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Displaying items by tag: saratoga

Friday, 16 June 2017 10:34

June 16th - June 22nd

COURTS

Charles B. “Chip” Locke, 44, of Porters Corners, was sentenced on June 8 to six months in jail and five years of probation, after pleading to felony grand larceny. Locke was also ordered to pay $15,070.02 in restitution to the Greenfield Home School Association, from which he admitted stealing money from September 2014 to September 2015, according to a statement released by the Saratoga County District Attorney’s Office.

POLICE

Christopher J. McSwiggin, age 28, Clifton Park, was charged on June 3 with aggravated unlicensed operation third degree, failure to stop at stop sign.

Faith Schmitt, age 24, Gloversville, was charged on June 3 with misdemeanor DWI, motor vehicle equipment violation.

Averi M. Comfort, age 20, Ballston Spa, was charged on June 3 with misdemeanor DWI, unreasonable speed, operating unregistered motor vehicle on highway, failure to stop at stop sign.

Daniel J. Grau, age 24, Ballston Spa, was charged on June 3 with misdemeanor DWI, fail to keep right.

Adam L. Friddle, age 36, Bradenton, Florida, was charged on June 3 with misdemeanor DWI, wrong way on a one-way street, refuse pre-screen test.

Jacqueline R. Torrisi, age 24, Watervliet, was charged on June 2 with criminal possession of marijuana fifth degree, a misdemeanor.

Michael R. Rafferty, age 63, Saratoga Springs, was charged on June 2 with felony DWI as a second offense, operation of a motor vehicle by unlicensed driver.

Kevin D. Germain, age 58, Saratoga Springs, was charged on June 2 with criminal mischief misdemeanor.

Megan H. Zeh, age 30, Greenfield Center, was charged on June 2 with three counts of harassment in the second-degree.

Meghan L. Crozier, age 27, Saratoga Springs, was charged on June 2 with misdemeanor DWI and aggravated DWI, failure to signal a turn.

Vittoriano Ruscio, age 47, Ballston Spa, was charged on June 2 with misdemeanor DWI, failure to keep right.

Lisa M. Mann, age 31, Ballston Spa, was charged on June 2 with aggravated unlicensed operation misdemeanor, failure to signal a turn.

Brad J. Mulligan, age 49, Schuylerville, was charged on June 2 with misdemeanor DWI, improper lane use, failure to signal a turn.

Alexander A. Moniot, age 30, Clifton Park, was charged on June 1 with failure to signal a turn, failure to stop at stop sign, aggravated unlicensed operation

Michael K. Barnes, age 38, Saratoga Springs, was charged on June 1 with criminal mischief misdemeanor.

Louis F. Decker, age 25, Ballston Spa, was charged on June 1 with misdemeanor assault, felony criminal mischief.

Betty M. Scoville, age 60, Saratoga Springs, was charged on June 1 with misdemeanor welfare fraud, offering a false instrument for filing first, a felony.

Ryan W. Boyce, age 25, Porter Corners, was charged on May 29 with aggravated unlicensed operation, vehicle equipment violation.

Thomas J. Dingmon, age 28, Saratoga Springs, was charged on May 29 with aggravated unlicensed operation, vehicle equipment violation.

Amanda D. Putman, age 32, Saratoga Springs, was charged on May 29 with harassment.

Maliek R. Fontes, age 27, Gansevoort, was charged on May 29 with failure to signal a turn, speeding, aggravated unlicensed operation.

Timothy N. Raiche, age 49, Hartford, Connecticut, was charged on May 29 with misdemeanor DWI, failure to stop at stop sign, refuse pre-screen test, failure to signal a turn.

Antonio Gonzales, age 33, Stryker, was charged on May 28 with felony criminal mischief.

Jake R. Douglas, age 21, Ballston Lake, was charged on May 28 with misdemeanor DWI, unsafe lane change.

Warren B. Prince, age 21, Clifton Park, and Nathaniel J. Sawyer, age 22, Amsterdam, were each charged on May 28 with criminal possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of marijuana.

Darren S. Wodzinski, age 46, Saratoga Springs, was charged on May 27 with felony criminal contempt.

Natasha N. Davis, age 27, Ballston Spa, was charged on May 27 with aggravated unlicensed operation.

William S. Brisson, age 24, Gansevoort, was charged on May 27 with aggravated unlicensed operation, right of way violation / left turn.

