Displaying items by tag: saratoga

SARATOGA SPRINGS – This weekend’s concert by The Orchestra of St. Luke’s will mark the second of six concerts brought to Saratoga Springs this year born of a newly forged partnership between Caffè Lena and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. 

The collaboration between the two venues, each which has staged more than a half-century of performances, will encompass jointly curated and presented programs at both venues, with the location varying by season.

The Orchestra of St. Lukes, one of Americas foremost chamber orchestras, will make a first-ever appearance in the Capital Region on April 25 in an exclusive performance at Lena’s café.

“I was in New York in January talking with some friends over coffee when they mentioned they had this program of baroque chamber music they were doing,” recalled SPAC President and CEO Elizabeth Sobol.  “It was written by Bach to be performed at Café Zimmerman - a coffeehouse in Leipzig where all the artists and intellectuals would gather at the time Bach was living there. When I heard it was at a coffeehouse, I thought: Oh my God, that has got to come to Caffè Lena. It’s a perfect collaboration between SPAC and Caffè Lena.” 

And while this weekend’s show is sold out, tickets are still available for the third spring program, which will be staged at Caffè Lena May 4 and features Louisville, Kentucky-based folk band Harpeth Rising.  Tickets are available at: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2910973.

In June, the series shifts to SPAC, where three free Sunday afternoon concerts, one each in June, July, and August will be staged at the new gazebo.

“Very soon we’ll be announcing the summer component to the partnership which will include a monthly Caffè Lena Day at SPAC,” Sobol explained.  “It’ll be the whole afternoon, from 12 to 5, and families will be able to come and hang and make music a real part of the afternoon in the park.”  The three summer concerts are being curated by the café’s executive director, Sarah Craig.

“When we sat down and started talking about artists, every band Sarah mentioned to me I flipped over. Everything she mentioned I love,” Sobol said.

“I looked for artists that have a huge energy and a rich intensity that can hold up well in an outdoor environment,” said Craig, adding that the schedule of musicians, when solidified, could number as many as three performers on each of the three days. And while the teaming-up of the two Saratoga Springs powerhouses marks the first official collaboration between the venues, there is a long list of artists – from Bob Dylan to Melanie to Don McLean – who have performed at both, as well as a synergy historically fostered by Lena Spencer, who invited musicians appearing on the SPAC stage to come and perform after-hour concerts at her Phila Street café.

With six months under her belt as the new leader at SPAC, Sobol said one goal is creating new ventures while maintaining the venue’s time-honored traditions. 

“I was being very conservative until I got the lay of the land. I haven’t touched the big resident companies because they’re so important to the DNA of SPAC, but we’ve been making some enhancements – like this Caffè Lena partnership, and within the next couple of weeks we’re going to be announcing all sorts of partnerships with some of our other cultural family members,” Sobol said. “There are so many organizations here, my feeling is the more we all work together the more we raise Saratoga up.“ 

SARATOGA SPRINGS – By the time the early 1970s rolled around, any promise perceived of a train bound for glory on a fast track to the Aquarian Age had instead become supplanted by a cranky subway car departing a graffiti-stained station with a congregation of misfits aboard.

It is these characters of humanity – Rake the hustler, Fick the junkie, Al the alcoholic, and Franny the transvestite prostitute – put on display, in all their grit and glory in the staging of Skidmore Theater’s presentation of “Balm In Gilead.” The play, scripted by Lanford Wilson, premiered Off Off Broadway at La MaMa in 1965 and a generation later re-set to take place in the early 1970s.

The geography is uptown Manhattan, the setting an all-night diner where characters drift in and out against a backdrop of booths and swiveling stools that lean on a cheesy, diamond-motif counter topped by metal napkin holders, red and yellow plastic-spout squeeze bottles, and a big, clunky cash register.

Under the direction of Phil Soltanoff -  a veteran of recent projects staged in Austin, Vancouver, Los Angeles and New York City - the two dozen or so Skidmore College players convincingly convey a scenario with a talented realism that certainly pre-dates the time before their own existence on earth if not their parents, in providing a voyeuristic experience of a collection of characters whose lives are simultaneously humorous and tragic.

