Art by Brady and Elena, AP Art Students in partnership with Saratoga Schools
SARATOGA SPRINGS — “We loved the painted horses, we loved the ballet slippers when they came out and we loved Lip Dub,” says Tracey Shannon. “Coming out of COVID, we’re looking for that next activity to bring our community together.“
That activity: Find the Hidden Horseshoe. The treasure hunt begins Saturday, April 21 when 300 of them, formerly worn by Saratoga racehorses, may be sought in a variety of city parks and trails. Find it, and it’s yours for keeps.
The event is the brainchild of adventure partners Tracey Shannon and Jen Clasen and is inspired by the Glass Float project that began on Block Island, Rhode Island a decade ago. There, glassblower Eben Horton creates more than 500 glass orbs that are dated, numbered and stamped and measure about the size of an orange which he calls “glass floats.” The glass floats are hidden on the beaches and greenway trails across Block Island and provide a community scavenger hunt.
Here, the 300 horseshoes – keeping with the Spa City theme of health, history and horses – are placed on public property in the city’s parks and trails.
The specific venues are anticipated to be High Rock Park, Congress Park, Spring Run, Waterfront Park, and Bog Meadow Trail.
“If you find it, you get to keep it. It’s a finder’s keeper’s kind of scavenger hunt event,” Clasen says. “Three hundred will be hidden in all, of the 300, 30 will be decorated by local artists. So, if you find one, it tells you what number you found and asks you to scan it. Take a bragging picture and we’ll post it to social media and post it to our site.”
Local artists were involved in decorating 30 of the horseshoes. Shannon and Clasen reached out to Saratoga Bridges, AIM, and the high school for that purpose, the organizers told the members of the City Council during a recent presentation promoting the event.
All horseshoes will be accessible between ground and eye-level within three feet of a trail, so no ladders or shovels are required. It’s also important to note that the horseshoes will not be on private property, so no public or preserved property should be disturbed to find a horseshoe. It is a finder’s keepers’ activity, but organizers ask if someone is fortunate to find more than one, that they leave it be for others to find.
The event is looking to launch in Congress Park on Earth Day, April 22.
“I think it’s a real positive activity. We want everybody to have something to get excited about and bring nature in,” Shannon said.
For more information and “hunt” rules, go to: saratogahiddenhorseshoes.com.
Saratoga Independent School teacher Shauna Swiminer speaks with students prior to releasing rainbow trout into the Kayaderosseras Creek. Photo by Dylan McGlynn
BALLSTON SPA — Kindergarten and primary students at Saratoga Independent School released a group of juvenile rainbow trout into the Kayaderosseras Creek on Friday, capping off nearly six months of hands-on learning about water conservancy, life in water, Native American culture, and more.
The school took in nearly 100 rainbow trout eggs in October, and students watched and assisted as the fish hatched and grew in aquariums at the school. On Friday, the students finished their aquatic journey, releasing the fish into the wild.
Shauna Swiminer, a kindergarten teacher at Saratoga Independent School, said the project was “a perfect fit” for the school’s hands-on learning style.
“This year, we were studying both water, water conservancy, life in water, and Native American culture,” said Swiminer. “That idea of something so hands-on, that the kids can see, touch, and do, is really what we do at the Independent School.”
The eggs were provided by the Department of Environmental Conservation, and were part of the National Trout in the Classroom curriculum. Students met at Kelley Park in Ballston Spa to release the fish, which was preceded with words from Perry Ground, a member of the Onondaga Nation.
Ground spoke about indigenous culture, the importance of water and fish to the Haudenosaunee people, and led students through the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address. The Thanksgiving Address was established as a way to give thanks to “everything in the world around us,” Ground said.
“Once those five tribes joined together, they shared lots of stuff. One of the things that we share is, whenever we join ourselves together, is something called the Thanksgiving Address,” said Ground. “Gratitude and appreciation for the things we have around us. … The Thanksgiving Address is something that we say to say thank you to everything in the world around us.”
