The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

Local News

Holiday Balsam Fir Wreaths To Benefit The Friends Of The Dyken Pond Center

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The Friends of the Dyken Pond Center are selling balsam fir wreaths. Each 18 inch wreath will be packed full of aromatic balsam fir, pine cones, a large red bow and a collectible original Dyken Pond nature ornament that can be kept for years to come. This is a pre-order sale and all wreaths must be ordered by November 18. Cost is $20. Larger wreath sizes are also available. There are various pick up options beginning on November 23. Order forms can be downloaded from our website at www.dykenpond.org or orders may be placed by contacting the Center at 658-2055 or  Nbconrad958@gmail.com.

Veterans Day Ceremony Offered At The Bennington Battlefield

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In honor of American veterans, from Revolutionary times through today, the Bennington Battlefield Historic Site will host a flag retirement ceremony on Veterans Day, November 11. The ceremony will take place at 1pm in the afternoon at the Visitors Center on Caretaker Road.
Local Scout troop members and the Sons of the American Revolution will be in attendance to conduct the flag retirement ceremony.  Phyllis Chapman, a history interpreter from Vintage Voices, will offer some remarks about the Bennington Battlefield.   A musket salute and patriotic song will also be part of the program.
The Bennington Battlefield Historic Site will be open on Veterans Day from 10 am to 7 pm and then will be closed for the season until May 1, 2014.  Please note that the Visitors Center is only open during the program. For more information, please call 279-1155.

Woods Forum On November 14

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Did you know that the Rensselaer Plateau is the fifth largest forest in New York State and that it is 90% forested and that those forests are 90% privately owned?
Do you love your land and value your woods?  Then attend a Woods Forum conducted by the Rensselaer Plateau Alliance (RPA) on Thursday, November 14, at 7 pm at the Sand Lake Town Hall, 8428 NY 66, Sand Lake.
Join fellow woodland owners and forestry professionals for a discussion on how to maintain the value of your woods for timber harvesting, recreation, wildlife and for future generations.   Discuss how to care for your woods today and plan for its future.  Talk with and hear about the experiences of other landowners. There is also a chance to win a visit from professional forester, Mary Spring, or RPA gear.  Attendees will also receive a copy of the brand new “Guide for Landowners” intended to help landowners find information in the Rensselaer Plateau Regional Conservation Plan that is useful to them. Both of these resources and much more are now on the RPA website at http://rensselaerplateau.org/RensselaerPlateau/ConservationPlan.aspx. Refreshments will be served.  Please call Sarah Parks at 302-584-7748 for additional information.  This program is co-sponsored by New York Forest Owners Association, the Rensselaer Land Trust and the Agricultural Stewardship Association.
Keep informed of the many activities going on with RPA or the more than 30 Alliance organizations by checking out our new data-base driven calendar of events at http://renpa.azurewebsites.net/.

Rev. Joseph L. Halloran

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New Lebanon – Rev. Joseph L. Halloran, 87, died Tuesday, November 5, 2013, at the Teresian House in Albany, NY. Born in Cohoes, NY, on May 30, 1926, he was the son of the late Joseph L. and Elizabeth L. Geiger Halloran. He moved to Troy, NY, at the age of four and was a 1944 graduate of Catholic Central High School in Troy. He attended St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield, CT, and did his philosophical and theological studies at Our Lady of Angels Seminary at Niagara University. He was ordained a priest on his 26th birthday, May 30, 1952, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany by Bishop Edmund Gibbons.
[Read more…] about Rev. Joseph L. Halloran