Emma K. Soron, age 28, Gansevoort, was charged on May 27 with misdemeanor DWI.

Rekim A. White, age 28, Malta, was charged on May 27 with misdemeanor assault.

Jahkeem P. Davis, age 20, Albany, was charged on May 27 with misdemeanor assault.

Robert F. Murphy, age 59, Saratoga Springs, was charged on May 27 with misdemeanor criminal trespass.

Eric W. Slade, age 28, Saratoga Springs, was charged on May 26 with felony DWI as a second offense, failure to signal a turn.

Harold E. Beck, age 38, Saratoga Springs, was charged on May 25 with misdemeanor assault, criminal mischief, and obstruction of breathing.

Charles P. Tulin, age 27, Saratoga Springs, was charged on May 25 with unlawful possession of marijuana, misdemeanor assault, menacing, reckless endangerment, and criminal possession of a weapon.

Quintan L. Smith, age 18, Ballston Spa, was charged on May 25 with felony grand larceny/ credit card, and felony burglary.

Published in Police Blotter

Danny Melnick grew up on Long Island listening to The Who and the Rolling Stones records the older kids used to play. His friends loved Kiss, the Good Rats, and Twisted Sister; his younger brother had a fondness for pop new wave. 

“Depeche Mode and the Pet Shop Boys,” he bristles. “Music I couldn’t stand then, and music I still can’t listen to today.”

Melnick was more drawn into a world of moody tempo changes, haunting mellotrons and lyrical fantasy. Melnick was a Prog kid.  

“Somehow, I got into Progressive Rock: King Crimson and Yes, Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull. Through that education I learned about Miles Davis and John Coltrane and then quickly on to people like Dave Holland and John Abercrombie, Gary Burton and early Pat Metheny,” he says. “It really opened up my ears to a lot of things.”   

Why this all matters is the reasoning behind what brings thousands of people to the Spa City every year for The Hang. This month, the Saratoga jazz festival celebrates its 40th anniversary with two days of shows on two stages, marking the fifth longest-consecutive-running jazz festival in North America.

Melnick first worked with the festival in 1991, overseeing the transport of musicians from New York City to Saratoga Springs. “The band bus monitor,” he says. Eight years later he was in charge of booking all the artists to perform at the festival.

“The market there is pretty interesting. The audiences in Saratoga have been coming to this festival at SPAC for a very long time. They’re committed to it. We’ve got people coming in from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the tri-state New York City area, and of course, the Capital Region. So, for me, as a presenter, I’m trying to appeal to all of them with a great mix of artists,” Melnick says. He’s also cognizant of maintaining traditions.

“When I look back at the acts in the late ‘70s and ‘80s there was always blues, always Latin, always straight-ahead jazz, a little bit of avantgarde here and there. I try very hard to continue that. The biggest challenge in modern times is that so many legendary jazz legends have died,” Melnick says, riffing on a memory list of the departed that includes Dave Brubeck and Ray Charles, B.B. King and Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Art Blakely and Ella Fitzgerald. “I can name fifty artists who have played the festival and who today are gone. So now, I have to mix it up a little more.

“The festival needs to keep going forward. In order to stay alive and stay relative you need to book a diverse roster of artists who can tell where the music is today,” he says. “I want people to learn about new artists, I want them to be entertained and to have fun. I want emerging jazz artists to have a platform, to be heard, to build careers so that hopefully they will become headliners in the future.”

This year’s Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival - initially called the Newport Jazz Festival at Saratoga when it launched in 1978 – will feature a new, bigger gazebo stage for emerging artists to showcase their talents.

“Quite a few people who started out playing the gazebo stage have moved on, to the main stage, or are playing bigger festivals around the world. It’s cool that the festival audience is supporting the artists. They’re listening to them, they’re meeting them, they’re getting their autographs, they’re buying their CD’s. And there are no walls between the artists and the audience, it’s all right there,” says Melnick, president and director of Absolutely Live Entertainment. His official title at the Saratoga jazz festival is producing partner and artistic director. 

His accomplishments as a presenter include a world tour commemorating the 50th anniversary of Miles Davis's "Kind of Blue" recording, North American tours celebrating the Monterey Jazz Festival’s 55th anniversary, and the Newport Jazz Festival’s 60th, concerts at Carnegie Hall as part of the JVC Jazz Festival and a Blue Note Records' four month-long 70th Anniversary tour.

