SARATOGA SPRINGS —On Dec. 17, 1923, the Saratoga Hospital Maternity Unit officially opened for patients, made possible through contributions of businesses and individuals active in the Saratoga community, including the Saratoga Racing Association, which was to become NYRA in 1955, and equipped with furniture provided by the Flower and Fruit Mission, an organization that today still actively supports women’s health services at Saratoga Hospital.
On Dec. 17, 2023 the Saratoga community is invited to join this centennial celebration, which will include remarks from Jill VanKuren, Saratoga Hospital President & CEO, Dr. Amy Knoeller, Saratoga Hospital Medical Group – OB/GYN & Midwifery, and Sarah Bunzey, Director – Women’s Health Services. Participants are encouraged to bring a box of diapers to donate to Wellspring Saratoga. Cupcakes and light refreshments provided.
The celebration will take place from 2-3 p.m. at Saratoga Hospital in the Main Lobby, 211 Church St., Saratoga Springs.
SARATOGA SPRINGS —The 47th Annual Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival will return for a full two-day and two-stage festival experience on Saturday, June 29 and Sunday, June 30 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
The event will feature a roster of 22 musical groups and 10 festival debuts.
The line-up is co-headlined by contemporary artists Lake Street Dive, Norah Jones, Laufey, and Samara Joy, alongside jazz and blues legends Stanley Clarke with his band N*4Ever, Terence Blanchard Sextet and Coco Montoya.
Also highlighting the line-up is the next generation of jazz stars – Yussef Dayes, Joey Alexander, Miguel Zenon, Tia Fuller, Theo Crocker, Helen Sung and Sara Caswell, and electrifying Afro-Cuban and funk bands Cory Henry, Cimafunk, The New Orleans Groove Masters and Pedrito Martinez Group.
The annual festival is produced by Danny Melnick, president of Absolutely Live Entertainment. Founded in 1978 by jazz impresario George Wein, Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival is the fifth longest-consecutive-running jazz festival in North America. Initially founded as “the Newport Jazz Festival at Saratoga” the weekend event was renamed Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival in 1998.
Headliner Lake Street Dive will make their festival debut on Saturday, June 29. As heard on their critically acclaimed album “Obviously,” the Boston-bred band possesses a keen talent for combining sociopolitical commentary with immediately catchy pop gems.
Returning following her triumphant festival debut in 2023 is Samara Joy, and returning by popular demand to headline the festival on Sunday is singer and pianist Norah Jones.
“The one to watch” on Sunday’s line-up for her festival debut is Laufey, a 24-year-old Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter whose modern jazz sound has won her both a GRAMMY nomination and millions of fans on TikTok.
Music icons returning to the festival include jazz and blues legends Stanley Clarke with his exciting new band N*4Ever, which is a celebration of his long-time collaborator Chick Corea and their time together in Return to Forever; opera composer Terence Blanchard with his Sextet, and blues guitar virtuoso and vocalist Coco Montoya.
Representing the next generation of jazz talent on the stage is composer and drummer Yussef Dayes, jazz pianist Joey Alexander – who will celebrate his 21st birthday at the festival, jazz pianist and composer Helen Sung, and jazz violinist Sara Caswell.
Highlighting the weekend is also today’s most electrifying Afro-Cuban and funk bands including progressive R&B artist Cory Henry, Cimafunk, The New Orleans Groove Masters featuring Herlin Riley, Jason Marsalis & Shannon Powell, Cuban percussionist Pedrito Martinez with his band and Olatuja!, which reunites Alicia and Michael Olatuja in music.
In addition to two non-stop days of great music on two stages, fans can also enjoy a host of amenities including a new craft beer tasting village, in partnership with New York State Brewers Association, new and diverse food offerings, a fine arts and crafts fair, and artist CD signings. Guests are welcome to bring in their own food and beverages, as well as blankets, tents and lawn umbrellas. Parking for the event is free. Performances will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 29 and at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 30.
