ALBANY — In lieu of its annual Veteran’s Day event, the To Honor and Serve Breakfast, the Capital Region Chamber’s Unified Military Affairs Council (UMAC) has recognized the significance of the region’s military installations and growing ranks of active-duty service members in the regional economy. 

The Chamber recognizes and supports our area military throughout the year through the UMAC. This council includes the New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing; Naval Support Activity Saratoga Springs; Nuclear Power Training Unit Ballston Spa; Watervliet Arsenal; U.S. Army – Albany Recruiting Company and Navy Reserve Center Schenectady. 

The Capital Region labor force consists of more than 2,400 active-duty service members – that is the third greatest number in upstate, according to the latest Census estimates. In fact, between 2015 and 2019, the region’s labor force saw an increase of 293 active-duty service members – the largest increase in upstate. Saratoga County saw upstate’s fifth largest increase in active-duty service members from 72 to 1,647. Saratoga County also has the state’s third greatest number of active-duty service members, according to a Center for Economic Growth (CEG) analysis of U.S. Census Bureau five-year estimates. 

Leaders from the Chamber, UMAC, 109th Airlift Wing of the New York Air National Guard and Navy Reserve Center Schenectady also highlighted how local military installations have served not only as assets to national security but also to the region’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

For instance, the 109th Airlift Wing of the New York National Guard provided COVID testing and meal delivery services in the Capital Region. Stratton Air Base in Glenville also served as a vaccination site for Department of Defense personnel and contractors. The Watervliet Arsenal last December became one of DOD’s first vaccination sites for military personnel and defense contractors. In the 2021 federal fiscal year, there were about 300 firms with defense contracts in the Capital Region, according to a CEG analysis of USAspending.gov data. 

“We’re out there on the front lines to help mitigate the horrible thing that COVID is, and we’re all dealing with it. But as essential workers, we’re happy to step up and be able to do that successfully, because honestly, it gets everyone back into the businesses to be able to support what they do for our local economy,” said Col. Robert Donaldson, the 109th Airlift’s Vice Commander. 

“Defense is a major industry in the Capital Region’s economy – one larger than many realize,” said Chamber President and CEO Mark Eagan. “While the focus of Veteran’s Day is often on those who have served, it’s important that we also recognize those who are presently serving our country.” 

The Latest  Local and Regional Stats on COVID-19 and Vaccines

Click Here: Q&A with Saratoga Native, Kelsey Briddell – USA National Women’s Field Hockey Team

Super Source Media, a photography studio specializing in custom portraits and printing, has opened in their new Wilton Mall location (next to The Stadium at the Old Navy entrance). 

Stocked with a variety of backgrounds and sets, they are offering something special to the public.

“That’s what’s fun about the studio. I knew it accommodated the business perfectly, equipment-wise but here too, we can connect with people easily while also paying attention to the technical details and lighting that makes professional photography different than what you can capture with your cell phone,” said Super Source Media’s Founder and Creative Director Mark Bolles. 

Bolles has more than 30 years of experience, including shooting special events, sports, fashion, and editorial content for Saratoga TODAY since 2007. In addition to providing expert studio, on-site, and aerial photography, custom, large-format and fine art printing, Super Source Media, which first opened in 2018, strives to offer opportunities to up-and-coming professionals. 

“That’s what’s fun about the studio. It’s growing an understanding about how to communicate through the visual arts,” said Bolles.

Fiona Neary, a 2021 Fine Arts graduate of the University of Albany, is using her creative strengths here to hand-paint the original backdrops, in set design, social media, photography and editing. 

“It’s such a fun environment with everyone sharing their knowledge. It’s perfect. I feel very lucky,” said Neary.

A 30-minute photo session includes the background of your choice, two digital files, and an online viewing album. Longer sessions and additional online and print options are also available.

“In this space, there’s a lot more potential to grow, to focus on families, portraits, and to connect to the community. It’s exciting,” said photographer and studio assistant Lindsey Fish, a business and marketing major at Siena College. 

Mark Your Calendar: On Veteran’s Day, Thursday, November 11^th, Super Source Studio will be providing a FREE pop-up photo session and FREE 5” x 7” printed portrait to veterans and their families. For more information, find them on Facebook, Instagram and at https://www.supersourcemedia.com

BALSTON SPA — The Ballston Spa Business & Professional Association’s annual Ballston Spa Holiday Parade and Tree Lighting takes place Friday, Dec. 3. The parade step-off time is 6:30 p.m., proceeding on Milton Avenue and ending in Wiswall Park on Front Street with Santa lighting the village Christmas tree. 

