The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

School News

Berlin H.S. Events

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Improv Night

On Friday, September 26, at 7:30 pm you will laugh so hard. That’s right; it’s the second annual Drama Club Improv Night.  Starting at 7:30, students will improv situations similar to those on the popular TV show “Who’s line is it anyway.” Join us for the fun. Admission is $5 per person with free refreshments

Fall Fest

Next week, October  4, is the 16th annual Fall Fest at Berlin High School. Craft vendors, games, a coffee can auction and much more is fun for the whole family from 10 am to 3 pm.

Later, the Family Dance will be held at Berlin High School from 7:30 to 10 pm.  Admission is $3. Glow necklaces are $2. Refreshments are free.  Students under sixth grade must be accompanied by an adult.

Soccer Weekend In New Lebanon

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Come to the 32nd Annual New Lebanon Soccer Tournament. New Lebanon is hosting the Lee, Berlin and Hoosic Valley Boys teams as well as the Chatham, Berlin and Hoosic Valley Girls teams.  All these teams are playing great soccer this year. There has already been some really good soccer being played at the New Lebanon High School this year, and these games promise to be no different. The tournament will be played at the New Lebanon High School field.

Tyler Pomakoy vies for the ball against Waterford. (David Flint photo). Waterford’s Ray Carmel and Mike Hilton scored a goal apiece to give Waterford a 2 to 1 win over the BCS Boys soccer team on Wednesday. Fred Morine scored for Berlin with Brent Demick recording 24 saves in goal. Berlin is now 4 and 3 in the league and 6 and 3 overall.
Tyler Pomakoy vies for the ball against Waterford. (David Flint photo). Waterford’s Ray Carmel and Mike Hilton scored a goal apiece to give Waterford a 2 to 1 win over the BCS Boys soccer team on Wednesday. Fred Morine scored for Berlin with Brent Demick recording 24 saves in goal. Berlin is now 4 and 3 in the league and 6 and 3 overall.

 

 

There will also be baked goods, hot dishes and barbecue off the grill for very reasonable prices.  Great soccer!  Great food! Why go anywhere else?

Entrance at the gate is $2 per adult, $1 per child, per night.

Games are as follows:

• Thursday September 25 – Boys –  5 pm – Lee vs. Berlin, 7 pm – Hoosic Valley vs. New Lebanon

• Friday September 26 – Girls –  5 pm – Chatham vs. Berlin, 7 pm – Hoosic Valley vs. New Lebanon

• Saturday September 27 – 1 pm – Girls Consolation Game, 3 pm – Boys Consolation Game, 5 pm – Girls Championship Game, 7 pm – Boys Championship Game

HFCS PTA Fall Festival

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HFCS PTA is proud to announce its featured raffle items for the eighth annual Fall Festival being held on Saturday, October 18, from 9 am to 3 pm at Hoosick Falls Central School.

Each year, the featured raffle items are always an event in themselves, and 2008 will be no exception – and the public can get a sneak peek at them prior to the Festival on October 6 at the community-wide open house at HFCS beginning at 6 pm and from October 8 to October 17 at the Hoosick Federal Credit Union.

The fabulous prizes are: a Will Moses print entitled “Snow in the Hills,”

Fall Festival 2008 raffle items. Photo by Sharon Messersmith.
Fall Festival 2008 raffle items. Photo by Sharon Messersmith.

 custom framed by Peg Caron, a handmade quilt entitled “Split Decisions” by Sharon Messersmith, four prints by Warren Kimble called “Four Seasons,” framed in primitive Shaker black frames, and a Bennington Pottery bowl filled with dinner for a week (gift certificates from Bianca’s Pizza & Pasta, Falls Diner, Guiseppe’s Restaurant, Jean’s Place, John Street CafÄ, Olde Firehouse Tavern and Theresa’s Country Cuisine).

 

Take a chance to win any or all of the prizes, and enter as many times as you’d like!

Tickets are $1 per or $5 for six and are available for purchase prior to the festival at the community-wide open house on October 6 and at the Grand Union on October 4, 5, 11 and 12, from 9 am to 3 pm.

This fun-filled event features crafters and vendors, games and activities for the kids, a cake walk, a bake sale, food and beverages, several raffles for adults and kids and much more! And new this year are a tag sale featuring good quality, reusable products and Animaland©, a chance for youngsters to stuff their own collectible animals. All proceeds from the Fall Festival help the PTA host family-oriented events, volunteer time in support of classroom activities, offer funding for countless programs and events.

