by Kieron Kramer
There will be an open house at the Berlin Municipal Center from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, June 8, so members of the community can tour the facility first hand and enjoy some of the activities that will be taking place. The open house was announced at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, May 9. [Read more…] about Berlin Town Board Action – Open House At The Berlin Municipal Center
Local News
Grafton Town Board Action – New Bookkeeper Appointed
by Alex Brooks
Grafton Town Supervisor Frank Higgins appointed Maureen Seel as the Bookkeeper for the Town of Grafton, and the Board approved the appointment. Seel is the Bookkeeper for Berlin, Pittstown and Stephentown. Higgins said he is very impressed with her command of the accounting software and her knowledge of Town finance.
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New Lebanon Town Board Action – Town Will Not Take Over Road
by Thaddeus Flint
Residents who live in the Covenant Circle development in New Lebanon might feel like they are running around in circles sometimes. One of those times was Tuesday night when the Town Board, at their monthly meeting, authorized a letter to the Covenant Circle Homeowners’ Association basically denying their request to have their road taken over by the Town.
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Rensselaer County Legislature – A Bank Needed In The Valley
by Kieron Kramer
The Rensselaer County Legislature’s meeting on Tuesday, May 14, contained a sizeable amount of news regarding the Eastwick area. And this time it had nothing to do with Hoosick Falls sports. The families of Steve Kellar, Ersel Hickey and Ray Darling Jr. appeared in the well of the Legislature to receive presentations memorializing their loved ones. Funding for several bridges in our area, the new Dairy Princess and mortgage tax distributions were also on the agenda.
A resolution, introduced by Legislators Stan Brownell and Lester Goodermote, stating support for establishment of a bank in the State Route 22 corridor in eastern Rensselaer County passed unanimously.
The resolution says. “Due to a change in corporate priorities, the Bank of America located on State Route 22 in the Town of Berlin closed in 2012…The loss of the Bank of America means residents wishing to transact banking business need to travel a considerable distance to either the Town of Hoosick, the Town of New Lebanon in Columbia County or across the State border to Massachusetts…Transacting bank business for some residents in the eastern area of our county can sometimes mean a round trip of up to one hour…This Legislative Body wishes to recognize the need for location of a new bank and puts forth this resolution as a statement of support for such efforts and further pledges any possible help and assistance for such efforts.”
In an interview after the meeting Brownell said that following the appearance in area papers of last week’s news release about this issue, he was contacted through the Legislative offices by the Coxsackie National Bank which showed interest in the former Bank of America property. Brownell said he passed the information along to Berlin Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger, who has been trying to find a replacement for the Bank of America.
The property will be auctioned off on May 22 by the Max Spann Real Estate and Auction Co. There have been two open houses so far, on May 8 and May 15. Berliners are hoping that one or more of the bidders will be a bank. It is a turn key situation for a bank, Brownell said.
Hoosical Furnishings Exhibit Is Impressive
by Bea Peterson
Impressive, creative, imaginative – those are just a few of the words to describe the items at the HAYC3 Hoosical Furnishings Exhibit and Auction Saturday evening, May 11, at the Armory. Fifty-two artists, one nine years old, created an assortment of artistic pieces to satisfy any taste. Some gave new life to old pieces. Others created something brand new.
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2013 Memorial Day Parade; Village Honors Military
American Legion Memorial Day Parade Chairman Don Bogardus calls on officers and members of all organizations and the general public to participate in the parade to honor our military men and women, past and present.
The Village of Hoosick Falls Memorial Day Parade will be on Monday, May 27, at 10 am. The Parade will step off at Key Bank and proceed down Main Street to Church Street, pausing at the HAYC3 Armory and the Town of Hoosick Community Center. Marchers will then proceed up Church Street to the intersection of Main and Church Streets, at which time an Honor Guard from the American Legion will fire a salute in memory of all fallen Veterans. Marchers will continue down Main Street to Wood Memorial Park for a remembrance ceremony.
All clubs, organizations, schools, churches and all residents that have an interest in participating in the Parade should contact American Legion Parade Chairman Don Bogardus at 518-686-5993 or 686-7407 or members of the American Legion or the Legion Auxiliary.
