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Author: Saratoga TODAY

Schuylerville School District Names New Superintendentv

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Education.

SCHUYLERVILLE — The Schuylerville Central School District Board of Education has announced that Dr. Ryan Sherman will serve as its superintendent for the next five years.

Dr. Sherman was previously the superintendent of the district from 2009 to 2021. He was also the superintendent of schools for the Argyle Central School District from 2004 to 2009. In total, Dr. Sherman’s superintendent experience totals 18 years.

In February, the board approved a leave of absence for personal reasons for former Superintendent Gregg Barthelmas. At that time, Schuylerville High School Principal James Ducharme was appointed as Acting Superintendent.

In May, the board approved a resolution placing Barthelmas on paid administrative leave, and appointed Dr. Sherman as Acting Superintendent. In June, during a special meeting, the board accepted the resignation of Barthelmas and appointed Dr. Sherman as the permanent superintendent for the next five years.

Church Announces Vacation Bible School

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Education.

MIDDLE GROVE — The Barkersville Christian Church in Middle Grove will be hosting its annual Vacation Bible School for children ages 4 to 12 from August 5 to 9, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

This year’s theme is Breaker Rock Beach: learning God’s truth in a world of shifting sands. There will be crafts, music, snacks, Bible stories, games, prizes, and candy. A family picnic is scheduled for Saturday, August 10 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

To learn more or to register, visit www.barkersvillecc.com.

Empire State University Professor Wins National Science Award

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Education.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Karis Jones, an assistant professor at Empire State University, won an award last week from the National Science Foundation to serve as a principal investigator for a group research initiative.

Her project, “GP-IN: Communities of Aquatic Sciences in Teaching and Learning (COASTAL) Research Partnerships for Equity,” is a two-year initiative that will examine educational programming related to geosciences, including field trips and other outreach programs among middle school and high school students.

“This COASTAL Research partnership will build a cross-region innovative research group focused on equitable educational innovations to support historically excluded middle and high school youth in geosciences communities,” Jones said in a statement.

Jones said that her group hopes to create a network of researchers, teachers, and students across New York and Maine that will collaborate and develop equitable paths for participation in geoscience communities.

Saratoga Central Catholic Announces New Assistant Principals

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Education.

Tiffany Farrell and Maria Izzo, two additions to the Saratoga Central Catholic School leadership team. Photos provided by Aiden Lambert.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Central Catholic School (SCC) announced this week that it has made two additions to its leadership team. Starting this month, Tiffany Farrell will assume the role of High School Assistant Principal, and Maria Izzo ‘84 will take on the role of Middle School Assistant Principal.

“With their administrative assistance, SCC is poised to enter into a new era of major innovations in Catholic identity, curriculum and instruction, student achievement, increased enrollment, and fiscal stability,” said Principal Christopher Signor in a statement. 

Farrell is entering her eighth year at SCC, having previously spent ten years teaching at LaSalle Institute in Troy. At SCC, she has served as the Math Department Chair, head of the Math Department diocesan-wide, Testing Coordinator, Technology Liaison, and a member of the Diocesan Accreditation Steering Committee. Her daughter, Natalie, is an alumnus of SCC from the class of 2019, and her son, Aiden, will soon be entering the 11th grade at SCC.

Izzo is an alumna of the SCC class of 1984. She served as Dean of Students (2014 to 2023), Coordinator of Student Activities, and Social Studies Department Head. She has also chaired subcommittees for the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Accreditation and the Cognia Accreditation at SCC. Beyond her administrative and teaching roles, Maria has served as Coordinator of Alumni Affairs (1992 to 2023) and coached softball, basketball, and volleyball at SCC.

Empire State University Offering New Master’s Degree

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Education.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Starting this Fall, Empire State University will be offering a Master of Arts in Higher Education. The online, 30-credit degree program is designed to enhance students’ and professionals’ contributions to higher education, and prepare them for a broad range of administrative roles and research related to their work.

The program is flexible and accommodating for full-time and part-time students. Courses focus on contemporary perspectives on careers, policies, administration, history, organization, social justice and educational equality, and data-based decision making and teaching in post-secondary education.

The program provides a graduate-level assessment of prior learning and transfer credits for enrolled students at no additional fee, which can be combined for up to 12 credits toward the degree.

The fully online M.A. in higher education features course offerings such as:

Economics and Finance of Higher Education

Administration and Leadership in Higher Education

Fostering Student Success in Higher Education

Rethinking Experience and Learning in Adulthood

History and Philosophy of Higher Education

SUNY Empire’s higher education master’s program comes from a rising interest in higher education and student success. Many of SUNY Empire’s students are working professionals in higher education, faculty in community colleges seeking advancement, and others looking for ways to elevate student success.

