VICTORY — Saratoga PLAN’s Next Generation Committee, hauled six bags of debris out of the Saratoga Siege Trail – a Saratoga PLAN partner trail in the Village of Victory. The trail is located just opposite the Schuyler House on Route 4, in the town of Saratoga.
The Saratoga Siege Trail is a flat, half-mile walking trail, which follows along the south side of Fish Creek.
The Next Gen Committee has been active for less than a year, during which they have explored how they can act as an extension of Saratoga PLAN. For five of their ten months as an active committee, the group met virtually and was still able to organize multiple stewardship opportunities–one being cleaning up the Saratoga Siege Trail. Items found during the clean-up included: a TV, old car parts, bicycle wheel, and plastic bottles.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Prayers, meditations and chants will be offered on behalf of those who have died in the past year, with special intention for victims of COVID-19, in a candlelight service at 5 p.m. Sunday Nov. 8, at Bethesda Episcopal Church, 26 Washington St.
The service, which is open to the community, will be in observance of All Soul’s Day.It will include a reading of names and prayers, as well as Gregorian chants, said the Reverend Charles Wallace, recently appointed priest in charge of Bethesda.
“This year 2020 has been an especially difficult year. Many people have turned to their Creator for spiritual and emotional comfort.Bethesda offers this service for people of all faiths so that we can gather as a community to commemorate all who have died, both known and unknown to us, and thereby renew our collective commitment to caring for one another,” said Father Wallace.
The service, about 30 minutes in length, will follow the monastic Prayers for the Dead, a form with ancient roots.
All wishing to attend and commemorate family or loved ones may register online with the Bethesda parish office at 518-584-5980, or go to the church’s website: bethesdachurch.org.
The service will be conducted in keeping with all New York State protocols for religious gatherings. Masks will be required to be worn at all times, seating will be at distance and limited in number, and hand sanitizer will be available as people enter the church.A free will offering opportunity will be available.
WILTON — Popular area country musician Phil Hoyt’s recent impromptu performance in – and around – Granville’s downtown park raised more than $5,000 for one of his favorite charities, Wilton-based Operation Adopt A Soldier (OAAS).
“When Phil handed over $5,025 at our October members’ meeting, everyone there either gasped or got a bit emotional,” said OAAS Founder/Co-chair Cliff Seguin. “We were so appreciative that Phil, with all the pandemic limitations, offered to perform a concert for us.”
The non-profit, all-volunteer OAAS uses donations to send free comfort kits to U.S. military personnel serving in areas of conflict. It also uses monetary donations to pay the $12-per-box postage fee and purchase goods when donated supplies dwindle.
OAAS’ temporary office at 891 Saratoga Road, Wilton, is open from 10 a.m. to noon Thursdays and Saturdays to accept donations, and by appointment for large contributions of non-perishable food, snacks and toiletries. A detailed list of acceptable items is posted on www.operationadoptasoldier.org.
SARATOGA SPRINGS – Discover Saratoga, DeCrescente Distributing Company, Druthers Brewing Company, Death Wish Coffee, and Quick Response have partnered to initiate the 8th Annual Toys for Toga campaign, in conjunction with the 15th Annual Discover Saratoga Restaurant Week, Oct. 30 – Nov. 8.
The organizations have released the following information:We’d love to have our members participate in this great cause! Here’s how it will work: Participating businesses will place a Toys for Toga cardboard box in or around their business. The logoed cardboard box is 18 X 18 X 30 and will be delivered to you. Starting Oct. 30 through Dec. 4, members of the local community can donate new, unwrapped toys at participating locations. People will know who is participating because there will be a list on our Restaurant Week webpage.
Toy boxes will be collected the week of Dec. 7. Toys will be sanitized by Quick Response and equally distributed to Franklin Community Center (Saratoga Springs), CAPTAIN Youth and Family Services (Clifton Park) and the Mechanicville Area Community Services Center (Mechanicville) in time for the holidays.
If you would like to participate in Toys for Toga and have a box delivered to your business, please contact Vinnie Morrissey at V.Morrissey@ddcbev.com.
ALBANY —Mickey Orta attributed a week of migraines and pain in the back of his head to work travel. But on a Friday night in March 2019, on his way to dinner with his wife Maggie, the then-43-year-old felt a little queasy and off balance as they walked to the hostess station. Seated in the booth, he slumped to the left, leaning against the wall, and couldn’t feel anything all the way down his body.
