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Jill VanKuren

Written by Megin Potter on . Posted in Featured, Women of Influence.


Skillfully Navigating the Evolving Healthcare Landscape 

At Saratoga Hospital’s helm, President and CEO Jill VanKuren is as resolute as she is sincere, steering the ship toward a new horizon in patient-centered care.

From her strategic vantage point, Jill VanKuren envisions the future of Saratoga Hospital. 

Visiting Saratoga for the first time was like seeing an ideal city that you imagine exists but didn’t realize actually does, said Jill VanKuren. Here, the word “community” is a verb; people take action to build something special. 

After 17 years in various leadership roles at MedStar Health in metropolitan Baltimore, MD, Jill was scouted for a new position by competing hospitals all over the country. On the day of her final meeting in the interview process with a Virgina-based healthcare group, the call came in from Saratoga Hospital offering her the Presidential position in Saratoga Springs. 

During their preliminary visit in 2022, Jill, her wife Cheryl, and son, Alexander, all fell in love with the area. “Alex accepted on my behalf; he was so enamored with the Saratoga community and the environment. He was so excited he was running laps in the hotel’s hallway,” remembers Jill. 

To make the transition possible, Cheryl put her own career in healthcare administration on the backburner to support Jill. It was a big change, and an adjustment for the family, that Jill said she is extremely grateful for. 

Today, Alex is a rising junior at Albany Academy, and their oldest son, Nathan, is a Pace University graduate pursuing theater management in off-Broadway productions.  Last year, Jill’s contract with the hospital was extended to 2030, giving her time to see the vastness of the work she’s started emerge. 

Finding Equilibrium 

From an early age, healthcare attracted Jill’s attention, but after studying the scientific side of the field, she found her passion was more aligned with administrative duties. MedStar Health really grew into its own during her tenure there, said this FACHE board-certified healthcare management leader. Competition between hospitals in the urban healthcare system was in stark contrast to the environment that Jill found in our region when she arrived. Saratoga Hospital is the only hospital in Saratoga County, it draws patients from beyond its borders, like a lighthouse in a storm. Saratoga Hospital stands with 20+ satellite locations throughout Saratoga Springs and the surrounding communities in partnership with the Albany Med Health System. 

One of the area’s largest employers, the group’s approximately 3200 employees, whether working in the hospital, its ambulatory sites, primary or urgent care offices, are predominantly women.  

“As a woman in a leadership position, I have a unique perspective when it comes to balancing family and work, and how difficult it can be to try to do everything – often to the detriment of your own wellbeing,” said Jill.  

When a member of their team returns from hiatus after leaving to raise a family, Jill says to them, “Welcome Home” because this is like their second home and it’s important to meet people where they are, she added. 

There Through the Ups and Downs

Wherever you find yourself, as an Albany Med Health System patient, Saratoga Hospital is giving people more opportunities to access outpatient services closer to home through a hub-and-spoke model that extends specialized services further and strengthens coordination across institutions, said Jill. 

Last year, the Milton Health Center was expanded to offer neurology, therapy, and laboratory services. Having a centralized healthcare hub where multiple providers from the Albany Med Health System will come together is an important component of Jill’s grand vision. 

“It takes a village, and none of us can do It alone,” said Jill. 

She is a strong advocate of the Center for Successful Aging and Wellness (known as CSAW), a scalable organizational framework launched in 2024, with a new building on the horizon. By streamlining electronic record-keeping and appointment framework throughout the system, information can flow more efficiently back and forth between the patient, their provider, and their designated support system.

Jill said being able to proactively schedule doctor’s appointments (instead of planning your social calendar around them) sounds like a dream come true to anyone caught in the net of a disjointed system bogged down by redundant paperwork. 

By looking at the whole person and having conversations earlier in the process, the bumps in the road that come with chronic illness, and impede our lifestyles as we age, aren’t as jarring. Patients have the opportunity to prepare advance directives and care plans proactively, said Jill, instead of making decisions from a hospital bed. 

“You make better decisions when you’re not in crisis. We want to give them more control over their care,” she said. 

Often at a hospital, a calendar is merely a suggestion. Each day must be lived minute-by-minute, and in those moments when you do have the opportunity to pause and reflect, you come back to the realization of what healthcare is all about – the people. 

In addition to her leadership role at Saratoga Hospital, Jill sits on several community advisory boards. As hard as she works, she plays even harder.  She enjoys outdoor recreation, including golf, cross-country skiing, hiking and biking. Jill has always loved the ocean and being at the beach, and now, she’s kayaking on the area’s lakes – because when adventure beckons, Jill grabs a paddle.  

“As a woman in a leadership position, I have a unique perspective when it comes to balancing family and work, and how difficult it can be to try to do everything – often to the detriment of your own wellbeing,”

Hayley Stevens

Written by Megin Potter on . Posted in Featured, Women of Influence.


From Her Cup, Joy Spills Over

For more than a decade, Hayley Stevens has been brewing special moments on Broadway. 

