GROTON, CT — A Clifton Park native is serving in the U.S. Navy at Naval Submarine Base New London, supporting the world’s most advanced nuclear-powered submarines.

Petty Officer 3rd Class John Kennedy, a 2018 Shenendehowa High School graduate, joined the Navy two-and-a-half years ago. Today, Kennedy serves as a Navy diver.

“I joined the Navy because I wanted to help people,” said Kennedy. “The Navy keeps everyone safe by doing the work that other people don’t want to do.”

According to Kennedy, the values required to succeed in the military are similar to those found in Clifton Park.

“Growing up, my mother always told me not to quit things just because they’re difficult,” said Kennedy. “That lesson helped me get through the challenging schooling and physical requirements that are needed to be selected as a Navy diver.”

Fast, maneuverable and technically advanced, submarines are some of the most versatile ships in the Navy, capable of silently conducting a variety of missions around the world.

There are three basic types of submarines: fast attack submarines (SSN), ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) and guided-missile submarines (SSGN). 

Fast attack submarines are designed to hunt down and destroy enemy submarines and surface ships; strike targets ashore with cruise missiles; carry and deliver Navy SEALs; carry out intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions; and engage in mine warfare. Their primary tactical advantage is stealth, operating undetected under the sea for long periods of time.

The Navy’s ballistic-missile submarines, often referred to as “boomers,” serve as a strategic deterrent by providing an undetectable platform for submarine-launched ballistic missiles. SSBNs are designed specifically for stealth, extended patrols and the precise delivery of missiles. Their design allows the submarines to operate for 15 or more years between major overhauls. On average, the submarines spend 77 days at sea followed by 35 days in port for maintenance.

Guided-missile submarines provide the Navy with unprecedented strike and special operation mission capabilities from a stealthy, clandestine platform. Armed with tactical missiles and equipped with superior communications capabilities, SSGNs are capable of directly supporting combatant commander’s strike and Special Operations Forces requirements. Each SSGN is capable of carrying 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, plus a complement of heavyweight torpedoes to be fired through four torpedo tubes.

Serving in the Navy means Kennedy is part of a world that is taking on new importance in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of the National Defense Strategy.

“As a member of the Navy, I know we are doing all we can to keep all the bad stuff out,” said Kennedy. “We do the dirty work to keep our country safe.” 

With more than 90 percent of all trade traveling by sea, and 95 percent of the world’s international phone and internet traffic carried through fiber optic cables lying on the ocean floor, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity and security of the United States is directly linked to a strong and ready Navy.

“What our undersea forces accomplish every day is vitally important to our nation’s defense,” said Vice Adm. Daryl Caudle, Commander, Submarine Forces. “Our Submarine Force is a critical part of global maritime security and the nation’s nuclear triad. Every day, our submariners are at the tip of the spear, forward deployed and ready – from the depths, we strike!”

As a member of the U.S. Navy, Kennedy, as well as other sailors, know they are a part of a service tradition providing unforgettable experiences through leadership development, world affairs and humanitarian assistance. Their efforts will have a lasting effect around the globe and for generations of sailors who will follow.

“Serving in the Navy means everything to me,” added Kennedy. “Ever since I was a child, I knew I wanted to serve, and now I get to live out that dream.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Due to a nationwide Tyson Foods Inc. chicken recall for possible listeria, Stewart’s Shops is recalling the following products. 

Please note, Tyson Foods Inc. has expanded their product recall and this has impacted additional coded Now and Then Chicken Riggies and Now and Then Chicken Alfredo products. The additions are listed below.

Stewart’s Now & Then Entree’s: Chicken Riggies 12oz with best by dates of Sep 9 2021, Sep 19 2021. *Additional Codes Added: Oct 8 2021, Oct 15 2021, Nov 5 2021, Nov 19 2021

Chicken Alfredo 11oz with best by dates of Aug 24 2021, Sep 12 2021, Sep 25 2021,Sep 30 2021. *Additional Codes Added: Oct 14 2021, Oct 21 2021, Nov 4 2021, Nov 14 2021, Nov 26 2021, Dec 3 2021

Frozen Tyson Chicken package: Any package of Tyson Fully Cooked Grilled Chicken Breast Strips 22oz

Customers who purchased any of the items listed above are urged to return them to their local Stewart’s Shops for a full refund.  Customers with questions may contact Stewart’s Consumer Affairs Department at 518-581-1200 ext. 2130, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 pm.

BALLSTON SPA — To follow-up Brookside Museum’s grand reopening, the Saratoga County History Center is staging a slate of summer events, offerings, and activities in July and August. 

