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Author: Aidan Cahill

Heggen Calls it a Career 

Written by Aidan Cahill on . Posted in Featured, News.

In a press conference surrounded by colleagues, family and friends, Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen announced she would be retiring August 1. 

Hagen has served in the Saratoga County DA’s office in some capacity since 1993 — working her way up from Assistant District Attorney to the number two position within the office. She was elected District Attorney in 2014 and will retire with 32 years of service to the county.  

Much of her remarks focused on thanking the many people she’s worked with over the years. She thanked citizens, law enforcement, fellow attorneys, political leaders and her family for their support over the years. Special praise, however, was reserved for her staff. 

“No district attorney can do this job effectively without a team of professionals,” Heggen said.  “I have been blessed over the years to work with an amazing group of attorneys investigators and staff work to achieve the right and just result in each case.” 

Heggen said she’ll miss the camaraderie of the office but believes her departure won’t take away from their work.  

“I leave with a deep, immense sense of pride in what we have accomplished, and I have faith that the good work of this office will continue in the years to come,” Heggen said. “I know that the work will go on because they are they are the special sauce that makes everything happen.” 

Heggen made history as the first woman to be District Attorney in Saratoga County. In her remarks she noted this saying she followed in the footsteps of other female political leaders and hoped she made the path ‘longer and wider’ for anyone who comes after. 

Gratitude for Heggen’s work was expressed by First Assistant District Attorney Alan Poremba. Poremba said he’ll miss being able to talk with her at work about family and other personal matters. 

“Once in a while we get a chance to just unwind,” Poremba said, “It may be late on a Friday afternoon; we would just sit back take a deep breath and say, ‘What a week?’ And then we talk about our families, and we talk about what the weekend is going to be like. Those are the moments that I love the most, when I got to talk to Karen, on a personal level.”


After 32 years in the Saratoga County DA’s office, Karen Heggen is retiring. Photos by Aidan Cahill  

Poremba also highlighted the way she handled the challenges of being a DA in light of changing laws and policies. 

“This may have been the hardest decade to be a DA in the state of New York, with jail reform, discovery reform, and parole reform.,” Poremba said. “She led this office, and she did such a fantastic job.” 

Poremba pointed out that while other jurisdictions saw many cases thrown out due to failure to adhere to the reforms, due Heggen’s leadership the same trend wasn’t repeated in Saratoga County.

As for what comes next, Heggen didn’t reveal any professional plans but said she wants to spend time with her family — particularly with her baby grandniece. As for her family’s reaction, Heggen told reporters that her husband is looking forward to not having to wait till the weekend to spend all day with her.  

Upon her retirement, Poremba will take over as acting DA until one can be elected. Heggen said she won’t endorse anyone to take her role while Poremba declined to say whether he’d be running as he wanted the focus to be on Heggen’s career. 

Charlton School Cuts the Ribbon on New Dormitories

Written by Aidan Cahill on . Posted in Education.


The Interior of the new dorms. Each dorm can house eight students with each student getting a private room and sharing a bathroom with one other student.  (Photo Credit: Aidan Cahill) 

Students at the Charlton School are getting fresh new dorms. 

In a June 12 ribbon cutting, the Charlton School unveiled the four brand new dormitory buildings. Each dorm has capacity for eight students with each student receiving a private room and sharing a bathroom with one other student. The dorms include a fresh living space, rooms for activities and kitchen and laundry facilities. 

The ribbon cutting comes after a year of construction — starting with a groundbreaking ceremony in June 2024. In addition to the dorms, students also have a new maker space, sidewalks and outdoor areas. 

In his remarks, Executive Director of the Charlton School, Alex Capo highlighted the collaborative nature of the project and thanked the numerous stakeholders for their efforts. 

“Together we have truly created a space where any student can feel safe and valued,” Capo said. “On behalf of the Charlton School, thank you.” 


Alex Capo, center with scissors, cuts the ribbon on the new dorms.
(Credit Aidan Cahill)

Head of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), Robert Rodriguez said he wished that there were more facilities like the Charlton School especially in the community he used to represent as an Assemblyman in East Harlem. 

