorials to those who have lost their cancer battle. The bags can be decorated with photos, stickers, etc. Bring photos (or pictures on a flash drive) if you would like to add a photo to a luminaria bag.

Students are invited to “rock the night away.” From 9 pm Friday until 6 am Saturday, youth will rock in rocking chairs. They will be raising money for the American Cancer Society. Students are asked to pick up a permission form and then get sponsors for their hours of rocking. Students may qualify for special prizes depending on the amount of money they raise. The hours rocking can be used for community service. Interested students should pick up forms from Mrs. Mosher at Berlin HS or email nymoo@yahoo.com and forms can be emailed to you.

If anyone has questions or needs more information, email nymoo@yahoo.com – put RELAY in the subject line or call 658-2453.

Taconic Valley Historical Society Meeting

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Barbara Chepaitis will be the guest speaker at the April 21 meeting of the Taconic Valley Historical Society. She will present her book, Saving Eagle Mitch, a story about an eagle wounded in Afghanistan, rescued by Navy SEALs and the difficulties encountered finding it a safe home in the United States. Mitch now lives at the Berkshire Bird Paradise in Grafton.

Our meetings are held at the Methodist Church, South Main Street, Berlin, on the third Monday of each month at 7:30 pm. The programs are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Berlin’s Elm Street Bridge Replacement Ready To Go

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by Kieron Kramer

Four resolutions relating to the project for the replacement of the bridge on County Road 38, Elm Street in Berlin, over the Little Hoosic River were passed unanimously at the regular meeting of the Rensselaer County Legislature on Tuesday. The bridge replacement is eligible for funding that calls for the apportionment of the costs to be borne at the ratio of eighty percent in Federal funds and twenty percent in non-Federal funds, in this case State funds. The appropriation for this project was authorized by the Legislature in 2011. Three of the resolutions Tuesday authorized payment for the work on the project, and one resolution authorized the arrangement for reimbursement to the County by the Town of Berlin for the substitution of a 10 inch water main across the bridge to replace the 6 inch main. Construction is expected to begin this June.

[Read more…] about Berlin’s Elm Street Bridge Replacement Ready To Go

Berlin Easter Egg Hunt

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The Town of Berlin Youth Commission will be holding an Easter Egg Hunt on April 13 at the Town of Berlin Municipal Complex, 17563 State Route 22, from 1 to 3 pm. Besides the Easter egg hunt, there wil be relay races for pre-k through adult. This will be fun for all!

TRACs Meeting

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The TRACs (Together Reducing drugs and Alcohol in our CommunitieS) regular monthly meeting will be held on April 22 at 6:30 pm at Stephentown Memorial Library. Come join us as we collaborate in order to make a difference in the lives of the youth in the Berlin and New Lebanon School Districts in our effort to reduce youth use of alcohol and drugs.

Our mission statement, “to encourage a drug-free lifestyle for youth, support families and provide community-based pro-social alternatives,” requires the support of many community members, organizations and businesses. We look forward to your participation.

Berlin High School Class Of 2014 Valedictorian And Salutatorian

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submitted by Erin Clary, Communications Specialist, Berlin Central School District 

The Berlin High School announces Alessa D’Alessio as its Valedictorian and Cullen O’Brien as its Salutatorian for the Class of 2014.

Valedictorian Alessa D’Alessio

BCS 2014 Valedictorian Alessa D’Alessio. Photo courtesy of Erin Clary.
BCS 2014 Valedictorian Alessa D’Alessio. Photo courtesy of Erin Clary.

D’Alessio is the daughter of Yolanda and Michael D’Alessio of Cherry Plain. She has a cumulative GPA of 96.79 percent. Her coursework this year includes Advanced Placement English and Psychology, along with Hudson Valley Community “College in the High School” Calculus. She will graduate with a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation.

D’Alessio has been the recipient of several awards including the University of Rochester Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony Award and the U.S. Air Force Math and Science Award, both in 2013.

Although she has attended Berlin High School for less than two years, D’Alessio has made a tremendous impact on her class and the school community during that short time. She is a member of the varsity soccer and varsity cheerleading teams. She has served as a class officer and is an active participant in the Drama Club. D’Alessio is also a member of the National Honor Society.

As an active participant in her community, D’Alessio has volunteered her time at the Town libraries, the transfer station where she sorted recyclables and at Sunderland Elementary School in Vermont where she helped clean up the grounds.