“There were nights when I was hanging out with Dizzie Gillespie backstage in Japan and thinking: really? How did this happen?” Prior to forming ALE, Melnick was the artistic director and a senior producer at George Wein's Festival Productions company.

“I have a lot of great memories and incredible stories. I’ve been very lucky over the years to be in the places that I’ve been and do the work that I’ve done, particularly in all the years when I worked as an employee for George Wein,” he says of the jazz impresario who founded the local festival in 1978.  One recent memory involved booking legends Tony Bennett and Buddy Guy on the festival’s closing night in 2013.   

 “Buddy Guy was set to close with Tony Bennett going on before him. A week before the festival, Buddy’s agent calls.

“Buddy has a problem closing,” Guy’s agent told him. “He feels weird going on after Tony Bennett. He doesn’t want to disrespect Tony.”

“I said: What? What do you mean?”

 “Well, Tony is a legend and Buddy feels, who is he to go on after Tony Bennett?” the agent said.

“Listen, ‘Buddy Guy is a legend also,’ I told him. Tony is going to go out there with a jazz trio. He’s going to sing standards. He’s going to put the microphone down at one point and sing an amazing a capella tune, and then Buddy’s going to come out with his electric blues band and rip the place to smithereens,” Melnick recalled. Those in attendance will recall that’s exactly how it all went down.

“It was all vetted with Tony, and he was fine with it. The agent called me back to say Buddy was cool with everything. What was so interesting to me to hear, after all those years and success and awards that an artist like Buddy Guy still had the humility to look at the situation and express themselves in that way.” 

The Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival will celebrate its 40th anniversary on Saturday, June 24 and Sunday, June 25 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. The milestone event features the return of Dee Dee Bridgewater and Jean Luc-Ponty - who performed on the inaugural 1978 festival. Headlining the weekend are Chaka Khan, and the Gipsy Kings. Jazz 100, led by Danilo Pérez, will pay homage to iconic musicians Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Mongo Santamaria, and Thelonious Monk in celebration of the 100th anniversary of their shared birth year. For more information about the festival go to:  www.spac.org.

Published in Entertainment

SARATOGA SPRINGS – On the morning of June 9, in the St. Clements Roman Catholic Church in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga Central Catholic High School held its graduation ceremony for the class of 2017, awarding diplomas to its 31 graduating seniors. This year’s valedictorian was Emma VanDeCar, while salutatorian was Paul Ruger. According to Mary Guarnieri, the school’s director of advancement, their graduating class for 2017 has already been offered over $6,425,000 in academic scholarships.

All photos by www.photoandgraphic.com.

 

Published in Education
Thursday, 15 June 2017 12:16

ICE Arrests 10 More Men in Saratoga Springs

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Following an ongoing investigation, deportation officers with ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations arrested 10 unlawfully present adult males and one unaccompanied alien minor Wednesday, in Saratoga Springs. The men - one Guatemalan national and nine Mexican nationals, who are between the ages of 20-49, currently face administrative immigration violations.

The arrests occurred without incident near multiple area residences. Three of the adult males are facing potential federal felony charges for re-entry after deportation. All of the adult males are currently being held at the Albany County Correctional Facility, according to a statement issued by ICE on Thursday.

The unaccompanied alien minor was served with a Notice to Appear in immigration court, and transferred to the Department Health and Human Service’s Office of Refugee Resettlement for placement, consistent with ICE policy relating to minors.

Just over two weeks ago, special agents and officers with ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations arrested 16 men in Saratoga Springs with alleged administrative immigration violations.

 

Published in News

SARATOGA SPRINGS – A local film production company is bringing to life the fairy tales of old right in our very own backyard.

The newly established Trident Fantasy Films is currently in the midst of its first production, a children’s fantasy television series to be called “The Adventures of Snow White and Rose Red,” inspired by the Grimm’s Fairy Tales canon and more. The company was co-founded by Nicole Coady and husband-and-wife team Andrew Balog and Katie Spass. All three co-founders are serving as executive producers on the show, among other duties. They are aiming to release the show on Amazon Prime in early 2018.

The show will consist of seven episodes, which will range from 10-15 minutes each. Coady wrote the pilot episode, and co-wrote two other episodes. Balog is also set to direct one of the episodes. Each episode will consist of sisters Snow White and Rose Red going on adventures with other popular “fairy tale friends,” including Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, and Lewis Caroll’s Alice. The show’s producers hope that it will teach its young audience a variety of wholesome life lessons, as well as inspire them to seek out and read the classic fairy tales from which its characters are derived.