Sydney Tennant portrays the doe-eyed Darlene - a naïve, newly transplanted New Yorker - with credible splendor, marathon monologuing deep into the night, expressing every single thought that pours from her mind with a blend of child-like innocence and annoying animation. She engages even the most hardened characters seated in the 24-hour diner in a shared humanity, if only for a fleeting moment. When she concludes her soliloquy by saying “Anyway, to make a long story short…” it cracks everyone up, characters and audience alike.  

In John - the grungy, apron-draped cafe manager portrayed by Jacob Hudson who alternates his time between cooking in the kitchen and showing non-paying customers the door - and Kay, the yellow- garbed waitress played by Anabel Milton who runs around taking coffee orders and wiping down tables – the play depicts a solid foundation of the drab, bleak realities of the working class. It stands in high contrast to the commotion of platinum blonde wigs and wounded blue jeans, hot pants, leather thigh-high boots and fishnet stockings, silver sequined miniskirts and post-hippie fringe in a sleaze-and-glam cacophony that lives somewhere between a New York Dolls concert and a Starsky & Hutch TV show. 

Lulu Fairclough-Stewart especially shines as the oh-so-bored, scarlet-haired Ann, providing a perfect foil to Darlene’s ramblings, nursing a cigarette and firmly encased in her hard shell of emotional body armor, before heading back into the street, past a shuttered bodega and an alleyway framed by trash, to make her living. Chris Naughton is convincing as well in a lead role as the mustached drug dealer Joe, for whom the naïve Darlene falls.  

The ensemble as a whole weaves its work like a large orchestra, a series of direct and non-direct actions conveying the mayhem with an authenticity; These student actors bring the scenes to life.

 An appropriate soundtrack blares out the diner jukebox throughout: Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life,” Bruce Springsteen’s “Meeting Across the River,” “Thunder Road,” and “Jungleland,” and “Waltzing Matilda” sung by Tom Waits, that fittingly sprinkles the optimistic hope of escape onto on-the-nod moments of despair. 

After the final curtain call, the characters return for one more go-around the diner, reminiscent of the dusky cycling at the conclusion of the Rolling Stones documentary “Gimme Shelter,” and which leaves the open question: are we moving on to a grander time in this life, or being forced to return to our destiny, time and again?

Skidmore Theater Presents “Balm In Gilead,” by Lanford Wilson. Director: Phil Soltanoff.

Performances at 8 p.m. Friday, April 21 and Saturday, April 22, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 23.   Skidmore College: Janet Kinghorn Bernhard Mainstage. Tickets are $12 adult, $8 students and faculty. After the April 22 performance of Balm in Gilead, the Skidmore Theater Department will host its annual house party. “That 70’s House Party,” is a celebratory event to recognize the department’s achievements this year.

SARATOGA SPRINGS – The twins are 13 now, the effort to fulfill their special needs a continuing work-in-progress.  

“I have to say my boys have some difficult challenges, but they’re hard workers and every day they make progress, every day they learn,” explains the boys’ mother, Kristin Howarth. “It’s not a sprint, but a marathon. You just keep pushing and keep teaching and keep helping them make those milestones.”

A little over a decade ago, Howarth and her husband relocated to upstate New York. The twins were about 18 months old when The Howarths noticed the boys seemed delayed in meeting some of their developmental milestones.

“We started a music program with the boys when they were just over a year. We looked around at the group and saw what the other kids were doing and what my kids weren’t,” Howarth recalled. “At around a year old there’s a certain number of words that a typically-developing child will say, that our guys were not saying. It made me ask some questions. It was a significant factor that made us speak out and have discussions with our pediatrician,” Howarth says.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children be screened for general development using standardized, validated tools at 9, 18, and 24 or 30 months and for autism at 18 and 24 months, or whenever a parent or provider has a concern.  

By their first birthday, a child will typically say “mama” and “dada” and voice exclamations like “uh-oh!” as well as trying to repeat words they hear from their parents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC’s milestones checklist may downloaded here: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/pdf/checklists/all_checklists.pdf.