Hayley Stevens’ radiant smile exudes warmth in our little corner of the world. 

Inside Saratoga Tea & Honey Company, the downtown Saratoga Springs shop Hayley founded more than a decade ago, the walls are lined with artisanal tea blends, each with its own sniffer jar, for a premium sensory experience. 

Tea has long been desired for its exceptional flavor and appealing fragrance. The relationship women have had with this special beverage is one steeped in tradition. Around the world, women are heavily involved in the production and consumption of tea. 

“It is such an honor to be part of the rich tradition of women in tea,” said Hayley. “I really felt this when, in 2019, I visited Thái Nguyên, Vietnam, where I met the cooperative producing our Tan Huong green tea.”

“The co-op is led by women, and 80% of the contributing gardens are boutique home gardens run by women. Tea production (and sales to the North American markets) have brought positive changes to this area and increased their quality of life. The women I met welcomed me so warmly, and treated me to an unforgettable tea ceremony. 

We all cried and hugged before parting ways. Visiting the places where our teas originate really amplifies the impact purchasing a single bag of tea can have across the globe,” she said. 

Inspiring “Brew-tiful” Women 

At home, Hayley is continually inspired by the group of women on Saratoga Tea & Honey’s management team, she said. “They brew up THE BEST cups of teas – and ideas! They are full of energy, creative, and attentive to our guests. They have ‘a passion for teas and bees,’ and their contributions make the Saratoga Tea & Honey Company a destination. Emma, Jeanne, Jill, Maribeth, Rachel, Karen, Maria, Kate, and Melanie inspire me every day. I am blessed to work with them.”

The company is truly a positive collaboration where each person is encouraged to play to their strengths, allowing for the flexibility that also enables Hayley, a mother of two, to balance her work life with the constant demands that come with raising young children. 

Although tea is the world’s second most popular beverage (after water) and is revered as a personal ritual and a cultural tradition in countries all over the globe, in America, marketers have tried to assert that tea is a feminine drink. A notion that Hayley quickly dispels. 

“Tea practice is very vibrant and relevant all over the United States, as in the rest of the world,” said Hayley. “At the Saratoga Tea & Honey Company, our customers are especially grateful to find whole leaf tea and herbal tisanes (as they enjoy them for their health benefits and ease of steeping). We have an equal number of male and female customers who enjoy tea every day.”

“It is such an honor to be part of the rich tradition of women in tea” 

Blending Soulful Connections 

“Tea is a very personal ritual, and I know many Americans very open to adapting it to their lifestyle in lots of different ways,” said Hayley. The tea industry has experienced a period of growth in this country, and brews like matcha get people curious, said Hayley. 

After attending culinary school at ALMA Scuola Internazionale della Cucina Italiana, Hayley was employed there for a short time.  While in her early twenties, she worked in Michelin star restaurants from Sicily to Venice. When she returned to the US, she accepted a position as a Chef Instructor in the Italian Academy at the French Culinary Institute in New York City.  There, she discovered tea at a pop-up tea shop near the school, and began to immerse herself in tea culture, while also using tea as a culinary ingredient.

Experiencing food and culture around the world is what Hayley lives for, she said, and, in addition to their teas, many of the varietal honeys filling Saratoga Tea & Honey Company’s hive at the back of the store are sourced from across the country, as well as around the world, from countries including Spain, France, Portugal, and Italy. 

Through the years, the Saratoga Tea & Honey Company has also collaborated with many New York State producers, including the beekeepers who provide honey for the shop’s own infusions. “In my experience, these are people that are practicing a connection to the land and highlighting the contribution of bees, just one of many pollinators we need to be protecting,” said Hayley. 

Tending to Tea-rrific Communities 

In addition to creating a supportive environment for their team members, Saratoga Tea & Honey is a business that gives back to the community by donating to charitable organizations each month, including local school groups and the Christopher Dailey Foundation. 

Through a unique partnership with the Wilton Wildlife Preserve, Saratoga Tea & Honey donates a portion of the proceeds from the sale of their tea, Karner Blue Lavender, and the drink, Karner Blue Lemonade, to help protect one of the last remaining habitats of the endangered Karner Blue Butterfly in our area. 

When Hayley is able to capture a few spare moments between sips of tea, she enjoys growing vegetables and herbs in her backyard garden (including lemon balm for tea, of course!), and cooking fresh Mediterranean foods for her family and friends. One of her specialties? Tender pasta made with freshy ground einkorn flour that delights with every bite. 

Melanie Fronhofer Weber

Written by Megin Potter on . Posted in Featured, Women of Influence.


Nurturing Ideas that Take Root

To shape our community, Melanie Fronhofer Weber wears many hats. A tenacious multitasker, this local native quickly fell in love with the idea of building connections. Now, her forward-thinking resourcefulness is transforming lives

(and your next fun night out). 

Melanie Fronhofer Weber gracefully hurdles challenges to champion others and generate abundance. 