Swiminer said her students were “so excited” when she returned to school with the fish in October.
“They were whispering like they were real babies,” said Swiminer. “Two days later, they all started to hatch out. So there was no real waiting time, which was really meaningful to the kids, to be able to get that immediate gratification.”
The students quickly grew attached to the fish, with SIS primary teacher Kathleen Johansson saying they wrote “trout poetry” and letters to the fish. She said working with hands-on projects such as this can make it “so much more real” to the students.
“I think it just makes it so much more real to them, when they’re thinking about these creatures that we’ve had and taken care of since October,” said Johansson. “They might think twice when they see some garbage floating down, and think, ‘Hey, I really don’t want my trout to get wrapped up in that.’”
But even though the fish have been released, the project has not stopped just yet. Johansson said the students will participate in a quilt exchange through the National Trout in the Classroom curriculum.
“We’re going to make individual little quilt squares with paintings on it, decorating, and we’re sending them all off, and we’ll get some in return,” said Johansson. “So we’ll have a giant quilt made from students all around who participated in the program as well.”
This year was the first time the school has participated in the Trout in the Classroom program, but Saratoga Independent School emphasizes many similar hands-on activities. Johansson said earlier this year, her class raised monarch larvae until they became butterflies.
“We did a butterfly garden last year in the spring, and we’ll start that again in a few weeks when it warms up,” Johansson said. “The kids love going out in the springtime. When they see that first monarch, they go, ‘That’s the great grandkids of the ones we let go.’ … Any of those projects where they see it happen in front of them, they just have a very different connection to it.”
Both teachers said they hope the project can help teach their students about different cultures, environmental conservation, showing compassion and empathy, and more.
“I think learning in general is best hands-on. It is important to create citizens that care about the world around them,” Swiminer said. “There were so many experiments about pollution, garbage, and watershed, just the general learning that the kids did. Those are human qualities. Those are things you want your kids to grow up and pass on.”
“I think these are the types of activities that will really stay with them,” added Johansson. “Any of them that are interested in the environment, or watershed, it makes them aware of why it’s important for all of us to care. That would be the biggest lesson, I think.”
Joe Murphy, Aviral Kapoor, Katera Noviello Kapoor and Ray O’Conor (L to R). The debut screening of “An Above Average Day” will take place at the Saratoga Arts Center on Saturday, April 15. Photo provided.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Ray O’Conor has worked as a financial consultant with a major Wall Street investment firm, a United States Border Patrol Agent and a Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Defense. He has served on the boards of several not for profit organizations, and is the CEO of a not for profit community development company.
Close to home, you may know O’Conor as a former local bank CEO, a Wilton Town Board Councilmember, an avid mountain climber, the author of the book “She Called Him Raymond.”
That’s a lot of lives for one existence, now here’s one more: on Saturday, April 15 Saratoga Arts Center will host the debut screening of Veda Films’ documentary “An Above Average Day,” featuring longtime friends Ray O’Conor and Joe Murphy on their hiking and wilderness adventures while seeking answers the question: What could two men with a 30-year difference in age possibly have in common that would compel them to climb more than 400 mountains and hike in excess of 4,000 miles of trails?
Q. Where did the idea for the film come from?
A. My good buddy Joe and I have done a lot of hiking and climbing over the last 15 years. We j hiked more than 400 different mountains, most of them together and more than 5,000 miles of trail.
About 2-1/2 years ago I got a message from Katera Kapoor – one of the founders of the Veda Films company – who said, “I’ve been following your adventures with your buddy Joe and was wondering if you had any interest in doing a documentary film together.” Katara is originally from Saratoga Springs. She told me how she and her husband (Aviral), both graduates of the New York Film Academy where they’d met, started this documentary film company. So, Joe and I said: sure. That’s how it all started.
Q. How did the filming work?
A. The husband-and-wife team followed us around when we went out. They were generally long days because in addition to the hiking itself, there was the setting up to take shots, second shots, third shots, and the interviewing. It’s taken a couple of years to get done. Joe and I had a lot of fun with Katera and Avi. They are exceptional people and superb storytellers.
