MIDDLE GROVE — James T. Eckert (Jaime) passed away July 15, 2021. Calling hours were on Wednesday, July 21 at Burke Funeral Home, 628 N. Broadway. Burial with military honors were held Monday, July 26 at the Saratoga National Cemetery. Online remembrances may be made at burkefuneralhome.com
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Ian Michael Delaney, age 30, passed away on Sunday, July 4 at home. He was born on May 28, 1991, in Saratoga Springs to Jeanna Burdick and Lawrence Delaney. Ian graduated from Saratoga Springs High School, WSWHE BOCES Automotive Technology Program, 2009.
For online condolences, visit compassionatefuneralcare.com
MALTA — GlobalFoundries announced its expansion plans for its most advanced manufacturing facility in upstate New York over the coming years. The plans include immediate investments to address the global chip shortage at its existing Fab 8 facility as well as construction of a new fab on the same campus that will double the site’s capacity.
The announcement was made July 19 as the company convened leaders from government and industry to progress the national discussion around solving U.S. semiconductor supply chain challenges. CEO Tom Caulfield was joined by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo, former Pentagon officials, and executives from leading companies throughout the semiconductor supply chain.
GF will invest $1 billion to immediately add an additional 150,000 wafers per year within its existing fab to help address the global chip shortage and plans to construct a new fab that will create more than 1,000 new direct high-tech jobs and thousands more indirect jobs including high-paying construction jobs for the region, according to the company.
Following the successful investment model of Fab 8, GF is planning to fund the new facility through private-public partnerships including customers, federal and state investments. This new capacity will serve the growing demand for secure, feature-rich chips needed by high-growth markets including automotive, 5G connectivity and the Internet of Things. The facility will also support national security requirements for a secure supply chain.
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The company recently announced a new fab in Singapore and $1 billion planned investment to expand in Germany as part of its broader global expansion plans to meet the growing demand from customers worldwide.
“Our expansion and job creation in Malta requires a new economic model, based on the bold public-private partnerships being championed in Washington by visionary leaders Senator Schumer and Secretary Raimondo, as well as close collaboration with our customers,” GF CEO Tom Caulfield said July 19. “Our industry is expected to grow more in the next decade than it did in the past 50 years and GF is stepping up to do its part as we work together to address the growing demand for technology innovation for the betterment of humanity. We are honored to be joined by government and automotive leaders, national security experts, and our valued customers to continue the critical discussions needed to create a reliable supply of American-made chips to support the U.S. economy and national security.”
“As Majority Leader, I worked hard with companies like GlobalFoundries to craft and pass the bipartisan U.S. Competition and Innovation Act, providing $52 billion to expand the domestic semiconductor industry and supercharge the GlobalFoundries expansion of Fab 8 and building a new fab in Malta,” said U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer. “Today’s announcement is a win-win-win: a win for jobs in the Capital Region, a win for GlobalFoundries, and a win for U.S. government, automakers, and other critical industries that desperately need chips.”
GF employs more than 15,000 worldwide with 7,000 people across the U.S., and nearly 3,000 at its headquarters in Malta, New York.
GF is owned by Mubadala Investment Company. For more information, visit www.gf.com.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The City Council this week unanimously approved a bond resolution for the improvements of city security measures, that were “planned in light of recent events and long-term challenges in specific city locations,” according to city documents. The approval authorizes the issuance of $214,188 in bonds to finance the purchases and installation of additional cameras and analytics to increase safety and security in Congress Park and key city streetscapes. Details about the types of cameras and their placement in the city are anticipated to be announced in the near future.
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PORTER CORNERS — Bruce Hiscock, 80, award-winning children’s book author and illustrator, died on July 11, 2021, in the house he built by hand using the rocks and trees on his property in Porter Corners, NY, what he called “the edge of the wild.” Bruce was well known both for his books and for his programs in schools and libraries, teaching children about the natural world and how to draw it. Local schoolchildren visited his studio and the woods around his home to see the real “big rock” – the subject of one of his books. His murals greet people as they enter the Children’s Floor of the Saratoga Springs Public Library.
Bruce grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, save for the nearly two years he spent with his family on Shemya, a remote Alaskan Island. Throughout his childhood, Bruce spent time outside, where he honed his observation skills, knowledge of animals and plants, and his love of nature and science – especially snowstorms. This all fed his later work as a nature writer and illustrator.
Bruce attended the University of Michigan and then Cornell University where he earned a PhD in chemistry. He used his scientific training as a researcher, a professor at Utica College and in Saratoga Springs where he ran a drug-testing lab for racehorses for nine years. A self-taught artist, he left the chemistry field and turned full-time to his real passion of writing and illustrating science-based picture books.