An early intervention therapist was sent to work with the family, visiting the home four days a week over the next six months, after which Gavin and Noah were diagnosed with autism, also called autism spectrum disorder (ASD). 

“When you do hear it, it’s a blow and all of these things you picture as a parent come crashing down: Will my children ever play sports? Will they have friends and go to the prom? Will they drive? will they get married?” she wondered. “There’s no welcoming committee when your child is diagnosed with autism. No one comes and knocks on your door to say: Here are some things that you can do; Here’s a go-to guide. You basically leave the doctor’s office after that diagnosis and you think: What do I do now?”

The CDC estimates that 1 in 68 children, in multiple communities in the United States, has been identified with autism spectrum disorder, or ASD - roughly 30 percent higher than estimates previously reported in 2012. The data also show that ASD is almost five times more common among boys than girls.

Howarth searched the Internet, but answers were hard to come by a decade ago. “They were diagnosed at just over two years of age and it quickly became pretty obvious to us that there weren’t a lot of resources in our area, short of traveling down to Albany,” she says. “It was a challenge because we live up in Queensbury. We figured, why can’t we create it? So, we did.”

Gavin and Noah were the driving force behind the creation of Upstate NY Autism Alliance (UNYAA). The organization provides resources, education, recreation and advocacy services. Howarth provides advocacy, program development, consulting and education through the group. 

“It was a very emotional time and that was also one of the factors in starting the group. We wanted to give children as many opportunities as we could, just like their typically developing peers, because they’re kids first. Autism is secondary.”  

Howarth’s group is comprised of volunteers who help connect parents with children diagnosed with autism, with resources.   “We also provide activities every month so parents can get together with their children and talk to other families and meet other people in their school district - families involved in the group, somebody they can feel comfortable talking with,” says Howarth, who adds that she has also accessed valuable services from Saratoga Bridges. “They have some wonderful things that provide services for families such as ours.”

UNYAA and Saratoga Bridges are teaming up to co-host this weekend’s Autism Expo at the Saratoga Springs City Center. The family event will feature more than 85 vendors and exhibitors, a variety of activities and games, arts and crafts, and sensory toys for kids.  More than 1,000 people are expected to attend Sunday’s expo.

“It’s an amazing event under one roof. We have all these resources for families who can talk to different vendors, providers, and people who offer different services for kids in the spectrum,” Howarth says.

ASD is a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. There is often nothing about how people with ASD look that sets them apart from other people, but people with ASD may communicate, interact, behave, and learn in ways that are different from most other people. The learning, thinking, and problem-solving abilities of people with ASD can range from gifted to severely challenged. Some people with ASD need a lot of help in their daily lives; others need less.

“They have to be taught in a different way and broken down into simple steps. People don’t really understand what autism is, but really, it’s just that their brains are wired differently. They don’t learn the way we do, or they may not interpret things the way we do,” Howarth says.

All of the causes of ASD are not known. There may be many different factors that make a child more likely to have an ASD, including environmental and genetic factors.

“They look typical, but they don’t process information – both incoming and outgoing – so it can be a challenge for them to just pick up those social cues like another child might.”

The sixth annual Autism Expo will be held noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 23 at the Saratoga Springs City Center. The event is free and features exhibitors from camps, school programs pre-k through college, technological apps for autism, recreation and therapeutic programs, a bounce house and arts and crafts.

Upstate NY Autism Alliance (UNYAA) is a not-for-profit alliance formed by dedicated parents of children experiencing the affects of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). For more information, go to: http://www.upstatenyautism.org/. Saratoga Bridges has provided programs to people with disabilities and their families for more than 60 years. For more information, go to: http://www.saratogabridges.org/. 

 

SARATOGA SPRINGS – They first began to appear on the front of buildings in the city a year or two ago. More recently, structures in areas of high visibility – South Broadway, Henry Street, and Van Dam Street, among them – have been adorned with a square placard marked with a red-letter “X.”

The signs, which grace the faces of approximately 40 buildings in the city, are used by fire and emergency service crews as a “do not enter” alert and indicate the building is structurally unsound or hazardous to safety in some way, explains Saratoga Springs Fire Department Lt. Aaron Dyer.