Q. What is the focus of the documentary?
A. There are two sides to the story. One is the adventure side about hiking and mountain climbing. The other is about the relationship between Joe and I. There are 30 years between us – I’m 68 and he’s 38. My wife Mary has always said that my behavior is worse than a child, and Joe is like an old soul kind of person. So, one of the focal points is the relationship between these two guys who met by chance and spent a lot of time together over the past 15 years on mountains and on trails.
Q. You go up a city kid. Where did your fondness for hiking and climbing come from?
A. Back in the late 1980s, I decided to run for the town board in Wilton and Roy McDonald was our town supervisor. Unbeknownst to me, Roy was big on hiking at the time. He had climbed Mount Marcy like 10 times. So, Roy calls me and says, “I’m going to pick you up at 5:30 in the morning and we’re going to go on a hike.” I didn’t even know where we were going, or what I needed. It was a real nice weekend, so I had on a pair of gym shorts, a T-shirt, and some work boots that I wore when doing yardwork. We wound up hiking Mount Marcy. We had a great time. On subsequent hikes, I came much better prepared.
Q. How do you decide where to climb?
A. We have a list we work on. The first was the 46 high peaks of the Adirondacks. There’s a fire tower challenge – 32 mountains between the Catskills and the Adirondacks that have fire towers on them. And we’ve done all those. There’s a broader list called the Northeast 115, the tallest mountains in the northeast United States. And there are other smaller mountains – the Lake George 12ster, the Saranac Lake 6er.
The next list is the 50 highest points and peaks in the United States. I’ve already got 17 states done and Joe’s a couple shy of that. I’ve got a plan mapped out for a southern swing next month where we go to Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri and Indiana. Nine states, high points or peaks in six days.
Q. For people inspired to go on a hike or climb, what local resources are available to learn more?
A. If you’re a beginner there is the Adirondack Mountain Club, the Appalachian Mountain Club, Saratoga Plan. You know you don’t have to climb Mount Everest to get the benefits emotionally, physically and spiritually.
Q. What do you get from hiking, emotionally, physically or otherwise?
A. I’d like to say it’s as good for the mind and the soul as it is for the body. There’s something special about being out in the wilderness. The Japanese have a term they call it: Forest Bathing. Being out in the woods, on the trail, in isolation. Getting away from all the world’s troubles is magical.
The debut screening of “An Above Average Day” will take place at the Saratoga Arts Center, 320 Broadway, Saratoga Springs on Saturday, April 15. Shows at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Tickets are $5 and available at: www.saratoga-arts.org/events. Produced and directed by Katera and Aviral Kapoor, founders of Veda Films.
MILTON — The town of Milton and the village of Ballston Spa continue to discuss an agreement for Milton to purchase the Woods Hollow Nature Preserve from the Village.
The nature preserve is located in the town of Milton but is currently owned by the village of Ballston Spa. Milton Town Supervisor Scott Ostrander said the town has been paying for maintenance of the preserve for “probably the last 30 years,” at a cost of roughly $8,000 to $10,000 per year.
A memorandum of agreement was signed between the municipalities on March 17. The agreement is not a formal contract nor legally binding but is a mutual understanding between the two parties to work toward the listed terms.
The memorandum states the sale price would be $360,000, and that the preserve would receive a conservation easement designating it as ‘forever wild,’ with minor exceptions.
Exceptions would be for maintenance and emergency response vehicles, for forest management work, and construction of minor unenclosed structures and benches, Ballston Spa Mayor Frank Rossi, Jr. said in a Facebook post.
The deal would also ensure that the Village of Ballston Spa does not face any liability for the cancellation of its contract with the Saratoga Land Management Corporation (LUMAC), who the Village had hired to conduct tree-cutting on dead or dying trees in the preserve. Rossi said that no trees in the preserve were taken down under the contract.