Please take a chance at one or more of these wonderful raffle items and come join the fun on October 18. If you have any questions or want to buy raffle tickets, you can call Shannon Wickenden at 518-686-7133 or Laurie Gormley at 518-686-9138 or, for vendor information, contact Margaret Stevens at 518-686-1648.

HFCS Board Almost Puts Kibosh On Athletic Fields

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by Alex Brooks

 

 The Hoosick Falls School Board had a scary moment at its meeting this week when a vote to approve a contract with the Hoosick Falls Soccer Club for use of its fields failed to pass.

The contract is for this season, from August 18 through November 13, 2008

After the vote Superintendent Facin told the Board that failure to approve this contract means that the teams using those fields would have to stop using them immediately.

Hoosick Falls senior Carly Pine controls the ball while Tamarac senior Nicole Conrad bears down on her in Monday’s game. Tamarac was victorious 2-1. (Bea Peterson photo)
Hoosick Falls senior Carly Pine controls the ball while Tamarac senior Nicole Conrad bears down on her in Monday’s game. Tamarac was victorious 2-1. (Bea Peterson photo)

There are currently five teams using the soccer club fields for both practices and games, and Facin said he had no backup plan – tomorrow morning he would be scrambling to find fields for these teams to play on, re-arranging the bus schedules, re-scheduling games with other schools and so on.

 

The discussion of the matter began with Don Skott asking why the fee to use those fields had gone up so much since last year.  Superintendent Facin replied that last year when the fee was $3,200, only two teams from HFCS were using that field. This year since there are five teams using the soccer club fields, the District agreed to pay $5,200.

John Helft, who is on the Board of the Soccer Club, showed Board members a chart of man-hours expended by the soccer club lining and maintaining the fields. He said last year they spent 70 man-hours more than usual because of the District’s use of the fields, and he expects it will be 110 hours this year. 

Dave Sutton said he felt that the Soccer Club is generously offering at an affordable price something for which they could easily charge more.

Dwain Wilwol said he thought the price was high, and he had consulted a soccer coach who  doesn’t coach here, who had assured him that this price was not really out of line. It sounded like Wilwol was defending the price, but when it came to a vote, both Wilwol and Skott voted against it, and John Helft had to abstain because he’s on the Soccer Club Board. The three yes votes, from Dave Sutton, Laurie Gormley and Bridget Foster, were not enough to pass the resolution. HFCS Board member Greg Laurin did not attend this meeting.

HF#8 Will Luke sends the ball toward the Tamarac goal late in Tuesday’s game.Tamarac beat HF 4-0. (Bea Peterson photo)
HF#8 Will Luke sends the ball toward the Tamarac goal late in Tuesday’s game.Tamarac beat HF 4-0. (Bea Peterson photo)

Dave Sutton said he had not heard from any Board member or taxpayer that there was a problem with this contract, and he felt if Board members were planning to oppose it, they should let him know in advance, so as not to leave five of the school’s teams suddenly without a field to play on.

Don Skott says he has questioned these figures before and he feels that no one listened to him. He said the most recent figure he had heard concerning this year’s contract was $4,600 and he had said at the time that he felt it was too much and he couldn’t vote for it.

John Helft said it had cost $400,000 to develop the soccer club facility and this contract is well below the rate they usually charge to rent it.

Appeals to reconsider were taken to heart, and both Don Skott and Dwain Wilwol said although they continue to think $5,200 is too high a price, they did not want to leave the kids without fields in the middle of their season, so they agreed to approve the contract.  The vote was rescinded, and a new resolution approving the contract was passed unanimously 5-0, with John Helft abstaining.

At Public Comment time, Karen Tommasino, speaking as a parent of a soccer player, said she was glad the kids could continue on the Soccer Club fields, because they are good quality fields. she said her son had turned his ankle playing on a bumpy field somewhere else and two weeks later it still isn’t right. But when he is playing on the Soccer Club fields, she has no worries.

Jim Martinez said he is glad the Soccer Club contract was approved because, whether the price is a little high or a little low, the important thing is that the money is going back into this community, supporting soccer programs for the kids.

Local Police Coverage

Superintendent Ken Facin said he has been discussing with officials from the Village of Hoosick Falls having the Village Police extend their coverage area to include the school so that there is a police agency that can respond quickly if need be. It takes quite a while for County Sheriffs or State Police to come out to the Hoosick Falls school property because they have so far to travel to get out here. He cited two examples of recent incidents that illustrate his point. One was an incident about a month ago in which a sexual predator in the Village tried to get two young girls into his car. They ran and called for help, and the police arrived quickly and arrested the guy. If such an incident happened at the school and the County Sheriff or State Police were called, the offender would have plenty of time to get away. Another incident involved a man standing across the road from the school looking through binoculars in the general direction of the school. The Village Police asked him what he was doing, and it turned out he was looking at deer on the hillside above the school. Facin said if a State Trooper drove out here to respond to such a call, it would be a waste of Police resources.

