Thomas Dimopoulos

Thomas Dimopoulos

City Beat and Arts & Entertainment Editor
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SARATOGA SPRINGS – A temporary location to house the Code Blue Emergency Shelter has been secured at 4 Adelphi St., in advance of the winter season.

The single-story building – currently a vacant warehouse – is undergoing an installation of floors, walls, heat, plumbing and electric to make the space habitable, according to Shelters of Saratoga (SOS) – the organization overseeing the Code Blue program. The building is located just west of South Broadway. The city issued a building permit for the temporary emergency shelter – the permit details the location as 145 South Broadway – on Oct. 4.

An 18-month lease has been signed and will provide the program with a consistent location for the next two seasons, according to the organization. The hope is to open the shelter in early November.

The city plans to provide financial support for the program, as per its proposed 2020 budget. “This will help pay rent and costs related to the Code Blue facility in the off season,” Karen A. Gregory, executive director of S.O.S. said, in a statement.

Since opening in the 2013-14 winter season and through 2017-18 – the latest figures available, the number of those seeking shelter has increased each year. During the 2017-18 winter season, Code Blue was open 162 nights, served more than 8,000 meals, and provided sleeping quarters for a total of 6,480 overnight stays – or on average, 40 nightly guests.  Presbyterian New England Congregational Church - or PNECC - was also open during 90 of those nights to care for “overflow” guests.

An executive order issued by Gov. Andrew Cuomo directs emergency shelters to operate when temperatures drop below 32 degrees.

SOS is currently hiring qualified shelter supervisors, support and security staff. Any interested applicants can email their resume to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Friday, 11 October 2019 11:53

Election 2019: The Countdown Begins

SARATOGA SPRINGS – In less than one month, voters will head to the polls to choose from a pool of 11 candidates who are vying for seven city positions.  Election Day is Nov. 5. The seven seats each carry two-year terms and begin in January 2020.

The two candidates seeking the office of public safety commissioner - Robin Dalton (R,C,I), and Kendall Hicks (D) - met face-to-face this week, engaging in a discussion forum at the Presbyterian-New England Congregational Church on Oct. 7

The focus topic: “Immigration, Public Safety and Community.” Terry Diggory, of the Saratoga Immigration Coalition, acted as event moderator. “Although immigration is currently debated as an issue of national security, public safety at the local level requires fostering a community where everyone, including immigrants, can feel safe and welcome,” Diggory said.

Both candidates were basically in agreement regarding the safety of all city residents, regardless of status, and each praised a recent document documented by former Chief of Police Greg Veitch that essentially said local police would not stop people on the street to ask their immigration status.

“If ICE comes to our town and asks for our cooperation, we are obliged to cooperate with them…but aside from that, immigration (status) will not be the priority of Saratoga Springs Police Department,” said Dalton.

“Being black in America, I can remember when stop-and-search was a rampant thing, and I’ve been stopped many times just because of the color of my skin, so I can relate to what undocumented citizens are going through,” said Hicks, a Democrat who retired from the U.S. military after 30 years of active duty service with the National Guard. “We need to make sure our citizens - whether they’re documented or not – don’t have to live through that. We need to stand up and speak for those who can’t speak for themselves.”

“I have from day one been very pro-immigrant,” Dalton, a Republican, told the crowd of approximately 40 people. “Back in 2017, when we had ICE in our community it was one of the most profoundly disturbing experiences I had as an American…they were stopping people on the street on their way to work, based on the color of their skin, and rounding them up. It really created an atmosphere of fear and terror for people that I know, who I love, who I work with, who I see every day.”

In response to her stated position, one of the attendees of the forum loudly bellowed from the back of the church at Dalton: “You are an embarrassment to the Republican Party,” and promptly exited the room.

“There are some areas where I’m not going to toe a party line, and one of those areas is immigration,” Dalton said.

There was a brief discussion regarding a 2013 Gloversville police department report charging Hicks with assault following an alleged altercation with his girlfriend.

“What you see in the police report is the beginning of an investigation. It doesn’t tell the whole story,” Hicks said. “I was investigated, I was charged, I had a court hearing and the charges were dismissed. Not only that, I was in uniform at the time, so I was investigated by the military authorities as well and there were no charges pressed or filed in that respect as well. So, I finished a full 30-year career decorated career because I carried the bronze star. I don’t know of any soldier who has been under those type of serious charges and can retire with the bronze star.”