Milton has raised funds for the purchase through “the sale of land to the Community Emergency Corps, monies paid in lieu of parklands by our development committee, and through the Saratoga County Open Space Preservation Grant Program,” according to a statement released on the town’s Facebook page.
As part of the agreement, Milton would establish water districts within four to six months of the sale, and handle snow removal, treatment, and brush pickup in the Colonial Hills neighborhood for the next five years. The town would also recognize the need to increase its annual support for the Ballston Spa Public Library and the Ballston Spa Village Pool, according to the memorandum.
The Town of Milton would plan to make some improvements to the preserve, but Ostrander said they are mainly looking at “preserving it the way it is.”
“We basically want to keep it forever wild, like it looks now,” Ostrander told Saratoga Today on March 22.
He said the town would look to pave the main parking lot off Northline Road and pull-in entrances off Rowland Street, add more benches throughout the preserve, and clean up trails and surrounding areas.
The Town of Milton voted to approve the terms of the memorandum at their Town Board meeting on March 22.
Ballston Spa held a Board of Trustees meeting on March 27, where the Board voted against placing Woods Hollow into the village surplus. Some trustees at the meeting raised concerns over proper publicization of the agreement, as well as rights to water in the preserve.
The memorandum states, “The Village retains any and all water and mineral rights but neither party can mine.” Rossi said that while some Village trustees spoke of concerns over potentially signing away future water rights in the preserve, he felt it was “resolved” based on feedback from the audience at Monday’s meeting.
Declaring surplus is a needed step to move forward in the sale process, Rossi said.
“That was disappointing that we weren’t able to get there, but we’ll see where it goes,” said Rossi.
Ostrander also said it was “disappointing” that the Village was unable to move forward.
“At this point, the attorneys are trying to work out the details,” Ostrander said on Wednesday. “Like I said, we signed the memorandum. The Town of Milton’s all set on their end.”
The Ballston Spa Village Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting on April 6 to discuss sidewalk and ethics codes, Rossi said. The next Board of Trustees regular meeting will be 7 p.m. on April 10. Rossi said on Wednesday he was unsure of which meeting the topic will be brought up again, saying the Village has to advertise the terms of the agreement.
“I’m just not sure what the timing will be on that,” said Rossi.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner (D-Round Lake) is calling for a 20% increase to Medicaid reimbursement rates in the 2023-24 state budget to support upstate nursing homes.
“Our upstate nursing homes are on the verge of collapse,” said Woerner, during a press conference held this week. “They have hundreds of beds that can’t be filled due to staffing shortages caused by lack of funds. While I am grateful that the Assembly’s one-house budget doubled the executive’s proposed paltry increase of only 5%, the need for a full 20% increase remains. Without that increase, many homes supporting the elders in our communities will be forced to shut their doors, and we cannot allow this to happen.”
A systemic rebasing strategy, one that is based on current costs, is also critically needed if the rate is to keep up with the cost of providing care, Woerner added.
Medicaid reimbursements rates — the amounts Medicaid provides to cover patient health care costs — for upstate nursing homes have not increased in 15 years in New York. Nursing homes’ operating costs have meanwhile increased around 40% over the last several years, leading to shortfalls in what the nursing homes charge for service and what they receive.
Medicaid pays for care for many nursing home residents across the state. At The Wesley Community, 75% of residents are paid for by Medicaid, yet it only covers part of the actual costs of care, according to J. Brian Nealon, CEO of The Wesley Community in Saratoga Springs.
“With every Medicaid resident we care for, Wesley loses $106 per day. Annually, this means underfunding of $8,500,000,” Nealon wrote in an editorial published Feb. 16 in Saratoga TODAY.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wesley was able to approach breakeven in some years through alternative revenue streams and donations from the community.
“That is no longer the case. Due to this shortfall, community-focused, nonprofit nursing homes statewide are closing or being sold to private ‘for-profit’ operators at an alarming rate. In Saratoga County alone, the number of nursing home beds has dropped by 55% in the last decade,” said Nealon, adding that 26 other states have increased their Medicaid funding during the pandemic, whereas New York reduced its reimbursement rates during that time.