Before becoming the Common Roots Brewing Company’s Business and Human Resource Manager in 2023, Melanie married Christan Weber (who founded the company with his dad, Bert) and was a member of the Common Roots Foundation Board, helping local communities in crisis, advancing environmental stewardship, and promoting healthy lifestyles. 

“That, to me, is the most important work I do,” said Melanie about her role in an organization which, to date, has given away $263,000 (a number slated to reach $300,000 by the end of the year). 

A Heartwarming Mission

In 2014, the Common Roots Brewing Company was founded in South Glens Falls. After a fire in 2019, the community came together to help them rebuild. 

In response to that outpouring of support, Common Roots launched a philanthropic foundation and began issuing $2500 grants to advance charitable causes across the region. 

“You might ask, ‘How much of an impact will $2500 make?’ because it seems like a drop in the bucket, but sometimes that can be an entire year’s worth of supplies for these organizations, or a project’s entire operating budget. It makes-or-breaks them and impacts hundreds of people in the community,” said Melanie. 

This year, the foundation has received more applications than ever. Each one makes Melanie cry, she said. “Every single project is heartwarming. Saying ‘no’ to them is the hardest thing because the people applying are all saints.”

Balancing the Equation

Making a strong statement about caring for the community is an impulse rooted in Melanie’s family history here. Before she was born, her dad founded the Washington County-based Fronhofer Tool, Inc. machine shop. 


“I think collaboration is the key to success – to open doors for people, business, and to reduce the barriers that exist.” 

After graduating from Salem Central School in Salem, NY, and Marymount University in Virginia, Melanie entered the exciting world of event planning with roles at the Association of American Medical Colleges, Gannett, and USA Today.  In 2012, she founded Eleven Eleven Events, LLC, a company coordinating weddings and events across the East Coast. When she switched gears and was working for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Melanie started focusing on how the business community and the economic health of a region are connected. 

In 2015, Melanie returned to this area to help launch Fronhofer Design, an offshoot of her family’s parent company, specializing in fabricating equipment for the beverage industry. 

Historically, brewing beer was primarily women’s work, but once “brewsters” (female brewers concocting large cauldrons of beer, often while wearing tall pointy hats so they could be spotted in a crowd) were made out to be witches, men dominated the industry, both as producers and consumers. 

“On every side of that equation today, women are in the minority. There’s been many a day when I’ve doubted myself and felt like I needed to work harder,” said Melanie, Fronhofer Design’s former CEO. By skillfully utilizing her time, resources, and skills, however, she has handled gender bias in the beverage industry with grace – and immersed herself in goodness. 

“Common Roots has a great style. It’s very welcoming, collaborative, and inclusive. Once I proved I was competent, confident, and educated enough to do the job, I didn’t get a ton of pushback. If you have the chops to make it here, and give people what they need, you’re welcomed and celebrated in a lot of ways – but that doesn’t mean it’s easy,” she said. 

Common Roots now has locations in both South Glens Falls and Albany. They’ve opened the Bierhall private event center; serve breakfast at the adjacent Barrelhouse Café; and have transformed the warehouse space across from their flagship store into public indoor pickleball courts. 

After graduating from Salem Central School in Salem, NY, and Marymount University in Virginia, Melanie entered the exciting world of event planning with roles at the Association of American Medical Colleges, Gannett, and USA Today.  In 2012, she founded Eleven Eleven Events, LLC, a company coordinating weddings and events across the East Coast. When she switched gears and was working for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Melanie started focusing on how the business community and the economic health of a region are connected. 

In 2015, Melanie returned to this area to help launch Fronhofer Design, an offshoot of her family’s parent company, specializing in fabricating equipment for the beverage industry. 

Historically, brewing beer was primarily women’s work, but once “brewsters” (female brewers concocting large cauldrons of beer, often while wearing tall pointy hats so they could be spotted in a crowd) were made out to be witches, men dominated the industry, both as producers and consumers. 

“On every side of that equation today, women are in the minority. There’s been many a day when I’ve doubted myself and felt like I needed to work harder,” said Melanie, Fronhofer Design’s former CEO. By skillfully utilizing her time, resources, and skills, however, she has handled gender bias in the beverage industry with grace – and immersed herself in goodness. 

“Common Roots has a great style. It’s very welcoming, collaborative, and inclusive. Once I proved I was competent, confident, and educated enough to do the job, I didn’t get a ton of pushback. If you have the chops to make it here, and give people what they need, you’re welcomed and celebrated in a lot of ways – but that doesn’t mean it’s easy,” she said. 

Common Roots now has locations in both South Glens Falls and Albany. They’ve opened the Bierhall private event center; serve breakfast at the adjacent Barrelhouse Café; and have transformed the warehouse space across from their flagship store into public indoor pickleball courts. 

The event calendars at all of their locations are packed with happenings year-round. 

Putting on the “Mom” Hat While Building Better Bridges

While pregnant with her oldest child in 2021, Melanie, and her friend, Hillary Williams, launched (g)row, a children’s boutique that encourages parents to connect through fun events and activities.