Building inspections are conducted annually and the placards are periodically added removed as is determined structurally.

Mostly, the red-letter X placard represents an abandoned or vacant structure; if by chance someone is inside during a fire – such as a homeowner conducting repairs or someone trespassing on the property - a decision is made by a member of the command staff about whether to enter the facility, Dyer said. Otherwise, the blaze is battled from the outside the building and any neighboring structures are protected from exposure to flames. 

 

Who: Roy McDonald.

Where: Saratoga Springs Public Library.

Q. What are you doing today?

A. I’m with my granddaughter, Jane, at the library. She comes over every Wednesday for a wonderful reading program they have for little kids. My three daughters all used to go to the program when it was at the old Saratoga Springs Public Library.

Q. What occupies your time these days?

I have a wonderful wife, and children and grandchildren and now I’m able to spend a little more time with them.  I’m very blessed. I’m also on a variety of boards: New York State Military Museum Board of Directors, the Saratoga Bridges Board of Directors, Wildwood School System Advisory Board, the CAPTAIN’S Advisory Board. I’m very active in disabilities at the statewide level. I have two autistic grandsons who are the focal point of my life, and I’m going to have my sixth grandchild in May. 

Q. You spent a lot of time in public service as State Senator, as Assemblyman, and as longtime Supervisor for the town of Wilton.  To what extent do you still follow politics, locally and nationally?

A. I have nothing but positive things to say about the local situation. Nationally, I think people need to be a little more focused to get something accomplished, rather than being negative. 

Q. Is there something you’re most proud of during your years of public service?    

A. I’m very honored I had a long career and that I was able to do a lot of things in the town of Wilton, Saratoga County, in the Assembly and the Senate. I also had a business career. I’m very gratified. I love them all.  It’s like having children, they’re all equal. I specifically look at the town Wilton when I was Supervisor for 23 years. People say: you did a lot of stuff. But, nobody gets everything done by themselves. There’s good people in a lot of these places. We accomplished a lot and today the town of Wilton is the envy of just about every town in the state of New York.     

Q. What’s the most recent movie you have seen?

A. I went to see Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman (“Going in Style”) a couple days ago with my wife. We go to a lot of movies. We go to the one in the mall, and we go to the new one in Saratoga Springs as well.

Q. What brush have you had with fame?

A. I met President George Bush (43) and I met President Obama. The irony is most of the conversation was about baseball. President Bush was a Texas Ranger fan and President Obama was a Chicago White Sox fan and when they asked me who I liked, I said: the New York Yankees. OK? And they just smiled. And everybody knows I’m a Buffalo Bills fan.

Q. Have you gotten over Scott Norwood’s famous “wide right” kick that resulted in the Buffalo Bills losing to the N.Y. Giants in Super Bowl XXV ?

A.  I had the honor of meeting (former Bills’ quarterback) Jim Kelly some years ago and we talked about that. He told me it was one of the worst moments of his life. But he liked Scott Norwood. And you know “Tuna”? (Former Giants’ coach) Bill Parcells lives in the Saratoga area and I met him one morning at a Stewart’s. I was wearing a Yankee hat and he came up to me, said he was a Yankee fan and asked me, “Do you root for the Giants?” I said, no, actually I root for the Buffalo Bills. And he asked, “Do you forgive me?” And I said, “no,” ha. But, he’s a very good man.    

Q. How has Saratoga Springs changed over the decades?

A.  Saratoga Springs is the best city in upstate New York. I think it’s one of the best cities in the country if you look at proportional size. I think it’s a safe city, the people are very family-oriented - and that’s the key. You protect the people, the taxes are reasonable, and the suburbs: Wilton, Malta, Clifton Park, Halfmoon; I’ve watched school systems like Schuylerville and South Glens Falls, and Ballston Spa become tremendous school systems. I’ve seen it with Saratoga Springs when my children went to school, and Shenendehowa, and now the smaller schools are getting the benefit of this. So, we’ve been blessed. And most importantly, we’ve been blessed with good people. People who move here, or are from here and stay here. It’s beautiful.    