The result of the underfunding by the state has forced many nursing homes, including Wesley, to limit admissions, and without available beds, hospitals cannot discharge patients who would have traditionally gone to a nursing home for rehabilitation.
“The governor’s recently released Executive Budget, with a proposed 5% increase, is a start, but still falls short of what is needed after years of underfunding,” Nealon said.
Assemblywoman Woerner said that a 20% increase will shore up the finances of upstate nursing homes and allow them to operate and provide care to the people who need it most.
Clip from City Camera located on the west side of Broadway at 3:03 a.m. on Nov. 20, 2022. The capture looks at the east side of Broadway leading north where activity occurred, and across to Caroline Street where officers have entered the scene. Screenshot from video: city of Saratoga Springs.
In the early morning hours on November 20, 2022, members of the Saratoga Springs Police Department responded to the sound of gunfire coming from Broadway. The officers involved were assigned to the downtown area, and were on foot on Caroline St at the time. Within seconds, the Officers confronted two individuals exchanging gunfire on Broadway in the heart of the City’s busy downtown area. –Saratoga Springs Police Department statement March 28, 2023.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — A deputy sheriff was charged with attempted murder and three men from Utica with attempted assault in this week’s reveal of charges in connection with a November early morning incident in Saratoga Springs that saw approximately 20 bullets raining down on Broadway.
Vito E. Caselnova, a Rutland County Vermont sheriff’s deputy and Glens Falls resident, was arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Saratoga County Court. The sealed indictment, unsealed in court, documented eight charges – five felonies, two misdemeanors, and one violation.
The charges: attempted murder in the second-degree, assault in the first-degree, possession of a firearm in a sensitive location (that “sensitive location” in this instance believed to be carrying a firearm inside a place that serves alcohol), two counts of possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device, menacing, reckless endangerment, and harassment.
“There is a wide range of sentences the court could impose if you are convicted of that (attempted murder) charge or if you plead guilty of that charge, but the most severe sentence is a determinate term of up to 25 years in state prison,” Judge Jim Murphy said in the courtroom on March 28.
Approximately two dozen people filled the public area of the courtroom. Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen was seated in the first row. Ten members of the media sat in the jury box, notebooks and cameras in hand.
“Given the configuration of the indictment, it may be that some of those charges would run concurrently, or potentially consecutively if you were to be found guilty or if you were to plead guilty,” Judge Murphy told Caselnova.
Caselnova, who sat mostly quiet while in the courtroom, pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Bail was set at $50,000 cash, or $100,000 bail bond. Caselnova’s attorney, Greg Teresi, said that bail would be posted on Caselnova’s behalf at the correction facility. Caselnova, 25, was handcuffed and led out of the courtroom.
During proceedings, an order of protection – effective immediately – was issued advising Caselnova to not have any contact, directly or indirectly, with Alexander Colon.
Less than 24 hours later and across the county, Colon’s name as well as those of two others allegedly connected with the Nov. 20 incident appeared on documents at Saratoga Springs City Court.
Court records indicate that the three people, all from Utica, were each charged with one count attempted assault in the third-degree, a misdemeanor, in connection with the incident. According to the prosecutor’s filings, the charge specifies each of the defendants “attempted to cause an injury to a person by repeatedly punching him.”
Those charged are: Alexander Colon, 28, Darius A. Wright, 29, and Christopher (AKA Christian) E. Castillo, 28. The charges were assigned on March 23, according to court documents. All three were summoned to appear in person in Saratoga Springs City Court at 9 a.m. on April 25.
According to statements by Saratoga Springs Public Safety Commissioner Jim Montagnino shortly after the Nov. 20 incident occurred, an altercation allegedly involving Caselnova – who was off-duty at the time – and “a group of individuals from the Utica area” was initiated on or around a Caroline Street bar before accelerating west and onto Broadway with approximately eight shots being fired. It is unclear how many weapons may have been involved, or who is suspected of firing first.