D’Alessio is currently undecided on where she will go for college but plans on majoring in International Relations and the French language.

Salutatorian Cullen O’Brien

BCS 2014 Salutatorian Cullen O’Brien. Photo courtesy of Erin Clary.
BCS 2014 Salutatorian Cullen O’Brien. Photo courtesy of Erin Clary.

O’Brien is the son of Doris and Daniel O’Brien of Grafton. He has a cumulative GPA of 94.8 percent. His coursework this year includes Advanced Placement English and Chemistry, along with Hudson Valley Community “College in the High School” Calculus. O’Brien, along with one other student, also created their own Environmental Science Independent Study program. He will graduate with a Regents Diploma with Honors and Advanced Designation.

O’Brien was the recipient of several awards in 2013 including the University of Rochester George Eastman Young Leaders Award, the Clarkson University Leadership Award and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Medal.

A well-rounded student, O’Brien is a member of the varsity soccer and basketball teams and is a four year member of the high school band. He is also part of the jazz band and marching band and has participated in drama club. He is a competitor in the Science Bowl, Envirothon and Masterminds teams. O’Brien is also a member of the National Honor Society.

Also active in his community, O’Brien has volunteered at church cleanups and in fundraising walks and activities in Grafton Lakes State Park where he is also employed as a life guard during the summer months.

Although currently undecided on where he will attend college, O’Brien plans to study Chemistry or Biology with the intent of pursuing a career in medicine, either as an emergency medical physician or physician’s assistant.

Berlin Library News

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April is a busy month at the Berlin Free Town Library.  Our annual Maple Syrup sale will take place during April.  This is a sweet fundraiser to benefit the Library.

On Saturday, April 12, at 10:30 am, Cheyenne Seel will present a program about Fire Safety and Rescue.

During National Library Week, April 13 to 19, discover online resources available through the Library.  Learn how you can go to the library without leaving home.  To get the most out of our online catalog and databases, please register to attend on Tuesday, April 15, from 7 to 8 pm.

On Saturday, April 26, the Junior Advisory Board will meet from 10 to 11 am to plan monthly programs for youth for the next few months.  We are looking for middle and high school students to be part of the advisory group.

Poestenkill VFW Breakfast

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The Sullivan-Jones VFW post 7466 in Poestenkill will be having its monthly buffet breakfast on April 13 from 8 to 11 am. The cost of the breakfast has gone up to $8 for adults, $4 for children 6 years to 12 years but  is still free for children 5 years and under.

This month, besides our normal fare, we will be serving corned beef hash and ham.

Joan deLeon

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Berlin – Joan Beatrice (Nelson) deLeon, 80, of Green Hollow Road, Berlin, NY, died on April 4, 2014, at home surrounded by her loving family, after a courageous battle against cancer.

Born on July 28, 1933, in Brooklyn, NY, she was the daughter of the late Ruth (Hinsch) and Eric J.W. Nelson. Joan was a 1951 graduate of Huntington High School on Long Island.

Joan had the deepest love for Ralph deLeon, her adoring husband of 62 years. They married in 1952 and lived their early years in Greenlawn, NY, where Ralph ran a business and Joan raised their family. In 1969 Joan and Ralph moved their family to Berlin. In 1970 Joan returned to nursing school, receiving her Licensed Practical Nursing certification. She worked for the next 17 years for Dr. Henry Richmond in Bennington, VT. Joan left nursing to assist Ralph in running the family businesses.

She was active in the Berlin Methodist Church and the Berlin Republican party. She previously served on the Board of Trustees for the Berlin Town Library. She also enjoyed being a long term member of two book clubs.

Survivors, besides her husband, include their five children, Renee Williams and husband Richard of Pownal, VT, Ralph deLeon of Schenectady, NY, Robin Cipperly of Berlin, Richard deLeon and wife Colleen of Berlin and Roger deLeon and fiancée Victoria Calaban of Latham, NY. Joan is also survived by seven grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. She was pre-deceased by her sister, Carol Kirchner, and one grandchild, Rachael Williams.

A celebration of life gathering will be held Saturday, April 12, at 12 noon at the Berlin United Methodist Church, 13 South Main Street, Berlin. There will be a reception at the Berlin Fire Hall at 1 pm following the Church celebration. In lieu of flowers the family is requesting donations be made to the Rensselaer County Hospice or the Berlin Free Town Library. For on-line condolences please visit www.TheRiverviewFuneralHome.com.