Now a busy mother of three, and a multi-tasking superhero, Melanie appreciates the benefits of surrounding herself with the right people and relishes the flexibility to show up authentically more than ever.   

“This is who I am, and this is how I’m showing up. Sometimes, I bring my kids to meetings. Not only am I the only woman in the room at times, but I’ve got a baby in my hands, and I’m normalizing it. I’m proving that you don’t need to hide that you’re a mom. As one, you can still contribute and be valuable in a way that is unique to you,” said Melanie. 

In addition to other volunteer efforts through the years, since 2023, Melanie has been a member of the Warren County Economic Development Council Board of Directors, and as of 2026, is the Board Chair, working to advance initiatives that support entrepreneurship, strengthen communities, and position the region for long-term economic success. 

“It’s really nice to work with businesses across County boarders, in Saratoga, Washington, and Essex Counties, to join forces, minimize duplicated work, and rein in resources among our shared populations. There’s a lot of potential for collaboration today, but it hasn’t, historically, always been that way,” said Melanie. “I think collaboration is the key to success – to open doors for people, business, and to reduce the barriers that exist.” 

The event calendars at all of their locations are packed with happenings year-round. 

Putting on the “Mom” Hat While Building Better Bridges

While pregnant with her oldest child in 2021, Melanie, and her friend, Hillary Williams, launched (g)row, a children’s boutique that encourages parents to connect through fun events and activities.

Now a busy mother of three, and a multi-tasking superhero, Melanie appreciates the benefits of surrounding herself with the right people and relishes the flexibility to show up authentically more than ever.   

“This is who I am, and this is how I’m showing up. Sometimes, I bring my kids to meetings. Not only am I the only woman in the room at times, but I’ve got a baby in my hands, and I’m normalizing it. I’m proving that you don’t need to hide that you’re a mom. As one, you can still contribute and be valuable in a way that is unique to you,” said Melanie. 

In addition to other volunteer efforts through the years, since 2023, Melanie has been a member of the Warren County Economic Development Council Board of Directors, and as of 2026, is the Board Chair, working to advance initiatives that support entrepreneurship, strengthen communities, and position the region for long-term economic success. 

“It’s really nice to work with businesses across County boarders, in Saratoga, Washington, and Essex Counties, to join forces, minimize duplicated work, and rein in resources among our shared populations. There’s a lot of potential for collaboration today, but it hasn’t, historically, always been that way,” said Melanie. “I think collaboration is the key to success – to open doors for people, business, and to reduce the barriers that exist.” 

Clifton Park Advises Residents Not to Feed Canadian Geese 

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Featured, News.

While some people may find Canadian geese adorable, that is no reason to feed them, at least according to the Town of Clifton Park. 

The bulletin was issued May 27, advising residents not to feed the water fowl, properly dispose of food, and educate others on why feeding is harmful. 

“Please Do Not Feed Canada Geese,” the advisory read. “Feeding wildlife may seem harmless, but it creates serious problems.” 

The advisory listed several issues that feeding the birds can cause such as harm to the bird’s diet, water pollution from bird droppings, damaged lawns and aggressive behavior, disruption of normal behavior and increased road hazards. 

The Canada goose is a common bird in North America, with their habitat stretching from the arctic to northern Mexico, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 

While the birds have historically been migratory, most of the geese in New York are residents, spending most of their lives in one location, according to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. The birds mate for life and can live for over 20 years. In New York the resident geese population is around 200,000 with the population growing in winter as their winged brethren from northern Canada migrate south to the comparatively moderate climate. 

The birds are known for being aggressively territorial and attacking humans and others who come too close to their nest. This has led them to be dubbed online as  “cobra chickens”. 

The birds are also known for disrupting air travel. According to the FAA bird strike database, there have been 495 bird strikes involving geese since 1990 when bird strikes started to be recorded. The most famous of these incidents occurred on Jan. 15, 2009 when an Airbus A320 was forced to land on the Hudson River after striking a flock of geese shortly after takeoff. 

Survivor:  “I Wouldn’t be Alive if I Didn’t Advocate for Myself” 

Written by Aidan Clark on . Posted in Entertainment, Featured.

Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at birth, dismissed by doctor, Ballston Lake resident fought long enough to be saved by miracle drug. (Courtesy of Erin Mark.) 

Erin Mark— A Ballston Lake resident born with cystic fibrosis, a rare, life-limiting genetic disease. Doctors said she would not live past 18 years old. When she was five years old, she overheard her father speaking with a friend about her diagnosis. Even at five years old she understood the ramifications of the disease and promised herself to “cram as much joy in life as possible.” 

According to the Mayo Clinic, cystic fibrosis affects the cells that make mucus, sweat, and digestive juices. These fluids are usually thin and slippery to protect the body’s internal tubes and ducts and make them smooth pathways. But in people with cystic fibrosis, a changed gene causes the secretions to become sticky and thick. The secretions plug up pathways, especially in the lungs and pancreas. Cystic fibrosis gets worse over time and needs daily care.