“We really tried to go back to the original Grimm’s text and pull from there, and say, if Snow White and Rose Red were to really run into [for example] Little Red Riding Hood, what would happen?” Coady said about the show’s creative ambitions.

Coady, who is acting as showrunner and creator for the series, compared the feel they hope to achieve with the series to Disney’s 2015 live-action “Cinderella” with Lily James, while producer Spass said that the show’s intended demographic includes children ages 4-9. While the series is aiming young, Coady said that they hope the enduring popularity of the characters would make it popular with older kids as well.

The series’ titular fairy tale heroines will be played by real life sisters, Demetra and Callista Zorbas, 14 and 17, respectively, of Colonie. Callista, portraying Rose Red, has been performing since age 3, and has been involved in a number of plays and short films. Demetra, portraying Snow White, has also been performing for a while, but until now she has mostly been an extra in things alongside her older sister. This series marks the biggest undertaking for the two of them.

“It’s been really fun,” Callista Zorbas said. “This is like our dream come true.”

Production on the series began on June 12, and is set to wrap on July 1. When press were invited to visit the set on June 14, the cast and crew were shooting scenes in the gardens behind the Surrey Williamson Inn, across from the entrance to Skidmore College. Spass described the isolated location as a “hidden treasure” in the area, with stonework perfect for a fantasy project. The episode being filmed involved the characters meeting Rapunzel, portrayed by Madeline Balta, 16, of Greenville. Balta has previously worked with Coady on an adaption of the Brothers Grimm’s “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.” Coady described the moral of this particular episode as learning to share. Other planned shooting locations for the series include Galway and Moreau State Park.

Coady currently resides in Ballston Spa, having moved to the area from Los Angeles after spending time close to Hollywood building her career in film. She is originally from New York City. Balog and Spass have both lived in the area for most of their lives, with Balog hailing from Vermont originally, and Spass having moved here at age 5. Prior to the creation of Trident Fantasy Films, Balog founded Logs Leisure Entertainment, a company focused on providing digital releases for various film projects on platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Google Play, and more. Balog also produced a pilot last year for Amazon called “Solitude,” which he also directed. The rest of the series is scheduled to begin production in Aug. It will, like “The Adventures of Snow White and Rose Red,” be filmed locally.

All photos by Thomas Kika.

Published in Education

A blur of bright neon burst through Congress Park Sunday and it brought with it tens of thousands of dollars. What was it? A pack of children in green shirts running for a good cause.

Children up to age 12 sprinted and waddled and rolled through two different trails in the tenth annual Cantina Fun Run Sunday morning. The Cantina restaurant, in conjunction with the Saratoga hospital foundation and various sponsors, organized the event.  

“The tenth anniversary had a lot of personal meaning for us,” Cantina owner Heath Ames said. “Along with the money an awareness raised over the years, engaging our kids to help others and showing how a community comes together is a wonderful lesson to share.”

This year, the event raised $76,500, 30 percent more than the organizers’ goal of $59,500. The race trampled the previous donation record of $60,000, set in 2014. All the funds have supported Saratoga Hospital’s pediatric care. The event has raised over $400,000 since the first race in 2008.

The Saratoga Hospital Foundation has fostered the event since its inception. Officials estimated that the hospital treats over 4000 children each year. The donations have brought in new equipment and provided employees special training.

The benefit isn’t solely for the children in need of treatment. Jane Jeffery of Clifton Park said her two children, who ran the event for the first time, felt inspired watching parents and other kids move together for a good cause.

“After these types of activities, I see my kids walking around with a little bit more confidence, feeling taller, older,” Jeffery said. “I think it’s great to have that kind of internal feeling of what it feels like to move your body, what it feels like to accomplishing things together.”

Over 730 people from all over Saratoga County participated in the race. For some, the sense of community the event brought was a highlight.

“We got a big kick watching the little ones run by,” said Sal Calvelli, a Saratoga County resident of six years. “We don’t know them but we’re cheering them on. It brings you together.”

Calvelli’s children participated in the event for the first time this year.

“It’s not just fun; it makes you feel good that you’re contributing to the hospital,” he said. “It’s not just getting together with friends and family. It’s getting together for a good cause.”