2024 Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival Line-Up:
SATURDAY, JUNE 29
Amphitheater – Lake Street Dive; Samara Joy; Yussef Dayes; Joey Alexander Trio with special guest Theo Croker; Cimafunk with special guest Pedrito Martinez; The New Orleans Groove Masters featuring Herlin Riley, Jason Marsalis & Shannon Powell.
Charles R. Wood “Jazz Discovery” Stage – Tia Fuller; Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra; Theo Croker; Coco Montoya; Harold Lopez-Nussa; Sara Caswell Quartet.
Charles R. Wood “Jazz Discovery” Stage – Pedrito Martinez Group; Miguel Zenon Quartet; Olatuja!; Helen Sung presents Quartet; Skidmore Jazz Institute Faculty All-Stars Centennial Celebration of Max Roach, Bud Powell & J.J. Johnson featuring Clay Jenkins, Steve Wilson, Steve Davis, Mike Moreno, Bill Cunliffe, Todd Coolman & Dennis Mackrel.
Tickets for the festival start at $80 and will be available to SPAC members Dec. 14 (discounted depending on tiered level) and be made available to the general public online at spac.org on Jan. 5. Two-day passes are also available for a savings of $20 off per pass (offer ends June 15 and can’t be combined with other discounts). Children 12 and under receive 50% off tickets in the amphitheater and are free on the lawn. Full-time students with a school issued ID receive 25% off tickets in the amphitheater, or $28 on the lawn (student ID must be presented at will call).
Photo provided by The Saratoga County History Roundtable.
The move into World War II by the United States brought about many changes for this country’s citizens. The most important was in the lives of the sixteen million men and women who served during those years and of course the over four hundred thousand who gave their lives, making the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
Back at home communities coped with rationing of gasoline, sugar, tires, and other products to support the war effort. Other steps that both young and old in this country were asked to take were buying war bonds and collecting scrap metal and rubber. Likely the most unusual item was the collection of milkweed pods, something desperately needed by the navy for life preservers. As we will see, in Saratoga County, both adults and young people stepped up and did their part to harvest milkweed and help protect the lives of our servicemen and women.
Only hours after Pearl Harbor, Japan attacked the Philippines and the American forces stationed there then. This successful invasion gave Japan control of the Dutch East Indies’ oil reserves and access to abundant raw materials in the region. One of these resources was kapok, a fiber obtained from the kapok tree that grows in the rainforests of Asia. The fiber, light and very buoyant, was used in life preservers by both the military and civilians.
As a replacement for this critical component of life vests was needed, the American industry began searching for likely alternatives. The most effective substitute was milkweed floss, with tests showing that a pound of this fiber would keep an adult afloat for over 40 hours.
Milkweed was quickly given the status of a wartime strategic material and the government allocated funds for its collection and processing. Soon the call went out to pick milkweed pods, with open mesh bags being distributed to schools in regions where milkweed was prevalent.
In Waterford, a drive to pick the pods was organized by the local Lions Club, with members of area Scout Troops, 4-H Clubs, and students from the Waterford Schools pitching in. As an incentive to participate the Waterford Lions Club offered prizes of three dollars, two dollars, and one dollar to boys and girls who collected the greatest number of filled bags.
With one-half million pounds needed to make life vests for the military in 1944, every bag picked was vitally important. In the spring of 1945, the milkweed pods that had been collected locally were brought to the Saratoga County Fair Grounds in Ballston Spa for shipment to the processing plant in Michigan. The eight thousand bags that had been collected from Saratoga, Warren, and Washington Counties would provide enough floss to fill four thousand life vests for the military. Overall, New York State collected enough pods to exceed its goal of gathering enough milkweed to fill over a quarter million life jackets.
The milkweed needed to be picked before they broke open and scattered the floss, leaving only a small window of opportunity to collect the pods. Once filled, the mesh collection bags were hung outside to dry, with two bags needed to fill one life vest.
