Dave Stall is relocating to Ashaway, RI, to serve as full time Pastor of the First Seventh Day Baptist Church of Hopkinton, established in 1708. In the 1700s, the Church in Ashaway, RI, sent hundreds of people to settle in the Hoosic River Valley of NY and in 1780 they started the Seventh Day Baptist Church in what is now Berlin. To complete the circle, Dave will be moving along with his wife Jennifer and daughters Lexia and Loreli at the end of June. They are closing their business in Petersburgh, the Brookside Inn, on June 1.
[Read more…] about Dave Stall To Serve In Rhode Island
Local News
It’s A Miracle!
by Bea Peterson
When Theo and Melissa Knebel of Hoosick purchased a second miniature horse as a companion for the miniature horse they already owned, they never expected she was pregnant. Neither did her previous owner Tom Newkirk of King Hill Miniatures. “We thought she was barren,” he said when he came to see the new colt on Wednesday, May 5. [Read more…] about It’s A Miracle!
Noeding Files Voter Intimidation Complaint
by David Flint
Heinz Noeding of Petersburgh has filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office alleging voter intimidation on the part of the Berlin Central School District. Noeding said that last week he received a letter from the District Clerk, Mary Grant, saying it had come to her attention that his legal residence may not be in the District. He was advised therefore that if he wished to vote in the upcoming election he would have to bring to the polling station on May 18 a copy of page 1 and the signature page of his federal or state income tax form as proof of legal residence. Personal and financial information other than his name and address could be redacted.
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HFCS Seventh-Graders Clean Up Cemetery
by Bea Peterson
St. Mary’s Cemetery was abuzz with activity Friday, May 7, from 10 am to 2 pm as seventh grade students from Hoosick Falls Central School clambered to wash markers, rake and sweep the grounds and/or research the history of the people buried around them. [Read more…] about HFCS Seventh-Graders Clean Up Cemetery
Plan For Stephentown Moto-Cross Track Tabled
by David Flint
Howard Commander, in partnership with event organizer Sean Sermini, has plans for a Moto-Cross sports park in Stephentown that they believe could in the near future attract the best riders in the world and up to 30,000 spectators to national competitions. The Stephentown Zoning Board last Thursday held a public hearing on an application for a zoning variance from Commander, owner of the Lebanon Valley Speedway, to use nine acres out of a 90-acre parcel he owns off of Webster Hill Road adjacent to the Speedway to construct the Moto-Cross field. The land is zoned Residential.
[Read more…] about Plan For Stephentown Moto-Cross Track Tabled
Beacon Power Begins Construction
revised 5/17/2010
by David Flint
A crew from LeChase Construction Services, LLC out of Schenectady resumed work this month at the site on Grange Hall Road in Stephentown where the Beacon Power company is building the world’s first full-scale flywheel-based frequency regulation plant. Having completed the basic site work that they started last December. LeChase is now beginning to construct the 20 pods, each of which will contain ten flywheels each one spinning at more than 20,000 16,000 rpm in a vacuum, designed to quickly charge and discharge power to and from the grid and keep it in balance.
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Metered Water Bills In Hoosick Falls To Start In August
by Bea Peterson
The last order of business at the Hoosick Falls Village Board meeting on Tuesday, May 11, was to set a Public Hearing to discuss metered water in the Village starting with the new billing cycle in August. The Public Hearing will be at 6 pm on Tuesday, June 8, before the regular monthly Board Meeting.
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Rensselaer County Legislature Meeting – May 2010
by Kieron Kramer
An Inspiration
The family of Sylvester “Si” Close appeared in the well of the Rensselaer County Legislature during the presentation period on Tuesday to receive copies of the resolution passed last month honoring his memory. Close died on March 9 at the age of 84 after a life filled with community service. [Read more…] about Rensselaer County Legislature Meeting – May 2010
Letter To The Editor – What Confusion?
To the Editor:
I read with amusement Gina Goodermote’s Letter of May 7 and her pronounced faith in the Gregory Administration and the Zwack BOE leadership. She states that “information given to the Community has been fiction and or the truth distorted.” Later she includes my name in her litany of offenders, so I presume her comment was, in part directed, to me. And she appears insulted by a Powerpoint® presentation I gave to the Board at the April BOE meeting. [Read more…] about Letter To The Editor – What Confusion?
Letter To The Editor – Facts That Should Not Be Ignored
To the Editor:
This month property owners are asked to vote for or against their school budget, either for the Berlin or the New Lebanon school.
The Berlin total school budget is $18,757,983 for 901 enrolled students. With a decreased enrollment this year they are still asking for an increase of 1.7%, staying just under the state legal 2% increase. This comes out to the significant amount of $20,819 for each student’s education.
The New Lebanon total school budget is $12,634,633 for 507 enrolled students. With fewer students this year and a 2.1% decrease in the budget, they are still asking the taxpayers for a 1.48% tax increase. This comes to a whopping $24,920 for each student and is $4,101 more per student than what the Berlin District spends.
Since both school districts do an equal job of education, the New Lebanon budget appears to be way over the top by about $2,000,000. These facts should not be ignored when voting up or down for this year’s school budget.
Sincerely yours,
Lucille Salitan
New Lebanon