City police officers subsequently responding to the incident fired approximately 11 shots after the off-duty deputy allegedly ignored calls to drop his weapon.
“What they see is the Vermont sheriff’s deputy, standing on the sidewalk, his gun leveled and moving from side-to-side pointing the gun,” Montagnino said. “The officers repeatedly, loudly direct the deputy, ‘Drop the gun, get on the ground,’ again, again and again. By my count there are at least eight separate clear unequivocal demands to put the gun down and get on the ground. They are all ignored.”
The incident marked the first discharge of a weapon in the line of duty by a Saratoga Springs officer in more than a quarter-century.
City officers testified before the grand jury and waived immunity for their actions, according to a statement issued by PBA President Paul Veitch this week. “The Grand Jury decision to exonerate our officers confirms that they acted appropriately and justifiably during this stressful life-threatening situation.”
Caselnova suffered a number of wounds as a result of the incident and a woman believed to be his girlfriend was “nicked by one of the bullets in her upper arm,” Montagnino said. The woman, Glens Falls resident Cali Brown, filed the notice of claim against the city and police department signifying her intent to sue, the Daily Gazette in February.
It is anticipated Caselnova will return to county court on May 2 at 9:30 a.m. for discovery compliance – the sharing of evidence in the matter.
Gateway House of Peace Thrift Store. Photo by Dylan McGlynn.
MILTON — The Gateway House of Peace Thrift Store officially opened its doors this month, helping to raise funds for end-of-life services provided by the Gateway House of Peace.
Located at 408 Geyser Road, proceeds from all of the thrift store’s sales go toward the Gateway House of Peace’s services. Elaine Pearson, director of the Gateway House Thrift Store, said they began renting the space in December before officially opening on March 1.
“It’s been wonderful,” said Pearson of the experience since opening. “We’ve been blessed with a lot of donations from the community. Our sales have been great. The community has been very supportive.”
The Gateway House of Peace offers end-of-life care at no cost to its residents or their families. Typically, the Gateway House has raised money through a variety of fundraisers. Pearson said the thrift store will allow Gateway to see a year-round revenue stream.
“We’re hoping the thrift store is going to help alleviate all the fundraising that we have to do,” Pearson said. “That was our ultimate goal. We’ve talked about it for five to ten years now, doing this, and we just never did it. Finally, we said, ‘We’re just going to do it.’”
After searching for a location for roughly two years, Pearson said the Geyser Road location became available “out of the blue.” She said having the space available is “a wonderful feeling.”
“It’s an accomplishment,” said Pearson. “We’ve been planning for so long, and for our dream to come true, it’s an absolutely wonderful experience and wonderful feeling.”
The Gateway House of Peace runs an annual yard sale to help raise funds, with Pearson saying the thrift store began as an extension of the yard sale.
“We have hundreds and hundreds of people that come through,” said Pearson of the yard sale. “That’s really why we wanted the thrift store, because the yard sales were such a big hit, and great fundraiser.”
Pearson said the funds raised at the thrift store will go toward day-to-day operations at the Gateway House, including paid nursing staff, utilities and bills, and more. The thrift store has just one paid employee, manager Cassandra Roner, who is assisted by a variety of volunteers.
Roner said it has been “amazing” to see how many volunteers have offered their time to the store.
“I’m involved in a lot of organizations, from sports to my church, and sometimes it’s hard to get volunteers,” said Roner. “So to see people come in here and want to volunteer their time, it shows you what the mission of Gateway House means to people.”
Pearson also mentioned the community has been very supportive, noting that many local businesses helped provide various donations when the store was being prepared for opening.
“So many of the businesses, there’s so many of them that have donated to us with paint, and jewelry counters, and shelving,” Pearson said. “They’ve been absolutely wonderful, donating items to us to get started.”
The store’s location on Geyser Road is also an advantage, just over a mile from the Gateway House of Peace. Pearson said that while the thrift store’s current location is “a little bit too small,” it provides strong connectivity between the two locations.
