Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper
The Grafton Volunteer Fire Department along with the Grafton Ladies Auxiliary will be serving an All You Can Eat Buffet Breakfast on Saturday, April 26, from 8 to 11 am at the Grafton VFW – Fire Hall on South Road (County Route 85). Belgian waffles, pancakes, French toast, eggs (made to order), sausage gravy & biscuits, bacon, sausage, home fries, toast, orange juice, coffee and milk are on the menu.
The cost is $9 per adult, $4 for kids 12 and under and free for kids five and under.
• Thursday, April 17 – Trout Discovery Day at 1 pm. We’ve been raising brown trout since October, and they’re ready to head into the waters of Second Pond. [Read more…] about GLSP April Events
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.
The Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center is offering a School Spring Vacation Series for kids from April 14 to 16, from 2 to 4 pm. Each program will be held outdoors and will include a short hike through Dyken Pond’s trail systems. Children are welcome to attend one or all programs.
• Monday, April 14, will offer a Bird Watching for Beginners program that will teach kids about the anatomy of a bird and how to identify them in the wild.
• Tuesday, April 15, will offer a Signs of Spring hike that will have kids exploring a 1-2 mile trek through the woods.
• Wednesday, April 16, is an Amphibian Adventure in search of frog eggs and other amphibian life in the forest. A $1 per child suggested donation covers material costs.
A complete list of programs can be found at www.dykenpond.org. Pre-registration is encouraged to help with planning, but not required and can be done by contacting the Center at dykenpond@fairpoint.net or 658-2055.
Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center, located at 475 Dyken Pond Road, Cropseyville, is a Rensselaer County Park open daily during daylight hours for hiking, fishing and non-motor boating. Call for more information and a complete schedule of our summer events.
by Kieron Kramer
The only points of interest at the two minute long Grafton Planning Board meeting on St. Patrick’s Day, Monday, March 17, was what didn’t happen at the meeting – especially since nothing happened at the meeting. The meeting started early at 6:58 pm with Planning Board members Pete Gundrum, Owen Grandjean, Jim Goyer and Chairman Tom Withcuskey present. There was no one present from the public.
The Board reviewed and then voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the February 24 meeting and public hearing. Then Chairman Withcuskey announced that he had been in touch with the attorney for AT&T who informed him that they are “still putting their application package together,” according to Withcuskey. AT&T has to apply for a site plan review for modifications to its cell tower at 38 Radio Tower Way. Radio Tower Way runs off of Snyder Road. They want to place three new antennas on the tower to upgrade the signal to 4G LTE. AT&T had withdrawn its application before last month’s meeting, and it was to be on the agenda at the March 17 meeting if they had their paperwork done. Now it is being postponed until the next Planning Board meeting on April 21.
Hearing Nothing More
Withcuskey also announced that he had “heard nothing” about the site plan review required for the change of use at the R.J. Valente mine on Route 2 near the Brunswick Town line. According to Withcuskey, Valente has not begun the site plan review process as required by the Town and the Commissioner of the DEC has not ruled on which agency, the DEC or the Grafton Planning Board, will be the lead agency in the NYS Environmental Quality Review process (SEQR). Or, perhaps, the DEC has not informed Withcuskey of its decision, which he expected before this meeting.
The Grafton Community Library, located at 2455 NY Route 2, will be opening the doors at 8 am on Saturday, March 29, for a book sale. The sale will run until 1 pm in the basement. Stop by the Library to pick up some fresh reading material at bargain prices. Hardcovers are one dollar, and paperbacks are fifty cents. There are still free VHS tapes available. You never know what you will find! Go to www.graftoncommunitylibrary.org for more news about programs and events or call 279-0580.
Grafton – On Friday morning, March 14, 2014, surrounded by her family, Patricia A. (Norton) Ryan passed into eternal rest at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL. She fought the good fight against melanoma cancer, and she would want to continue to encourage everyone to be regularly screened for early detection.
by Alex Brooks
The Eastwick Press filed a Freedom of Information Request with the Town of Grafton to learn the substance of the settlement the Town insurer reached with Tyler Sawyer to resolve his $1 million suit against the Town, former Deputy Supervisor Cathy Goyer and former Town Bookkeeper Victoria Nellis. Sawyer claimed damage to his professional reputation from comments made publicly by the two Town officials.
by Alex Brooks
The Grafton Town Board meeting this month was a bit of a circus, with more argument and drama than substantive action. The first controversy that erupted was over a letter to the Town Board from Sheryl Sawyer, former Town Supervisor Tyler Sawyer’s wife. Councilman Rick Ungaro read the letter out loud at the meeting. [Read more…] about Grafton Town Board Action – A Fracas
All high school seniors graduating this year from the Berlin Central School District or the Brunswick Central School District who are continuing their education are invited to apply for the Elmer A. Grogan Scholarship Award.
The Elmer A. Grogan Scholarship Award is presented annually by the Carner, Etman, Smith V.F.W. Post 6340 Elmer A. Grogan Memorial Fund in memory of Elmer Grogan, a former member. The award is $250.
A copy of the application form is available at the guidance offices of the Berlin and Brunswick Central Schools. The deadline for receiving applications is April 30.
To earn the award you must complete the application form and submit an essay on “What Freedom Means To Me.” The essay should not be less than 250 words nor more than 500 words. There will be one winner. The award is to be used to further the winner’s education.
The application and essay are to be mailed to Carner, Etman, Smith V.F.W. Post 6340, Commander Richard Terpening, P.O. Box 361, Grafton, NY, 12082.