COURTS

Tasha M. Tatsey, 33, of South Glens Falls, was sentenced on April 5 to 1-1/2 to 3 years in state prison after pleading to attempted criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second-degree, a felony. 

Britney L. Crannell, 22, of South Glens Falls, pleaded on April 5 to attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fifth-degree, a felony. Sentencing scheduled for May 31. 

Bruce J. McDonald, 53, of Ballston Spa, pleaded on April 3 to felony DWI, in connection with an incident that took place in Saratoga Springs. Sentencing scheduled for May 31. 

John Charles Cook, 58, of Colonie, pleaded on April 3 to felony grand larceny, in connection with an incident that took place in Saratoga Springs in 2013. Sentenced to time served. 

Michael J. Carpino, 40, of Portland, Connecticut, was sentenced on April 3 to five years of probation after pleading to felony DWI in connection with an incident that took place in Saratoga Springs.

Adam J. Ross, 35, of Greenfield Center, was sentenced on April 3 to one year in jail, after pleading to felony DWI in connection with an incident that took place in Saratoga Springs. 

POLICE

Patrick K. Weatherwax, 23, Matthew W. Weatherwax, 23, both of Saratoga Springs, and Joseph Weatherwax, 26, of Earlton, were each charged with one felony count of grand larceny, and two felony counts of burglary. According to the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department, the three brothers - along with a fourth subject yet to be charged- allegedly stole copper from a Greenfield Avenue building in the town of Milton and on multiple occasions, with a value of $2,200, sold it in Albany. All three were arraigned and sent to the Saratoga County Jail due to lack of bail.  

Nikolay Avakyan, age 22, Saratoga Springs, was charged on March 26 with criminal mischief in the third-degree, a felony.  

Zachary F. Mooney, age 23, Glens Falls, was charged on March 26 with Misdemeanor DWI, and speeding. 

Karina G. Gomez, age 24, Clifton Park, was charged on March 25 with Misdemeanor DWI, failing to stop at a stop sign, improper lane use, and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. 

Evan C. Denisoff, age 24, Gansevoort, was charged on March 25 with failure to signal a turn , Misdemeanor DWI , and refusing a pre-screen test.  

Michael D. Stark, age 26, Westerlo, was charged on March 25 with failure to stop at stop sign, and Misdemeanor DWI.   

Blake E. Labarge, age 24, Saratoga Springs, was charged on March 25 with felony DWI as a second offense, two Misdemeanor counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, failure to signal a turn, passing a red traffic signal light, making an unsafe lane change, and failure to stop at stop sign. 

Taylir R. Funk, age 23, Fort Edward, was charged on March 25 with criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony.  

Michael C. Deyette, age 22, Saratoga Springs, was charged on March 25 with criminal possession of a controlled substance, a Misdemeanor, and unlawful possession of marijuana.  

Michael B. Sage, age 44, Saratoga Springs, was charged on March 25 with RESISTING ARREST, a Misdemeanor, and disorderly conduct. 

Thomas C. Ohlmann, age 42, Loudonville, was charged on March 24 with speeding, and Misdemeanor DWI.

Philippe J.M. Bevan, age 52, Ballston Spa, was charged on March 25 with having no certificate of registration, making an unsafe lane change, failure to keep right, and Misdemeanor DWI.   

Morgan R. Johnson, age 20, Saratoga Springs, was charged on March 25 with criminal possession of a controlled substance, a Misdemeanor. 

David J. Adler, age 22, Saratoga Springs, was charged on March 23 with Misdemeanor DWI and two vehicle equipment violations. 

Sean R. Colfer, age 38, Malta, was charged was charged on March 23 with Misdemeanor DWI. 

Shawn M. Johnson, age 34, Saratoga Springs, was charged was charged on March 23 with Misdemeanor petit larceny, and felony criminal mischief.

Dylan M. Capone, age 18, Saratoga Springs, was charged was charged on March 23 with Misdemeanor petit larceny.

Shawn M. Johnson, age 34, Saratoga Springs, was charged on March 22 with criminal trespass Misdemeanor.