In many counties, it was the 4-H Club agents who oversaw the work of distributing the collection bags. One example was Samuel B Dorrance the agent for Rensselaer County who passed out two thousand of these open mesh bags. In a newspaper account of his efforts, published in the September 15, 1944, Troy Record, he gave these instructions for collecting the pods: When the seeds are brown, the pods are ready for picking but definitely not before, as they will mold, he said. “Those in the northern part of the county are not yet ready. It isn’t necessary to examine each pod if a test shows that the majority of the seeds are ripe.
He continued with the necessity of leaving the bags out to dry for at least two weeks, preferably hanging them from a fence at least a foot off the ground, after which they could be brought indoors.
Dedicated to the slogan of “Don’t Let Our Sailor’s Sink” 4-H boys and girls roamed the countryside collecting milkweed from fencerows and open fields. Lifelong Saratoga County resident Marion Crandall shared this memory of that time while growing up in Bacon Hill, a farming community near Schuylerville: In the orchard there were a lot of milkweeds… they needed kapok for the war…for life preservers…it was a 4-H project, so we went to the orchard, picked milkweed pods, and put them in big onion bags, mesh bags.
The efforts of the young people in Bacon Hill were a success, as by September of 1944 they had collected eleven bags of milkweed pods.
With the close of the war in September of 1945, collection of milkweed floss was no longer necessary, and the program was ended. While it is impossible to count the number of lives that were saved through this work by the children of Saratoga County, what they accomplished was vitally important to the war effort and even now we can look back with pride at what they achieved.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The city long-called The August Place To Be was granted a late springtime addition to that moniker with this week’s official announcement naming Saratoga Race Course as the staging ground for June’s four-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.
“Saratoga now adds to its storied history by hosting the third leg of the Triple Crown,” Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Dec. 6, inspiring thoughts of warmer climes on a day when the local community saw the gentle tumble of errant flurries. “It’s a win for horseracing and for the Capital Region to have the excitement and the ability to host the four-day Festival in June at America’s most historic track.”
The four-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will be staged Thursday, June 6 through Sunday, June 9. The Belmont Stakes race will run Saturday, June 8. No changes are anticipated regarding Saratoga’s 40-day summer meet.
The relocation of the stakes race and its associated four-day festival will allow for the uninterrupted construction of a new Belmont Park on Long Island. And while construction is anticipated to go on at least through the 2025 Belmont Stakes season, only the 2024 festival at Saratoga was announced this week.
“It is a temporary situation, and we hope to be even further ahead of schedule so we can end sooner, but it’s good to at least have an alternative to shutting down Belmont completely, and can take the races elsewhere in the state,” Gov. Hochul said at a presser shortly after the Belmont announcement.
The four-day festival at Saratoga Race Course will include 23 stakes races in total with purses totaling $9.7 million.
The New York Racing Association began signaling earlier this year that some Belmont races would be shifted to Saratoga. Statements punctuated with optimism from the political and tourism worlds alike were issued with a ferocity shortly after Wednesday morning’s announcement, showcasing the affair as a driver of tourism, a major boon for the economy, an inspiration to partner with new stakeholders and something to further showcase the region’s world-class attractions.
A different track brings with it additional changes: due to the configuration of Saratoga’s main track, the Belmont Stakes will be contested at 1 1/4 miles in 2024 rather than the traditional 1 1/2 miles, pending the approval of the North American Graded Stakes Committee.
Inaugurated in 1867 at Jerome Park Racetrack and moved in 1905 to Belmont Park, the Belmont Stakes has notably provided Secretariat’s 31-length victory in 1973 and American Pharoah successfully ending a 37-year Triple Crown drought in 2015. The race was staged at Aqueduct Racetrack from 1963-1967 when Belmont Park last underwent significant renovations.
Following the conclusion of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga, the NYRA circuit will return to Aqueduct Racetrack for the remainder of the spring meet before racing shifts to Saratoga for the annual 40-day summer meet beginning Thursday, July 11. The fall meet customarily held at Belmont Park will again be shifted to Aqueduct Racetrack in 2024 while construction of a new Belmont Park continues.