Donald Joseph Decker

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Hoosick Falls – Donald “Flea” Joseph Decker died on November 1, 2013, surrounded by his three children. He was born on March 18, 1946, to the late Edward and Rosella (Gates) Decker.
As a young man in the Vietnam era, his plans for college were disrupted by the draft, and at the age of 18 he was sent to war. His ability to run under a five minute mile with full gear on earned him the distinguished honor of joining the Green Beret attachments in Vietnam as a radio operator. He earned a Bronze Star for his service as well as the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Oak Leaf Cluster and a Presidential Unit Citation.
Upon returning stateside, he went to work at Bijur in Bennington, VT, where he worked his way up over the course of 47 years. He spent the last nine years with Bijur living in Greenville, NC, cheering on his beloved ECU Pirates.
Don was the valedictorian of his graduating class at Southern Vermont College in Bennington. He was a dedicated community member and was a member of the Elks Club in Hoosick Falls, NY, for over 40 years, President and coach for the Hoosick Falls Little League and a Board Member at the Hoosick Falls Youth Center.
In 2012 he retired from Bijur and was able to move back to his hometown of Hoosick Falls to be closer to family. He was devoted to his family and thoroughly enjoyed the company of his grandchildren. Don is pre-deceased by his older brother, Edward, his twin brother, Denny, and his younger sister, Sally. He is survived by his younger brother, Pat Decker of Pownal, VT, his three children, Robert Decker of Hoosick Falls, Scott and Aimee Decker of Sarasota, FL, and Barbara and Jon Moore of Essex Junction, VT, his seven grandchildren and a very special friend, Kathleen Ferguson. He also leaves behind the entire Village of Hoosick Falls in which he had too many friends to count. In the words of Flea, “You gotta laugh every day…”
Relatives and friends may call at the Mahar Funeral Home, 43 Main Street, in Hoosick Falls on Saturday, November 9, from 10 am until 1 pm. Services will be at 1 pm from the funeral home. Burial will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Hoosick Falls. Memorial contributions may be made to the Ed Carknard Memorial Fund through the funeral home.

Leon A. Morse, Sr.

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Hancock – Leon A. Morse, Sr., 81, passed away on Saturday, November 2, 2013, at the Hillcrest Commons Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Pittsfield, MA.
Born in Bennington, VT, Leon was the son of the late Wayne and Ethel Montgomery Morse. He was raised in Bennington where he received his education. He later served his country proudly in the U.S. Army from the time of his enlistment in 1952 until his honorable discharge in 1961. Leon owned and operated Leon’s Shell Service in both North Lebanon, NY, and Stephentown, NY, and Hancock Auto Repair in Hancock, MA. He retired in 1992, as a truck driver, from Henry V. Rabouin, Inc. Trucking Company in Hancock.
Leon enjoyed the times spent with family and friends, restoring antique cars and fishing. He was a motorcycle enthusiast and avid wood worker.
Leon is survived by his beloved wife, Barbara L. Cure Morse, to whom he was married on June 16, 1960, in Rutland, VT. He was the loving father of Kelly L. Morse and wife Maggie Brown Morse of Hancock, Tracy Jo and husband Martin Rogers of Pittsfield, Whitney L. Morse-Koffi and Emile Koffi of Pittsfield, Leon A. Morse, Jr. and wife Julie of Berlin, NY, Wade Morse and wife Niki of Hancock and Joanne George of Bennington. He was the brother of Eleanor Harvey of Shaftsbury, VT, and the late Doris Babson, Marjorie Bond, Kennen, Wayne, Ted and Marie Morse. He is also survived by 23 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren as well as several nieces and nephews.
A funeral service for Leon was held on Tuesday, November 5, at 11 am in the Hall & Higgins Funeral Home, 457 NY Route 43, Stephentown. Interment followed, with military honors, in Hancock Cemetery. Friends were invited and visited with Leon’s family on Monday, November 4, from 4 to 7 pm at the funeral home. For those wishing to remember Leon in a special way, his family asks that donations be made to the Hillcrest Commons Nursing Home, 169 Valentine Road, Pittsfield, MA, 01201, in his memory.

The Rest Of The Grafton Town Board Kerfuffles

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by Kieron Kramer
One can infer from Grafton Town Supervisor Frank Higgins’ remarks at the Grafton Town Board meeting on October 21 that there have been complaints about the job Town Clerk Sue Putnam has been doing lately and about the fact that her friend, Jim Remington, spends time in the Clerk’s office with her. [Read more…] about The Rest Of The Grafton Town Board Kerfuffles