Facin said he is not looking for police patrols or greater police presence on campus. The agreement would only be for responding to calls from the school.

Smooth Start

Many school officials told stories about the first week of school and how it went, and all seemed to agree that it went very well. The new bus schedule and staggered start went very smoothly; a new orientation program for kindergarteners called “Kindergarten Camp” was a fun introduction to the school for the youngsters; the new early morning day care program has gone very well.  Elementary Principal Patrick Dailey said there are 20 to 25 kids participating in the morning day care program. Parents who need to get to work early drop them off starting at 7:15 am, and, with the activities provided, the program has had a calm and productive atmosphere. There are four teachers running it, which exceeds State requirements for staff to student ratios. Dailey said they are staffing on the basis of two teachers for every 15 kids and they are currently set up for up to 30 kids. The State required minimum for school age children is one teacher for every ten kids.

In Other Business:

• The Board tabled a motion to appoint nine sports volunteers because three of the applications were incomplete. Many of these volunteers have been volunteering for these particular duties for many years. Having volunteers complete applications is a new policy, and there were apparently a few glitches in the process.

• The Board changed the date of the November meeting from November 18 to Thursday, November 13, at 7 pm.

• After the meeting, the Board went into executive session to discuss negotiations with the Managerial/Confidential staff.

The next regular meeting of the Hoosick Falls School Board will be Tuesday, October 21 at 7 pm.

St. Mary’s Soccer Teams Split A Pair with Mt. Anthony

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The 2008 soccer season started for St. Mary’s with a pair of games with Mt. Anthony on a rainy Friday afternoon.

The boys team lost 5-1 to the visiting Patriots. Justin Lynch kept the game close in the first half with some amazing saves. The Eagles lone goal was scored by Alex LaBarge off a lovely pass from Drew Phillips. The score at half was 3-1. Evan Phillips played exceptionally well for the Eagles on defense, but the Patriots kept up the pressure in the second half and scored two goals to ice the game.

The girls team fared much better winning 7-0. Grace Delurey, Alice Hayden and Alyssa Girodano all netted two goals each. Casey Legg tallied the other goal. Mary Peters, Nicole St. Onge and Julia Baker did a great job at defense preventing the Patriots from getting any sustained pressure on St. Mary’s goal. Oliva Schnieder recorded her first shut out as goalie.

Black Horses Gallop By Panther Football Team, 36-0

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by Gary Danforth

Last Friday evening, September 12, on a rainy, soggy field in Schuylerville the visiting Hoosick Falls Panther football team got a large dose of Schuylerville quarterback Austin Bateman as the Black Horses ran away to a 36-0 Class C North division high school football victory. Bateman, a junior signal caller, scored four touchdowns against a Hoosick Falls eleven which was coming off an emotional win versus Cambridge a week ago in the first annual Ken Baker Jug Game. With the win, the Horses move to 2-0 in class play while HFCS drops to 1-1. The Horses had beaten a tough Corinth squad in their season opener.