Throughout her life she was constantly on antibiotics; she eventually built up an immunity to oral antibiotics and needed IV antibiotics administered in a hospital. In 2017, when Mark was 33, she was entering into the late stage of the disease; her lungs were failing. In a doctor’s visit to talk about her options going forward, Mark was completely dismissed. Her doctor told her, “You should feel lucky for all the extra years you had.”

Mark left the doctor’s office feeling completely helpless and broke down in her car. But in that moment, she knew she had an obligation to herself. “I thought about that five-year-old girl, giving up wasn’t an option.”

She quickly looked for a second opinion and contacted all the cystic fibrosis doctors in her insurance network. She connected with Dr. Patrica Walker, a specialist in cystic fibrosis working at Mount Siani in New York City. Mark had a completely different experience with Dr. Walker. She recalls Dr. Walker telling her, “I can’t promise anything, but we’ll try everything we can, and I will never give up on you.” Mark said, “To hear her say I wouldn’t give up on you was a moment of relief.”  

During this time in her life Mark was giving keynote talks about how to live a life without regrets. How growing up with a disease doctors said would eventually kill her gave her a unique perspective on life. She says, “I learned how to live because I learned how to die.” 

Mark recalls during this time in her life being in the hospital weighing 79 lbs., not knowing if she would wake up to see tomorrow. She turned to set an alarm so she could wake up to eat before her next IV. She noticed that you could change the alarm name to wake up to and wrote “you woke up today.” A powerful reminder that tomorrow is not promised, you get another chance at life if you wake up. 

However, because she sought out a second opinion, she was able to hold on until 2019 when a breakthrough drug, Trikafta, was approved by the FDA. The drug saved Mark’s life by changing how the gene works in her body. All of a sudden, she had a new prognosis and a newfound outlook on life. Instead of being grateful for all the extra years she already had, she awarded herself a new chapter in her life because she advocated for herself. 

Mark now travels across the country, sharing her story at keynote talks about the importance of advocating for yourself. “I wouldn’t be alive if I didn’t advocate for myself” she told Saratoga TODAY. Listen to Mark’s powerful testament of advocacy in her new Ted Talk, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjjPwKtEhOQ.

The Last 801 Concert Series at  The Mansion of Saratoga

Written by Aidan Clark on . Posted in Entertainment, Featured.

ADAM PASCAL
DOUGLAS LADNIER
NICOLE HENRY
JOSH YOUNG


Experience stunning performers of Broadway in an intimate setting at The Mansion of Saratoga.

(Courtesy of Jeffrey W. Wodicka.)

The 801 dinner and concert series is headed towards its final season at The Mansion of Saratoga this summer. Visit the stunning venue for a night of unforgettable entertainment and lasting memories. Let the Manson’s incredible hospitality team indulge you with incredible food curated by the in-house Executive Chef, Rick Bieber. 

The historic site located in Rock City Falls allows premier entertainment into the Saratoga area in a far more intimate venue than the great stages of SPAC or the Albany venues. A crowd of just 150 is considered a full house.

To kick off this summer’s series of spectacular shows, on Thursday, June 4th Emmy-nominated Douglas Ladnier will perform, “Diamonds: The Greatest Hits of Neil Diamond.” Experience an unobstructed view of Ladnier’s performance of hits like “Sweet Caroline,” “Cracklin’ Rosie,” “Forever in Blue Jeans” and more! 

The night will start at 6 p.m. with a buffet-style meal, allowing guests to explore the beautiful grounds of the Mansion at their leisure. Enter into serenity on the deck behind the mansion for dinner service ahead of the performance beginning at 8 p.m. in the Carriage House. 

Other performances to look forward to are Broadway performer Adam Pascal on July 9th. Pascal is a celebrated Broadway star best known for originating the role of Roger in the Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, Rent.

On July 23rd Josh Young, a Tony award nominee, is joining the Mansion for a night singing Andrew Lloyd Webber’s work. Webber is a famous composer, whose work has superseded its parent musicals such as “Memory” from Cats, and “The Music of the Night” and “All I Ask of You” from The Phantom of the Opera.

For the concluding act of the 801 Concert series, Nicole Henry, an award-winning American Jazz singer, will be making a stop on her Decades of Diva tour on August 6th. 

Don’t miss out on these last unforgettable nights where you can experience spectacular Broadway performers from the historic and scenic venue at The Mansion of Saratoga. Tickets for all these are just over 100 dollars which include a dinner and a show. To purchase your ticket for the ultimate 801 dinner and concert series go to themansionsaratoga.com/concert-series. 

Two Injured and One Dead in Plane and Car Crashes at the Saratoga County Airport 

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

Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department Deputies block Geyser Road while investigating a car crash (Aidan Cahill)
According to the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office, a Saratoga County Office of Emergency Services pickup truck struck a Jeep SUV while responding to the plane crash (Aidan Cahill)
A Piper PA25, similar to the one seen here, reportedly nosed over during a fatal accident resulting in the pilot’s death (public domain photo).