Kaitlynn P. Gill, age 34, Saratoga Springs, was charged on March 22 with Misdemeanor DWI, failure to stop at stop sign, refusing a pre-screen test, and failure to signal a turn.

Beth B. Kiingati, age 35, Round Lake, was charged on March 22 with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, and speeding.

Wen Fu Lu, age 45, Saratoga Springs, was charged on March 22 with harassment in the second-degree.

George E. Dalton, age 22, Ballston Lake, was charged on March 22 with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, failure to stop at a stop sign, and unlawful possession of marijuana.  

Brendan J. Whiteside, age 23, Saratoga Springs, was charged on March 22 with criminal contempt in the second-degree, a Misdemeanor.  

Tallie A. Christopher, age 17, Saratoga Springs, was charged on March 21 with criminal mischief in the fourth-degree, a Misdemeanor.

Patricia C. Mares, age 23, Gansevoort, was charged on March 21 with criminal possession of a controlled substance, a Misdemeanor, unlawful possession of marijuana, and a vehicle equipment violation. 

Yvette M. Houston, age 32, Rotterdam, was charged on March 21 with Misdemeanor petit larceny.

David V. Yukhimchuk, age 22, Clearwater, Florida was charged on March 21 with felony grand larceny.

Theresa M. Furey, age 21, South Glens Falls, was charged on March 21 with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, and a vehicle equipment violation.

Jessica L Mallia-Cirabisi, age 30, Saratoga Springs, was charged on March 20 with three Misdemeanor counts of petit larceny.  

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Galloping up and down the emptied corn filed behind Pitney Meadows Community Farm, “Claude’s Alley Cat” begins its preparation for the 2017 racing scene in earnest with some gentle exercises.  Before long, the two-year-old stallion will move onto the Oklahoma Training Track, across the street from the Saratoga Race Course, to begin more intense training. 

For trainer Melvin Winney, Claude’s Alley Cat, named in memory of his late father, looks to make his return to the horse racing business a successful one.  Running his first winning horse back in 1996 with “David Parson,” Winney went on to run eight winning horses during his career, including “Back Door Deal” and “Ms. Will a Way.”  Now, after five years away from the business, he sees the potential for victory in his latest horse.

“He’s been doing everything right from day one,” Winney said.  “He broke easily, quietly.”

Winney’s new horse was sired by celebrated stallion “Desert Party,” which currently resides at the Irish Hill Century Farm in Stillwater and was previously owned by Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum of Dubai. 

“Most two-year-olds will go out with other two-year-olds to keep each other company,” Winney said about his new horse.  “This guy, he doesn’t need any company, he’s very attentive, he’s focused.  He’s like an older horse for a baby.  He’s just a baby.” 

 

All photos by Photoandgraphic.com.

BALLSTON SPA – It was the warmest and sunniest day of spring so far on April 10 when the Ballston Spa High School baseball team took to the diamond for the first time.  Heading out onto solid turf that had recovered from recent bouts of rain, the team warmed up for the first game of their spring season against Albany High School as a playlist of high-energy hip-hop filled the air.  Varsity head coach Curtis Nobles stood to the side near the dugout, monitoring his players and directing them to help improve their play-styles. 

“[We’re] very confident,” Nobles said about his faith in the team heading into the season. “Everyone’s chasing the same thing, getting sectionals, and trying to make a run at a sectional title.”

This goal to grab a sectional title got off to a solid start, as the Scotties bested the Albany High Falcons with a strong 11-5.  Standout players from the game, according to Nobles, were sophomore Luke Gold, who put up two hits and two RBI’s, and senior Aaron Hinman, who scored two RBI doubles.

Practice began for the spring season on March 7, but it was mostly indoors on account of the damp and frigid weather that only let up recently. 

“They’ve been productive,” Nobles said about the Scotties’ spring preparations.  “Lately they’ve had to be short and sweet because we’ve been inside so much.  So, just to kind of keep things efficient but not over-dragged we made sure that we come in and gets quality reps rather than quantity.”

Nobles expressed particular excitement for senior Grady Gawrys, citing impressive relief appearances last season and the hard work that he has been putting into practice for this season.