Schuylerville took a 6-0 lead in period one when senior running back Shane Larkin scored from five yards out. Senior place kicker Dan Ladd booted the point after touchdown for a 7-0 Horses’ lead. Any hopes for a Panther comeback were dashed when Bateman, a three year starter, scored three straight times in period two. First, Bateman got loose on a 46 yard run. Ladd added the PAT. Then Bateman scored from twenty three yards out with Ladd adding the PAT, good for a 21-0 Horses’ margin. Bateman added his third scoring run of the first half when he got loose for a 37 yard TD romp. Ladd’s PAT boot was errant but the Horses still led, 27-0. Ladd added a 25 yard field goal in period two to push the Schuylerville lead to 30-0 at the break. Bateman added a 51 yard touchdown run in period three to seal the Horses 36-0 triumph. Ladd’s PAT boot was errant but the Horses didn’t need it in their second consecutive victory. Under the Goalposts: When was the last time a Panther football team was shut out by this margin in the final score? Elsewhere in Class C action, Cambridge beat Granville 42-30 and Stillwater and Mechanicville picked up wins. In case you didn’t realize it, Brittonkill-Tamarac is 2-0 and Hoosic Valley is 0-2. Next up for HFCS is a home contest this Friday evening, September 19, against Stillwater. This upcoming game and every other game will be no cakewalk for the Panthers. Stillwater seems to play Hoosick Falls very tough each year. And the Panthers will get a large dose of their excellent quick, speedy running back. Then come away contests at Corinth and Granville, respectively, on Friday, September 26  and Saturday, October 4. Friday night, October 10, the Panthers will entertain an always competitive Mechanicville eleven and then HFCS will finish up its regular season with a 75 mile trek to Cobeleskill-Richmondville. Stillwater and Granville are improved from a year ago. And Corinth, Mechanicville and Cobleskill-Richmondville will be very worthy opponents. If the Panthers take any of their five remaining regular season opponents lightly they may walk off the field on the short end of the scoreboard. I’m telling you, Stillwater is for real. And  if Granville can score 30 points against a Cambridge team, they are to be reckoned with, I don’t care what their record has been the past few years. Corinth is at home and they are an experienced team. Mechanicville will come right at the Panthers. And Cobleskill-Richmondville is a bigger school than HFCS, used to knocking heads with larger schools. It is possible that HFCS will not win another football game this regular season. Not from lack of effort, but because the quality of their opponents this season is a notch higher than in recent years. It all starts this Friday night against a very capable Stillwater team. HFCS is going to see a heavy dose of the Warriors’ running game and more if Stillwater gets ahead.

Two More Victories For HFCS Golf Team

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Taylor Bellemere was medalist in the match with Hoosic Valley with a score of 37. (Bea Peterson file photo)
Taylor Bellemere was medalist in the match with Hoosic Valley with a score of 37. (Bea Peterson file photo)

 

 

 

Hoosick Falls Golfers Defeat Hoosic Valley 

 The Hoosick Falls Golf team defeated Hoosic Valley 5-0 at the Hoosick Falls Country Club Thursday, September 11. Taylor Bellemare was medalist with 37.

Bellemare (HF) def White 2up

Callahan (HF) def Catone 4&2

Wirmusky (HF) def Houston 5&3

Gorman (HF) def McLaughlin 4&3

Hall (HF) def Cook 4&3

Lynch (HF) def Anderson 5&4

  Hoosick Falls Golfers Defeat Schuylerville 

On Monday, September 15 the Hoosick Falls Golf Team defeated Schuylerville 4.5 to 0.5 at the Hoosick Falls Country Club. Joe Wirmusky, Kevin Gorman and Taylor Bellemare shared medalist with 40’s.

      Bellemare (HF) tied Braim

Callahan (HF) def Varuges 1up

Wirmusky (HF) def Seymour 3&2

Gorman (HF) def Delaney 4&2

Hall (HF) def Kelly 4&3

Lynch (HF) def Stark 3&1

The team’s matches for the week are:   

Thu. Sep 18, HOME vs. Granville

Mon. Sep 22, vs. Tamarac at Frear Park (Troy)

Wed. Sep 24, vs. Greenwich at Battenkill  (Greenwich) 

Thu. Sep 25, HOME vs. Stillwater

St. Mary’s Academy Annual Cow Plop And Car Show

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It’s that time of the year again! Rain or shine, St. Mary’s Academy of Hoosick Falls will be hosting their annual Cow Plop and Car Show on Sunday, October 5 at the Town of Hoosick Athletic Field. 

The car show will begin at 10 am. Registration for the car show will take place that day, entrance fee is $10.00. There will 35 trophies given away this year to the top favorite cars, trucks and motorcycles. The car show is sponsored in part by DePaula Chevrolet and Hummer of Albany, WCW, Inc., and Tinkham Real Estate.

In addition to the car show, it’s the famous cow plop. Deeds to squares are $20 and are on sale now. If the cow “plops” in your square, you win $1000! They sold out before noon last year, so buy early. Throughout the day, the crowd will be entertained by music provided by friend of St. Mary’s, Joe Shaw.

There will also be a family fun festival from noon until 3 pm, including a children’s games and activities area, The Hoedown Express train ride, sponsored by Interface Solutions, food, bake sale, raffles, rides provided by Amyland Amusements, entertainment and more. Vendors are welcome.

For more information or to purchase a deed, please call Mary at 686-4314, x206.