Since 1986 he wrote and published nine books and illustrated another four. Most of them are non-fiction and research based. His “Big” books; The Big Rock, The Big Tree, The Big Storm and The Big Rivers were designed to inform children and their adults about the natural world while also providing an historical perspective. During his writing career Bruce traveled extensively, often to do research. On one trip to northeastern Alaska, he found himself hiking in the middle of a huge caribou herd which resulted in The Big Caribou Herd: Life in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Bruce’s books were named Outstanding Science Trade Books by the Children’s Book Council. The Big Storm won the 1993 John Burroughs Award for best children’s book featuring natural history. Ookpik: The Travels of a Snowy Owl, was a finalist for the Charlotte Award of New York State and Coyote and Badger: Desert Hunters of the Southwest was a winner in the Children’s Category of the National Outdoor Book Awards.
Also, a self-taught musician, Bruce often sang and played his guitar with friends, as well as in various venues, such as nursing homes, and spontaneously whenever he was inspired by the acoustics. Every year, as Head Elf, he hosted a Christmas party, which included lighting candles on an outdoor evergreen and singing carols.
Bruce is survived by his wife Helen Dickerson, sister Sue (Bill) Rohrer, two children Julia (Mark) Morrissey and Fred (Nancy) Hiscock, three grandchildren Max, Finn and Tempest Morrissey, nephews Will (Kim) Rohrer and Tom (Megan) Rohrer, and many cousins.
In Bruce’s final letter to friends and family, he wrote: “I want my remains to be scattered to the winds, so I am more a part of everything on this beautiful planet. Perhaps you will think of me when the seasons change, and how I loved the first snowfall, the delicate spring woodland flowers, the small leaves on the trees, that will fill the woods, and the color they will display when the frost comes.”
Donations can be made in his name to Community Hospice—or please donate to a local children’s library in memory of Bruce.
For online condolences, visit compassionatefuneralcare.com
SARATOGA SPRINGS — An ensemble of New York City Ballet dancers graced the Saratoga Performing Arts Centerstage this week, presenting NYCB On and Off Stage, from July 14-17.
Scheduled events featured insights and excerpts from iconic masterworks and story ballets like Apollo, Jewels, Firebird, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake. The intimate, up-close look at selected excerpts from the company’s extraordinary repertory of ballets this year represents a uniquely educational and more scaled-down approach than in previous seasons, due to the ongoing health and safety concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and safety guidelines.
SPAC and New York City Ballet have both confirmed that the traditional residency engagement with the full NYCB company will be presented in 2022 from July 12-16.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Spa City Baseball Camp just held their first session of camp and is gearing up for a second session in August.
The first session of the Saratoga Central Catholic Saints summer baseball camp was held July 5 through July 8 and had 42 players attend, despite the holiday weekend. Saratoga Central Catholic baseball coaches, Alphonse Lambert and Dale Long, run the camp. Coach Lambert has been the head baseball coach at Saratoga Central Catholic for 33 years and has been running these camps just as long. Coach Long has been the head assistant coach at SCC for 15 years. The Saints baseball program has a 30-year-long tradition, in which its current players learn from alumni.
“I started this camp to give an opportunity for kids to hone their skills,” said Coach Lambert. “In baseball, a lot of the time kids play so many games, and the little things they can work on get pushed to the side in practices. What we do in our camp is we break down each skill into stations.”
These hands-on stations include the following fundamental skills: hitting, base running, and pitching; individual attention is paid to each player.
Traditionally, three camps/sessions are run. July’s session was for the kids who aren’t playing travel ball and Allstars to keep their skills up, however the kids who are could still attend to get some extra practice. The session in August is intended to get the players ready for fall ball. And, a winter camp usually runs the second week of March, just before Little League evaluations.
The two weeks of camp in the summer ran in 2020 with no problems – players were socially distanced, and masks were worn; 50 kids attended the first session.
Despite the pandemic and being the youngest varsity team in their league, the Saints still had a great baseball season. With four eighth grade starters and a seventh grader, they pulled off a 12-8 record.
“The seniors were real role models for the young guys,” said Coach Lambert. “They showed them the way of Saratoga Catholic baseball.”
Varsity players, alongside Coach Lambert, Coach Long, and alumni volunteers, will continue to demonstrate “the way of Saratoga Catholic baseball” with the kids ages 8-14 who attend the August session. The camp will run Aug. 9 through Aug. 12 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at West Side Rec. Field (6 Coach Waldron Way) in Saratoga Springs. The cost of the camp is $175, and the price includes a t-shirt. For more information and to register visit www.spasaints.com. Fill out the registration form and mail a check (payable to Spa City Bombers) to the address listed on the form.