 “Those documents raised a lot of questions, and to date those questions have not been answered,” Dalton responded. “I hear him say now that he was cleared of the charges, that he was cleared by the military of these charges, but I have yet to see any documents that supports that narrative.”

Hicks was not endorsed by the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee, and after news of the 2013 report became known, previous endorsements of Hicks by local Democrats Carrie Woerner, Tara Gaston, and Dillon Moran were retracted. 

“I would love to put these questions to bed, but the only way to do that, in my mind, is to see some documentation from the military, and some documentation from the Gloversville Police Department, or the court, that he was indeed cleared,” Dalton said.   

Hicks responded that he is willing to share the documents from Gloversville court dismissing the charges against him. “I have them. I carry them with me in my car at all times and I’d be happy to sit down and show them to you,” Hicks said. “As for the military, They did an investigation and I even had to redo my security clearance. Those documents are not privy to the public – I can’t go get them and show them to everyone – but me having a fully decorated retirement with the bronze star from Afghanistan – I think that should stand for itself.” 

Current Public Safety Commissioner - Democrat Peter Martin, is not seeking re-election. Among the responsibilities of the post is the overall operation of the Police Department, the Fire Department, Code Administration, Animal Control, and Parking Enforcement. The Commissioner of Public Safety is also responsible for emergency planning.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Up for vote are all five City Council positions – mayor, and commissioners of Accounts, Finance, Public Works, and Public Safety – in addition to two city Supervisor seats, whose elected officials will represent the city’s interests at the county level. 

Voter registration deadline is Friday, Oct. 11. Applications must be postmarked no later than October 11, 2019 and received by a board of elections no later than October 16, 2019 to be eligible to vote in the General Election. For information, go to: https://www.elections.ny.gov/VotingDeadlines.html.

The League of Women Voters of Saratoga County has announced they are hosting two Saratoga Springs “Meet the Candidates” nights – to be held Oct. 21-22.
 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — On Tuesday night, at 9:30 p.m., Saratoga Springs Police were called for a motor vehicle accident on Route 9 South in the area of the Homewood Suites.  The accident occurred in the north bound lane of travel and involved TWO vehicles approximately 1/10 of a mile south of the hotel.  The vehicles involved both sustained heavy front end damage. The vehicles involved are a  2017 Nissan Altima and a 2019 Toyota Rav 4.

Based upon the initial investigation it appears that the Nissan exited the Homewood Suites parking lot traveling south in the north bound lane for unknown reasons and then struck the Toyota, traveling north in the north bound lane. The operator of the Nissan Altima, Derrick Devonish age 44 of Albany, NY, was unresponsive at the scene and was later pronounced dead at the Saratoga Hospital. The operator of the Toyota, William Halpin age 34 of Saratoga Springs, was transported to Saratoga Hospital with non life threatening injuries. The Saratoga County Sheriff's Office and the New York State Park Police assisted at the accident.  

The cause of the accident is still under investigation.  Alcohol is not believed to be a contributing factor at this time.

GLENS FALLS – After securing numerous awards on the international film circuit, Spa City director and photographer Charlie Samuels will see the debut local screening of his feature documentary film, “Virgin Blacktop: A New York Skate Odyssey,” at the Adirondack Film Festival on Oct. 19. 

An uplifting story shot over four decades, “Virgin Blacktop” tells the story of the lives of a disparate crew of kids from Hudson River towns who had almost nothing in common when they met in the 1970s. The film uses the vehicle of skateboarding to tell the story which will make its world debut as an official sport in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Samuels – whose photography has appeared in the pages of Sports Illustrated, Time, Vogue and The New York Times, among others - directed the film. He was also the spokesperson for over 3,000 skateboarders who lobbied the city of Saratoga Springs to re-open “The Bowl” on Lake Avenue eight years ago.

 “Virgin Blacktop: A New York Skate Odyssey" premiered at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival in California in 2018. The uplifting and sometimes heart-breaking coming-of-age story is about a super funky crew of suburban New York City kids who first met in 1977 with nothing in common except a passion for skateboarding. Despite their vastly different ages, races and economic backgrounds and with their parents hands off approach, they formed a competitive, traveling team of spirited outsiders called the “Wizards.” Now, nearly 40 years later, they remain lifelong friends, but their lives have followed very different paths, from boardrooms to jail cells.

