Waldorf School outdoor high school class. Photo provided.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs has announced the rebranding of its school and mission to serve children in preschool through grade 8. This milestone is a major move for the Waldorf School in its mission to inspire creative thought, discourse, human connections, and experiential learning.
This news comes in the wake of many recent initiatives and accomplishments of the Waldorf School, including:
• Closing the High School Program: After much deliberation, the Board of Directors decided to close the Waldorf High School program at the end of this school year. Low enrollment over a number of years and a need to refocus energies on developing other programming precipitated this move.
• Expanding Early Childhood Programs: For the 2023-2024 school year the Waldorf School will provide full-day and half-day Mixed-Age Kindergarten classes, Preschool classes, and Caregiver-Child Playgroups at two locations: Forest Campus on Kaydeross Avenue West and Early Childhood Center on Lake Avenue.
• Lower School Program Expansion: The Waldorf School is undergoing revisions to strengthen programming and build upon the artistic and academic rigor the school is known for including Pre and Early Literacy renewal, enhanced Middle School Curriculum, and Afterschool Program development. Regents tests will be offered to 8th grade students to help prepare them for the Advanced Regents diploma in high school, should they choose to take that route.
• Rebranding: The Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs is rebranding itself as a PreK-Grade 8 institution that will continue to grow and expand in its new form, prepare for a changing world, and the next decade of Waldorf Education in Saratoga Springs.
“The Waldorf School has been a hallmark of the Saratoga Springs community for over four decades. Rebranding our school and refocusing our mission will ensure that we are able to provide Waldorf education to the region for decades to come,” said Astrea Ravenstar, Administrator at the Waldorf School. “The interest and enthusiasm for our Early Childhood and Grade School programs at this time is astounding, and while the closing of the high school is very emotional for many of us, it is balanced by the strength and growth of our other programs.”
Board President, Richard Frank, reflects, “As has always been in our school’s 43-year history, our community — with its deep passion, commitment, and vision — will be the true source of the strength of our school as we move together into the future. We are grateful for the commitment, care, and dedication of our community of friends, colleagues, and students that allows us to continue to bring Waldorf education to families in Saratoga Springs.”
STILLWATER — A cannon captured by the Continental Army in October 1777 after they defeated the British Army at the Battles and Siege of Saratoga will be permanently preserved as a part of the museum collection at Saratoga National Historical Park.
The light six-pound British cannon (Cannon #102) was donated from the Department of the Army to the National Park Service (NPS).
This British Cannon was crafted from bronze in 1756. The brass light six-pounder cannons were the most desired type of artillery used by the British and Americans during the War for Independence. British General Burgoyne had 18 light six-pounders captured by the Continental Army, among other weapons. Throughout the war, the Continental Army continued to use the light six-pounders captured at Saratoga.
Only three of the original 18 light six-pounders captured at Saratoga are known to remain in existence today. It was engraved with trophy honors marking the cannon as Surrender Cannon from Saratoga at West Point in 1783.
In 1934, the Town of Saratoga secured a loan of Cannon #102 from New York City Department of Parks and Recreation who were its stewards at that time. However, rather than being displayed, it remained in storage in a Schuylerville barn until 1961. It was then taken to Saratoga Springs, where it was allegedly illegally sold to a collector of militaria. Despite attempts to track down its location over the years and return it to Saratoga, it was essentially lost.
In 2009, a visitor to Saratoga National Historical Park commented to park staff that he had just seen a cannon with Saratoga trophy engravings at a museum in Alabama. An NPS team visited the museum in Tuscaloosa and confirmed its identity as the missing Cannon.
In 2011, the NPS and the U.S. Army Center for Military History agreed to pursue the case for the retrieval of the Cannon #102 on behalf of the U.S. Army. In 2013, the Westervelt Company and the Tuscaloosa Museum of Art returned it to the Department of the Army. Later that year, the Center officially loaned the cannon to the park, where it has been ever since.
Photo: Road work along Broadway in Saratoga Springs earlier this week. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The New York State Department of Transportation is advising motorists that westbound Union Avenue (State Route 9P) in Saratoga Springs will be closed through Friday at 5:30 p.m. for work on an ongoing Complete Streets project. Following the closures, westbound Union Avenue will reopen to one lane.
During the closure, westbound motorists will be detoured to northbound Henning Road, westbound Lake Ave (State Route 29), then southbound East Avenue to reconnect to Union Avenue. Eastbound Union Avenue remains open with one lane.
Motorists should continue to watch for lane reductions and closures on Union Avenue as work progresses until the start of the summer racing season.
For up-to-date travel information, call 511, visit www.511NY.org or download the free 511NY mobile app.