Bo Goliber, Chief Strategy and Impact officer for the Charlton School said students were set to move into the new dorms when they came back to school following graduation. She also highlighted the impact the dorms on the students. 

“In general, how the students wake up and start each day will be so dramatically improved that we hope that leads to a better overall process to improve their mental health,” Goliber said. 

The Charlton School is a year-round school which assists young women grades 8-12 from across the Northeast. It serves 42 students with 28 living on campus and 14 being bused in daily by their home school districts. In addition to standard academics, it provides equine or horse-based therapy, arts and recreation and campus life. 

Betsy Ross Is Alive, Well And Living In Saratoga: Saratoga Celebrates Flag Day

Written by Aidan Cahill on . Posted in News.


Members of Saratoga Pride march in the parade. The 10th annual Saratoga Pride Festival will be held Sunday June 22. 

Sailors from the Naval Nuclear Power Training Unit walk in the parade. The Navy will celebrate it’s 250th birthday this October.

The skies may have been gray but on the streets, it was red, white and blue as far as the eye could see. 

Thousands of spectators and participants showed up to this year’s Annual Saratoga Flag Day Parade put on by the Saratoga-Wilton Elks Lodge #161 which took place Saturday June 14. It followed its normal path starting on North Broadway and traveling one mile south to its conclusion in Congress Park. 

Flag Day is a federal holiday which celebrates the adoption of the US flag by the Continental Congress in 1777. It was first made a holiday by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1937 with nationwide recognition by the federal government coming in 1949. This year’s parade was the 56th annual parade in Saratoga — following the same route it did in 1968. It also coincided with the 250th anniversary of the formation of the US Army. 

This year’s parade featured dozens of civic groups, businesses, marching bands, drumlines and everything in between. There were slapstick routines from the Oriental Shriners, many groups were handing out flags and many first responders and military in class A Uniforms. 

While pets and other animals might not have been allowed at the Broadway on Belmont Festival, it wasn’t the case for the parade. Dogs, ponies, llamas and even a unicorn or two doted the parade route — as both participants and spectators. 

Members of Indivisible Saratoga/ADK carry flags down Broadway. They were the last group spectators but the largest with 1,500 people participating. 

The largest single organization in the parade was Indivisible ADK/Saratoga who had 1,500 people march in the parade carrying flags. This was in coordination with demonstrations across the country. There were also a few demonstrators around the Saratoga Springs City Council building representing both sides of the political aisle.


A girl dressed as the Statue of Liberty waves at spectators. 

Homelessness Takes Center Stage at City Council Meeting

Written by Aidan Cahill on . Posted in Featured, News.

It was both a somber and celebratory night at the latest Saratoga Springs City Council meeting. 

The meeting took place on Jun 17. During the meeting, topics such as homelessness, a parade to honor Saratoga’s Baseball team and a new police horse took priority. City Council also held a moment of silence for two lawmakers recently killed in Minnesota. 

Homelessness

Homelessness was on everyone’s mind during the public comment portion of the meeting. All but two of the residents who spoke expressed concerns about what the city is doing to help the homeless population. 

Most of those who spoke advocated for low barrier homeless shelters and expressed concerns over an ordinance in the works that they worried would criminalize homelessness in the City of Saratoga Springs. 

The ordinance in question — entitled “Camping prohibited on certain public property” — would replace an ordinance passed in 2016 sought to prevent people from obstructing public sidewalks by sitting or laying in them. While Commissioner of Public Safety Tim Coll told reporters that the ordinance hadn’t been finalized yet, he did give some hint as to what it would look like during the meeting. 

Coll said the ordinance on the books right now isn’t enforced due to court rulings as well as being too vague for officers to properly enforce. The new ordinance would model one that was implemented by Grants Pass Oregon and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2024. 

“In substance, the new ordinance is going to say you can’t camp in a public parking garage, a public parking lot, a public gazebo or a public sidewalk,” Coll said. 

Coll said the new ordinance would specifically outline what camping materials entailed and expressed his views that it is “not humane” to allow people to live on the street. He also said the ordinance came after hearing from the business community who worried about the safety of their employees, particularly at night. 