The 83-minute documentary feature film screens locally at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19 at The Wood Theatre, Adirondack Film Festival, 50 Elm St., Glens Falls. A Q & A session will follow. For more information, go to: adkfilmfestival.org, or call 518-798-7479. 

 SARATOGA SPRINGS — Syndicated television star and Food Network personality Rachael Ray returns to the region and celebrates the release of a new book with a Meet & Greet at Northshire Bookstore Saratoga on Broadway this month.

The meet & greet and photo opportunity takes place 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17. Tickets are $34.24 and includes admission for one to the meet & greet, plus one pre-signed hardcover copy of her new book, “Rachael Ray 50: Memories and Meals from a Sweet and Savory Life.”

For more information on these or other events, call 518-682-4200, or visit the Northshire Bookstore website at www.northshire.com.

SARATOGA SPRINGS - The city Planning Board meets this week to consider a permanent Special Use Permit and site plan review for the development of a Citizens Bank on currently unoccupied land at 1 Ballston Ave.; A site plan modification to add nine dwelling units to the existing complex at The Grove At Neumann, 233 Lake Ave.; And a special use permit for the construction of a proposed 120-room hotel at 176 South Broadway. The potential Citizens Bank location would be sited on a triangular-shaped lot that is bounded by Broadway and Hamilton Street, W. Circular Street and Ballston Avenue, just north of an existing Dunkin Donuts venue on Broadway.

The parcel had previously sited a gas station and has been vacant for about a decade. The city of Saratoga Springs had in 2008 considered purchasing, and in 2017 accepting as a gift the 0.2-acre parcel to create a pocket park featuring equine sculptures, but those plans never came to fruition.

Also on the agenda: a special use permit for a proposed 120-room hotel at 176 South Broadway. The 1.4-acre property currently sites the Turf and Spa Motel, Inc. and features a two-story motel that houses 43 rooms. According to the initial site plan application by Fairfield Inn & Suites in 2016, the proposal called for demolition of the existing site and development of a five-story, 50-foot high, 89-room hotel. The current application was been submitted by Larkin Hospitality, of Burlington, Vermont, and lists as hotel with 120 accommodations and parking.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Wesley Community is requesting approval by the City Council to amend its 37+ acre Planned Unit Development, or PUD, which will expand its existing campus and help continue to meet the needs of seniors, the organization says. 

The proposed projects included in the PUD amendment are as follows:

Renovations to the existing five-story Springs Building to add approximately 5,500 square feet, resulting in a total size of 19,500 square feet. Wesley will subsequently renovate the resident rooms by decreasing the number of residents on floors 2, 3 and 4 from 44 to 36.  This will yield 30% more single rooms to accommodate the needs of future admissions, Cliff Van Wagner, Pharmacy Director at The Wesley Community, told the council this week.

Plans also call for the construction of a new five-story, 100-unit apartment building consisting of 70 mostly one-bedroom independent apartments for low-to-middle income seniors and 30 supportive housing units for seniors. 

“With a waiting list of two years at Embury and one year at Woodlawn, the need for this project is quite obvious,” Van Wagner said. The Wesley Community currently counts 700 seniors living on the 37-acre campus. 

Additional projects include: construction of a 52-unit memory care/assisted living single-story building to accommodate seniors with significant dementia; construction of a new two-story 4,000 square foot office building to support the functions of the various needs of the projects within the PUD, and the demolition of an unoccupied residence at 26 Russell St., while expanding a storage garage at the same site. 

“The approval of the council is to amend PUD legislation. It is not to begin construction. We fully realize that each individual project will require an application to the Planning Board for site plan approval, which we intend to do.” 

The PUD amendment request will remain as an open public hearing until the council votes on the matter. A date for that vote was not set. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS – There was that week in June 1994 that delivered a series of unusual events that could fill a lifetime.

There was Matt McCabe watching his beloved New York Rangers hockey team win their first Stanley Cup championship in 54 years. There was the buzz all along the Caroline Street storefronts among shopkeepers and customers alike as O.J. Simpson slunked in the back seat of a white Ford Bronco, leading a low-speed chase by police through Southern California. There were the freshly printed calendars pointing to a summer season of music in Saratoga, showcasing performers like The Eagles and Peter Gabriel, Phish, James Taylor, The Beastie Boys, and for the first time to SPAC a relatively unknown songwriter named Dave Matthews.  