QUEENSBURY — West Mountain is busy preparing for an incredible summer with an extensive array of outdoor activity offerings. Here is a list of 2023 summer activities at West Mountain:
Aerial Treetop Adventure
Aerial Tour + Chairlift access rates are $35 (7-12 years), $49 (13+ years) with an add-on picnic lunch. Take an exhilarating tour through the trees in West Mountain’s five-acre Aerial Treetop Adventure Park. The park offers six high ropes courses for all different ability levels – beginners to advanced. The park is situated at the peak of West Mountain and is nestled among the treetop canopy. After taking the chairlift to the park, adventurers will be met by the West Mountain climbing crew who will outfit guests with helmets and harnesses before participating in a safety clinic. Adventurers will then climb up to a treetop platform to begin their journey through rope spider webs, zip lines, log waves and more. Aerial treetop tickets include 2 hours in the park and the chairlift ride to the park and back to the lodge (approx. 3-hour tour).
Mountain Biking & Trail Riding Access
2023 Mountain Biking + Chairlift all day rates are $20 for ages 12 and under, and $30 for ages 13 and up. West Mountain’s Bike Park has over 25 cross-country and downhill trails. Riders are welcome to bring their own bikes or rent from West, which offers Scott mountain bike rentals and protective gear packages that can be pre-reserved online. Picnic lunches – packaged in an eco-friendly box and placed in a picnic basket, prepared daily by West’s in-house chef – can be added on to your bike tour. Enjoy a relaxing picnic lunch on the mountain before, during or after your ride.
Tickets and programs are available online at westmountain.com.
Songbird with Mike Smith after their victory in the Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga Race Course in 2016. Photo by Lauren King, courtesy of NYRA
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Eight new members have been elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. The class of 2023 is comprised of jockey Corey Nakatani and the racehorses Arrogate (KY), California Chrome (CA), and Songbird (KY) in the contemporary category; jockey Fernando Toro via the Historic Review Committee; and Pillars of the Turf selections John W. Hanes II, Leonard W. Jerome, and Stella F. Thayer.
Arrogate, California Chrome, and Songbird were all elected in their first year of eligibility.
The 2023 Hall of Fame class will be enshrined on Friday, Aug. 4, at the Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion in Saratoga Springs at 10:30 a.m. The ceremony will be broadcast live on the Museum website at www.racingmuseum.org. The event is open to the public and free to attend.
Corey Nakatani, 52, a native of Covina, CA, won 3,909 races with purse earnings of $234,554,534 in a career that spanned from 1988 through 2018. His 341 graded stakes victories included 10 Breeders’ Cup races. Nakatani ranks No. 14 all time in career earnings and finished in the top 20 in annual earnings 16 times, including 11 times in the top 10. A winner of 10 riding titles on the Southern California circuit, Nakatani ranks in top 10 in overall wins and stakes wins at both Santa Anita and Del Mar. He won 1,033 races at Santa Anita (No. 9 all time), including 131 stakes (No. 8), and 705 races at Del Mar (No. 6), including 104 stakes (No. 2).
Arrogate (Unbridled’s Song—Bubbler, by Distorted Humor) compiled a record of 7-1-1 from 11 starts while racing from 2016 through 2017. His earnings of $17,422,600 represent the highest total in history for a horse with at least one start in North America. Winner of the Eclipse Award for Champion 3-Year-Old Male in 2016, Arrogate was bred by Clearsky Farms and purchased for $560,000 by Juddmonte Farms at the 2014 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Arrogate finished third in his career debut in April 2016 at Los Alamitos before winning seven consecutive races, including the Travers Stakes, Breeders’ Cup Classic, Pegasus World Cup, and Dubai World Cup.
California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit—Love the Chase, by Not For Love) was bred and owned by Perry Martin and Steve Coburn. Taylor Made Farm later joined in the ownership, purchasing Coburn’s share. Trained by Art Sherman, California Chrome raced from 2013 to 2017 with a record of 16-4-1 from 27 starts and earnings of $14,752,650. He was voted Horse of the Year in 2014 and 2016 and earned additional Eclipse Awards for Champion 3-Year-Old Male in 2014 and Champion Older Male in 2016.
Songbird (Medaglia d’Oro—Ivanavinalot, by West Acre) was bred by John Antonelli and purchased for $400,000 by Rick Porter’s Fox Hill Farm at the 2014 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale. Trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, Songbird raced from 2015 through 2017 with a record of 13-2-0 from 15 starts and earnings of $4,692,000. Winner of Eclipse Awards for Champion 2-Year-Old Filly in 2015 and Champion 3-Year-Old Filly in 2016, Songbird won a total of 12 graded stakes, including nine Grade 1 events.