This story has been updated to reflect information released by New York State Police after the story went to print.

Two people were injured and one person is dead after a plane crash and car accident at the Saratoga County Airport. 

The plane crash occurred on May 26, 2026 at 1:47 p.m. on the runway of Saratoga County Airport while the car accident occurred at 1:55 p.m. at the entrance to the airport at the intersection of Geyser and Greenfield Roads.

According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) preliminary incident notice, the plane crash occurred during takeoff when a towed glider pitched up causing the towing aircraft to “nose over” and strike the runway.  The crash caused both the aircraft and grass near the accident to catch fire. The glider it was towing detached from the aircraft shortly before the crash and successfully landed nearby without injury to the pilot, according to New York State Police.

The aircraft was identified by both the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and FAA as a single engine, single seat Piper PA-25 registered to a local glider club. According to registration information, the aircraft was first manufactured in 1969 and was most recently certified in 2012. 

The pilot of the aircraft, has been identified by New York State Police as James R. Stewart, 58, of Caroga Lake. Stewart was transported to Saratoga Hospital with severe burns. He was later transferred to Albany Medical Center where he succumbed to his injured on later that evening.

The NTSB is currently investigating the incident and will release a preliminary report within the next 30 days. 

According to NTSB data, this model of aircraft has been involved in 116 accidents since 1962. Of these, 30 resulted in fatal injuries, 10 resulted in serious injuries, 21 resulted in minor injuries and 53 resulted in no injuries. The remaining two incidents had incomplete data. The most recent incident listed by NTSB involving the model occurred in February in 2025 in Honduras. 

The plane crash led to a car accident directly outside the airport. According to the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office, a Saratoga County Office of Emergency Services Ford 150 pickup truck responding to the plane crash struck a white Jeep Grand Cherokee, causing the Jeep to roll over.

At the time of the crash, the Jeep was traveling eastbound on Geyser Road while the truck was traveling northbound on Greenfield Avenue.

The driver of the truck was transported to Albany Medical Center while the driver of the Jeep was transported to Saratoga Hospital. Both drivers were transported by Malta-Stillwater EMS with non-life-threatening injuries. The accident is being investigated by the Sheriff’s Collision Reconstruction Unit. 

This is the second fatal plane crash near in Saratoga County in less than a year. In October 2025 a Mooney M20E crashed just after takeoff after suffering an engine failure, according to an NTSB preliminary report. 

Prior to October, Saratoga County hadn’t experienced a fatal plane crash since 2014 when a pilot crashed in Gansevoort while attempting to pick up a towable banner, according to the NTSB. The last non-fatal accident occurred in 2023 when a student and instructor were forced to make an emergency landing in a field after running out of fuel. 

Spa Catholic Player Earns All-State First Team Honors

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Featured, Sports.

Saratoga Central Catholic basketball player Sophia Ryan celebrates with her family after scoring her 1,000th career point in a game against Lake George on Dec. 4, 2025. Photo provided by Athena DiLorenzo-Ryan. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — It’s been a season of smashed records, championship victories, and career-defining achievements for Sophia Ryan and the Saratoga Catholic Lady Saints basketball squad.

This week, Ryan earned All-State Class D First Team honors, capping off a season that included the Saints’ first-ever Section 2 Class D championship and Ryan surpassing her program’s all-time career scoring record.

On March 7, Spa Catholic narrowly defeated the two-time defending champions Northville, 43 to 41, in a game that was decided in its final moments. The victory clinched the Lady Saints’ first sectional title. Ryan led the way with 30 points, netting almost 70% of her team’s point total. It was a dominant performance but an unsurprising one from a standout who once told Saratoga TODAY that she most admires players who can maintain their composure in big moments.

Earlier in the season, Ryan broke Patti King’s career scoring record, set in 1980, of 1,031 points. Ryan also holds the school records for most points in a single game, and the most three-pointers made in a single game.

How a Rockefeller and a Local Newspaper Created SPAC

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Entertainment, Featured.

Gov. Nelson Rockefeller mounts a bulldozer during the June 1964 SPAC groundbreaking ceremony. Photo provided by the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).

In the 1960s, a crowd of SPAC attendees pack the venue’s lawn. Photo provided by the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).

Fred Eaton, publisher of The Saratogian, with Gov. Rockefeller and the governor’s wife, Happy Rockefeller. Eaton and the Rockefellers were instrumental in creating SPAC. Photo provided by the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).

THE SPIRIT BEHIND SPAC 

Nelson Rockefeller had every advantage in life, descended as he was from the nation’s first billionaire. Opulent estates, an Ivy League education, and colossal sums of money were at his disposal.

But he was also dyslexic, and for much of his life, he didn’t realize he had a learning disability. He believed that his IQ was simply not as high as those around him. This resulted in some intellectual humility. Rockefeller—as governor of New York from 1959 to 1973 and then vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977—surrounded himself with the best experts his vast fortune could buy. 

