SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Bridges’ 18th Annual J. Michael Fitzgibbons Memorial Golf Classic, held on Aug. 9, was the most successful tournament the agency has hosted. 

The event, which raised raised over $46,000 net, featured a record number of golfers – 148 -who played at the Edison Club in Rexford. 

The day included a scramble format, BBQ lunch, boxed meals for dinner, complimentary beverages courtesy of Saratoga Eagle, DIAGEO/Ketel One Botanicals and Hixny, a quarter-zip pullover sponsored by Performance Industrial, a golf towel sponsored by Cole’s Collison, goodie bags from Amsure and Stewart’s Shops and a Golf Ball Air Cannon Launcher made possible by the LaChance State Farm agency.  Prizes were also awarded in multiple golf categories.

A portion of the proceeds benefit the J. Michael Fitzgibbons Memorial Scholarship Fund.

REXFORD — The Saratoga Bridges’ 18th Annual J. Michael Fitzgibbons Memorial Golf Classic was the most successful tournament the agency has hosted, raising over $46,000 net. 

Held on Aug. 9, a record number of golfers played at the Edison Club in Rexford, NY. The day included a scramble format, BBQ lunch, boxed meals for dinner, complimentary beverages courtesy of Saratoga Eagle, DIAGEO/Ketel One Botanicals, and Hixny, a quarter-zip pullover sponsored by Performance Industrial, a golf towel sponsored by Cole’s Collison, goodie bags from Amsure and Stewart’s Shops, and a Golf Ball Air Cannon Launcher made possible by the LaChance State Farm Agency. 

A portion of the proceeds benefit the J. Michael Fitzgibbons Memorial Scholarship Fund. Annually, one of their staff members is awarded an education scholarship in Michael’s memory. The scholarship was established to honor their long-time Board Member who passed away unexpectedly in 2005. This year, one of their Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants, Courtney Jones, was the recipient. Courtney expressed her gratitude at the event for the financial assistance as she applied funds towards the tuition at SUNY Empire for a Bachelors in Allied Health. She aspires to obtain a master’s degree in Occupational Therapy with hopes of continuing to provide support for people with disabilities. Courtney’s dedication to the people they support was recognized as the agency encourages their staff to seek academic opportunities whereby, they can elevate and enrich their own service delivery skills. 

2021 Golf Sponsors 

Presenting Sponsor: DIAGEO/Ketel One Botanicals

Lead Sponsor: Carol Fitzgibbons, Saratoga National Bank and Trust Company 

Tournament Sponsors: Cole’s Collison, Tarella Financial Group

Apparel Sponsor: Performance Industrial 

Luncheon Sponsors: Colonial Mechanical Contractors, Kevin Hoffman, Michael A. Balboni, Esq. 

Hole/Tee Sponsors: The Appraisal Company, Fox Pest Control, Snyder, Kiley, Toohey, Corbett and Cox, LLP

Additional Sponsors: Amsure, Hixny, M&M Digital Printing – A division of Seeley Office Systems, MVP Health Care, Saratoga Eagle, Stewart’s Shops

2021 Season Sponsors

Premier Sponsor: Constance & Thomas D’Ambra 

Presenting Sponsor: Performance Industrial

Lead Sponsors: Adirondack Trust Company, Alera Group/Relph Benefit Advisors

Featured Sponsors: Stewart’s Shops/Dake Family

Associate Sponsors: Champlain Wealth Management, Coca Cola Northeast, Walter S. Borisenok Family Foundation, Northwestern Mutual/Erik Whittle 

Friend Sponsors: County Waste & Recycling, D.A. Collins Companies, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, MVP Health Care, OneGroup 

Silent Auction Donors: Buffalo Bills, Carol Fitzgibbons, David Fitzgibbons, Glens Falls Country Club, National Baseball Hall of Fame, New York Giants, Roohan Realty, Saratoga Golf & Polo Club, Saratoga National Golf Course, The Edison Club, The Sagamore Resort, Tri-City ValleyCats, Warren Tire Service Centers

For more information on Saratoga Bridges fundraising events or to become a sponsor, please contact Kelly Armer at karmer@saratogabridges.org or 518-587-0723 ext. 1266. 