Fernando Toro, 82, a native of Santiago, Chile, won 3,555 races with purse earnings of $56,299,765 during his North American riding career of 1966 through 1990. Toro won his first race in his native country at the age of 15 in 1956 and topped the Chilean national jockeys’ standings twice. Before arriving in America, Toro won three editions of the prestigious Gran Premio, as well as the 1964 Clasico St. Leger, a race in the Chilean Triple Crown series. Based in Southern California, Toro won 80 graded stakes in North America. At the time of his retirement, he ranked in the top 10 in stakes wins at Del Mar (No. 6), Hollywood Park (No. 8), and Santa Anita (tied at No. 8).
John W. Hanes II (1892 —1987), a native of Winston-Salem, NC, graduated from Yale University and served in the Navy during World War I before becoming a bond salesman on Wall Street. He eventually became a senior partner in a brokerage firm and a governor on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Hanes to the Federal Securities and Exchange Commission. Two years later, he was named Under Secretary of the Treasury.
Hanes played a key role in the revitalization of New York racing in the 1950s. He was elected a steward of The Jockey Club in 1953 and tasked by the organization to chair a special committee to improve New York’s tracks and quality of racing. Along with committee members Christopher T. Chenery and Harry F. Guggenheim, Hanes secured $109 million to revitalize Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga. He also helped obtain legislation to establish the management corporation that eventually became the New York Racing Association. Hanes served as the organization’s president from 1954 through 1960 before transitioning to the role of NYRA chairman. He remained a NYRA trustee until 1973.
Leonard W. Jerome (1818 —1891) was born in Pompey. He originally enrolled in Princeton University (then known as the College of New Jersey) before leaving for Union College in Schenectady, where he graduated with a law degree. Jerome went on to practice law in New York for a time in both Albany and Rochester, then moved to New York City, where he became a stock speculator, financier, and patron of the arts. The flamboyant Jerome eventually built a significant fortune and became known as the “King of Wall Street.” Thoroughbred racing began to pique his interest in the mid-1860s. Jerome was a driving force in the creation of three major racetracks in the New York City area. He also helped establish the American Jockey Club (not affiliated with the modern Jockey Club) and served as the first vice president of Saratoga Race Course upon its opening in 1864. Jerome also partnered with William Travers, Saratoga’s first president, in what became a powerful financial firm on Wall Street.
Stella F. Thayer, 82, a native of Tampa, FL, purchased Tampa Bay Downs with her brother, Howell Ferguson, in 1986. She currently serves as the track’s president. Thayer was elected the ninth president of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2005. The first woman to hold the position in the institution’s history, Thayer served as Museum president until 2014. She has been a Museum trustee since 1994.
DOHA, QATAR — Five athletes from the Glenville-based Jason Morris Judo Center have qualified to compete for Team USA at the World Judo Championships in Doha, Qatar, May 7-14.
Ari Berliner, Kell Berliner, Alex Knauf, Hannah Martin and Nicole Stout all were named to the team. Ari Berliner will be the 66kg representative and be competing in his second straight Worlds. Kell Berliner (81kg) will also be going to his second worlds, having made the team for the first time in 2017.
This will be Knauf’s second time attending the Worlds, as he qualified last year. Stout (78kg) is making her third trip to Worlds, having made it in 2022 and 2017. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School graduate Hannah Martin (63kg) is making a JMJC record eighth appearance at the worlds, with her best results coming in 2013 when she finished ninth.
The JMJC has now placed an athlete in 14 straight worlds, starting in 2005, with five representatives this year being the most since having five athletes in 2011. The JMJC has placed a remarkable 54 athletes on the world team since its inception in 2000. Ari Berliner, Alex Knauf & Hannah Martin also represent the New York Athletic Club. Knauf trains at the Cohen Brothers Judo Club when he is home in Chicago, Illinois.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — It was certainly a year to remember for Saratoga Springs sophomore bowler Macallan Gagne.
Gagne finished the year as the team’s top bowler, threw a perfect game, and made an appearance at the New York State Championships for the Blue Streaks.
Gagne began the season as Saratoga’s #2 bowler, but quickly earned the team’s top spot. He said it “felt great” to become the team’s #1 option.
“I was going up against the top bowlers, and I had a chance to beat them or even come close with some of the greater bowlers,” said Gagne. “That was pretty cool.”
Gagne’s regular season was highlighted by a perfect game, bowled during an 18-14 win over Averill Park on Dec. 1. Gagne’s 300 came in the second game of the night, just after he had lost a perfect game in the ninth frame of his first game.