“I really wanted to stay close to Gateway House,” Pearson said. “I didn’t want to leave the area for a bigger space. It’s connected. People know, just go around the corner and there’s Gateway House.”
The store will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony “once the weather gets nicer,” said Pearson. She said they hope to eventually raise $100,000 yearly for the Gateway House of Peace.
“What I’d like to see is $100,000 a year,” said Pearson. “That’s my ultimate goal. If we make that, I’d be very happy.”
Ballston Spa Mayor Frank Rossi taking part in the Mayor’s Challenge to raise funds supporting research to find cures for childhood cancers. Photo by Susan Blackburn Photography.
BALLSTON SPA — Cropped. Trimmed. Sheared. Exposed. Ballston Spa Mayor Frank Rossi kept his head up while sticking his neck out and after all was said and done raised about $15,000 to supporting research in finding cures for childhood cancers.
It was the first time the mayor took part in the event, an annual fundraiser for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Rossi vowed to shave his head if 20 or more Ballston Spa Scotties athletes and coaches joined the drive. And so, they did.
“I was a little scared about it at first because it was the first time I ever shaved my head,” the mayor said, following the event held at the Saratoga City Tavern Saturday. The next day, the chill carrying wind made its presence felt upon his exposed scalp. “I was feeling it on Sunday, but thankfully someone gave me a Scotties Lacrosse hat, so I was able to stay somewhat warm,” Rossi said with a laugh.
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer and donor-powered charity supporting research to find cures for childhood cancers and to help provide survivors long and healthy lives. Last year, the organization raised more than $20 million. Thus far, in the early months of 2023, nearly $11.5 million has been raised.
Rossi said he set an initial fundraising goal of $1,000 for his Mayor’s Team. About $15,000 was raised, Rossi said.
Would he return to the scene of the shears next year?
“I absolutely would do this again, and I’d like to see if we can get a little rivalry going with other schools to see who can raise the most,” Rossi said.
Saratoga Springs Police Department Report comparison of 2022 v. 2021 “Part 1” crime totals.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — This week, the Department of Public Safety released its annual report for the 2022 calendar year.
The city’s Public Safety Department is comprised of a full-time Administrative Office Staff, a Police Department, Fire Department, Code Enforcement Division, Central Dispatch, Traffic Maintenance, Animal Control Officers and a Health Officer. There are approximately 167 full-time employees, and 11 part-time employees – the latter of whom work as school crossing guards, vehicle traffic controllers, part-time cleaners and clerks, and summer laborers at the traffic garage.
The Police Department specifically is currently staffed with a chief, 4 lieutenants, 10 sergeants, 10 investigators, and 47 patrol officers.
The Department ended the 2022 calendar year with eight vacant patrol positions and the loss of the assistant chief’s position. In 2022, 14 new police officers were hired and trained, 10 were lost through retirements or resignations and 2 new hires left to pursue a career with the New York State Police. Six patrol officers are currently in the police academy and will be available for patrol in May, according to the report.
Some Findings in the 2022 Report:
• During the year, members of the Saratoga Springs Police Department responded to 26,186 calls for service. Officers generated 3,933 cases that resulted in 821 arrests. Of the individuals arrested, 57% were not residents of the city of Saratoga Springs.
•The most frequent type of calls were property checks (2,596), followed by traffic stops (2,277).
•Reported crimes, in number: Larceny (414); Burglary (74); Aggravated Assault (61); Rape (18); Robbery (11), Motor Vehicle Theft (9). The three months with the most reported crimes were, in order: July, May, and June.
•A separate, “Reported Crimes Part II” detail: Simple Assault (369); Criminal Mischief (189); Driving Under the Influence (119), and Controlled Substance Sale and/or Possession (101) as the most frequent in this category.
•Driving Under the Influence returned the most arrests (120), followed by Simple Assault (100), Criminal Mischief (67), Larceny (62), and Controlled Substance Possession (62).