The parade is a hometown-style holiday tradition, with fire trucks, floats, animals, kids and Santa parading down the main street of the village. The parade will spotlight the Toys for Tots campaign, in partnership with the Ballston Spa Community Emergency Corps, Saratoga County Sheriff Department and U.S. Marine Corps. Volunteers from these organizations will be on hand to collect donations of new, unwrapped toys from spectators along the parade route as well as at the tree lighting. 

New this year: parade entries will be judged this year in the following categories: Best Emergency Vehicle Entry, Best Ballston Spa Community Members Entry, Best Walking Entry and The Brightest Light Award. The brighter and more festive, the better. 

Organizations, groups or businesses interested in taking part in the parade, go to www.ballston.org to register. For more information, contact the BSBPA office at 518-885-2772 or info@ballston.org.

GLENS FALLS — Holiday Festival of Lights takes place in Lake George Nov. 27 to Dec. 31. Visitors and locals alike can enjoy decorated storefronts on Canada Street and a huge light display in Shepard’s Park in Lake George. 

Live entertainment will take place Saturdays, Dec. 4, 11 and 18, in Shepard’s Park from 12-4 p.m. including family-friendly live music, dance performances, entertainment and more. The events are free to attend.

Royal Snow Sisters Holiday Princess Show: Saturday, Dec. 4. Familiar songs and holiday tunes. There will be time for photos and autographs, crafts, singing and dancing. Showtimes are at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn. Tickets: $15 per person.

Royal Snow Sisters Holiday Princess Dinner Theater and Meet & Greet: Saturday, Dec. 4. Performance, sing-along, and table-to-table exclusive meet-and-greet. There will be plenty of opportunities for photos and autographs and even a dance party. The ticket price includes an entree, dessert, and non-alcoholic beverage. The show starts promptly at 5:30 p.m. Tickets: $30 per person.

Ha-Ha-Holiday Comedy Show: Friday, Dec. 10. A hilarious line-up of comedians. For ages 18 and up, the comedy show takes place at the Marriott Hotel. Showtimes are at 7:30 and 9 p.m. Cost: $20.

Holiday Artisan Market: Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 18 and 19. Shop the holiday market at Fort William Henry Resort Carriage House, with more than 50 artisan vendors offering handmade items and beautiful and unique gifts. Sample delicious food, take a free picture with Santa, enjoy free arts and craft activities for kids provided by local nonprofits as well as live entertainment and more. There is a small fee to attend with proceeds benefiting local charitable organizations. 

Lake George’s popular Light up the Village Celebration is on Saturday, Nov. 27, in Shepard’s Park, starting at 3 p.m. with a live sing-along at 5 p.m. by Bobby Dick and Susie Q and lighting the village up at 6 p.m. This event serves as the kick-off for the Lake George Holiday Festival of Lights.

Tickets can be purchased and information can be found at www.eventstoat.net 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The NY 77th Regiment Monument will be re-installed onto its granite base in Congress Park on Nov. 16, Commissioner of Public Works Anthony “Skip” Scirocco announced this week.

The statue was damaged in July 2020 in what is believed to be an act of vandalism and required extensive repairs. 

Repair costs, which were $58,218, were covered under the City’s insurance program, Scirocco said in a statement. Community donations totaling just over $14,200 were used for landscaping and security improvements. Scirocco did not specify what those security improvements consist of.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — After many years of preparation, the City Council is expected to vote in mid-November on the Unified Development Ordinance, or the UDO – a document which provides regulations that define the city, its neighborhoods and the greenbelt. 

In advance of that vote, Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton has released a statement warning the UDO, as currently written, does not do enough to preserve the rural character of the greenbelt and natural areas. Dalton is advocating for the adoption of four amendments proposed by Sustainable Saratoga that she says, “will strengthen the protections for the ‘country’ part of our ‘City in the Country.’”

According to Dalton, the amendments limit some of the more intensive uses and uses that will draw people away from the city’s urban core, as well as provide additional details to strengthen rural character guidelines. For more specific information detailing the proposed amendments to the UDO, go to: sustainablesaratoga.org. 

The final council vote on the UDO is anticipated to take place Nov. 16. 