After the Remembrance in the Park, all who participated in the parade and all veterans are invited to the American Legion Hall for conversation and refreshments.
Lisa Little Wolf At The Taconic Valley Historical Society
Lisa Little Wolf will be the guest speaker at the May 20 meeting of the Taconic Valley Historical Society. Lisa Little Wolf has been an educator of American Indian studies for the past several years. She conducts training and seminars for people who wish to learn more about Native Culture. She is a Board Member of The Native American Institute of the Hudson River Valley, which conducts educational programs and works closely with The Stockbridge Muncee Nation. Lisa is Northern Cheyenne, who are located in Southern Montana.
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.
Letter To The Editor – Facts or Gross Exaggerations?
To the Editor:
In a recent Letter to the Editor in the Eastwick Press on May 3, 2013, Jim Martinez highlighted four main points that he would like readers to believe are facts instead of the gross exaggerations that they actually are.
Point One: He mentioned in his letter to the Editor (Eastwick Press) that I, as Supervisor have overspent the Highway Fund by the tune of $377,268 – per State Audit.
Did he read the entire report? In December 2009 a wheeled trackhoe was purchased after being rented during that summer for a grand total of $156,000. A vibrating roller was also purchased in December of 2009 for $13,000. The rest of the money was designated in that very same month (2009) to purchase a dump truck which the Town did in the summer of 2010. Let me take a second to clarify something for him. I did not designate the money for the dump truck, nor buy the trackhoe, nor buy the roller in 2009. As a matter of fact none of the current Board Members were even in office in 2009 except for Mr. Surdam.
Point Two: He stated that I likely trespassed or illegally entered an area not leased by the Town per a local police report.
There were no illegal actions. If there were, why weren’t there any arrests made and charges filed? All the residents have to do is to read the recent article in the Eastwick Press, and it will be clear what actually happened.
Point Three: He mentioned because of the shoddy treatment towards our highway employees expenditures for negotiations have increased from $0 to $10,000 to $15,000.
Doesn’t he know that Town Boards cannot stop a union from forming? Did I sign a card inviting the union to come? Would you or he sit back and give your employees the world and at the same time punish the taxpayers? Do you or he think it’s cruel and unusual punishment making an employee pay only $56 every two weeks along with receiving a $2,500 debit card to cover prescriptions and co-pays for a family plan? How many of our hardworking taxpayers only pay this much towards their healthcare and get a $2,500 debit card to cover the medical co-pays? If this is unreasonable treatment how come the entire Board, (minus one), agree with me? Does he really feel this Board’s intentions are to harm the employees or their families? Companies around NYS are looking for creative ways to reduce health insurance costs, usually forcing employees to contribute more. Are these companies wrong too? As a public servant, I work for the taxpayers and not just our employees.
Point Four: He stated I used *69 to harass the Credit Union.
At the time, the Town Clerk had just hung up her phone and told me that Jim Martinez had called inquiring if there was a meeting that night. Wanting to see if I could answer any questions he may have had, I used Verizon’s *69 callback feature instead of waiting for the Town Clerk to finish what she was working on so I could use her phonebook. He and I had a very cordial short conversation. Nothing like he described in his Letter to the Editor where he said I made a follow up call to harass a local business, the Credit Union. In fact, there was never any harassment during our call on my part.
It’s ironic that Mr. Martinez accuses me of “smoke and mirrors” in his letter, when that is the exact tactic he uses to try to discredit me. Why he would take facts and turn them into gross exaggerations is anyone’s guess. I can only attribute it to the fact that it’s spring and it’s an election year, something I have grown accustomed to in my position as Town Supervisor.
Keith Cipperly
Hoosick Town Supervisor
This Week At The Stephentown Memorial Library
• Make a Jam Comic! – Tuesday, May 21, at 4 pm. Do you love comics, manga and graphic novels? This is an opportunity to work with others who share your interests. You will work on a collaborative comic where participants learn to “read” each other’s drawings. It encourages creative thinking, teamwork, critical thinking and developing a sense of storytelling. Ira Marcks is an artist from Troy. Check out his work at www.iramarcks.com. This program is part of Comics Connect, a collaborative project of the Mohawk Valley Library System and Upper Hudson Library System. Please call the Library to register.