Ticket packages and pricing for the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course will be available in early 2024.
A Bocce Ball Court, such as this one, is one of five project proposals which city residents may vote to have developed in 2024.
SARATOGA SPRINGS —The Saratoga Springs Participatory Budgeting Committee will be holding online public voting for the second cycle of project proposals through Tuesday, Dec. 12.
Saratoga Springs residents over the age of 18 are able to cast their ballot towards their favorite projects.
The Participatory Budgeting process encourages local community members to participate in the City’s budget process by voting on how to spend a portion of up to 0.25% of the City’s total budget – approximately $153,000, give or take. Final funding decisions will be made by the City Council in late December.
The Committee received a total of 15 submissions for Cycle Two; with proposed projects ranging from smaller-scale recreation initiatives to larger community-wide accessible programming.
There are 5 total projects on the ballot for potential funding: Bocce Ball Court, Saratoga Farmer’s Market, Opera Saratoga Family Programming, Solar Charging Bench for the Saratoga Springs Public Library, and Lake Avenue School Centennial Celebration.
Bocce Ball: Construction of one (1) bocce ball court in Veteran’s Memorial Park. Project submitted by individual. Estimated Cost: $13,000. Location: Veteran’s Memorial Park, 10 Adams Road.
Opera Saratoga Family Programming: Produce five (5) outreach opera performances in Saratoga Springs and the State Park for children and family’s education and enjoyment. Project submitted by Opera Saratoga. Estimated Cost: $15,000. Location: Opera Saratoga, 19 Roosevelt Drive.
Lake Ave School Centennial Celebration: Celebrate Lake Ave Schools’ upcoming centennial by recording oral histories and memories, photograph mementos and produce an exhibition for display at the Saratoga Springs Public Library (location pending). Project submitted by Lake Avenue PTA. Estimated Cost: $10,000. Location: Lake Avenue School, 126 Lake Ave.
Solar Charging Bench for Public Library: Provide a convenient and clean energy charging source for electronic devices to Saratoga Springs residents and visitors. Located outside of the Saratoga Springs Public Library. Project submitted by Saratoga Springs Public Library. Estimated Cost: $11,000. Location: Saratoga Springs Public Library, 49 Henry St.
Saratoga Farmers’ Market Program Support: Purchasing tents, wagons and tables for the Saratoga Springs Farmer’s Market and aiding in marketing expenses. Project submitted by Saratoga Farmers’ Market Association (organization). Estimated Cost: $12,000. Location: Saratoga Springs Farmer’s Market, 112 High Rock Ave.
“This past year we’ve seen a lot of our PB projects from Cycle One come online – they’ve had a tremendously positive impact on our community – from providing free arts programming and recreational curling to beautifying our city streets,” Commissioner of Finance Minita Sanghvi said in a statement. “We were excited to see a whole new set of project ideas for Cycle Two and are continuing to look for community input as to which projects they want to see funded.”
To vote, visit go to: pbstanford.org/2023-saratoga-ny.
Revised plans for the corporate offices of Prime Group Holdings with a proposed two-story addition at 395 Broadway, prepared by the architectural firm Balzer & Tuck and filed with the city of Saratoga Springs.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Applications under consideration this week by the Saratoga Springs Design Review Board include:
• Historic Review of a two-story addition at 395 Broadway. Prime Group Holdings founder Robert Moser has been seeking city Land Use Board approval to add two stories to the company’s existing two-story brick masonry office building at 395 Broadway. The combined four-story building would serve as office space for Prime Group Holdings, with a retail store component on the first floor.
The red-brick building located on the southwest corner of Broadway and Division Street was originally developed in 2000 to house Borders Books & Music, and in in 2018 was purchased by Ed Mitzen and the Fingerpaint Marketing firm. It was sold to Prime Group Holdings for $11 million in July.