“He looks like he’s prepared and ready and willing to do whatever it takes to have a winning season,” Nobles said about Gawrys.

Jared Winkle, a team captain, was also singled out as a strong, quiet leader for the team, one that leads by example on and off the field

The Scotties are coming into spring off of one of their strongest runs ever.  Last season, they became Ballston Spa’s first ever state-ranked baseball team, being ranked 11^th in the state, and put up a 15-5 win-loss record.

“The best [season] in school history from what I hear,” Nobles said.

All photos by Photoandgraphic.com.

SARATOGA SPRINGS – What began with six kindergarteners in the basement of the Trinity Methodist Church in Gansevoort has now, 25 years and change later, grown to include 132 K-6 students in its own building, tucked away amongst the trees on 60-acres of land.

The Saratoga Independent School (SIS) has been celebrating 25 years of operation since the beginning of the current school year back in Sept. 2016.  From humble beginnings, the school has grown in both scope and vision, with its enrollment numbers swelling by well over 100, and the amount of classes and programs on offer growing at the same pace.  Looking to the immediate future, the growth seems likely to continue.

Back in Sept. 1991, the parents of six local preschool students on their way to kindergarten found that there were not any schools in the area that would offer their children the same style of education that they had gotten in preschool.  Specifically, they wanted a school that would not group them with other children strictly by date of birth, and that would teach them thematically, weaving different subjects around a common idea to give them a better sense of how their lessons reflected the world around them.

“So, these five parents did everything from getting the charter from State Ed,” Felice Karlitz, Director of School, said.  “Finding a place, and [they] started the school in the basement of the Methodist church in Gansevoort with their own five kids.”

From the start, the growth of enrollment at SIS was strong.  In three years, the school had outgrown the basement and moved to the warehouse area behind a Shoe Depot on Division St. in Saratoga Springs.  In 2003, after “exponential” enrollment and staffing increases, the school raised $850,000 in land, gifts, and pledges to begin the construction of their current location, the Anderson Campus, named in honor of Gail Anderson and her late husband, Willard. 

[CORRECTION: In the print version of this article, it was incorrectly stated that Gail Anderson was deceased.  This is incorrect, and the online version has been corrected to reflect this information.]

In 2010, the school added an east wing, adding space for new computer and science labs, as well as a dedicated art room. A year later, in 2011, SIS achieved one its biggest milestones by earning accreditation from the New York State Association of Independent Schools, which involved “a two year introspective self study, a four day visit by a review committee, and a full NYSAIS review of the findings by the committee and the school.”

Currently, construction is underway on the second floor of the school’s east wing, which the school intends to use to add grade 7-8 middle school level programs to their offerings.  They estimate that this new middle school will be up and running in 2019.

All photos by Photoandgraphic.com.

 

COURTS

Riley P. Belkevich-Manupella, 21, Clifton Park, was sentenced on March 30 to five years of probation after pleading to felony vehicular assault regarding an incident that occurred in Clifton Park. 

Tyree T. Saxon, Schenectady, was sentenced on March 30 to 2-1/2 years in state prison and two years of post-release supervision, after pleading to felony criminal sale of a controlled substance. 

Kenneth R. Boni, 65, of Halfmoon, was sentenced on March 30 to time served and five years of probation, after pleading to felony DWI regarding an incident that occurred in Clifton Park. 

Craig M. Guifoyle, 31, of Ballston Spa, pleaded on March 30 to felony criminal contempt regarding an incident in Malta. Sentencing is scheduled for May 25.

Heaven M. Puleski, 36, of Wyantskill, was sentenced on March 30 to one year in jail, after pleading to felony DWI regarding an incident in Northumberland.

Angel M. Rodriguez, 32, of Saratoga Springs, pleaded on March 30 to felony burglary regarding an incident in Saratoga Springs. Sentencing scheduled for March 25.  

POLICE

The Sheriff’s Office responded to a domestic incident complaint at the Westwood Motel in the Town of Ballston this morning at 3:16 AM.  Investigation into the complaint led to the arrest of the following person for 

Bonnie J. Kent, age 45, Saratoga Springs, was charged on March 20 with second-degree assault, a felony, two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child, and one misdemeanor count criminal possession of a weapon, and assault in the third degree.  

