The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

Stephentown

Wildlife Changes Over Time At The SHS Dinner

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The summer potluck dinner meeting of the Stephentown Historical Society will be Monday, July 1, at 6:30 pm at the Stephentown Heritage Center, Garfield Road (County Route 26), Stephentown.  Those attending should bring a hearty appetite and a dish large enough to share, either main dish, salad or dessert.  Plates, utensils and beverages will be provided.  The event is free and open to the public. The building is handicapped accessible. For directions, telephone 518-733-0010.
Gayle Tardif-Raser, education coordinator for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, will present an illustrated program on “Iron Ore and Orioles – Wildlife Changes Over Time.”  The focus will be on four species – orioles, New England cottontails, spotted turtles and Atlantic salmon – from the time of European contact until today with a discussion of human impacts on wildlife populations, including habitat changes, introduced species and current status.
Of local interest is the plight of the New England cottontail, known in the Berkshire-Taconic region as the swamp bunny or the swamp gray. Any knowledge or sightings of the New England cottontail from audience members is of special interest because the Stephentown area is one of the last patches where they are found.
Tardif-Raser is the Education Coordinator for Massachusetts Audubon’s Berkshire Wildlife Sanctuaries, working with teachers, students, day camp and public programs.  She attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, majoring in Natural Resources Studies, and Salem State for graduate school in fisheries. She has been at Massachusetts Audubon for almost 20 years and has also worked at the National Marine Fisheries Service and Williams College Schow Science Library.

Stephentown Memorial Library News

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The Stephentown Memorial Library will be closed on Thursday, July 4, for Independence Day. Please use our book drop, located near the handicapped ramp on the front of the building, when we are closed. We wish you all a relaxing and happy holiday.
Summer Book Festival
The Annual Summer Book Festival will be on Saturday, July 13, from 9 am to 3 pm at the Library, 472 State Route 43, Stephentown. Thousands of books and items for summer entertainment, including hardcover, large print, paperback, DVD, audiobook, CD and more will be on sale.  A variety of delicious food will be available for purchase, along with Bake Sale items. Space is available for informational tables of local community groups and local vendors and artisans selling their wares.
There will be locally prepared refreshments, live music and a family program featuring Rhonda’s Reptiles.
Come early and stay late – all proceeds go directly to support the Stephentown Memorial Library.
For information, call the Library at 518-733-5750. The rain date is Sunday, July 14.
• Zumba Classes – Weekly on Wednesdays at 7 pm. Zumba is an exhilarating Latin-inspired dance fitness class designed to benefit anyone, regardless of age or fitness level. Each one hour class costs $5 per participant. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes.
• Easy, Restorative Yoga with Jules – Thursdays from 10 to 11:15 am. Join us for this great program held in the SML Community Room. Limber up your body and have fun doing it. Enjoy gentle yoga in a supportive atmosphere with music and easy asanas. Please sign up soon as space is limited. Contact Jules Harrell at 265-2808, yogafortrauma@yahoo.com or the SML front desk.

Upper 90 Soccer Camp Starts In July

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We are looking forward to continuing our Upper 90 Soccer Camp this summer and are hoping that you can once again join us in the fun. This summer’s dates are July 15 through 19 for ages 11-14 and July 22 through the 26th for ages 15-19. The camp will be held at Berlin Elementary from 5:30 to 7:30 pm each day.
If any 11-14 year old wants to come to the second week, they are more than welcome too! The second week will just be a little more complicated than the first, but nothing they can’t handle!
The fee, once again, is $40 per week. If a child is interested in the second week as well as the first, the second week costs only $20. We are attempting to get the money in around July 5.
Email a-willis@hvcc.edu with the following information: name, age, school grade, medical conditions, position and emergency contact and number. Mail checks to Aaron Willis, P.O. Box 474, Stephentown, NY, 12168.

Stephentown Town Board Action – Paint, Planners And A Counsel

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by David Flint
The Stephentown Town Board thinks the Town Hall is in need of some refurbishment. Town Supervisor Larry Eckhardt believes the interior has not been painted since it was built. Therefore, at their meeting on Monday, June 17, the Board authorized the publication of a Request for Proposals to paint the interior of the building and carry out some minor repairs. No specifications will be included. The proposals are due in the Town Clerk’s Office by Friday, July 12.
[Read more…] about Stephentown Town Board Action – Paint, Planners And A Counsel

Letter To The Editor – Disturbed By The Warrantless Search Of Our Children

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To the Editor:
I read with dismay the article in the June 7 Eastwick Press regarding the “Drug Sniff at BCS.”
It is refreshing to know that no drugs were found. However, it is equally disturbing to know our school administrators and County Sheriff’s Department felt it would be acceptable to conduct a warrantless search/sniff of our children’s belongings. If there was no explicit reason to suspect these children, there should have been no reason to conduct the search.
I wonder how the teachers, custodians, assistants, administrators would have felt if their pocketbooks, wallet, pant pockets, backpacks were sniffed as they entered the school or got out of their cars. Would the Sheriff’s Department have felt they could ask the adults to line up and place their belongings on the ground? Would the adults have complied?
This was not a drill. It was an assault on our children’s civil rights and privacy. I believe the BCS School Administration owes an apology to the children and to their parents.
Sincerely,
Anita Henry
Schmich Road, Stephentown

Free Daily Lunch For Kids At SML

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The Stephentown Memorial Library has been chosen again as a feeding site through a federally funded lunch program. A healthy bag lunch will be served each weekday from 12 to 1 pm in the community room. There is no charge and no income or residency requirement. All children under age 18 are encouraged to take advantage of this program. Children under 12 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. The program will run from June 24 until August 16, Monday through Friday. No lunch will be served on July 4.