• Architectural Review of exterior modifications including roof replacement, porch reconstruction, and select window infill and replacement at 118 Woodlawn Ave., regarding the Woodlawn Club exterior modification project.
• 177 South Broadway Stewarts Demolition and Redevelopment: Determination of Historic/Architectural significance for an existing single-family residence. Consideration of SEQRA lead agency, and Advisory Opinion to the Zoning Board of Appeals regarding the demolition of the existing single-family residence and redevelopment of a convenience store and fueling station.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga police were apparently too hot for the city’s fire department to handle. At the fifth annual Holiday Hockey Classic, the boys in blue beat the firefighters 12-2.
The event benefited the Franklin Community Center’s Holiday Assistance Program, which aims to deliver a Christmas present to every Saratoga child that needs one.
According to firefighter Chris Stewart, this year’s game resulted in more than 800 toys collected and $2,000 raised, surpassing last year’s totals. Attendees packed the Weibel Ice Rink for the event. “We had a standing-room-only crowd,” Stewart said.
The presents and funds were donated to the Franklin Community Center on Monday morning via fire and police vehicles.
“I play Christmas carols over the PA system of the ladder truck,” Stewart said. “A lot of people were out and about and they stopped and waved and were curious why Christmas carols were being played instead of a siren on a fire truck.”
The donated toys gifted to the kids included Barbies, Hot Wheels, coloring books, and board games.
“I can’t thank everyone that donated and attended the game enough,” Stewart said. “This entire event is make or break by how much the community comes together to support it.”
Stewart mentioned that sponsors such as Skidmore Hockey, King’s Tavern, the Adirondack Thunder, and the Bread Basket Bakery were “truly the ones that make this game what it is.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS —The Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex Board of Cooperative Educational Services (WSWHE BOCES) unveiled its “Future-Focused For All Students 2023-2026 Strategic Plan” earlier this month.
The WSWHE BOCES is responsible for “the oversight of curricular, financial, and other policy decisions,” according to the organization. WSWHE BOCES serves a total of 31 school districts, including Ballston Spa, Schuylerville, and Saratoga Springs.
Among its objectives, the plan seeks to:
•Increase enrollment capacity
•Offer students more work-based learning opportunities
•Celebrate diversity and equity
•Strengthen the Women In Trades initiative
•Enhance employee onboarding
•Provide staff with proper tools and training
•Address short-term facilities needs
•Analyze requirements for transitioning to electric buses
“This plan will be the backbone for what we do as an organization,” said WSWHE BOCES District Superintendent of Schools Dr. Turina Parker. “It will serve as a roadmap for our efforts to connect with each student and customer while enhancing our connections as an organization.”
The plan also states that its implementation will be “one of the largest, and most consequential, undertakings in our BOCES history. This 2023-26 Strategic Plan tasks us with, in essence, reevaluating every WSWHE BOCES decision and action, and ensuring they are in line with our community’s priorities and expectations.”
The plan is available online at: www.wswheboces.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=2036640&type=d&pREC_ID=2513275
The former Grand Union Motel, located at 120 South Broadway in Saratoga Springs, serves as the emergency cold-weather Code Blue shelter this year. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos.
BALLSTON SPA —During its monthly meeting, held Nov. 21 at the county complex in Ballston Spa, the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors accepted $426,000 from the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, and approved an agreement with Shelters of Saratoga that will see those funds used for S.O.S. expenses to operate this winter’s Code Blue shelter in Saratoga Springs.
The emergency cold-weather Code Blue shelter will this year, for the first time, be located at the former Grand Union Motel at 120 South Broadway, in Saratoga Springs.
Motivated to action in the wake of the death of a city woman exposed to a winter’s elements on a December night in 2013, a temporary homeless emergency shelter was launched in Saratoga Springs that Christmas Eve at St. Peter’s Parish Center. The Code Blue shelter has found temporary homes across the city in the years since during wintertime.