Amanda G. Ippoliti, age 23, Mechanicville, was charged on March 19 with misdemeanor DWI, felony aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle under the influence, operating a motor vehicle without a license, and two vehicle equipment violations. 

Rogerio F. Torres, age 35, of Ballston Spa, was charged March 30 with assault in the second degree, a felony, assault in the third degree, a misdemeanor, menacing, and criminal possession of a weapon, in connection with allegedly stabbing his brother in his hand at a motel in the Town of Ballston. He was arraigned, sent to Saratoga County Jail in lieu of $10,000 cash bail, or $20,000 secured bond, according to the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office. 

Alicia J.D. Hyman, age 25, Albany, was charged on March 19 with misdemeanor DWI, and improper lane use.  

Edmond G. Currier, age 63, Corinth, was charged on March 18 with felony DWI as a second offense, felony aggravated DWI, and driving violations. 

Jenna L. Murray, age 23, Wilton, was charged on March 18 with misdemeanor DWI, driving the wrong way down a one-way street, and unlawful possession of marijuana. 

Daniel H. Shea, age 47, Saratoga Springs, was charged on March 18 with misdemeanor DWI, and failing to keep right. 

Adam T. Berlin, age 22, Galway, was charged on March 18 with misdemeanor DWI, refusing a pre-screen test, and unreasonable speed, after being involved in a one car accident. 

Anthony J. Soprano, age 25, of Queensbury, was charged on March 17 with misdemeanor DWI, refusing a pre-screen test, criminal possession of a controlled substance, and speeding.  

Richard F. Salluzzo, age 66, Saratoga Springs, was charged with misdemeanor DWI, and improper lane use, after being involved in a one-car accident.

Maximilian E. Chambliss, age 21, Altamont, was charged on March 29 with fourth-degree grand larceny, a felony, in connection with an incident that occurred in February in Corinth. It is alleged that Chambliss entered a residence on Farr Road in Corinth and stole numerous firearms including at least two long guns and four handguns. Some of the above stolen firearms have been recovered in the Albany area; however, some still remain missing. The Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office asks that anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of those guns contact them at 518-885-6761. The case remains open as an active investigation and more arrests are expected. 

Brittanie A. Bonnivier, age 21, Mechanicville, was charged on March 17 with unlawful possession of marijuana, criminal possession of a controlled substance, a vehicle equipment violation, and speeding. 

Julian M. Oliver, age 26, Clifton Park, was charged on March 17 with two vehicle violations, and aggravated unlicensed operation, a misdemeanor.  

Jeremiah J. Hopkins, age 34, Ballston Spa, was charged on March 16 with aggravated unlicensed operation, a misdemeanor, and making an unsafe lane change, after being involved in a property damage accident 

Matthew S. Ragotskie, age 25, Ballston Spa, was charged with misdemeanor petit larceny. 

Michael J. Furforo, age 46, Gansevoort, was charged with misdemeanor DWI, misdemeanor aggravated DWI, refusing a pre-screen test, and two vehicle equipment violations. 

Makenzie L. Lesson, age 21, Schuylerville, was charged on March 13 with petit larceny, a misdemeanor. 

Lamont C. Washington, age 27, Ballston Spa, was charged on March 12 with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, a misdemeanor, and a driving violation. 

Cody K. Kazakoff, age 21, Saratoga Springs, was charged on March 12 with falsely reporting an incident. 

Ilyssa J. Riley, age 25, Monson, MA  was charged on March 12 with misdemeanor DWI, aggravated DWI, and speeding. 

Jacob W. Peek, age 20, Saratoga Springs, was charged on March 12 with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, failing to stop at a stop sign, and unlawful possession of marijuana. 

Devin J. Waite, age 23, Hadley, was charged on March 12 with misdemeanor DWI, and a driving violation. 

Rahmel D. Dobbs, age 24, Schenectady, was charged on March 12 with criminal possession of a controlled substance, and a driving violation.