Prizes were awarded to: 

1st Place (with a score of 55, which is the lowest round by any foursome in an Edison Club tournament)
Greg Coonley, Kevin McGinn, Adam VanDervoort, Kyle Velkind

2nd Place
Mikey Erbe, Tyson Gadja, Sean Macari, Adam McGuire 

3rd Place
Mandy D’Andrea, Diane Jorgeson, Rick Matteson, Mark Sopronowicz

Most Honest
Mary Chamberlain, Linda Miller, Denise Potenza, Ellen Richtol

Men’s Closest to The Pin on Hole #5
Nick Zarrelli 

Women’s Closest to The Pin on Hole #11
Ella Kellogg 

Women’s Closest to The Pin on Hole #23
Karen Hyman-Gentner 

Men’s Straightest Drive on Hole #4
Roger Leonbruno 

Women’s Straightest Drive on Hole #4
Mary Chamberlain 

Men’s Straightest Drive on Hole #14
Peter Rokeach 

Women’s Straightest Drive on Hole #14
Diane Jorgensen 

Men’s Straightest Drive on Hole #22
Jason Ward 

Women’s Straightest Drive on Hole #22
Jane Mastaitis

Saratoga Springs — Join Gloria May on Sunday, August 29 for Summer Sunday Stroll Women of Greenridge. Learn about the prominent and influential women, as well as the ordinary, who are buried in Greenridge Cemetery and whose life stories tell the history of Saratoga Springs. This tour will last approximately 2 hours due to the distance covered. Sponsored by LaBrake Memorials, the tour meets at the Sackett Gates entrance of Greenridge Cemetery located on Lincoln Avenue. Limited tickets remain – purchase online at saratogapreservation.org.

 Next Sunday, September 5, is the final Summer Sunday Stroll of the season, Queen Annes: Circular Street & Union Avenue. Tour the area of the former Skidmore College campus around Union Avenue and Circular Street with stroll leader Debbie Studwell. Due to the popularity of the Summer Sunday Strolls, the Foundation will continue its walking tours through the end of October as part of their Autumn Stroll Series.

In addition to the Summer Sunday Strolls, the Foundation will be offering bike tours of the Saratoga Spa State Park on Sunday, September 26 and Saturday, October 9.  Bike tours last approximately three hours and space is limited to twenty. For additional information or to purchase tickets to any of these upcoming tours visit www.saratogapreservation.org, call (518) 587-5030, or email Nicole Babie, Membership & Programs Director, at nbabie@saratogapreservation.org.

Founded in 1977, the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that promotes the preservation and enhancement of the architectural, cultural, and landscaped heritage of Saratoga Springs.

BALLSTON SPA — The Saratoga County History Center has announced the creation of an annual award to be presented to an individual or organization in the greater Saratoga region who engages in outstanding work in teaching, writing, cataloging, or preserving history.

The Herculean task of preserving the past rests on the tireless shoulders of our many history practitioners. The Saratoga County Public History Award seeks to raise awareness of their efforts and provide much-needed positive reinforcement to their selfless work. 

The first annual Public History Award will be selected by a committee of esteemed professionals, including Ronald Schorpp, social studies department chair at Saratoga Springs High School; Lisa Kissinger, social studies academic administrator for Shenendehowa CSD; Heather Mazurowski, social studies department chair at Ballston Spa High School; Heidi Hill, Historic Site Manager at the Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site; Samantha Bosshart, Executive Director of the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation; and Isobel Connell, trustee of the Saratoga County History Center.  The committee will be chaired by Michael Landis, Ph.D., trustee of the Saratoga County History Center.

Send all nominations (with explanation and contact information) to:  mlandis@brooksidemuseum.org.  Nominations must be submitted by the end of September 2021.  The committee will make a final decision in November, and the award will be presented at a public event at Brookside Museum in December.

BALLSTON SPA — Saratoga County Office for the Aging announced a new, free program for Saratoga County residents, ages 55-and-over. 

“West Coast Swing, Mambo and More! Introduction to Social Dance from Lifetime Arts” is a six-week informative workshop that runs on Fridays from Sept. 10 – Oct. 15. Participants will learn Mambo, West Coast Swing, Waltz and Merengue. This course is held entirely online, via Zoom. 

Participants will build their skills week to week while exploring different styles of music and corresponding dance patterns. Dancers will also learn the nuances of partner dancing and styling, though partners are not necessary but always welcome. Materials needed for this course include a clear open space, preferably without a rug, and a high-backed chair nearby for balance. 

Classed run from 2:15 – 3:45 p.m. on the following dates: 

Friday, September 10
Friday, September 17
Friday, September 24
Friday, October 1 
Friday, October 8
Friday, October 15 

There is a limited number of class participants for this course. It is a first come, first serve basis. Pre-registration is required. Those interested must RSVP by September 7 to Lexi Rosamino via phone; 518-363-4033 or email; arosamino@saratogacountyny.gov.

ALBANY — At midnight on Aug. 24, Kathy Hochul was sworn in as the 57th Governor of the State of New York and immediately announced her priorities. 

“Right now, that means fighting the Delta variant. None of us want to see a rerun of last year’s horrors with COVID-19; therefore, we will take proactive steps to prevent that from happening,” said Hochul, who is New York’s first female governor.