Of the $426,000 the State is sending to Saratoga County, the Board of Supervisors recommended up to $399,979 be spent in contract with S.O.S. for expenses associated with sheltering the homeless during this fall and winter season, and that any additional costs up to $26,021 may be used by the Department of Social Services for potential costs incurred for sheltering individuals or families not otherwise eligible for emergency housing and not able to be housed at the Code Blue Shelter.
2024 County Budget Proposal Tops $400 Million; Public Hearing Dec. 6, Plan to Adopt Dec. 13
A public hearing on the revised tentative 2024 Saratoga County Budget will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 6, at the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chambers, 40 McMaster St., Ballston Spa.
More than $1.5 million approved for work at county animal shelter
The County Board approved the acceptance of a near $1.5 million bid proposal from the John W. Danforth Company of Clifton Park for work to be conducted at the Saratoga County Animal Shelter.
The work relates to the mechanical construction of the HVAC Phase 1 project at the county animal shelter. The $1,495,890 was the lowest bid the county had received.
The Board additionally approved an agreement with B & B Premier Contracting, LLC of Hudson Falls, for work relating to the electrical construction of the HVAC Phase 1 project at the animal shelter at a cost of up to $84,000, and an agreement with DiGesare Mechanical Incorporated of Schenectady, for plumbing construction related to the same project at a cost not to exceed $57,000.
County Sheriff’s Office agreement to provide additional police services in Malta, Clifton Park, Halfmoon, Wilton
A contract extension was approved with the Town of Malta through 2024 for additional police services to be provided by the Sheriff’s Office. The agreement calls for one patrol from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., and one patrol 4 p.m. – midnight, seven days a week.
The contract, at $326,580.66, includes reimbursement by the Town of Malta for all County expenses including salaries, benefits, training, all transportation expenses and patrol cars.
Additional agreements were also separately approved with the towns of Clifton Park (2 patrols, 8 a.m.- 4 p.m. & 4 p.m. – midnight, 7 days a week at a town cost just over $653,000); Halfmoon (1 patrol, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tues.-Sun., and 4 p.m.-midnight Tues.-Sat. at just over $259,000), and Wilton (1 patrol, 8 a.m. -4 p.m. Mon.-Fri., just over $125,000).
Supervisor: Eric Connolly (R) ran unopposed in Nov. 2023 election.
Town Board Meetings – 6:30 p.m. on the 2nd and last Tuesdays of every month. Meetings at Town Hall, 323 Charlton Road, Ballston Spa.
2024 Preliminary Budget: $13.98 million total appropriation.
Next Town Board agenda meeting: 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 28.
Geography, General Information, as provided by the town on its official website. A Ballston Spa or Ballston Lake mailing address does not necessarily mean that you live in the Town of Ballston. You may live in the Town of Ballston, Charlton, Clifton Park, Milton, or Malta. If you live in the Village of Ballston Spa you also live in either the Town of Ballston or Milton.
Village of Ballston Spa:
Mayor: Frank Rossi (R) ran unopposed in Nov. 2023 election.
Village government is headed by the Mayor and four Trustees. Together they form the local legislative body, the Board of Trustees.
Meetings are held at 7 p.m. the 2nd & 4th Mondays of each month, in the Ballston Spa Public Library Community Room. Next meeting: 7 p.m., Monday, Nov. 27
Town of Wilton
Population: 17,361.
Town Supervisor: Incumbent Supervisor John Lant (R,C) received 1,799 votes, challenger Toni Sturm (D) received 1,494 votes in Nov. 2023 election.
Town Board Meetings: 7 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month. Meetings at the Wilton Town Hall, 22 Traver Road, Wilton.
Next Town Board meeting: 7 p.m., Monday, Dec. 7.
The Town Board is comprised of an elected Supervisor serving a two-year term and four elected councilmen each serving four-year terms.
2024 adopted budget: $10.46 million.
Hot Topic: Proposed redevelopment of the Wilton Mall, considering the development of nearly 400 apartment units and townhomes at the site of the mall’s former Bon Ton location.
