Author: Jaynie Ellis

GREENFIELD CENTER — Children’s author Artie Bennett will be appearing at the birthday celebrations for legendary racehorse Zippy Chippy at Old Friends at Cabin Creek on April 17. 

On April 17, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., Old Friends at Cabin Creek will be holding a reopening event and festivities in honor of Zippy Chippy’s 30th birthday (his actual birthday is on April 20). Artie Bennett, author of The True Story of Zippy Chippy: The Little Horse That Couldn’t, illustrated by Dave Szalay, will be there to read and sign copies of the award-winning picture-book biography.

“With its powerful message of hope and determination, and its healing dose of humor, it could well be the perfect storybook for our times,” said Bennett. 

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Zippy Chippy’s legacy is quite an unusual one for a racehorse, as his losing streak is what made him famous. Zippy ran in 100 races during his career, and lost every single one – becoming one of the most losing racehorses in history. His trainer Felix Monserrate had traded an old pickup truck to get Zippy and had an emotional attachment to him. Felix then went about entering him in races with tough competition that he knew Zippy couldn’t beat, because Felix did not want anyone else to claim the horse. Zippy was also known to be a troublemaker at the track – stopping mid-race, refusing to leave the gate, biting, etc. Zippy is also banned from almost every track in America. In retirement, Zippy now lives at Old Friends, with his best friend Red Down South. You can read more about Zippy, and keep up with him and the other horses, on the Old Friends at Cabin Creek website: oldfriendsatcabincreek.com. 

Bennett is also the author of the rhyming picture books The Butt Book, Poopendous!, Peter Panda Melts Down!, Belches, Burps, and Farts – Oh My!, and What’s Afoot! Your Complete, Offbeat Guide to Feet, as well as two joke and riddle books titled The Universe’s Greatest Dinosaur Jokes and Pre-Hysteric Puns and The Universe’s Greatest School Jokes and Rip-Roaring Riddles. The True Story of Zippy Chippy is a CCBC Choice 2021. He has received praise on his books from Publisher’s Weekly, The Huffington Post, School Library Journal, and many more. 

Old Friends at Cabin Creek is a retirement facility for aging racehorses, located at 483 Sand Hill Rd in Greenfield Center. They are resuming their public tours April 17 through July 1, Saturdays only, from 12 -3 p.m. Summer hours are to be determined. A $10 donation for Zippy Chippy’s 30th Birthday Party will be gratefully received. Masks are required, and all necessary social distancing protocols will be observed during the celebration. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Skidmore College has reversed their decision to allow a Progressive Zionists for Peace club a trial period. 

On March 13, via a Zoom meeting, Skidmore College’s Club Affairs Committee initially denied a Progressive Zionists for Peace (PZP) club a chance to see if they had interest on campus. The establishing president of the pro-Israel group is student Nessa Goldhirsch Brown. 

A letter from Sarah Baker, a Senior Senator on Skidmore College’s Student Government Association (SGA) board, to Nessa Goldhirsch Brown, describes why the group was turned down. In the letter published on FIRE’s website (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, thefire.org), Baker wrote the following:

 “…some members [of the Student Club Affairs Committee] expressed concern that a dialogue focused club with one perspective being conveyed could be troublesome. That being said, the committee thinks that the group should try to either gain more diverse perspectives before becoming a club focused on dialogue or reframe the mission to be more advocate focused with a specific stance.”

Recently, the Committee granted a trial period to a
Pro-Palestinian group, Students for Justice in Palestine,
without hesitation.

On March 19, the prospective PZP club had a follow-up discussion with the Club Affairs Committee, who ultimately decided to move the club into a trial period. Sara Miga, Director of External Relations and Strategic Communications for Skidmore College, gave the following statement: 

“This was never an issue of religion or ideology. Skidmore does not and will not tolerate anti-Semitism or religious discrimination of any kind. Skidmore seeks to create a welcoming, safe, and inclusive environment for all, and there is no place for discrimination at Skidmore. Skidmore College is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive community in which members develop their abilities to live in a complex and interconnected world. In line with this mission, thoughtful, spirited and sometimes challenging discussions are encouraged. We support our students in their efforts to work out student governance and organization.”

Saratoga TODAY also reached out to Nessa Goldhirsch Brown, and Skidmore College’s SGA, but did not receive a response from either.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — In this digital age, has cursive writing disappeared from the curriculum at our local schools?

In Jan. of 2011, the NYS Board of Regents approved and adopted the NYS P-12 CCLS – Common Core Learning Standards. Schools across the state began implementing the standards at the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year. This school year was seemingly the end of cursive writing lessons, which are generally taught in elementary school, as Common Core does not require children to learn how to read or write in cursive. According to one specific standard (W. 4.6) listed on the Common Core Standards Initiative website (www.corestandards.org), by the end of fourth grade students should be able to do the following, replacing the learning of cursive: 

“With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate a sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting.”

Contrary to the myth that cursive writing is no longer taught, at least one local school has teachers who have kept it in their lesson plans. Maura Manny, Director of Community Outreach and Communications for the Saratoga Springs City School District, gave a statement on the school district’s approach when it comes to teaching the writing style.

“Our teachers support all students developing writing skills whether they use cursive, keyboarding, or printing. Although cursive writing is not required as part of the New York State Learning Standards, many elementary teachers do spend time teaching cursive writing in third grade and beyond.”

Saratoga TODAY also reached out to the Ballston Spa Central School District to see if they still taught cursive, but no one was available for comment. 

With teenage years and adulthood comes the standard requirement of signing documents. Dori McDannold, PR Manager at Arrow Financial Corporation that represents Saratoga National Bank and Glens Falls National Bank, stated that a cursive signature is not required to cash a paycheck and other banking such as that. However, once you sign certain loans or legal documents that have to be notarized, that signature does become your legal signature. 

For reasons to come later in life, cursive is still a relevant skill for school children to learn. While they are still in school, it can also help them study other subjects besides writing. Learning how to read cursive will help them to decipher original copies of historical documents, such as the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Cursive also allows for faster notetaking because it does not require the pen or pencil to be raised off the paper. Local schools still see this need for cursive and continue to teach it, challenging the assumption that it is becoming a lost art.