The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

Local News

No One Marches Alone! Ruck March

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Did you know…? The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that there are 52,000 Veterans living in Rensselaer County and the surrounding five counties. Members of the military, from World War II to the War on Terror, experience a myriad of challenges, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, substance abuse and mental health problems and problems associated with reintegration, such as finding employment and stable housing.

Heroes at Home, a Rensselaer County peer support program, has scheduled a Ruck March (army style march with backpack) on September 20 to help raise awareness of the challenges that military personnel experience.

No One Marches Alone! is the slogan for this inaugural Patriot Ruck March, a 26.4 mile march that will go from Poestenkill to Grafton and back again. Prizes will be given for top marchers in male and female carrier categories, with 35 pound ruck or no ruck.

If you or anyone you know would be interested in marching, or if you would like to sponsor someone who is marching, make a donation or assist on September 20, contact John Holmes at 518-545-6781 or stop in at the Hoosick Falls American Legion on Tuesdays from 2 to 8 pm or on Fridays from 12 to 5 pm, and he can sign you up, get you a sponsor packet, plug you in to help and answer any questions you might have. Donations will go directly to projects that help prevent veteran suicide and conduct veterans’ outreach in Rensselaer County.

Heroes at Home is one of eleven NYS funded PFC Joseph Dwyer Peer to Peer Programs. They provide peer support to anyone who has served in the military, as well as their families, regardless of discharge status, era in which they served or combat experience. Since 2012, we have partnered with the VA, the VFW and American Legion and community providers to ensure that Veterans have access to services, and to provide support as they navigate the reintegration process.

Details of the march are being finalized so watch the newspapers for more information, and if you can’t march, then come on out and cheer on those who are!

SHS Community Tag Sale

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The Stephentown Community Tag Sale, sponsored by the Stephentown Historical Society, will be held on Saturday, July 26, from 9 am to 3 pm at the field next to Gardner’s Coffee Shoppe on Route 22 in Stephentown. The rain date is Sunday, July 27.

Spaces are available for individuals or other organizations to set up for a fee of $20; no equipment is provided. Please call 518-733-5170 to arrange to donate items ahead of time. Items may also be delivered to the site between 8 and 9 am. Large appliances and clothing cannot be accepted.

St. Mary’s Academy Golf Scramble

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The 14th annual St. Mary’s Academy Golf Scramble will be held on Friday, August 8, at the scenic Hoosick Falls Country Club. Tee off times are 8 am and 1 pm. The cost is $70 per golfer and includes 18 holes with cart, lunch and a lite fare supper for four and five person teams. There is special pricing for teams that also sponsor a hole.

Non-golfers/spectators are also invited to come and cheer the teams on. If non-golfers/spectators want to be included in the lunch and lite fare supper the cost is $15.

For more information or if you are interested in sponsoring a hole or providing a prize for our very popular Chinese auction held during supper, please contact Pat Hayes at the school 518-686-4314.

This information is also available on the SMA website at www.stmaryshf.com.

Stephentown Food Pantry Update

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Numbers are up at the Stephentown Food Pantry. For the first half of 2014, pantry use has increased by 14.5% compared to the first half of 2013. That’s food for 5,760 meals, and that is a pile of groceries! The pantry currently serves fifty-nine households representing 162 folks. All of this is done with a team of hard working volunteers and generous community donations of money and food items. This year’s increase in “business” means that donations are more than welcome.

The Stephentown Food Pantry has been serving the community since 1983. If you would like 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 or drop a contribution into the Pantry jar at the Stephentown Memorial Library. 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.

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 (County Route 26). 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 information, call 518-487-8606.

New Lebanon Country Market

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The New Lebanon Country Market at Windswept Farm will be featuring a kid’s market on August 17.  In addition to our regular vendors, we will have children set up selling things that they have made.  It is free for children to vend.  Please contact me in advance at tistryagrace@gmail.com to reserve a spot.  Thank you to Carin DeJong for the fabulous idea!

Our produce vendors are now harvesting tomatoes, carrots, beets, beans, peas, kale, salad greens, cucumbers, garlic and garlic scapes, bok choy, fresh herbs and much, much more.  Our fruit vendor will be coming sometime in mid-August when his crops are ready to pick.

Our entertainment calendar for August is:

• August 3 – Podunk Throwbacks – http://podunkthrowbacks.com;

• August 10 – Abby Lappen – www.reverbnation.com/abbylappen;

• August 17 – Katerina and Allen Livermore (from The Limbshakers);

• August 24 – The Peters Brothers, and

• August 31 – Kevin Jones – www.ibandkj.com.

Animal Ambassadors At The Grafton Community Library

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The Grafton Community Library will host an educational program featuring live animals on Saturday, July 26, at 10:30 am. In this free program, the public will get to meet Max, a real live Canadian Lynx, as well as other animal ambassadors, including a parrot and a hedgehog.

Wildlife Educator Bernadette Hoffman will introduce the animals and use fascinating specimens like pelts and skulls to teach about the animals of North America, including the incredible wildlife diversity right here in our region. This program for children and their families will be held in the Library back yard, or inside in the event of rain. Call 279-0580 or visit graftoncommunitylibrary.org for more information.