The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

Sports Outdoors

United Way Catfish Derby And Baseball Tickets

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submitted by Brad Poster, Executive Director, United Way of Columbia and Greene Counties

The United Way of Columbia and Greene Counties has announced that early registration for the Fourth Annual Leo Lasher Catfish Derby is now open. Again this year registration is $15 per fisherman and again first prize for the longest catfish of the day is $500, cash on the spot, with more prizes for children, teens and adults.  This family event will be held on July 19 at Dutchman’s Landing and hosted by Riverview Marine Services at the Point in Catskill.

Currently, an Early Registration Contest is for two box seat tickets at Fenway Park to a Friday night regular season game of the Boston Red Sox. The tickets will be awarded to an early registrant between January 1 and March 31. More surprises and prizes will be announced for our local summertime family fun day and fishing contest

To register online visit www.uwcg.org. For more information, call Brad at 518-755-2155.

Panther Bowlers Finish Regular Season With Another Win

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submitted by Coach Bob Lang

The Hoosick Falls bowling team finished the regular season on Monday, February 3, with a victory over visiting Whitehall by the score of 4-0. Hoosick Falls finished the regular season with a point total of 54-2 and a match record of 13-0-1. Whitehall finished the regular season with a point total of 13-51. Top bowler for Whitehall was Conner LaVoie with a 156-444.

Top bowlers for Hoosick Falls were Ken Marbot 248-661, Stephen Surdam 245-608, A. J. Hurlburt 198-535, Kyla Day 182-534, Josh McCart 201-529 and Jennifer Sargood 186-525. Hoosick Falls had some nice JV scores – Jonathan Bossoni 211-595, Eric Bloomer 211-579 and Tanner Cahill 177-511.

“This match ends our regular season with a point record of 54-2 which matches our best point record that we set last year. The team bowled some nice scores considering that the other team was pushing the oil around a lot and I did a lot of moving bowlers around to give some JV bowlers a chance to bowl on Varsity. We have our ‘all day’ League Tournament tomorrow at Broadway Lanes in Fort Edward and then our League Championship match against Fort Edward in Saratoga on Thursday followed by Sectionals the following Tuesday, February 11, at Boulevard Lanes in Schenectady. I hope we can keep putting up some good scores like we have been the last few weeks! The team knows that we must take it one game at a time,” Coach Lang said.

Winter School Break Specials For Kids At Area State Parks

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Monday, February 17 – Backyard Bird Count at Grafton Lakes State Park at 10 am – Be-A-Bird, Bird Bingo and Bird Watching Fun! Pre-register please. The cost is $2 each or $5 for the family.

Wednesday, February 19 – Animal Tracking with the family at 1 pm at Grafton Lakes State Park. Who has been out in the Park overnight – fox, weasel, squirrel or deer? You’ll see signs of many furry neighbors. Pre-registration is required – space and snowshoes are limited. The cost is $2 each or $5 for the family.

Saturday, February 22 – Cherry Plain State Park Outdoor Day from 11 am to 3 pm – snowshoe outings and fun in the Park for all ages, sponsored by Friends of Cherry Plain State Park. Call 279-1155 for more information.

Snowshoe Outings In February

Saturday, February 8, Wednesday, February 12, and Thursday, February 27 – Snowshoe Outing at 10:30 am starting from the GLSP Office. Try out snowshoeing and see what wonders winter has to share on the Park’s trails. Pre-registration is required as space is limited; call 279-1155. The cost is $2 per person.

Dyken Pond Environmental Center Events

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February 9, Sunday –  tracking with a focus on fishers will be offered from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. The cost is $20. Both programs offer a $5 discount for members, students and seniors. Winter is more enjoyable when you can discover movements of the animals around you. Common tracks found include red and grey fox, fisher, otter, porcupine and weasels. Pre-registration is required and space is limited.

Tuesday, February 18 – School Break Kids Snowshoe Fun, 1 to 3 pm. Put on a pair of snowshoes, play Eskimo games and have winter fun! There will be hot chocolate for all at the end of the day. The cost is $1 per person. Snowshoe rentals available for $5.

February 14, Friday – Valentine’s Day Full Moon Trek. Enjoy Valentine’s Day at a free guided cross-country ski and snowshoe trek at the Center from 7 to 9 pm. The trek will cover two miles and is designed for the intermediate skier or snowshoer. No beginners, please. Snowshoe rentals are available for $5. Hot cocoa and chocolates will be shared around a campfire following the trek. Please contact the Center for updated snow conditions.