“That was fun. The first game, I shot like a 266,” Gagne said. “Ninth frame, I messed up, and I was upset. I just reset, see if I could try again. … Their coach was actually kind of saying, ‘It’ll come soon, just try to get it next game.’ I just stuck with it, figured out a line and threw the same shot.”
He said the final frame was “very nerve-wracking,” but Gagne finished the perfect game and celebrated with his coaches and teammates.
“Both of my coaches were behind me and stuff like that, and it was pretty fun,” said Gagne. “To see my friends and stuff like that behind me, it was also really fun.”
As a team, Saratoga finished as Section 2 runner-ups this season, one year after winning the sectional title. Although the Blue Streaks did not advance to states as a team this year, Gagne qualified individually as a composite bowler.
While he said it “would’ve been nice” for the team to earn another section championship, Gagne said it still felt great to return to states individually.
“I enjoyed it. It was tough, but I stuck through it,” said Gagne of states. “Our team did pretty well, and I enjoyed the overall experience.”
Gagne, who also plays JV baseball for Saratoga, said he will be competing in bowling tournaments across the country in preparation for next season. He said his early goals for next season are to shoot another perfect game, and qualify for states once again.
“Just doing that, and then when the season starts to come, I’ll probably get in (Strike Zone) once or twice a week, just to practice, sharpen up skills and stuff like that, and work on anything I need to,” Gagne said.
ALBANY — Coach Rich Johns recently took his Act With Respect Always message to Sage College. Invited to speak to his good friend Bob Stulmaker’s class, titled “Current Trends and Topics in Sports Leadership”.
This also gave Rich a chance to visit with Bob, who was his athletic director while at Saratoga Springs. Pictured is Coach with some of the student-athletes following his presentation. All students received an AWRA tie-dye shirt.
Contact Coach Johns at www.actwithrespectalways.com
Terry Leonino and Greg Artzner – Magpie – celebrate their 50th anniversary at Caffe Lena on May 13.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Folk/Americana duo Magpie, comprised of Greg Artzner & Terry Leonino, are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year with an appearance at Caffe Lena on Saturday, May 13.
The duo first began singing together in Kent, Ohio in 1973, and in the 50 years since have performed on international stages – from major folk festivals to intimate folk clubs, school auditoriums to demonstrations and rallies.
Their recordings include collections and song cycles on special themes, as well as tracks on notable anthologies – songs of Civil Rights and tributes to Pete Seeger, Utah Phillips, Jean Ritchie, and Phil Ochs, among them.
Magpie has been a part of Caffe Lena since the 1970s, performing at the venue in the days when Lena Spencer held court.
Magpie will be joined by Rolly Brown on guitar and Charlie Pilzer on string bass. For more information and tickets, go to: caffelena.org.
Upcoming at Caffe Lena:
Open Mic Night for Music – Monday, May 1. Sign-up at 6:30 p.m. Show at 7. Originals encouraged, 2 songs or 10 minutes. Host: Rick Bolton.
Storytelling Open Mic – Tuesday, May 2. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. stories at 7. Storytellers of all styles and levels of experience welcome. Featured: Kelvin Keraga – actor, storyteller and writer.
Poetry Open Mic – Wednesday, May 3. Sign-up at 6:30. Readings at 7. Host: Carol Graser. Two short poems, or one longer poem, five minutes limit. Featured: Andrea Carter Brown – author most recently of September 12, winner of the 2022 IPPY Silver Medal in Poetry from the Independent Publishers Association. The collection was finished during a residency at Yaddo.
Playwright’s Jam – Sunday, May 7. Doors open 1:30 p.m., Casting begins at 1:45. Event: 2-4 p.m. Meetup for local Writers, Actors, & Directors. Co-hosted by Michael Wells-Oakes and Vivian Nesbitt
ALBANY — Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia will perform “It’s OK To Be Different – The Stories of Todd Parr” at The Egg 3 p.m. Sunday, April 30 as part of the “Family Wonders” performance series.
Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia brings three stories by Todd Parr to the stage with their innovative approach to puppetry and playful original music for which the company has earned worldwide praise.
It’s Okay to Be Different delivers the important messages of acceptance, understanding, and self-confidence. Equally whimsical and heartfelt, The Earth Book, is a sweet homage to our beautiful planet inspiring readers of all ages to do their part to keep the Earth happy and healthy. This is My Hair is a funny exploration of how silly hair can be and that no matter how your hair looks, always feel good about yourself.
Tickets are $15 and are available at The Egg Box Office at the Empire State Plaza, by telephone at 518-473-1845 or on line at www.theegg.org. Adults accompanied by a child are admitted free of charge – limited to one adult per child.
