The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

Sports Outdoors

HF Golf Team Gathers Wins

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by Steve Bradley
On Tuesday the Hoosick Falls golf team defeated Stillwater by a score of 3½ to 1½ at the Hoosick Falls Country Club.
On Wednesday the team traveled to Battenkill Country Club to play the Hoosic Valley Indians. The Hoosick Falls Panthers came away with a 3½ to 2½ victory. Normally there are five scores that determine the match, but, due to a 2½ to 2½ tie score with the five man match, the sixth match was needed to break the tie.
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Lady Panthers Dominate In Opening Game 5 – 1

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by Steve Bradley
The Lady Panthers soccer team started the season off with a big win Tuesday evening. Playing under the lights in front of a nice crowd, the Panthers wanted to show they are going to be a tough team to beat, again. Looking to avenge last year’s defeat by Manchester’s Burr & Burton Academy, the Panthers took control from the Bulldogs at the start and dominated.
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Upcoming Rensselaer Land Trust Outings

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• Cemetery Restoration Volunteer Work Day on Saturday, September 14, from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. Come for part or all day. Immerse your hands in history as we restore a 200 year old local cemetery on RLT’s Randall Brook easement in Stephentown. An expert restorer will be at the site to guide us. Call Francille Egbert for detailed directions at 518-674-3214 or email fran.egbert@gmail.com.
• Fourth Annual Plateau Traverse Hike, September 14 and 15. This is your chance to see some beautiful areas of the Plateau that are not open to the public. This hike is co-sponsored by the Friends of Dyken Pond, the Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center, the Rensselaer Land Trust and Pineridge Cross Country Ski Area. A $5 per day donation  is suggested to offset fuel costs of shuttles. Preregistration is required; contact info@rensselaerplateau.org or call Jim at 518-794-9160.
This will be a very strenuous hike (15 miles each day) with some bushwhacking and significant elevation changes. More information is available at www.renstrust.org/outingsandevents/listing.

Two On-Farm Workshops On The Fruit Fly

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The Cornell Cooperative Extension will hold two farm workshops on Tuesday, September 10, in Rensselaer County.  Both workshops will highlight farm research aimed at understanding and controlling the Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD). This invasive fruit fly is very damaging to soft fruit,  especially berry crops that ripen later in the season.  SWD caused over a million dollars in damage to berry crops in 2012 in New York alone.  Because of this, SWD management has been a major statewide research and extension focus during 2013, with two of the projects located in the Capital District region.  Plan to join growers, extension educators, Cornell University research faculty, industry and government representatives for updates on innovative management techniques for SWD.
• Fixed Sprayer System in a High Tunnel Raspberry Planting – The Berry Patch of Stonewall Hill Farm, 15370 NY Route 22, Stephentown from 2 to 3:30 pm. This project examines the effectiveness and labor saving attributes of this mode of pest control when faced with a challenging pest like SWD.  Owner Dale Riggs is the president of the NYS Berry Growers Association which has been advocating for increased research funding for SWD.  The farm also grows blueberries with bird netting and day neutral strawberries in a high tunnel – all for local markets.  This project is supported by a research grant from the NY Farm Viability Institute.
• Exclusion Netting and Mass Trapping to Control SWD in Organic Blueberries – Hay Berry Farm, 1276 Babcock Lake Road, Hoosick Falls from 4 to 5:30 pm. Lawrie Nickerson was awarded a NE SARE Farmer Grant to evaluate netting as a management tool for SWD.   She also looked at weed mat and berry quality in the study.  The farm features a SMART NET bird net, deer fencing and a portable hand-washing station to meet U-Pick customer needs.
To register for these workshops call Marcie at 518-272-4210. For more information, call Laura McDermott at 518-791-5038 or email her at lgm4@cornell.edu.

Twilight Kayak Tours At Dyken Pond

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The Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center is offering twilight kayak tours on September 3 and September 11 and a full moon kayak tour on September 19 from 6 to 8 pm.  These programs are limited to 12 boats so pre-registration is required and can be done by contacting the center at dykenpond@fairpoint.net or 658-2055.  Kayaks can be rented for $10 or you can bring your own.
The Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center, located at 475 Dyken Pond Road, Cropseyville, is a Rensselaer County Park open daily during daylight hours for hiking, fishing and non-motor boating. Canoes and kayaks are available for rent each day from 9 am until 3 pm. Call for more information and a complete schedule of our summer events. A complete list of programs can be found at www.dykenpond.org.

Pets In The Park At GLSP

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Grafton Lakes State Park will host the second annual Pets in the Park Day on Saturday, September 14. The event will take place at the Deerfield Pavilion from 11 am to 3 pm and is free with Park admission. Local pet rescue agencies will be in attendance with adoptable dogs, including Pepper Tree Rescue, Forever Home Grey Hounds, Mohawk Hudson Humane Society and Out of the Pits.  There will be many vendors of pet goods and pet care groups in attendance, including All Dawgs Training Services which will assist attendees with their dog training questions. Other attractions include a dog play area and guided hikes.
There will also be food, a bake sale and raffles. Live music will be provided by the Stray Dogs with Brunswick Barbeque and Brew selling food at the event as well. All proceeds from the raffles and bake sale will be donated to the rescue agencies.
For more information about Pets in the Park, please call the Park office at 518-279-1155.

Fall Home-School Series At Dyken Pond

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The Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center is offering a home-school series this fall for students of all ages every Tuesday for six weeks beginning September 10 and running until October 15. Each Tuesday a program will offer a different theme and will run from 1 to 4 pm. Programs will teach students about tree identification, differences in ecosystems, wildlife studies and general ecology. There is a $5 per student fee, and students can attend any or all programs. A complete list of programs can be found at www.dykenpond.org. Pre-registration is required to help with planning and can be done by contacting the Center at dykenpond@fairpoint.net or 518-658-2055.