BALLSTON SPA — Saratoga County officials announced last week a first-in-the-state pilot program to allow more students to remain in the classroom amid soaring COVID-19 quarantine orders for school-age children. 

The program “Test to Stay” – or TTS, is a test-based protocol for k-12 students exposed to COVID-19 in school or on a school bus that allows them attend classes in person rather than quarantine at home as long as they test negative for the virus and show no symptoms each day. 

The “Test to Stay” protocol is currently a pilot program administered by Saratoga County Public Health Services (SCPHS) in the South Glens Falls Central School District (SGFSD).  SCPHS and SGFSD are also partnering with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to evaluate the pilot. 

At the time of the pilot program announcement, 94 members of the South Glens Falls School District – 89 students, 3 teachers and 2 staff, had tested positive since Sept. 13. There are 3,390 students, teachers and staff in the school district. 

Comparably in the region, since the start of the school year in September, there were 84 who tested positive at Saratoga Springs City School District (67 students, 10 teachers, 7 staff); 74 at Ballston Spa CSD (62 students, 2 teachers, 10 staff); 13 (12 students, 1 staff) at Schuylerville CSD; 27 (18 students, 1 teacher, 8 staff) at Galway CSD. Data regarding COVID tests and results for individual Private, Public, Charter and BOCES Program schools may be searched at: schoolcovidreportcard.health.ny.gov/#/home. 

During the TTS pilot protocol, normal contact tracing will take place with the school district contacting families of students who are considered a close contact of a COVID positive individual. The TTS protocol allows parents or guardians the option to have their child tested daily in school as an alternative to having to quarantine. Students would arrive at school and report directly to the nurse’s office for testing. A negative test will keep students in school. If a student tests positive, the parent and/or guardian will be required to pick up their child and quarantine their student. 

“When responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to consider the social, emotional, and educational consequences that have impacted children and families,” said Dr. Daniel Kuhles, Commissioner of Saratoga County Public Health Services, in a statement. “The Test to Stay pilot, in combination with the layered prevention strategies already present in schools, is an important step towards supporting their overall health and wellbeing.” 

The pilot phase of the TTS protocol is scheduled to last several weeks. Upon conclusion, the evaluation team will review the effectiveness, feasibility, and scalability of the protocol. This information will be used to make recommendations as to whether the pilot should be amended, expanded to other school districts and private schools, or be withdrawn. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Matt McCabe – who served as city Finance Commissioner from 2004 to 2007, and Remigia Foy, who held the seat for three terms in the 1970s and in the 1990s, will be commemorated, current city Finance Commissioner Michele Madigan announced.     

“Matt McCabe had provided remarkable services to the city as a commissioner of finance as well as his unflagging assistance of city events, the city’s downtown business organizations,” Madigan told the City Council while bringing a resolution to the table to commemorate both McCabe and Foy. 

Visual ideas floated to honor McCabe included the potential renaming of a street, a memorial statue in the shape of a guitar – similar in substance to the clock which stands in front of Fox Jewelers, said Madigan said, or the creation of a plaque and a dedicated bench on Broadway. 

“A bench on Broadway, where we are all familiar seeing Matt seated on one of those benches, outside his guitar shop,” she said.

“Matt was a Martin (guitar) guy, and the guitar he played was one he got from Jerry Jeff Walker. Matt was a big fan of Jerry Jeff’s,” said McCabe’s friend, and popular Saratoga musician Rick Bolton. Walker, who died in October 2020, is perhaps best known for writing the much-covered ballad “Mr. Bojangles.” 

McCabe opened his first local guitar shop on Flag Day, 1994 with 48 used guitars and 10 amplifiers for sale inside of a small 160 square-foot hole in the wall space on Caroline Street. He would subsequently grow to a bigger space, increase the number of his Saratoga Guitar shops, and become the host of The Capital Region Guitar Show – one of the longest running guitar shows in the country – in addition to performing his own shows and serving as a two-term city Finance Commissioner. McCabe died earlier this year from complications of COVID-19.

Remigia Foy, who died June 2020, served as city finance commissioner for three terms, two in the ‘70s and one on the ‘90s, Madigan said. The idea is to honor Foy by potentially placing charcoal ink and oil works of Foy created by local artist Sharon Bolton – creator of the colorful First Night Saratoga posters – inside of City Hall by the finance department office. 

“I’m going to float the idea of the Foy Foyer. It’s got a nice ring to it,” Madigan said.