Sounds of Summer from the Brookside Porch

Instrumentalists from the American Federation of Musicians perform 3 p.m. July 18 and 3 p.m. July 25 at Brookside Museum. Performers include members of the Albany Symphony Orchestra, playing popular melodies on Brookside’s grand front porch while guests relax on the spacious front lawn. Students and representatives from the Dance Factory of Saratoga Springs will be on hand on July 25 to teach audience members a few basic steps and, perhaps, even put on a show.  Both concerts are free and open to the public. Guests should bring their own lawn chairs or picnic blankets.

Experts Next Door

The virtual speaker series will continue to bring top scholars, authors, and thinkers into homes through Zoom. July’s installment features Dr. Mindy Pitre, Associate Professor of Anthropology, and Dr. J. Amsil Ramsay, Professor of Public Health, at St. Lawrence University, NY talking about bio-archaeological discoveries in the Aswan-Kom Ombo Archaeological Project in Aswan, Egypt.  August will introduce guests to Sara Evenson, a practitioner of early colonial cooking. Evenson will explore a single family through their legacy of recipes and provide cooking demonstrations along the way.

BSBPA Farmer’s Market

The Ballston Spa Business and Professional Association’s weekly farmer’s market runs to Sept. 30, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.  The gathering of artisans and farmers will offer 100% locally grown produce, farm fresh agricultural products, baked treats, and hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind gifts and goods.

Brookside Museum is open 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday to Sunday, and during the Thursday and Saturday Farmers’ Markets. Donations are appreciated. For more information, go to: brooksidemuseum.org.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The City of Saratoga Springs has accepted a donation by the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation to make a repair to the architectural surround of the Spirit of Life and Spencer Trask Memorial in Congress Park, a National Historic Landmark. 

Congress Park has seen increased use, in part, due to the many restoration projects that the City of Saratoga Springs Department of Public Works has undertaken over the years.  In 2015, the Foundation, in partnership with the City of Saratoga Springs, completed a $750,000 restoration of the Spirit of Life and Spencer Trask Memorial and, most recently, the Katrina Trask Gateway Memorial was restored by the city. 

With increased use of the park, however, there can also be an increase in vandalism. In 2019 a baluster of the surround was stolen.  With the City facing economic challenges as a result of COVID, the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation will restore the missing baluster in the upcoming months, with the assistance of PCC Contracting, and have two additional balusters replicated should a repair be needed in the future. 

This donation was made possible through funding provided by the Adirondack Trust Company Community Fund, which maintains a Donor Advised Fund for the preservation of the Spirit of Life and Spencer Trask Memorial. 

In keeping with the spirit of the memorial’s inscription, “His one object in life was to do right and serve his fellow men, he gave himself abundantly to hasten the coming of a new and better day…” this donation ensures that the beauty of the Spirit of Life and Spencer Trask Memorial is maintained. Since the completion of the restoration in 2015, the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation has donated lighting, geraniums, and regularly schedules volunteers to assist with maintaining the landscape of the Memorial.  Within the past year, volunteers have donated 250 hours to maintain the landscape. 

The Memorial was unveiled and gifted to the City of Saratoga Springs on June 26, 1915 by Katrina Trask and George Foster Peabody to memorialize Spencer Trask who played a critical role in preserving the spring waters of Saratoga. It was designed by sculptor Daniel Chester French and architect Henry Bacon, who were also responsible for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., as well as Charles Leavitt Jr. who designed the
surrounding landscape.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A large-scale development targeting Washington Street continues to make inroads through the city’s Land Use boards. 

The proposed Washington Street Development project – 19  Washington St./ 365 Broadway – features a 200,000 square foot mixed-use building with 90 residential units and 31 hotel rooms, and includes the demolition of the existing candy store adjacent to the Starbucks coffee shop, the latter of which will remain.   

A Historic Review determination of historic/architectural significance is currently under consideration by the city’s Design Review Commission, which next meets on July 21. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — On July 14, city Assistant Chief of Police John Catone released a statement regarding a June 28 press conference at City Hall. The statement, in its entirety, reads: 

“At the June 28th press conference with Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton, I allowed anger and frustration to interfere with my intended message. 

The conference was called to address and inform the public on the recent stabbing and gunfire incidents in our downtown, to discuss the increasing presence of identified gang members, and to detail the department’s efforts in investigating and responding to those issues. We are not a city known for this type of criminal activity, but we should appreciate that we re not immune to it either. Addressing it will require the entire community working together with our police department, and this requires mutual trust. 

While I fully appreciate the Police Department must always work toward building and maintaining that trust, my frustration at the conference stemmed from the fact that certain misinformation has unfairly eroded it. My comments were not meant to cast blame, or serve as a threat. My comments were made as a call upon every member of this community to work together. 