“There was a lot going on and I’ll never forget it,” says McCabe, who amid all the external happenings opened the doors of his music shop for the first time.

“June 14, 1994. Flag Day. I started in a little 160 square-foot hole in the wall space on Caroline Street,” recalls McCabe. “It was my first real business venture. I opened with 48 used guitars and 10 used amplifiers.” 

Twenty-five years later, McCabe’s Saratoga Guitar has two locations in the Spa City – at 480 Broadway on the lower level of the Collamer Building next to City Hall, and at 75 Weibel Ave. The sheer number of new, used, and vintage instruments has increased exponentially, and the store has grown to include a plethora of accessories, as well as sheet music, a center for instrument repairs, school band instrumental rentals, and used vinyl records

For more than 20 years, McCabe has hosted The Capital Region Guitar Show, which draws dealers, musicians and fans from across the northeast.  This year’s event takes place at the Saratoga Springs City Center Oct. 4-5, and as a special addition marking Saratoga Guitar’s 25th anniversary, a free concert will be staged in the upstairs room at the City Center Saturday, Oct. 5 featuring live music and an opportunity for the community to give back to several local non-profit organizations. 

His first sale after opening his shop 25 years ago? “I don’t remember specifically. It was probably a couple of picks,” McCabe says with a laugh. “I sold a couple of picks today too. So, pretty consistent!

“Thanks to family and friends I’ve been able to make it work over the years. The city’s been very good to me. The kids were all born here. And the downtown vibe is great. After 25 years, I think I’m looked at as one of the so-called funky stores, the mom-and-pop stores,” McCabe says.

“There are a handful of us still here. Retail-wise today we face struggles with the Internet and with changing technologies, but we’re still here, and we’re still viable. Mom and pop music stores have a very high mortality rate. We are extremely lucky to be in business - and to be here,” says McCabe, who served two 2-year terms as city Finance Commissioner from 2004-2007. He was a popular member of the council and independent of any political party.

“You learn a lot about your fellow citizens and what I learned was how smart I wasn’t. At those meetings when people come up and speak – people from all walks of life and from all over our city – you see how varied our population is. When you listen to the public comments you realize: My goodness, how many passionate people there are; How many qualified opinions there are. And from people out there who are smarter than you. Just because you’re in office, it doesn’t mean you’re smarter,” McCabe says.   

“I think If I had any success at all, or if there is any decent legacy as a business owner or as a politician it is that I’m accessible and willing to listen and to be educated. When people have a problem, when things go wrong, how are you going to correct the situation? We’re all going to make mistakes. Things will happen, no matter how prepared you are, and that’s how it was in City Hall too.  You have to learn: How are you going to handle the tougher times and be as fair as possible? It was a life-learning experience for me,” he says.   

At Saratoga Guitar, his specialty is buy, sell and trade, new, used and vintage guitars. Given the type of business and the location, McCabe says you never know what you’re going to see in product or in clientele.  

“We’ve met some nice people over the years. We had a lot of people this summer stop in. Sheryl Crow’s guitar player, Hutch Hutchinson – who is Bonnie Raitt’s and Jackson Browne’s bass player. Beck stopped in. Over the years we’ve seen Graham Nash and Stephen Stills, John Fogerty. Joe Bonamassa came back in this year. Dave Matthews has always been very nice to us. They come here, they love Saratoga and  they like that they don’t get bothered here. We always take the low key, engage as they want, but you have to know that they’re working people too.”

The Capital Region Guitar Show – one of the longest running guitar shows in the country, takes place Oct. 4-5 at the City Center. Approximately 30 different vendors are expected. From 4-9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5 Saratoga Guitar’s 25th Anniversary free concert will be staged at the City Center. The Concert will feature Moonshine Falls, The Rapid River Boys, DIZ, Drew Vanderrhorn, and Matt McCabe & Rick Bolton.  The concert will provide the backdrop for a community fundraiser for five local non-profits. Those organizations include: Wellspring, Katrina Trask Pre-School, Operation Adopt A Soldier, Friends of Music, and Franklin Community Center. Saratoga Guitar requests people attending the free concert bring non-perishable food items for the FCC Food Bank. There will be door prizes in addition to the donated items that folks can take home if they win.

“The concert is free, and the musicians are all donating their services, so were just going to try and make a fun community event,” McCabe says. “We want to give back - that’s always been part of our theme. There are a lot of good organizations in town. We’re hoping to make it a party and we’d like to start making it (the party) a yearly event to work with nonprofits and local musicians, so we’ll see how that grows as we start feeling the next 25 years.”      