For more information about the program and how to apply, please visit sunyempire.edu/graduate-studies/graduate-degrees/education-programs/ma-higher-education/.

Gardening with Peter Bowden: Deadheading

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Home & Garden.

Towing boats along the Waterford canals. Photo provided by The Saratoga County History Roundtable.

As summer rolls along,  we can begin to enjoy the fruits of our spring labor.  Finally our flowering plants are leaping into life.  It would seem that there is little to do now but enjoy the show.  While that’s true, there are a couple of easy things we need to do now to keep the show going…deadheading and feeding.

Deadheading is simply snipping off spent flowers and the seed pod that form after the flower.  The main reason for deadheading it is to prevent the plant from wasting energy producing seeds.  Producing seeds is the highest priority of an annual since it is their only chance at reproduction, so the plant pours all the energy it can muster into those seeds.  Any energy it puts into seeds is energy that could go toward more buds and flowers.  This is where we need to step in and remove the seed pods…deadheading.

You would think that there would be no need to deadhead perennials since they come back from their roots every year.  Perennials are ‘low maintenance’ but you still should deadhead them.  The obvious reason is a neater appearance of the plant but the real reason is to improve the plant’s vigor.  Even though perennials return from their roots, they still pour lots of energy into their offspring….seeds.  When we deadhead perennials, we’re redirecting the energy the plant produces into more leaves which produce even more energy that it uses to expand it’s root system.  Our perennials will mature more quickly and produce even more flowers next year if we remove the seed pods. 

Daffodils, allium and others grow from hardy bulbs that were planted in the fall.  By now the petals have fallen away and we are left with these clusters of ripening seeds.  If we let them continue, they prevent the bulb from storing as much energy as they could.  Once the seed pods are removed the bulb has no choice but to store the energy produced by the leaves and roots.  Now the bulb will grow larger as it stores lots of extra energy.  We can expect many more flowers next year if we snip away the seeds now.  More flowers…nothing wrong with that idea.

Even flowering shrubs benefit from deadheading.  Just as with the perennials, I can expect more flowers next year if I take a little time now to snip off those seed pods.  Lilacs form next year’s flower buds during what remains of this growing season, so the sooner I remove those energy-robbing seed pods, the better the show will be next year. 

Just a few minutes spent deadheading produced this batch of seed pods that are on their way to the compost pile…no need to waste all those nutrients stored in those seed pods.  Deadheading not only makes your gardens look neater but will pay a dividend of more flowers and healthier plants…not a bad reward for such little effort. 

Now that we’ve stopped our plants from wasting energy on seeds it is time to add energy by feeding.  To get the most flowers from your annuals, you can feed them with a soluble plant food.  Soluble plant food is absorbed by the plant very quickly but only lasts a short time…especially when rain washes it away.  This means that we need to use soluble plant food every couple of weeks for continuous feeding. 

There are a lot of soluble plant foods to choose from so it is important to pick the one that will promote the most flowers.  Phosphorus stimulates root growth and flower production.  Phosphorus is represented by the middle number of the tree you’ll find on soluble plant foods like my favorite, Jack’s Blossom Booster.  That’s it!  A little effort now (along with some sun and dry weather, please) will insure that our gardens look their best for the rest of the season and beyond. 

Thanks for the read!

Saratoga-Based Lawyer Joins Ballston Spa Bancorp Board of Directors

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Business.

BALLSTON SPA — Saratoga Springs-based lawyer Theresa M. Skaine has been appointed to the Ballston Spa Bancorp board of directors. Ballston Spa Bancorp is the parent company of the Ballston Spa National Bank. 

Skaine has practiced law for more than three decades, and is the owner of Skaine & Associates, LLC. She counsels clients in the areas of business formation and expansion, merger/acquisition transactions, contract review, property purchases, financing, and economic and property development. Prior to starting her own practice, Skaine was managing partner of Lemery Greisler, LLC. She also sits on two other boards: the Albany Medical Center Hospital and the Albany Med Health System.

Skaine has won various professional awards and recognitions, including a 2013 Saratoga TODAY Woman of Influence and a 2021 Women’s Business Council Woman of Excellence in the Professions.

Week of July 5 -11

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Property Transactions.