I have spent my entire professional career serving and protecting the people who live, work and visit our great city and I will always remain committed to that mission.”  -John T. Catone.

BALLSTON — Local veteran Michael Bayer is in the running to win a cash prize of $10,000 on behalf of Sparkling Ice for his volunteer work in the community. 

Michael Bayer has served our country in the US Navy for 25 years, and moved to the Capital Region in 1995. In retirement, he serves the community by volunteering his time to a local cemetery, food pantry, his neighbors, and his church.

His volunteer work at the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga Cemetery consists of assisting in organizing the processionals for his fellow veterans and offering support to those visiting the cemetery. He collects groceries for a local food pantry. In his neighborhood, Bayer does some landscaping and helps his elderly neighbors with general repairs. He has also turned his love of singing into a great opportunity to volunteer his time to the kid’s choir at his church, and he sings with the Clifton Park Community Chorus. 

“What really got me started [in volunteering] was retiring,” said Bayer. “I’ve been very fortunate and very blessed throughout my life, so I’ve always thought it was important to figure out a way, or to look for opportunities, to give back.”

Back in April, the Talking Rain Beverage Company®, the maker of Sparkling Ice® beverages, teamed up with Olympic Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas to kick-off the 2nd annual Cheers to Heroes campaign and contest. The Cheers to Heroes campaign and contest celebrates everyday heroes – first line responders, health care workers, community activists, teachers, friends, neighbors, and more – for the work they have done and their dedication to their local communities. The winner of the contest will receive a $10,000 cash prize. Bayer’s wife nominated him, and he was selected out of thousands of nominations across the country to be a finalist. 

“I feel really fortunate,” said Bayer on being a finalist. “There are a lot of people in this area that I’ve come to know that volunteer a lot. They are the same kind of people that the contest is looking to honor. My only difference is that I had somebody close to me that knew about the contest.” 

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Bayer continued to say, “I am honored and thankful to have been nominated. I am humbled to even have been chosen from so many of the other nominations I have seen online.”

Once he was selected as a finalist, contest organizers sent a video crew to the Capital Region to film him at the various sites he volunteers at. In the video, Bayer explains what he does and why it is important to volunteer. 

“What I’ve experienced, number one, is the generosity of people is overwhelming,” said Bayer. “The other thing is – that’s a little bit sad – is that the need is so overwhelming. It’s the knowledge that you’ve helped somebody out at a very difficult time.

What would he do with the prize money? Bayer’s third youngest son is in the Army and stationed in Hawaii. At the beginning of next year, he will be promoted, and Bayer would like to take his family to Hawaii to attend his son’s promotion. Additionally, he would like to put money towards increasing services the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga Cemetery provides, such as putting wreaths out in the winter. 

Right now, people across the country are voting for one of the finalists – you can cast your vote at www.sparklingicerewards.com/cheerstoheroes through the end of July. The winner will be announced on Aug. 13, and the nominator of the winning hero will also receive a $500 prize. For more information on Sparkling Ice and the Cheers to Heroes contest, visit: www.sparklingicerewards.com/cheerstoheroes.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — It is a place where local businesses thrive and share their prosperity with the community. It is where full-time employees receive free healthcare benefits and competitive salaries, and where entrepreneurs are provided tools to help them succeed and flourish. 

It is a model called The Business for Good and a vision presented by Ed and Lisa Mitzen and their “team of motivated do-gooders” who believe that equity is key to a brighter future. The idea behind the Business for Good Foundation is in using the team’s successful business skills and experience to help make the world a better place.   

“We’ve experienced a level of prosperity that’s still hard to get our minds around. We’re living our dream. And we’re very grateful for it. But we believe dreams should be accessible to everyone,” the Mitzens say. 

They established The Business for Good Foundation, a 501c3 charitable organization to assist others in the pursuit of their own dreams. “Help as many people as we could. Do as much good as we could do.”

Lisa said she and Ed have long shared an interest in giving back. 

“We always dreamed of starting a foundation,” said Lisa Mitzen, at the foundation’s public launch on July 13 at the Brackett House on North Broadway in Saratoga Springs. The site, which includes offices and a conference center will serve as the organization’s headquarters. 

Ed Mitzen was raised in Voorheesville and spent nearly a decade growing Palio Communications into a success before subsequently co-founding Fingerpaint Marketing in Saratoga Springs in 2008. 

The Foundation is built on a set of different pillars, Ed Mitzen explained. Owning businesses and taking care of employees while donating all that business’ profits to local charitable causes is one; providing capital and other useable tools such as marketing and mentorship to entrepreneurs, is another. Since its official launch last October, the Foundation has donated $4.4 million in grants and resources across the state.    