She listed Three “Day One initiatives” on COVID.

Priority Number 1: We get children back to school and protect the environment so they can learn, and everyone is safe. As a result, we need to require vaccinations for all school personnel with an option to test out weekly—at least for now. To accomplish this in New York, we need partnerships with all levels of government, and I am working now on getting this done. 

New York is launching a Back to School COVID-19 testing program to make testing for students and staff widely available and convenient. I am also immediately directing the Department of Health to institute universal masking for anyone entering our schools.

Later this week I will announce a series of school-related policies that will be concise and consistent, giving the school districts what they have been asking for. 

Priority Number 2:  Increase vaccination rates for New Yorkers. Much progress has been made, but too many are not yet vaccinated putting themselves and their communities at risk. With the FDA’s full approval of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday, New Yorkers can expect new vaccine requirements. More on that soon. 

Priority Number 3: Prepare for Booster shots and make sure they are available and are distributed quickly and reliably. When I consulted with Dr. Fauci last week, we discussed the urgent need to ensure vaccinated individuals receive a booster dose at 8 months.  I am prepared to do whatever is necessary, including reopening mass vax sites so that a booster is available to all New Yorkers who meet that timetable.

Hochul expanded on the topic of COVID while making the rounds of talk shows this week. She spoke about the launch of the $580 million back-to-school covid testing initiative that provides every student, teacher and administrator easy access to testing before school starts.

“Mandatory masks, which is something that is not universally popular, but I think it’s an important step toward getting safety in schools,” she told CBS This Morning. 

According to the CDC, nearly two-thirds (66.3%) of New Yorker statewide have received at least one dose of vaccine, and just under 60% are fully vaccinated.  Those numbers are just over 71%, and just over 67%, respectively, among Saratoga County residents. 

“What I don’t have is the ability to mandate vaccines because the legislature did not confer on the Governor at this time the executive powers necessary,” Hochul said. 

Speaking in Saratoga Springs at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center four weeks ago, there seemingly was more optimism about the pandemic being in the rear view mirror. 

“What happened after the last Pandemic in 1918? The ‘Roaring 20’s.’ It was an amazing time in our country,” Hochul said during press conference at SPAC. “I’m declaring today is the beginning of the Roaring 20’s once again.” 

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The latest wave of positive infections in Saratoga County began to steadily rise in early July. The week ending July 6 showed 7 positive cases for that entire week. The successive weeks, according to information provided by Saratoga County Public Health Services:

July 6 to 11 – 16 positive cases. 
July 12 to 18 – 54 positive cases. 
July 19 to 25 – 109 positive cases. 
July 20 to 28- 167 positive cases. 

The most recent week, ending Aug. 24, counts 373 positive COVID cases among Saratoga County residents over the past seven days. The statistics detail only Saratoga County residents and not visitors to Saratoga who may have potentially tested positive for COVID. Those cases are counted in the visitors’ own county of residence, and those statistics have not been publicly shared by Saratoga County Public Health Services.   

This week, the newly minted governor said she was concerned that the state is currently seeing 3,000 to 4,000 positive COVID cases each day, where it was seeing 300 to 400 daily positives in June. 

“As we see this resurgence, I’m going to be doing more to empower local government officials who spend all their days training for this, the local health departments, the emergency management individuals who know how to get vaccines out,” Hochul said. 

Hochul also promised one of the hallmarks of her administration will be “a new era of transparency,” explaining she will direct state entities to review their compliance with state transparency laws and provide a public report on their findings, require her counsel to come up with an expedited process to fulfill all FOIL requests as fast as possible—and post completed requests publicly online, and sign an Executive Order requiring ethics training for every employee of state government.

Hochul expressed gratitude for the courage shown her by her family – her husband Bill and children Will and Katie for encouraging her to pursue a passion for public service; her father, “making steel by day, getting an education at night, and leaving it all to join a tech start up in the early days of computers.” Of her mother, Hochul said, “despite growing up in an abusive home and losing her own mother at a young age (she) raised six children in Buffalo, all the while engaging in social and racial justice movements. Together, we founded a home for survivors of domestic violence when she was 70 years old—she taught me empathy.” 

GREENFIELD – A 33-year-old man suspected of attempting to steal one car before successfully stealing a second and then a third, led police on an early morning chase through Greenfield, where he crashed into a tree and required extrication from the vehicle before being airlifted to Albany Medical Center. The incident also included a Trooper discharging their firearm.

According to the county Sheriff’s Department, the sheriff’s office and State Police responded to a burglary call on Allen Road in Greenfield at 6:19 a.m. The caller told authorities that someone whom he did not know broke into his residence, assaulted him with a weapon and attempted to steal his vehicle.