But Rockefeller’s dyslexia also meant that he struggled with pre-written speeches, a burden for someone so often in the spotlight. Though not typically known for his oratory skills, there were off-the-cuff moments when his passion rendered him eloquent.

One such moment arrived during a heated budget debate with a fellow Republican, who argued that because state spending needed to be reduced, the state council on the arts would have to take a hit. Rockefeller rejected the idea and then uttered these memorable words: 

“Let me ask you a question. What is government all about? What is life in this nation all about if it’s not centered around our culture? You indicate that these issues of dance and the arts have nothing to say to us, but they are absolutely the essence that holds our culture together… This isn’t silliness. This is what we’re all about.”

Rockefeller’s sentiment, spoken decades ago, is in many respects embodied by the existence of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), which is celebrating its 60th season this summer.

“If you think about Rockefeller and his view of society, he really looked at the arts as the foundation of a democratic society,” said SPAC’s CEO Elizabeth Sobol. “I’d love to think that spirit permeates what we do.”

“People forget now what a radical departure it was 60-plus years ago for a state government, or for that matter, the federal government, to invest tax dollars in culture,” said Rockefeller’s biographer Richard Norton Smith. “Saratoga was, in a lot of ways, an experiment. And I think [Rockefeller] would be very, very pleased with the way it’s evolved.”

THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER THAT STARTED IT ALL

Before Nelson Rockefeller became entwined in the creation of SPAC, there was an editorial that sparked the idea of a performing arts venue in Saratoga Springs. 

Duane LaFleche of the Knickerbocker News, a now-defunct newspaper based in Albany, caught wind of the idea of hosting a summer festival for the New York Philharmonic and the New York City Ballet in Vermont. LaFleche had a different idea.

“It seems strange, somehow, that a New York Orchestra and Ballet should have to look out of the state for a summer home,” LaFleche wrote in his 1961 editorial. “Wouldn’t the State Reservation at Saratoga make a nice location?”

With the idea now out in the ether, prominent Saratogians converged to manifest it. One of those manifesters was another newspaperman, Fred Eaton, publisher of The Saratogian. According to him, “the idea for a performing arts center started with an editorial in The Albany Knickerbocker News, a speech by then State Sen. Eustis Paine, and telephone calls to two people from Saratoga Springs resident Robert N. McKelvey, then with the state commerce department in Albany.”

The idea spread from one interested party to another—McKelvey, the Adirondack Trust Company, The Saratogian, Yaddo, Leonard Bernstein (then musical director of the New York Philharmonic), and Charlie Dake of Stewart’s Shops all played their parts. A veritable who’s who of Saratoga power players had coalesced around the idea. Then, Gov. Rockefeller entered the stage.

ROCKEFELLER’S INFLUENCE

“At a January dinner at the Governor’s Mansion, I got Gov. Rockefeller’s ear and explained our problem – we needed an angel,” Eaton wrote. “His $1.2 million from the Martha Baird Rockefeller [Fund] was a huge stimulus.”

The precise total donated to SPAC’s creation by the Rockefeller family varies from source to source, but all agree that it was substantially more than $1 million (which is equivalent to $11 million today). 

“The governor’s support was wholehearted,” states SAPC’s 50th anniversary commemorative book, published a decade ago.

“A lot of things had to come together for the Saratoga Art Center to exist, and it never would have happened, in my opinion, if Nelson Rockefeller had not been governor of New York at that point,” said Smith. 

Saratogians also turned out their pockets, committing to fund the entire $1.8 million construction estimate. Again, the Spa City elite (such as the Dake family and Marylou Whitney) stepped up to the plate. By the time they were done, millions had been accrued.

As money fell into place and plans advanced, SPAC was hit with a curveball: the New York Philharmonic decided to present its summer concerts in Central Park, leaving the future SPAC without an orchestra. But Richard “Dick” Leach, then the executive director of SPAC, came to the rescue, securing a commitment from the Philadelphia Orchestra instead. After the New York City Ballet also formally committed to the project, the time had come for a suited Nelson Rockefeller to hop aboard a bulldozer for the groundbreaking ceremony.

THE IMPACT ON SARATOGA SPRINGS

Initially, it made sense that an arts center housing two New York institutions (the Philharmonic and Ballet) should be located in New York. But there were other reasons to build a center in Saratoga.

In 1966, when SPAC first opened, a New York Times article labeled Saratoga Springs “a city in decline.” 

“The 1950s were a bleak time for Saratoga Springs,” agrees SAPC’s 50th anniversary book.

According to the Saratoga Springs History Museum’s executive director, James Parillo, the Spa City back then was “struggling to redefine itself.”

Saratoga’s collapse stemmed from a confluence of factors. Tourism declined, in part because it changed. The Victorian era, in which visitors spent weeks or months in summer destinations like Saratoga, had ended. So too had the era of gambling. By 1953, all illegal casinos in town were kaput, which sent many service workers packing. Use of the Spa hydrotherapy facility had been declining for at least a decade. Major hotels along Broadway had become vacant behemoths. The city needed a shock to its system. And then SPAC arrived.