Commissioner of Finance Minita Sanghvi also spoke on the topic, clarifying that while the city paid for homeless shelters, it was not something that fell within their charter responsibilities. Instead, according to Commissioner Sanghvi, it was typically the responsibility of the county. 

Mayor John Safford also spoke, expressing his concern for the over 100 children facing homelessness in Saratoga Springs. 

A hearing on the proposed ordinance is set for July 1.

Police Department Gets a New Horse

A lease on a new police horse was approved at the meeting. The horse, named Sly, will be a familiar face to officers as it’s the same one they had to rescue from a frozen pond back in February. The 23-year-old horse has been leased free of charge to the department with the department just having to cover vet bills. 

According to Coll, the horse will help supplement the department at a time when one of their other horses, named Appollo, is set to retire due to old age. 

Parade for Baseball Teams Planned

Two of Saratoga’s baseball teams will receive a parade this coming week. The Saratoga Springs High School baseball team and the Saratoga Central Catholic School Baseball teams are both state champions this year — winning the titles on the same day. While certain details still need to be ironed out, according to city council the plan is for the parade to be on Broadway from Congress Park to Saratoga Springs City Hall on June 25. 

While there had been some discussion of the parade taking place on the sidewalk, the council was in agreement that a parade through the street would be more appropriate. 

Other Items of Note. 

Other items on the agenda for the meeting included a presentation on needed changes to the main Department of Public Works garage, the withdrawal of multiple ordinances regarding updated city employee pay due to the need to discuss them further and several jokes made by city council members about the lamas which followed them during the recent Flag Day Parade. 

And They’re Off! Preview of the Saratoga County Primary Elections

Written by Aidan Cahill on . Posted in News.


graphic made by Aidan Cahill

In the break between Belmont and the normal Saratoga racing season, Saratoga County residents will have a different type of horse race to watch: the primary elections.

Of the over 100 offices up for election in November in Saratoga County, only five of them have a primary challenge. Here is a rundown of the elections and candidates in your backyard. 

Saratoga Springs 

While seven local positions in Saratoga Springs are on the ballot in November, only one has a primary challenge. Commissioner of Accounts Dillion Moran is facing a primary challenge from Joseph Levy for the Working Families Party nomination. 

Moran was endorsed by the Working Families Party along with fellow Saratoga Springs candidates Minita Sanghvi and Shafer Gaston — who aren’t facing a primary challenge in this election. 

Moran was elected in 2019 and hasn’t faced a primary challenge since then. He and Levy addressed voters in a recent forum held virtually by the League of Women Voters of Saratoga County. In the forum, Moran focused on his efforts since he assumed office, while Levy focused on the legislative issues he would push as a member of city council. 

Town of Ballston

Republican voters in the town of Ballston will decide who they want to be their supervisor. In Ballston, incumbent Eric Connolly is facing a primary challenge from former Ballston Town Councilman John Antoski. Connolly has been endorsed by the Ballston Republican Committee, according to their Facebook. 

Connolly was elected in 2019 and hasn’t faced a challenger in the primary or general election since. At the time, he beat fellow Republican Timothy Szczepaniak in both the primary and General elections. 

Antoski is far from a newcomer in this election. He first ran for town council back in 2009 but lost. He ran again in 2013 and served until 2021. 

Town of Greenfield 

It’s a three-way fight for the Republican nod in the Town of Greenfield. Their supervisor’s race features incumbent Kevin Veitch against challengers Micheal Gyarmathy and Daniel Cochran. 

Veitch first ran for the position in 2021 and has yet to face an opponent in a primary or general election. Prior to being elected supervisor, Veitch was on Town Council for four years. He has been endorsed by State Senator James Tedisco, Assemblyman Matt Simpson, Saratoga County Clerk Craig Hayner and the Saratoga County Conservative Party. 

Cochran and Gyarmathy, meanwhile, both have experience in Greenfield politics. Gyarmathy currently serves as a member of the Town Council in Greenfield but is not running for reelection to run for supervisor. Cochran meanwhile served for 12 years on the town council — among other positions within the town council. 