“We like to describe Business For Good as sort of an umbrella over each of the businesses that are acquired, which are still for-profit businesses, just the profits are then donated to Business For Good so we can then do better for the communities we live and work in,” said Lisa Mitzen, who grew up in nearby Hudson Falls. 

The Mitzens acquired the Bread Basket Bakery, which overlooks Congress Park, late last year. “The goal there was to give the staff great pay, great benefits, keep them all there, but change the mission – instead of it being a for-profit business, to donate all the profits to charity,” Ed Mitzen said. Revenue the bakery generates goes directly to fight food insecurity in local communities. A second Bread Basket location is planned to be sited on Weibel Avenue in Saratoga Springs, which will grow the foundation mission by also donating all profits to charity. 

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HATTIE’S

The addition to the foundation of the Spa City’s famed Hattie’s Restaurant & Chicken Shack is in the process of being finalized. Employees will be provided “great pay, great benefits, and have 100% of their health care covered,” Mitzen said.  An additional Hattie’s Restaurant is slated to open in the former Lombardo’s Restaurant on Madison Avenue in Albany next year. 

Lombardo’s Restaurant served as a cornerstone business in Albany for nearly a century, and its closure left a service and employment gap in an already economically challenged neighborhood. By renovating the building and installing a business such as Hattie’s that will employ locally and return all profits to local charities, the foundation is hoping that both – a piece of Albany history will be preserved, and that it will be a positive contributor to the South End community for years to come.

“The idea of being a part of a consortium of businesses that have tremendous synergy in working together and trying to elevate as many people as possible was really perfect for Hattie’s,” said Jasper Alexander, sporting his buttoned-up white chef uniform as he spoke at Tuesday’s foundation announcement. 

Hattie Mosely Austin founded her self-named chicken shack in Saratoga Springs in 1938. Alexander bought Hattie’s in 2001. Jasper and Beth Alexander will remain in charge of the restaurant. 

“Hattie was tremendously generous in the community. It was always a driving mission of hers and a driving mission of ours,” Alexander said.

“When I first met with Ed (Mitzen) I was so taken aback because he so bluntly said: I just want to do good. We all say that: ‘I want to do good,’ but here are two people who are, quite frankly, putting their money where their mouth is, and doing good,” said Beth Alexander. 

Year-round, Hattie’s employs about 45 workers, a number that grows to about 75 during the summer.    In addition to wage raises, employees will receive health benefits – “a game-changer and something very few restaurants are able to do,” Alexander said. 

“It’s a dream come true, and it’s quite frankly saving a historical restaurant. You know the restaurant business is a tough business and Hattie’s has been in Saratoga for 85 years. We just weren’t sure how much longer we were going to be able to do it,” she said. 

The foundation recently closed on a building in downtown Voorheesville that had been vacant and previously housed a Stewart’s Shop. In Voorheesville, which is where Ed Mitzen grew up, the community will be surveyed to learn what type of business it is interested in being sited there. That business will be built around the same initiative of donating all the profits to charity. 

Additional Business for Good Foundation projects include incorporating what Mitzen calls Accelerated Entrepreneurship. “What we want to do there is use our business backgrounds and skills to help aspiring entrepreneurs in underserved communities realize their dreams of starting their business,” he explained. “There are a lot of really smart, hungry and passionate folks but they don’t really have access to resources. So, what we want to do with the Foundation is provide them with capital, provide them with advice and guidance, provide them with marketing support, IT support, HR, office space and really get them going. We don’t own the businesses; we’re just really trying to help them to become entrepreneurs.” 

The first business undertaken in that mode was a brownstone located at 134 Central Ave. in Albany that formerly served as the law offices of prominent African American civil rights attorney Peter Pryor. The building had fallen into disrepair, and the project entailed renovating the building so it may function as an office space for the Wallace Turner Law firm. When completed in the coming months, the project will connect the past and the future by ensuring the continuation of its legacy. 

The goal is finding a path of enduring giving to help provide sustained support that leads to lasting change. As the foundation umbrella grows, Mitzen says: “We’re not looking for turn-arounds, it’s too hard. We want people who have been successful, who show a passion for what they do, who believe in our model.” 

Mitzen’s father worked for the Albany VA Hospital. His mom worked as a respiratory therapist and nurse at Saratoga Hospital and Albany Medical Center. Mitzen was asked what drives his passion of wanting to give back.   

“My father worked at the VA and passed away when I was 18. He was 41. I think the one thing that got instilled in me is: I’m on the clock, right? I’m 54,” he said.  “I want to do as much as I can before I leave this place.”