“When SPAC came in 1966…they would start attracting a new audience into Saratoga,” Parillo said. “That’s the real kick that we needed to get going.”

It was, as Nelson Rockefeller declared at SPAC’s groundbreaking, a “new era for Saratoga.” His brother Laurance Rockefeller called it a “rebirth.”

THE LAUNCH

On June 30, 1964, SPAC broke ground. Around 1,000 people attended the ceremony.

“When the Performing Arts Center is completed two years from now, we will have here a unique combination of spa, park, and cultural center whose contribution to the recreational, aesthetic, and economic life of this state will be of major significance for generations,” Rockefeller predicted in his remarks.

The governor also reiterated his firm belief that government should “encourage the arts.”

“[Government’s role] is not to dominate the arts, but to lend encouragement and support,” Rockefeller said.

In 1967, after SPAC had concluded its first year of operation, Rockefeller saluted the Saratogians who joined forces to make the venue a reality.

“As impressive as its appeal has been in the international worlds of music, the dance, and the other arts, even more exciting has been the complete acceptance given the Performing Arts Center by the citizens of Saratoga Springs,” Rockefeller wrote in a statement published by The Saratogian. “They have contributed heavily of their time and money to make the Center an overwhelming success. But they also have supported the Center by attending the performances with warm and enthusiastic applause.”

60 years later, the applause hasn’t died out.

At “This Place Loves You Back,” a photography exhibit unveiled earlier this month at The Pines at SPAC, one testimonial from a veteran SPAC-goer read: “I am 93 years old, my husband and I attended the opening night of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ I have only missed two opening nights since that time, bringing my children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and many friends. It has been a great pleasure.”

Mary Ann Fitzgerald, who watched Rockefeller break ground in 1964, shared similar sentiments with the Times Union a decade ago when SPAC celebrated its 50th season.

“SPAC is the crown jewel in Saratoga,” she said. “I can sit out on the lawn, gaze up at the stars, listen to the rush of Geyser Creek and hear some of the greatest musicians in the world. You can’t beat that.”

 Sheriff’s Office Warns of Scams Targeting the Elderly after Funds Intercepted

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Featured, News.

A Sheriff’s Office investigator and a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agent recently conducted a welfare check of an elderly resident in the town of Moreau after it was discovered that she had attempted to ship $20,000 hidden in books to an address in California. When the elderly resident answered the door, she appeared to be distressed and told the law enforcement officers she was expecting to get picked up by a friend. She asked the investigators if she could speak with them later. The investigator and special agent noticed the woman had a cellular phone at her side and that she appeared to be on a live call. 

They quietly advised the woman that they believed she was being scammed and the victim informed them that someone was coming to pick up $20,000 in cash from her at any moment. She explained that she had received a notification through her email regarding a PayPal account charge for a purchase she had not made and contacted the number on the email to rectify the situation. 

The scammers – posing as PayPal employees – convinced the woman to download a remote access app on her computer and mobile phone – which allowed them to view and change things on her computer and see through her web camera – and convinced her that they had mistakenly given her too much money when refunding the bogus purchase. As a result, they convinced the victim to ship $20,000 hidden in books to California, as well as drive to a virtual cryptocurrency machine in Massachusetts where she was directed to deposit $20,000. 

Luckily, that transaction could not be completed, and the victim drove back home. After the failed cryptocurrency purchase attempt, the scammers arranged for a courier to come pick up $20,000 from the woman’s residence. Fortunately, this plan fell apart because of the Sheriff’s Office and HSI’s prompt response and commitment to preventing fraud and swiftly contacting victims to prevent loss. 

It was later discovered that the courier had shown up soon after the arrival of the investigator and special agent and left the area before being detected. The investigation is ongoing. 

This case is just one example of the fraudulent activity targeting our elderly residents. The Sheriff’s Office and HSI are committed to preventing citizens from becoming victims, and this is just one example of how the partnership has disrupted fraudulent activity in Saratoga County. Last month, their joint efforts were able to intercept and return over $433,000 in stolen scam funds to two residents of Saratoga County. This includes a $245,000 wire transfer being sent from a resident of Halfmoon to what they believed was a title company, and a $188,000 bank teller check being sent from a resident of Clifton Park to what they believed was the Federal Trade Commission. In both cases, the scams were foiled, and the funds were recovered and returned to the victims. In the coming months, several community outreach programs educating the residents of Saratoga County will be occurring throughout the county presented jointly by the Sheriff’s Office and HSI. Currently they have scheduled the following: 

•Wednesday June 24, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. at the Halfmoon Senior Center, 287 Lower Newtown Road, Waterford.

•Tuesday June 30, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at the Clifton Park Elks Lodge, 695 Mac Elroy Road, Ballston Lake.

Please stay tuned for additional course locations. PayPal is not suspected to have been involved in, associated with or affiliated with the scam described herein in any way.