In a forum held virtually by the League of Women Voters of Saratoga County, both challengers focused on government transparency and zoning issues within the town. Supervisor Veitch didn’t participate in the forum. 

Elsewhere in the county 

Outside of Saratoga Springs and adjacent towns, there are two elections taking place. To the north in Hadley, incumbents James Brewster and Tina Ladd are on the ballot in the Republican primary against challengers Freemont Young and Cecil Hayes. Meanwhile to the west in Providence, Randy Hunter and David Winney are running in the Republican primary for Highway Superintendent. 

New York is a closed primary state — meaning you must register with a given party to vote in their primary. Election Day is Jun. 24. Voters can find their polling place on the Saratoga County Board of Elections website.

Those looking to vote early can go to the Board of Elections office at 50 W. High Street in Ballston Spa or at the Saratoga Springs Rec Center at 15 Vanderbilt Ave. Early voting goes until Sunday Jun. 22. 

Deputy Injured in Assault at Hospital

Written by Aidan Cahill on . Posted in News.

A Saratoga County Sheriff’s Deputy was injured during an incident at Saratoga Hospital. 

The incident occurred on the morning of June 15. According to the Saratoga County Sherrif’s office, Jeffrey W. Fifield of Fort Ann is alleged to have kicked a deputy and threw a metal walker at them. No one else was injured in the assault. 

The deputy was evaluated and treated for their injuries at a local urgent care. The Sherrif’s Office withheld the name of the deputy and their exact injuries out of respect for their privacy. 

In a press release, Undersheriff Jeffrey R. Brown condemned the attack on the deputy. 

“This is yet another example of the dangers our men and women face every day,” noted Brown. “We will not tolerate assaults on our deputies and will use every tool available under the law to hold those who do so responsible. We wish our member a speedy and full recovery.”

Fifield was charged with 2nd degree assault and 4th degree possession of a weapon as a result of the incident. At the time, he was in custody on charges of 2nd degree burglary and petit larceny. Fifield was also arrested by New York State police in Sept. 2024 for possession of stolen property in Hudson Falls after he was allegedly found in possession of an ATV that had been reported stolen among other stolen property. 

Absenteeism Continues to Drop at Ballston Spa Schools

Written by Aidan Cahill on . Posted in Education.

In the penultimate meeting of the school year, The Ballston Spa Central School District Board of Education heard from three principals regarding their progress on goals set at the beginning of the school year. 

The meeting took place on the night of Jun. 4. Board members heard from the principals of Wood Road Elementary, Malta Avenue Elementary and Ballston Spa High School. A major topic of the meeting was the continued decline in absenteeism in the school system. 

The first to speak was Wood Road Elementary Principal Kelly Cataldo. Cataldo is the shortest tenured principal in the district — having been hired as principal August 2024. In her presentation to the board, Cataldo said she focused her efforts on absenteeism, inclusion, and community engagement among other issues. 

Cataldo said chronic absenteeism —defined by the state as missing 10 percent of school days within one academic year for any reason — at the school has been going down and attendance has remained steady. While this year only saw a 0.4% drop in chronic absenteeism, the number has gone down significantly from 26.5% in the 2021-22 school year. At the same time, the attendance rate remained steady at 93%.

Looking specifically at kindergarten and first grade, where Cataldo said she put much of her focus, chronic absenteeism dropped by about 5%. Cataldo said this change in part was due to efforts by counselors to support students and by teachers to reach out to families at risk of having a student become chronically absent. 

The other major goal Cataldo focused on was inclusion within the school. Cataldo said some of the changes were cosmetic — like a new rug and chairs in the lobby — while others were more student focused. These student focused changes included having classroom teachers nominate a student of the month and highlighting one character trait a month for students to focus on. 

It was a similar story at the high school where principal Matthew Robinson said over the last four years chronic absenteeism has gone down from 32% in 2022 to 26% so far in 2025. Robinson said his strategy to reduce the number was focusing on 40 students (3% of the total) who were on the low end of chronic absenteeism and worked with them specifically. Of these 40 students, Robinson said, 21 are no longer chronically absent while 10 students saw an increase in 10 or more days absent. 