“My wife checked her phone, and told me I was having a stroke,” Orta, who is a Senior Vice President in the Wealth Management group at NBT Bank, said. “I didn’t believe it. She and the waiter pulled me out of the booth, and my wife took me to Glens Falls Hospital.”
After the MRI and CT scan, he felt much better, and was looking forward to skiing the next day with his son Nicolas. Instead, he learned that he had suffered a stroke, and would be admitted to the hospital.
Orta will share his story on Oct. 29 at 6 p.m. via Zoom during the local portion of The Capital Region’s CycleNation World Stroke Day. To join the event, visit heart.zoom.us/j/95196137525?pwd=ZjE2NTBJSnRUTVRhVHNrZ3pCTlEvZz09&from=msft;.
The local digital event will be followed by a national digital event celebrating all the CycleNation efforts in the nation. Begun as a stationary cycling event, CycleNation 2020 has expanded, recruiting and challenging participants to bike, hike, run, walk, or whatever kind of exercise they want to do, to help the country achieve One CycleNation’s goal of getting 1 million miles of exercise, and raise $1 million.
To participate, register at CycleNation.org/CapitalRegionNY. Funds raised will support the kind of research that can help keep save lives like Orta’s
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Wellspring hosts its annual Pooch Parade virtually this year, on Oct. 16, 17, and 18.
The annual event raises awareness and funds for Wellspring’s Safe Pet Partnership Program, which assists victims of domestic violence by providing safe, temporary placement of family pets through a network of volunteer pet “foster homes” while clients transition to safe housing.Abusers often use the love victims have for their pets as a control tactic, or even directly abuse the pets. Sometimes, victims of domestic violence will stay in an abusive situation out of fear of what might happen to their pets if they leave them behind.
This year, instead of gathering to parade around Congress Park members of the community and their pooches are invited to register online with Wellspring and plan a walk around their neighborhood, park, or home sometime on October 16, 17, or 18.
For more information about how this year’s event will work and to register, visit www.wellspringcares.org/pooch-parade.
All donations made by participants in the Pooch Parade during registration directly benefit Wellspring’s programs and services. Participants can also register by mailing a check, made out to Wellspring, to our address at 480 Broadway LL20 Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.
WILTON — The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and State Farm Agent Dione Ramsdill are teaming up with the Wilton Volunteer Fire Department to support Fire Prevention Week (October 4-10, 2020), an annual public awareness campaign promoting home fire safety.
State Farm Agents are delivering Fire Prevention Week toolkits to more than 2,500 fire departments across the country, including Wilton Volunteer Fire Department. Each toolkit includes resources for Fire Prevention Week, including brochures, magnets, posters and more. The Fire Department will be sharing these resources with schools and communities this fall in support of the campaign.
This year’s campaign, “Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen” focuses on cooking fire safety. Home cooking fires represent the leading cause of all fires with nearly half – 49% – happening in the kitchen. Unattended cooking is the leading cause of these fires.
For more information about Fire Prevention Week and this year’s theme, visit fpw.org.
GREENWICH — Since 1990 the Agricultural Stewardship Association (ASA) has worked to accomplish a singular mission: protect the farms, rich soils and agricultural landscape in Washington and Rensselaer counties. In that time, ASA has conserved 139 farms and over 24,000 acres. An important source of funding for this mission has come from Landscapes for Landsake Art Sale and Exhibition, a celebration of the land by local artists.
This year’s inaugural virtual show will launch Saturday, Oct. 10 and will be available through Friday, Oct. 30 at www.landscapesforlandsake.com.
Landscapes for Landsake is ASA’s largest fundraiser of the year. Participating artists donate 50% of their proceeds to support ASA’s farmland conservation work.
GALWAY — Two new Saratoga PLAN trails in the Town of Galway are being readied to open to the public. They are: Barkersville Trails, in the hamlet of Barkersville, and Glowegee Creek North and South Trails.
The winding Barkersville trail system was previously grounds for sled-dog training and is a now-conserved 168 acre area. After a season of trail development, from scouting to clearing to trail marking, Barkersville Trails awaits a bridge installation and kiosk information.
Glowegee Creek Trails, meanwhile, will connect a northern entrance on Old Mill Road to a southern entrance on Route 45. The trail crosses three parcels of conserved land thick with hemlocks, ferns, and wildflowers and winds alongside Glowegee Creek for a portion of the way. The South entrance parking lot awaits a final trash haul, kiosk, and parking lot access. Both Barkersville and Glowegee Creek locations are awaiting entryway signage.