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Congress Park will serve as the staging grounds for this weekend’s Native American Festival. The significance of the location is not lost on Joseph Bruchac, whose family was involved in the founding of the festival at the Spa State Park a decade or so ago.

“Congress Park is where the original Indian encampment took place a century ago. And that was the original idea years ago, before the state park approached us,” said Bruchac, whose Native American heritage comes from his mother’s side of the family, the Nulhegan Band of the Abenaki Nation. “And the thing about Congress Park is it’s an incredible venue. I think it’s one of the most beautiful parks in the country and designed by (Frederick Law) Olmsted – who designed Central Park. “

Historic maps presented in the 1970s to the city’s Community Development offices place the “Indian Encampment,” in an area adjacent to the so-called “Devil’s Chair” in the northeast section of the park close to Circular Street and Spring streets. The encampments were sited in Congress Park up until just before the start of the 20th century, when they were relocated to an area close to Ballston Avenue. In July 1883, the Saratoga Journal reported on a festival in the “picturesque Indian village,” which “delighted children” and “many well-known citizens and guests” alike, and was highlighted by an Indian medicine ceremony and “fancy rifle shooting by Texas Charley.”

Richard Canfield purchased the encampment grounds in May 1902, according to newspaper accounts of the time. Two decades earlier, Canfield purchased the Saratoga Clubhouse and spent a considerable amount of money during the late 1800s enhancing the building and the surrounding Congress Park grounds. That building – today known as The Canfield Casino houses the Saratoga Springs History Museum and will be used as a staging area for some of Sunday’s events during the Native American Festival.

Sunday’s festival is an important one, Bruchac says. “One of the traditions in our native culture is that we tell stories, and we do this for two reasons: one is to entertain; the other to educate. Sharing culture is one of the best ways to teach people things that they may not have ever thought of before,” he says. “So, our festival will, first of all, let people see contemporary Native Americans. We’re not all existing in the teepees on the Great Plains of a hundred years ago but are part of the continuing community of peoples here in the northeast. And secondly, what they’ll get to see is more than 34 different artists offering their works – from baskets and jewelry, to woodcarvings and stone carvings. Pretty amazing stuff. They’ll get to see the continuing strength of our artistry that is so much a part of Native American culture.”

Three years ago, the festival relocated to the National Museum of Dance. In search of an appropriate venue this year, a conversation with Saratoga Arts Executive Director Joel Reed led to Sunday’s festival staging at Congress Park and at the Canfield Casino. The first Saratoga Native American Festival was a two-day event.

“That first day we had 5,000 people, but the second day we got totally rained out. That happened to us the second year as well, where we had one good day and one really bad rain day,” Bruchac says. “So now, we thought we’d pick the one good weather day, rather than going with one day that’s good and one day that’s bad,” he joked, looking over the predicted sun-filled forecast for the Sunday.

The Saratoga Native American Festival takes place 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 22 in Congress Park. The event is free and open to the public. 10 a.m.: Vendors Open. Flute and Drum Music by James, Jesse and Joseph Bruchac. 11 a.m.: Tom Porter‘s Opening Address. The festival will begin with a traditional opening address, delivered in Mohawk and English by Tom Sakokwenionkwas Porter, who positions with the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs and is the spokesman and spiritual leader of the Mohawk community of Kanatsiohareke. Noon: Grand Entry. Black River Drum, Old Soul Drum, Nulhegan Drum. 12:45 p.m.: Honoring of Chief Don Stevens. 1 p.m.: Haudenosaunee Singers and Dancers. 1:45 p.m. and 3 p.m.: Smoke Dance Competition. 2 p.m.: Brian Blanchett on Canfield Stage. 2:10 p.m.: Joanne Shenandoah on Canfield Stage. Shenandoah, a Grammy Award winner, is one of Native America’s most celebrated musicians. 3 p.m.: Perry Ground storytelling on Canfield Stage. Perry Ground is a Turtle Clan member of the Onondaga Nation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy. He has been telling stories for over 20 years as a means of educating people about the culture, beliefs and history of the Haudenosaunee. Perry learned most of the stories he shares from the elders of various Native American communities and feels practicing and perpetuating the oral traditions of Native people is an important responsibility. 4:15 p.m.: Kay Olan Storytelling on Canfield Stage. Kay Clan is a Wolf Clan Mohawk storyteller and educator. After teaching for 33 years, she relocated to the Traditional Mohawk Community at Kanatsiohareke where she worked as director. 5 p.m.: Vendors close. Closing Address by Tom Porter

Thursday, 12 September 2019 15:00

A Day That Changed The World

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Patrick Kauth stood atop the lawn at High Rock Park Wednesday morning, trying to encapsulate the thoughts and emotions of the past 18 years into a few poignant words. 