Stephentown Time Capsule Dug Up

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by David Flint
As part of Stephentown’s bicentennial celebration in 1984, a time capsule was buried in the front lawn of the Stephentown Elementary School. The intent was to open it in 2034, the Town’s 250th Anniversary. With the school building and grounds now up for sale, that capsule, actually a full size burial vault was disinterred last week. [Read more…] about Stephentown Time Capsule Dug Up

Berlin Brewer To Open Tap Room In Stephentown

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Bly Hollow Brewery, dba The Beer Diviner, is opening up a Tap Room and Market at the junction of Route 22 and 43 in Stephentown. Under a farm brewery law just passed by New York State, a brewery able to use 20% New York State hops and 20% barley and all other ingredients in the first five years (the percentages go up after that) has certain licensing fees exempted or reduced and can open up to five branch offices all under the same license. At any of these locations a farm brewery can make and sell hard cider, sell New York State wine and liquor and also sell local food such as cheeses and meats.
Jonathan Post, brewer and owner of The Beer Diviner, said that he is one of only three farm breweries now in New York State. “The problem for larger breweries is the small amount of barley and hops grown in New York. They can’t be certain of a regular supply and because what is available comes from different small growers, they can’t be certain of consistency. However, consistency does not mean quality,” Post said. “In my opinion the New York State malt grown by small farmers is far superior to the malt grown by the giant companies out in North Dakota and Minnesota. And though there are variations in different batches because the malt comes from different farmers, it’s not enough to make a big difference and just enough to make the variation interesting in the beer.”
Post is currently running a Kickstarter campaign which you can look up on line under The Beer Diviner to help raise money for the new Tap Room and Market. “I’m taking a chance,” he said, “because after a year in business I’m still doing it all on my own – brewing, marketing, distributing, etc. – and still not making any money. I want to be able to hire people, to buy and sell local food as well as wine and distilled spirits, for example, from the new Albany Distillery. People can come and fill growlers, drink pints, get wifi and one whole side of the building is going to be a game room with ping pong, foosball and darts. I see a bigger economic potential of this for our area. I just know that people driving to Jiminy Peak and to Vermont will make this a stop on their way, and people over in Massachusetts will want to come and visit.”
Grand Opening Is June 22
The Grand Opening of the Tap Room and Market will be on Saturday, June 22, from 1 to 4 pm. There will be barbecued hamburgers and sausages from local farms and tastings of The Beer Diviner beers, three different New York State wineries, a meadery and a distillery. Local musicians will be playing Bluegrass and kids can come too for a reduced price.
Bronze Medal Winner
Post recently won the Bronze Medal for Best Beer in the Hudson Valley for his Got Your Back Coffee Oatmeal Stout at TAP New York, the longest running beer festival in the State. “There were a lot of big breweries competing,” said Post. “The organizers of the event told me that for a one man operation in business only for a year, it was quite an achievement.”

Music At The Stephentown Memorial Library

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Fun Family Concert
On Saturday, June 22, from 2 to 4 pm the front lawn of the Stephentown Memorial Library will be the site of a Fun Family Concert featuring Terry A La Berry and his band. Don’t miss the fun. Bring a blanket or lawn chairs and enjoy.
Terry A La Berry has been performing for kids for over 22 years and has appeared at the White House, the Museum of Natural History, Miami Children’s Museum and schools all over the country and on The Today Show. He is also the drummer for folksinger Arlo Guthrie and has toured the world. His fifth CD, “Braver To Be Kind,” has just been released and one of his recent songs, “Close Up the Laptop,” has been selected to appear on a CD to benefit the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program.
Thursday Coffeehouse
In response to your requests, we are offering a monthly Thursday evening of music coffee and socializing at the Library. The first Thursday Coffeehouse Event is on June 27 at 7 pm.
This month we are pleased to welcome The Bentwood Rockers – an acoustic duo specializing in old time country, hokum, Piedmont blues and traditional folk music from the early days of the recording industry. Between them, Bill Ackerbauer and Roland Vinyard play a variety of stringed instruments – fiddle, guitars, many kinds of banjos, mandolin, autoharp, harmonica. They have a stage presence that is both casual and engaging, scholarly and humorous. The Coffeehouse event is free and open to all. There will be homemade refreshments for sale provided by the Friends of SML to benefit the Library.
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.