• Thursday Night Coffeehouse Series – On Thursday, May 23, at 7 pm we will host our monthly musical coffeehouse series. In response to your requests, we are offering a monthly Thursday evening of music, coffee and socializing at the Library. Each month we will feature a different performer or group, and musical styles will range from jazz to classical to bluegrass to hip hop. Check the Library website and upcoming emails for a schedule of dates and performers. This month we are pleased to welcome Elizabeth Huntley on harp. A premier harpist in the Capital Region, Elizabeth loves to showcase the harp’s versatility. Not only does she enjoy playing the classics, from Bach to Debussy, but she also loves to play pop music as well as show tunes from Les Mis, Wicked and “The Lion King” to the Beatles and even Sting and Green Day. This is harp music for everyone. The Coffeehouse event is free and open to all. There will be refreshments for sale to benefit the Library.
• Creating Comics, from Script to Finished Graphic Novel – Friday, May 24, at 4 pm. Ron Marz brings his years of experience as a top comic book writer to a program that leads participants through each stage of comic creation. Using his own scripts, plus artwork created for his comics, Ron explains the process of translating the written word into comic images. Participants will see how the words and pictures combine to form a whole greater than either part. A question-and-answer session will follow the presentation.
Ron Marz has been writing comics for more than two decades, starting his career with a lengthy run on “Silver Surfer” for Marvel Comics. Since then he has worked for virtually every major publisher and compiled a long list of credits including stints on “Green Lantern” for DC, “Star Wars” and “Conan” for Dark Horse, “Witchblade” for Top Cow and as a staff writer for CrossGen Comics. For more information on Ron, check his website at www.ronmarz.com. This program is part of Comics Connect, a collaborative project of the Mohawk Valley Library System and Upper Hudson Library System and is supported by funds from the New York State Library’s Family Literacy Library Services grant program. Please call Library to register.
For more information on any of these programs or to register for programs, call the Stephentown Memorial Library at 733-5750 or stop by during our Library hours. Also check our website, www.stephentownlibrary.org for regular updates.
Hoosick Grange News
It was history night at Hoosick Grange on May 8. We had Eric and Jenna Schnitzer as our guests. He is the Park Ranger Historian of the Saratoga Battlefield. They showed clothes from the years 1760 – 1780. These clothes were reproductions they sewed. They had one original piece of clothing. It was interesting to learn that men would wear the flax shirts they worked in all day and then went to bed with it on at night. The common man, if lucky, had two shirts. Tailors made most all men’s clothes. Some men wore corsets that laced up in front and back – which gave them great posture. They looked like ice cream cones. Men would wear waist coats and vests – some wool and some linen – with covered buttons.
Women wore flax shirts, also with a scoop neckline. They had to put their stockings and shoes on first, then put their corset on because they could not bend over. They also wore a string with cloth on it that was pockets – also a bum roll on their rear end to make it stick out. They wore three under skirts and an apron, usually checkered, and the dress, olive green, was put on last. This dress was heavy and was sewed quite differently. Can you imagine how long it would take to get dressed?
The Schnitzers showed us the breeches – to the knees – the men wore and the stockings. Sailors wore trousers, big and full to the ankle. Clothing was very valuable – nothing was thrown out; they used it over and over. Ladies wore kerchiefs around their necks. We saw the shoes, no right or left, hats, woolen and felt. Women wore white caps – even boys and girls. During 1770 they wore bonnets. They could be huge. During the 1800s women wore flat hats that tied in back. Eric showed us the men’s clothing and modeled it. Jenna showed us the women’s clothes and modeled some and put others on a form she had. It was very interesting. The Lecturer thanked them for their very interesting program. Refreshments were root beer floats and goodies.
The Grange discussed some business. The Lecturer gave out some pamphlets on Sharing the Road with Slow Moving Vehicles. Our next meeting is May 22 at 8 pm. Kendal Baker is in charge of the program. We will have the Baking Powder Biscuit Contest. We hope to have lots of entries.