“It’s a changed world,” said Kauth, whose childhood years were spent in the classrooms of St. Clement’s and Saratoga Springs High. He grew up in a hockey family, one of four siblings. His dad, Don Kauth, was killed in the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center.      

“A loss is a loss and you can’t change time,” said Kauth, who teaches history at the Albany Academy.

It was early in September 2001, when Don Kauth drove his son to Merrimack College in Massachusetts, where Patrick was entering his freshman year.

“He bought me own of those huge Dell desktop computers,” he remembered. “Afterwards we ate dinner and exchanged pleasantries and insults, the way that best friends do, because he was my best friend,” he said. “Then he was off to New York the next morning.” Don Kauth worked as a bank analyst for Keefe, Bruyette & Wood at the World Trade Center.

It was a week or so later when Patrick Kauth joined his new college roommates watching the events of 9/11 take form on the TV.

“I remember thinking that this couldn’t be real. At first, I joined along with them, just sat there, and then after about sixty seconds it clicked: wait a minute. He works there. So, I phoned home. And I heard it in my mom’s voice. She hadn’t heard from him. The communication was very difficult that day, but still, he would have found a way. So, I knew pretty immediately that he was gone. “

Kauth was the keynote speaker at the city’s 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony Wednesday morning at High Rock Park. It is a historic park that has been known to Native Americans for over 5,000 years. In the summer of 2012, it became home to the 25-foot-tall sculpture, titled "Tempered by Memory," which was created out of five twisted pieces of World Trade Center steel. Four of the pieces came from the North Tower - distinguished by the antenna on its roof - and one steel beam came from the South Tower.

The ceremony, held on the 18th anniversary of the attacks, began with a welcome from Raymond F. O’Conor, author and CEO of Saratoga National Bank, and the observance included members of the city police and fire departments and the U.S. Navy. Keri Alonzo sang The National Anthem, Rick and Sharon Bolton provided additional music. Chaplain Sid Gordon, Disabled American Veterans, delivered the Invocation and Benediction.

“The attacks caused the deaths of 2,996 people and the injuries of more than 6,000 others,” said city Mayor Meg Kelly, who recited a series of the numbers that reflected the tragic losses of that day at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon, on each of the four planes, and the firefighters, paramedics, police officers and others who were killed responding to the attacks and trying to help others.    

“Number of people who lost a spouse or partner in the attacks: 1,609; Estimated number of children who lost a parent: 3,051; Estimated number of New Yorkers suffering from post-traumatic-stress disorder as a result of 9/11: immeasurable,” Mayor Kelly said. “It is with these numbers that we will always mark this horrific day.”   

Kauth says the collective stories of the tragic day’s events, as well as visits to The National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York have become as fundamental to him as the battlefields of Saratoga, and Gettysburg, and the museums and the monuments in Washington.

“In particular, it is overwhelmingly emotional listening to our first responders The Day Of - from their own radio correspondence, describing in detail their quickly deteriorating situation and the victims who could not make it out of the stairwell,” Kauth said. “It becomes apparent, pretty quickly, that these heroes knew that they were not making out. That they were going to save as many people before the inevitable collapse.

“I cannot help but think, in awe and with tears streaming down my face, about the bravery and resolve displayed by these firefighters and policemen who wanted nothing else but to just have a chance at saving people like my father,” Kauth said.

“Time does help. I have a family of my own that we’re growing now, and that helps immensely. I love my son more and more each day,” he said, gesturing a few yards away across the park to his wife Shauna, and their 22-month-old son, Oliver.

Asked what he will teach his own son about his father, Kauth said it will be about his dad’s caring for others.  “He was a unique guy. A really thoughtful guy who did a lot for the community and for anybody that needed something. So, what I’ll tell my son is that we have to continue to try and live his legacy,” Kauth said.  “But you’re never going to have that hole filled up completely.”

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