February 16, and March 16,  Sundays – Nature Writing Workshops.Paying Attention Among the Trees: A Winter Walk and Nature Writing Experience will be held from 1 to 3 pm. Diane Kavanaugh-Black will lead participants on a meditative woodland walk followed by writing with intention in a cozy wood stove heated cabin. This workshop will inspire the creative process whether you are a novice or already working on your own writing project. Sign up for one or both sessions. The cost is $15, $12 for members. Pre-registration is required for both workshops and space is limited, so register early.

February 18, Tuesday  – School Break Kids Snowshoe Fun, 1 to 3 pm. Put on a pair of snowshoes, play Eskimo games and have winter fun! There will be hot chocolate for all at the end of the day. The cost is $1 per person. Snowshoe rentals available for $5.

February 20, Thursday  – School Break Winter Survival, 1 to 3 pm. Could you survive in the cold if you had to, start a campfire, build a survival shelter and learn how to survive? The cost is $1 per person.

The Dyken Pond Center, located at 475 Dyken Pond Road, Cropseyville, is a Rensselaer County Park open daily during daylight hours for ice fishing, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Visit www.dykenpond.org for directions and a complete schedule of our winter events. Call 658-2055 or visit the website www.dykenpond.org.

Llewellyn Palmer In National Snowshoe Championships

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Llewellyn Palmer, of Berlin, is heading for the 2014 U.S. Snowshoe Association national championships after an impressive finish in a qualifying race in January. Palmer, a Paul Smith’s College student majoring in parks, recreation and facilities management, locked up the spot at the national event after qualifying at the Empire State Snowshoe Racing Association Championships, held in Fabius, NY, on January 26.

Despite the extremely cold conditions the past few weeks, Palmer has been training and racing in the United States and Canada to prepare for some major races, including the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival snowshoe races at Dewey Mountain on Wednesday, February 5, the International Snowshoe Championships in Granby, Quebec, on Saturday, February 8, and the Empire State Winter Games snowshoe races at the Paul Smith’s College VIC on Sunday, February 9.

Palmer will compete at the 2014 U.S. Snowshoe Association National Championships from Friday, February 28, through Sunday, March 2, in Woodford, VT.

Boy Scouts Check Duck Boxes

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submitted by Bernard Davock

Hoosick Falls Boy Scout Troop 63 camped out at the Pioneer Fish and Game Club this past weekend. In addition to practicing survival skills like fire building and what to do if you fall through some ice into water while hiking in the woods, the boys enjoyed a impromptu class by Ed Sukuskas about the habitat of wood ducks.

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Panther Boys Shoot Just Good Enough To Win, 42 – 39

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by Steve Bradley

The Hoosick Falls Panthers didn’t shoot well against Greenwich last Friday evening. Andrew Hoag made a three-pointer when the game was almost over, the first Panther three-pointer of the game. If it wasn’t for their defense, they probably would have lost. It wasn’t pretty but, in the end, they played just good enough to win.

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Mountaineer Boys Basketball Wins Two

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by Jen Burhans

The Berlin boys varsity basketball team added two more to the win column last week bringing their record to 8-3 overall.

Berlin jumped off the week with Doane Stuart on January 21. The Mountaineers got off to a strong lead in the first quarter 17-10 and stayed strong through the half maintaining their lead, 35-25, at the break.

Doane Stuart came out of the locker room fired up and matched Berlin’s 18 points in the third quarter to keep them in the game and force Berlin to step up their defense in the fourth quarter. The Berlin defense held them to 9 points while adding 17 of their own. The game ended with the score 70-52.

Berlin was consistent with their shooting each quarter in this game. The scoring was led by Greg DePaolis who scored a game high 25 points and got a season high 15 rebounds. Jeff Curtis hit some big time 3s and distributed the ball well, finishing with 15 points and 5 assists. Cody Seel finished strong at the basket and found his teammates often. He had 14 points,10 rebounds and 7 assists.

Berlin vs Loudonville Christian

Friday night saw Loudonville Christian travel to Berlin to face the Mountaineers for the first time this season. Loundonville is not the powerhouse they have been in past years but are never to be taken lightly. Berlin jumped out to a 17-9 lead but was a little sluggish and ramped up the shooting in the second quarter. They outshot Loudonville 3-1, scoring 31 points.

Berlin came out of the locker room ready to play and scored another 23 points in the third quarter. Rotating the players off the bench in the fourth quarter slowed down the Berlin scoring drive to 17 points and allowed L. C. to get its game high 14 points for the quarter. The game ended 88-41 giving Berlin one of its few wins over Loudonville in quite a few years.

DePaolis had a game high 30 points, adding 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Seel was just behind him with 25 points and 10 assists. Curtis chipped in 14 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.

The seniors were honored before the game Friday and after being announced gave carnations to their parents. This year Berlin has five seniors, Jeff Curtis, Cody Seel, John Shatz, Cullen O’Brien and Christian Price.