Unsuccessful in his attempt to take the first vehicle, the suspect moved on to a neighboring residence from where stole a vehicle and fled. With Sheriff’s patrols in pursuit, the driver subsequently stole a second vehicle on Locust Grove Road by blocking its path of travel and taking the vehicle from its operator at knifepoint, according to police.

After disregarding the command of a state Police Trooper who had exited his patrol car, the suspect attempted to continue northbound on Locust Grove Road, allegedly “driving at the Trooper.” The Trooper discharged their firearm, but did not hit the suspect, according to authorities. The suspect fled north on Locust Grove Road and crashed into a tree near Greene Road. Following an extended extrication process, he was airlifted to Albany Medical Center.

Police identified the suspect as 33-year-old Jeffrey A. Field of Round Top, N.Y. – a hamlet in Greene County about 9 miles northwest of Catskill. 

Click Here: Wilton Hazardous Waste Collection Day

BALLSTON SPA ­— Members from the Union Fire Company #2 have presented a $500 donation to the 4-H Lead the Legacy Capital Campaign. The generous contribution will go towards the construction of a new multi-functional facility at the Saratoga County 4-H training Center on Middleline Road, Ballston Spa. The expansion will include multimedia classrooms and fully ADA/family accessible restrooms with showers. The new 3,600 square foot classroom will be home for the growing 4-H Program, but will be open to community groups, service organizations, and others wanting to share in the beautiful 44-acre compound. 

The Lead the Legacy Campaign is ongoing, and 4-H needs your help! The fundraising is well underway through kind donations from Stewarts/Dake Family, Curtis Lumber, and many others, but there is still much work to be done. To learn more, go to ccesaratoga.org/4-h/lead-the-legacy. To make a donation, there is a direct PayPal link on the website or through the “Go Fund Me” link at www.gofund.me/440b11f2.

BALLSTON SPA — The Saratoga County History Center has announced the creation of an annual award to be presented to an individual (or organization) in the greater Saratoga region who engages in outstanding work in teaching, writing, cataloging, or preserving history.

There are many individuals and associations in the greater Capital District who devote endless hours and dollars to the preservation or dissemination of local, regional, and national histories. The Saratoga County Public History Award seeks to raise awareness of their efforts and provide positive reinforcement to their selfless work. The Herculean task of preserving the past rests on the tireless shoulders of our many history practitioners, and it is high time we celebrate their achievements.

The first annual Public History Award will be selected by a committee of esteemed professionals, including Ronald Schorpp, social studies department chair at Saratoga Springs High School, Lisa Kissinger, social studies academic administrator for Shenendehowa CSD, Heather Mazurowski, social studies department chair at Ballston Spa High School, Heidi Hill, Historic Site Manager at the Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site, Samantha Bosshart, Executive Director of the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation, and Isobel Connell, trustee of the Saratoga County History Center.  The committee will be chaired by Michael Landis, Ph.D., trustee of the Saratoga County History Center.

Committee members are accepting nominations from the public. Send all nominations (with explanation and contact information) to mlandis@brooksidemuseum.org.  Nominations must be submitted by the end of September 2021.  The committee will make a final decision in November, and the award will be presented at a public event at Brookside Museum in December.

The Saratoga County History Center is dedicated to preserving and sharing the diverse histories of Saratoga County.  In addition to Brookside Museum, the History Center offers a wide variety of educational programming online, including the popular “Experts Next Door” virtual speaker series.  Visit the website at www.brooksidemuseum.org.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The City Council on Aug. 17 targeted, ranked in matter of importance, and identified funding for more than two dozen projects it hopes to take on in the next six years. 

The Capital Budget Program, which is proposed annually and revised as circumstances change, addresses a variety of long-term city capital needs as identified by the council.     

The 2022-2027 plan proposed this week ranks 26 projects over the six-year plan – excluding water and sewer – at a cost of approximately $17.8 million. Nearly $13.2 million of that is requested in 2022.   

The costliest project as well as the one ranked with the highest priority is a third city Fire/EMS facility, which is slated to be built on Henning Road and better serve residents of the city’s east side.  The two current Fire facilities are located on the west side and downtown near Broadway, respectively. The development of a third fire house has been a goal for several city councils over many years. The 2022 request of the project is $6.7 million. 

While the majority of funds requested overall targets in 2022, some projects requested funding proposals carry across multiple years. Canfield Casino restoration (about $2.3 million over six years), Storm Water improvements ($750,000), Electronic Records Management ($375,000) and Recreation Facility – PA system (approximately $300,000) – each over three years, among them.    

A presentation will take place at City Hall during the City Council meeting on Sept. 7.