• Of the 26,186 calls for service handled by members of the SSPD, 72 resulted in a use of force by SSPD standards, or 0.27% of the total calls for service. Of the 72 Use of Force reports documented by the SSPD, 26 meet the requirements for reporting by New York State, or 0.1% of the total calls for service. In 2022, 56% of all use of force incidents occurred between midnight and 4 a.m. Officers were injured during suspect encounters in 6 separate incidents in 2022.
• Saratoga Springs Police responded to 1,683 traffic collisions resulting in 998 accident reports being completed in 2022. One of the collisions involved a fatality. Officers conducted 2,280 traffic stops in 2022 and issued 1,686 Uniform Traffic Tickets. Of the tickets issued, 132 were for Driving While Intoxicated. Most crashes, Day of the Week: Friday. The highest number of crashes took place during the month of August.
Warren Dart, son of the late Tuskegee Airman Clarence Dart, speaks to an assembly comprised of the public, Dart Family members and local dignitaries and representatives on March 21, 2023 at the county complex in Ballston Spa. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos.
BALLSTON SPA — This week, The Saratoga County Board of Supervisors and the Saratoga County Veterans Service Agency held its monthly Honor Deceased Veterans Program by honoring longtime Saratoga Springs resident and Tuskegee Airman Clarence Dart.
Dart flew 95 missions overseas during World War II. Twice, he survived being shot down by the enemy. He grew up during the Great Depression. As a child, his clothing came from the Salvation Army. Much of his food was grown in the family garden in Elmira. He built model airplanes as a child and had a yearning to fly.
The day after his 21st birthday, on Dec. 7, 1941, Dart was singing in his church choir when he heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor. The young man knew what he wanted to do. The following year, he was accepted into flight training at the Tuskegee Army Air Field, joining other young men who had enlisted to become America’s first black military airmen.
Dart served as a member of the 332nd Fighter Group and was assigned to the 99th Fighter Squadron in the 12th Air Force in North Africa. He was one of about 1,000 fighter pilots who painted the tails of their airplanes red, earning the nickname, “Red Tails.” They were trained as a segregated unit and forbidden to practice alongside their white counterparts.
Dart later flew P-51s escorting 15th Air Force bombers and was discharged from active duty at the rank of Captain in 1947. He went on to serve in the NY Air National Guard and retired at the rank of Lt. Colonel.
For his service Dart received two Purple Hearts for injuries sustained during air combat, the Air Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters, the WWII Victory Medal, and the American Defense Medal, the NYS Conspicuous Service Cross, and the NYS Conspicuous Service Star.
While he fought for President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s four freedoms, when Dart returned home from the war there was no heroic welcome, and no job that was available to him to fulfill his dream of being a commercial airplane pilot.
The accomplishments of the Tuskegee Airmen are credited with influencing President Harry Truman to officially desegregate the U.S. military in 1948. It was the same year Dart relocated to Saratoga Springs. He married his wife, Mildred, in June 1950 and the couple raised their family of seven daughters and two sons in the Spa City.
After the war, Dart worked for General Electric Co. until his retirement in 1987, after which he began visiting schools and talking to students about his experiences in the war, explaining to them the importance of getting an education as a way of bettering themselves and creating opportunities. It was only after Dart began to speak about his wartime experiences at the request of neighborhood schools that his own children began to truly understand some of their father’s experiences.
It took more than 60 years for recognition to come for the humble man from Elmira. In 2007, Dart was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal, alongside other Tuskegee Airmen in the Capitol Rotunda, and in 2011 was honored locally at the Wesley Community senior housing facility where he resided at the time. Dart died in 2012. He was 91 and was buried with military honors at the family plot at Greenridge Cemetery on Lincoln Avenue.
Established in 1999 by the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors, the Honor Deceased Veterans Program provides a way for county leadership and residents to show gratitude for the service of veterans past and present. The ceremony is dedicated to a different Saratoga County veteran each month. To date, more than 300 Saratoga County Veterans have been honored.
To learn more about Clarence Dart, in his own words, go online to YouTube and search: Clarence W. Dart.