BALLSTON 

Barbara Plummer sold property at 762 Goode St to Kathryn Stanley for $400,000

Eastline Holdings LLC sold property at 14 Appleton St to Lin Phyo for $556,630

Beth Povie sold property at 4 Edward St to Margaret Haviland for $220,000

Darlene Bower sold property at 7 Jenkins Rd to Kayla Dejardins for $295,000

CORINTH

Newrez LLC sold property at 81 Fuller Rd to Hollyann Yard for $225,000

GREENFIELD

Alexander Caufield sold property at 11 Park Ave to Nicole Clement for $65,000

MALTA 

Victoria Supon sold property at 12 Hills Rd to John Mars for $404,000

Michaels Group Homes LLC sold property at 22 Wiggins Dr. to Charles Ferraro for $545,800

Elaine Dickson sold property at 107 Wineberry Lane to Albert Foote for $365,000

Paul Vierschilling sold property at 21 Arrow Wood Pl to Daniel Simmons for $330,000

Malta Land Company LLC  sold property at 45 Admirals Way to Sally Lauro for $637,765

Jonathan Coleman sold property at 20 Covel Ave to Peggy Madson for $423,800

Dustin Klotz sold property at 13 Weston Way to Stone Grissom for $470,000

Malta Land Company LLC  sold property at 7 Americas Cup Court to Teri Kleinmann for $904,975

Matthew Little sold property at 188 Arrow Wood Pl to Morgan Thomas for $325,000

MILTON

Kathy Cornell sold property at 816 Rock City to Robert Gauschino for $280,000

VictoryLine Properties LLC  sold property at 29 Mechanic St to Gina Peca for $282,000

Marini Land II sold property at 1392 NYS Rt 9P to Angus Andrews for $1,750,000

Brandon Desjardins sold property at 35 Burgoyne St to Megan Rando for $275,000

Peter Stuto sold property at 1000 A & B NYS Rt 29 to Jeremy Barbeau for $549,900

Michael Thomas sold property at 8 Elizabeth Lane to John Effinger for $840,000

SARATOGA

Marini Land II sold property at 1392 NYS Rt 9P to Angus Andrews for $1,750,000

Brandon Desjardins sold property at 35 Burgoyne St to Megan Rando for $275,000

Peter Stuto sold property at 1000 A & B NYS Rt 29 to Jeremy Barbeau for $549,900

Michael Thomas sold property at 8 Elizabeth Lane to John Effinger for $840,000

SARATOGA SPRINGS

Kalley Urban sold property at 24 Vichy Dr to Armando Posada for $415,000

John Longo sold property at 0 South St to Aurea Lux Properties LLC for $160,000

David LaFrance sold property at 26 Newton Ave to Dominic Carelli  for $255,000

Katrina Jackson sold property at 28 Concord Dr to Peter Palumbo for $533,500

William Collins sold property at 4 Wheatstone Court to Raymond Biondolillo for $725,000

Anthony Piraino sold property at 326 Ballston Ave #8 to Linda Ruby for $400,000

Shelly Burns sold property at 129 Circular St  to Peter Rubacky for $1,950,000

Anita Parker sold property at 2 Overlook Court to Bourke Kraus for $769,000

Jane Cristiano sold property at 49 Regatta View Dr to Yli Schwartzman for $999,000

David Jenkins sold property at 115 Union Ave to Philip Artt for $575,000

Peter Scopellite sold property at 13 Ferndell Spring Dr to Ferndell Spring Rentals LLC for $370,000

WILTON

Hon A Lee LLC sold property at 932 Rt 9 to 215 Northern Pines Rd LLC for $235,000.

Ronald Taylor sold property at 25 Foxhound Run to Steven O’Brien for $205,000

Michael Lailer sold property at 17 Gailor Rd to Penny Gonyo for $420,000

Craig Allyn sold property at 4484 Rt 50 to Andrew Clark for $200,000

Dake Foundation for Children Announces Community Grant Recipients

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in News.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Dake Foundation for Children has announced four nonprofit organizations have  successfully earned support from the Foundation’s Community Grant Fund.

The recipients for this round of funding are:

• BluePath Service Dogs – Funding will support their Autism Service Dog program, which provides service dogs that prevent elopement and promote safety in public spaces for children with autism

• Camp Abilities – Funding will support their annual residential sports camp at Skidmore that serves youth who are blind/experience low vision

• CAPTAIN Community Human Services – Funding will support staff training to make their programs (youth shelter, street outreach, Peace Camp) and interactions with at-risk youth more inclusive

• Saratoga Shredders – Funding will support expanding their existing Learn to Ride program for elementary school students to include students with cognitive and developmental disabilities

Founded by Gary Dake, President of Stewart’s Shops, the organization has provided grants to support local children with disabilities since 2009 with a focus on inclusion, independence, and fun. To learn more about the Dake Foundation for Children, go to:  http://www.dakefoundation.org.