Another major issue that Robinson had focused on this year was the rate of students missing class. According to Robbinson, the total number of skipped classes had gone down from 989 classes skipped in 2022-23 to 700 this year so far. Beyond just the number of total skipped classes, Robinson pointed out the number of students cutting class went from 228 students cutting last year to 184 students cutting class this year. 

Robinson said part of the reason for the decline in skipped classes was due to increased discipline — a strategy Robinson said brought fights down from 54 fights last year to 20 this year. 

To tackle the problem of students cutting classes, the number of warnings was cut by 47%. At the same time, the number of in-school suspensions for cutting class went up by 16% and the number of lunch detentions went up by 21%. Robinson said the increased discipline was specifically focused on repeat offenders. 

“What we do is: if they’re multiple offenders, we increase the punishment,” Robinson said. 

As for why the number of warnings went down, Robinson said this came at the request of teachers in his building. 

“They wanted less warnings,” Robinson said. “The argument was students should know if they’re in high school, they shouldn’t be cutting.” 

Another one of Robinson’s major goals was increasing the number of economically disadvantaged students graduating. Robison’s goal at the beginning of the year was to increase the rate 70% last year to 80% this year.

 Of the 109 economically disadvantaged students who entered the school year this year, 12 dropped out while nine transferred to other schools. Robinson said he won’t know how many of the 88 remaining seniors will graduate. However, his hope is for all of them to graduate and that he is working towards that goal. 

Beyond the reports from the schools, the school boards approved the purchase of several diesel-powered vehicles and one electric school bus. 

Malta Honors Its Vets

Written by Aidan Cahill on . Posted in Featured, News.


58 bricks were unveiled in the ceremony. Proceeds from the sale go to support the efforts of the Malta Veterans Appreciation Program. 

The Town of Malta and the Malta Veterans Appreciation Program honored its veterans and unveiled new additions to its veterans memorial in a recent ceremony outside the town building. 

The ceremony took place at the David T.  Wallingford Veteran Park on Route Nine, outside the Town of Malta town hall. The ceremony featured State Senator James Tedisco (NY-40) and New York Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner who both spoke at the event. 

The program unveiled 58 bricks at the memorial. Each brick was purchased by community members to honor a specific veteran or to support the work of program and show appreciation for veterans in the Malta area. Proceeds from the sale of the bricks help the program continue their work with veterans. 

During the ceremony, Sen. Tedisco awarded the organization the Senate’s Empire Award for their work with veterans. In addition, Assemblywoman Woerner presented a resolution honoring David Wallingford to his widow. Wallingford was a Vietnam War veteran and active member of the Malta community who died in March. 

In his remarks, Tedisco praised the veterans and the work of the Wallingford family for their work in the community. Similar remarks were made by Assemblywoman Woerner who highlighted the work of veterans in the community including the Wallingford family. 


State Senator James Tedisco (left) presents the Empire Award to Rennee Farley (center) and Town Supervisor Cynthia Young (right).
Photos by Aidan Cahill

“When the history of New York is written and people go into the law books to look at who were the leaders of our era, they will find David T Wallingford as one as one of the people who shaped our state and community,” Assemblywoman Woerner said. 

Rennee Farley, Chairperson of the Malta Veterans Appreciation Program said the program started in 2016 as a way to give back to veterans in the community.  They took over the monument in 2017 and have been expanding it ever since. 

Beyond the monument, Farley said the program works to meet veterans needs no matter what they need. 

“In just this year, we’ve already done four roofs, completely replaced two floors, we’ve done a handicap ramp, fixed two vehicles and a lot of groceries,” Farley said. “We don’t just try to fix them temporarily; we try to fix them permanently.” 

Farley said the program works with other organizations to find those permanent solutions while they work on the immediate problems. They also help veterans find homes through their Homes for Hometown Heroes program. 

Farley highlighted the work they do and encouraged others to donate not just money but time as well through volunteering 

“There something for everyone,” Farley said. “If someone says, ‘ I love my country, I love our soldiers, I wish I knew what to do,’ call me because I know what needs to be done.” 