Panther Football Team Beats Cambridge 34-19 To Win First Ken Baker Jug Game

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Kevin Wood and Travis McMahon accepted the Ken Baker Jug from Richard Reeve and Dr. Fran Greenhall. With them is Coach Ron Jones and Ann Baker. (Bea Peterson photo)
Kevin Wood and Travis McMahon accepted the Ken Baker Jug from Richard Reeve and Dr. Fran Greenhall. With them is Coach Ron Jones and Ann Baker. (Bea Peterson photo)

by Gary Danforth

Last Friday evening, September 5, two neighboring rival high schools, Hoosick Falls Central School and Cambridge Central School, came together for the greater good to honor the memory of longtime Section Two football Coach Ken Baker in the first annual Ken Baker Jug game. Though HFCS won the game by a 34-19 score and will keep The Jug in its trophy case until next year’s clash, in true Ken Baker fashion, there were no losers in this game. Nor will there be if future participants display the kind of good competitive fire and sportsmanship which Baker preached for so many years and which both teams displayed. A large crowd under the lights at HFCS saw both teams display the kind of sportsmanship and hard nosed play which was surpassed only by the number of cars parked up and down Route 22 in both directions from HFCS as fans surrounded the field by the hundreds. 

Baker’s widow, Mrs. Ann Baker, flanked by Cambridge Central School Superintendent Frank Greenhall and longtime Baker coaching and teaching friend, Richard Reeve, presented The Jug to HFCS Coach Ron Jones, the last starting quarterback on a Baker coached Hoosick Falls squad. Baker was varsity gridiron boss at HFCS from 1972-1985. Doug Luke, head coach at CCS for the past eleven years and a Cambridge graduate who had served under Baker at Cambridge as an assistant coach, stood by as both teams spread across the football field, perpendicular to one another, as the presentation took place. Baker coached at CCS from 1986-1995. It was a whale of a game.

Cambridge, the defending Section Two Class C champions, and who had won 89 games the past ten years under Luke’s direction, took a 7-0 lead in quarter one when junior quarterback Kyle Parmenter hit sophomore Jesse Lybert with a twenty-one yard scoring play. Sophomore starting running back Matt Best kicked the point after touchdown as CCS took a 7-0 lead with 8:21 left in period one.

But HFCS came roaring back. Senior Panther signal caller Kevin Woods hit 6’5” junior wide-out Kevin McMahon with a 22 yard touchdown pass and junior Hutton Rasmus booted the PAT as the score was deadlocked at 7-7. Hoosick Falls, dominant in recent years under Jones’ tutelage, winning four consecutive divisional championships in the past five years, including two sectional titles, one regional crown and a trip to the State championship game in 2003, took a 13-7 lead. Senior running back Dan Okerman took a screen pass from Woods and bolted down the right sideline for a 60 yard TD play. Rasmus’s PAT boot gave HFCS a 14-7 spread with 5:26 left in the opening half. HFCS wasn’t done yet in first half action. In two plays, the last one being a 61 yard touchdown strike to senior wide out Jordan Brogue, Hoosick Falls extended its lead to 20-7. Rasmus’s PAT boot gave HFCS a hard earned 21-7 lead at the break.

Cambridge came back in period three, narrowing their deficit to 21-13 as Parmenter hit junior running back Joel Ferguson with a fifteen yard TD strike. The Indians’ PAT boot failed.

It was a busy fourth period as both teams continued to play solid football. HFCS took a 27-13 bulge

This spectacular catch by Logan O’Brien put HF in great position. The next pass resulted in a TD. (Bea Peterson photo)
This spectacular catch by Logan O’Brien put HF in great position. The next pass resulted in a TD. (Bea Peterson photo)

when Woods found junior wide-out Greg Stifter with a five yard scoring pass. CCS blocked the ensuing Panther extra point attempt.

Cambridge came right back. Parmenter scored on a five yard run with 8:51 to play to narrow the Indians’ deficit to 27-19. But Hoosick Falls put the game away when Woods connected from two yards out with McMahon to give the Panthers a 33-19 spread. Rasmus’ PAT boot made the final score 34-19 in favor of HFCS. In the Panthers’ final drive, junior Alex Hansen broke a tackle and turned a short pass into a 28 yard reception. 

Under the Goalposts: Both teams played pretty well in their opening game effort. Woods looked very impressive in the Panthers’ spread offense, throwing for almost 350 yards as he rifled the ball all over the field to a cast of HFCS receivers. A young Cambridge team is only going to get better, and I wouldn’t want to draw CCS in sectional play. On Friday night, September 12, HFCS travels to Schuylerville in a big Class C match up with the Black Horses. The winner of that game most likely will have a leg up on the Class C North Division crown. Watch out for the Horses’ junior quarterback Austin Bateman and running back Shane Larkin. They have hurt HFCS in recent years. It should be a dandy.