Click Here: Selfie & Family Photo Spots Near Saratoga

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The long-awaited resumption of public meetings at City Hall was itself interrupted five minutes after it began.

As Rev. Joseph Cleveland addressed the council during the public comment portion of the meeting July 6, city Mayor Meg Kelly issued a warning to some in the assembled audience.

“If you’re going to be ‘hmm-hmm’ and make remarks, we’re going to have you removed,” Mayor Kelly said. She subsequently demanded the room be cleared, declared “a recess,” and announced that the meeting was “adjourned.” The mayor, followed by some of the other members of the council, then left the room.    

Some minutes later, council members returned to their seats and the meeting resumed. 

Rev. Cleveland, minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Saratoga Springs, was one of a dozen public speakers, most of whom expressed concern and took issue with “divisive” remarks made by city Assistant Chief of Police John Catone during a press conference last week. Some of the speakers at the council meeting additionally requested a public apology be issued regarding some of the comments that were made. That press conference may be viewed in its entirety on the Saratoga Springs Police Department Facebook page dated June 28, at: facebook.com/sspdny. 

As to the meeting interruption and resumption, the City Charter states Open Meetings shall be
conducted in accordance with Open Meetings laws of NY State, and “the Open Meetings Law is silent on how a meeting ends,” according to the state Committee on Open Government. 

• Police Reform Task Force/ Civilian Review Board Advisory Committee

The Civilian Review Board, or CRB, was a key recommendation made by the city Police Reform Task Force, in response to the governor’s Executive Order, advisory committee member Jason Golub told the council Tuesday night. There are more than 200 CRB’s across the country, some of which are being evaluated by the committee, in order to present to the City Council a detailed plan on how to best implement a CRB in the local community.

“Our role is to provide the council with research that will allow you to confidently implement a CRB that makes sense; What I do not want for our city is a CRB in name only that ultimately does not meet the goals for which it was intended,” Golub said. “CRB’s can protect civilians and members of the police force… it is critical we get this right for our community, and this is where our focus will be.”   

The goal is to provide monthly updates to the council and a full report by October that will include the development of the scope of the CRB’s power, and the budget required for a two-year pilot program. 

“The totality of our research will be provided to the city council and the public. It will then be up to the city council to determine what to do (with) the findings,” he said. 

• Supervisor Tara Gaston, who represents the city at the county level, was appointed chair of the Saratoga County Health & Human Services Committee on Jan. 6. Six months later, Gaston reports she has been removed from that position of leadership, as well as from the committee itself altogether. 

Gaston’s announcement took the Saratoga Springs City Council by surprise; some council members publicly expressed they thought Gaston had done positive work in the position, particularly in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic.   

“I was told that I did not show proper respect to my colleagues. I will say that I made comments that may have not been appropriate at that particular moment. I recognized that and apologized for that at the same meeting. I did not make any comments or do anything that has not been done many times by other supervisors, and in that same meeting had another supervisor refuse to respond when I asked, as chair, to stop talking over me. So, I don’t believe I did anything wrong, but the (Board of Supervisors Chairman Todd Kusnierz) has the authority and ability to remove anyone, as they choose,” Gaston said. 

“In government, it’s not uncommon to make changes in leadership positions on a regular basis, and this is no different as we work to ensure we best meet the needs of Saratoga County residents,” Kusnierz said. “She has performed as chair of the committee well representing Saratoga County.”

“I’ve been engaged and active in that committee to help recover from what took place at the county earlier in the pandemic. There is still a lot of work to be done – both with COVID and the Public Health Department expansion – and I believe I am one of the few people on the Board that has the knowledge base and the experience to be able to this properly and efficiently,” Gaston said. “And to not even sit on the committee anymore…I think that’s a disproportionate response.”   

Supervisor Darren O’Conner, of Malta, is expected to be named chair of the Health & Human Services Committee at the next Board of Supervisors meeting later this month. 

• New Fire/EMS Station

Sean Foran, of Huber Breuer Construction in Syracuse, provided an update to the council of the city’s proposed new Fire/EMS station on Henning Road. The station – which will be the city’s third – will serve residents of the east side. 

The design process is anticipated to begin in August, leading to a bid and contract award process in 2022.  “A bid process in early 2022 would allow the project to proceed in April or May 2022, and would allow owner occupancy in the spring of 2023,” Foran told the council. 

The total product budget is approximately $6.7 million, and the building, with an entry road on Henning Road, will hold three double-deep, drive-through bays to house 6 full-size apparatus for the fire department, and will overall measure to about 16,000 square feet.