A dog takes shelter from the heat in the shade. Senator Tedisco joked during the ceremony that if the town of Malta doesn’t want it to rain, it doesn’t rain.
Assemblywoman Woerner hugs Helene Wallingford after presenting her a resolution honoring her late husband.

Fire Breaks Out at Ballston Spa Gas Station

Written by Aidan Cahill on . Posted in Featured, News.

A gas station in Ballston Spa has been damaged after a large fire engulfed several pumps and at least two vehicles.

Crews from multiple jurisdictions were dispatched to the scene of USA Gas at the intersection of routes 50 and 67. Ballston Spa Fire Captain Mike Coffey said the call was dispatched at around 10:24 a.m.

The fire caused portions of State Route 50, State Route 67 and Ballston Ave to close for a short time, according to the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office. Several people had minor injuries, however no serious injuries were reported.

At least 10 agencies responded to the blaze including Union Fire Company, Eagle Matt Lee Fire Department and Saratoga Springs Department. The Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Unit and the Saratoga County Cause and Origin Team are currently investigating the blaze

While the cause of the fire is under investigation, gas station owner Erin Ozbay said the pumps had received their tri-annual inspection in the last few weeks.

  • Crews were dispatched at 10:24 a.m. (Aidan Cahill/Saratoga TODAY)
  • (Aidan Cahill/Saratoga TODAY)
  • Gas station owner Erin Ozbay speaks to the media after the fire ((Aidan Cahill/Saratoga TODAY)
  • (Aidan Cahill/Saratoga TODAY)
  • Over 10 agencies responded to the blaze (Aidan Cahill/Saratoga TODAY)
  • (Aidan Cahill/Saratoga TODAY)
  • The Cause of the fire is still under investigation (Aidan Cahill/Saratoga TODAY)
  • (Aidan Cahill/Saratoga TODAY)
  • (Aidan Cahill/Saratoga TODAY)

No Drone Zone – FAA Restricts Flights over Saratoga Springs

Written by Aidan Cahill on . Posted in Featured, News.


A map depicting the restricted air space over Saratoga (Created by Aidan Cahill)

It’ll be clear skies over the race track this Saturday. Not because of the weather but due to temporary flight restrictions imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

The restrictions were announced Jun. 1 by the FAA in a Notice to Airman. The restrictions are in place during the Belmont on Broadway festival and the race itself and only affect aircraft flying 1,200 feet above the ground or lower. 

During Belmont on Broadway, flight restrictions were imposed on two separate areas in Saratoga Springs. The first area covered was a half-mile radius surrounding the intersection of Broadway and Ellsworth Jones Pl. It was only during effect during the Belmont on Broadway. 

The second area, meanwhile, is a half-mile radius from a point in center of the Saratoga Racecourse. This area will also go into effect from 12 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. on Jun. 6 and from 11 a.m. Jun. 7 to 3 a.m. Jun. 8. 

According to Saratoga Springs Police, the restriction was requested by police out of an abundance of caution to prevent drones from interfering with the events. Police said this was the first time they had received the restricted airspace and there are no plans to request it for future races.  

In a city council meeting on Jun. 3, Commissioner of Public Safety Tim Coll said commercial operators can get approval from the police and fire departments to fly their drones during the event. According to the FAA, of the over 1 million drones registered in the US, 420,825 are commercial drones. 

A similar restriction was put in place surrounding Super Bowl LIX according to an FAA press release from January. 

The 1,200 feet restriction is less than the height of the Empire State Building at 1,250 feet. It’s well below the cruising altitudes of common aircraft such as the Boeing 737 at around 35,000 feet and Cessna Skyhawk which can fly as high as 14,000 feet. 

In addition to the restrictions of drone flight, Nelson Street from Wright St to Crescent Ave will be closed on Friday and Saturday starting at 6:30 p.m. and will reopen at about 8 p.m. The ride share pickup point has been moved from near Siro’s on Lincoln Ave. to East Ave. near Potato Chip Lane.