Among the numerous community members were hundreds of volunteers. Heather and Brian Straughter have been Fun Run volunteers since its second year, when it was held in the old Cantina parking lot. They have watched the event, the community and their own son, Ethan, grow together.

“All these events are so great because you see people who have young kids, who have older kids. Some of the kids who run this are now volunteers. It makes you feel happy that you live in area where people care.”

Ethan, 12, has been running in the event since he was five, and 2017 was his last year eligible for the run. “He aged out,” Brian said. “Now he can volunteer.”

Published in Sports
Thursday, 08 June 2017 17:16

June 9th - June 15th

COURTS

Maria L. Lentini, 31, of Saratoga Springs, was sentenced on June 1 to 1-1/3 to 4 years in state prison for leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in a death. Lentini was convicted by jury trial in November 2016 in connection with an incident that occurred 11 months earlier on state Route 9 in Halfmoon.   

Craig M. Guilfoyle, 32, of Ballston Spa, was sentenced on May 25 to one year in Saratoga County Jail after pleading to felony criminal contempt in connection with an incident that occurred in Malta. 

Angel M. Rodrigues, 33, of Saratoga Springs, was sentenced on May 25 to 90 days in jail after pleading to felony burglary in connection with an incident that occurred in Saratoga Springs. 

John D. Vickery, 52, of Ballston Spa, pleaded on May 30 to promoting sexual performance of a child, a felony. Sentencing scheduled for Aug. 11. 

Brandy Barragan, 25, of Saratoga Springs, was sentenced May 31 to eight years in state prison, after pleading to criminal sale of a controlled substance in the first-degree, in connection with three incidents that occurred in Saratoga Springs in 2016. 

Bruce J. McDonald, 53, of Ballston Spa, was sentenced May 31 to 1-1/3 to 4 years in state prison, after pleading to felony DWI, in connection with an incident that occurred in Saratoga Springs. 

Leonard P. Chase, 45, of Schenectady, pleaded on June 1 to misdemeanor DWI and felony aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, in connection with an incident that occurred in Saratoga Springs. Sentencing scheduled for Aug. 3. 

POLICE

Michael P. Zorn, age 26, Saratoga Springs, was charged on May 25 with three counts each felony forgery/ credit card, felony criminal possession of a forged instrument second, misdemeanor petit larceny, and two counts criminal possession stolen property.

Maurice D. Mangrum, age 39, Schenectady, was charged on May 25 with misdemeanor DWI, and resisting arrest. 

Brendan M. Berry, age 18, Gansevoort, was charged on May 24 with criminal impersonation misdemeanor. 

Alice M. Steele, age 56, Ballston Spa, was charged on May 24 with aggravated unlicensed operation, no/expired inspection certificate.

Christopher M. Decker, age 35, Saratoga Springs, was charged on May 24 with assault. 

Thomas W. Aldrich, age 52, Mooresville, North Carolina, was charged on May 24 with misdemeanor DWI, failure to stop at stop sign, failure to keep right, failure to signal a turn.  

Edward J. Hamil, age 61, Schenectady, was charged on May 23 with assault. 

Dylan V. Howard, age 23, Saratoga Springs, was charged on May 23 with misdemeanor criminal trespass.    

Michael D. Rosebrook, age 31, Saratoga Springs, was charged on May 23 with misdemeanor criminal contempt.    

Gary R. Nipper, age 40, St. Louis, Missouri, was charged on May 23 with misdemeanor DWI, failure to signal a turn- 2 counts.

David T. Pelkey, age 25, Mechanicville, was charged on May 23 with misdemeanor DWI, speeding.  

Royal D. Hamilton, age 35, Brooklyn, was charged on May 21 with two misdemeanor counts criminal mischief.

Wesley J.W. Keithline, age 18, Saratoga Springs, was charged on May 21 with assault, criminal mischief, and unlawful possession of marijuana.   

Arjan S. Sarang, age 22, Ballston Lake, was charged on May 21 with misdemeanor DWI, improper lane use, and three counts criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Clarissa A. Rock, age 27, Malta, was charged on May 20 with aggravated unlicensed operation.

Julienne M. Moyer, age 57, Ballston Spa, was charged on May 19 with aggravated unlicensed operation, fail to obey traffic control device.  

Donald G. Barber, age 58, Bennington Vermont, was charged on May 19 with misdemeanor DWI, unsafe lane change. 

John R. Bellon, age 23, Porters Corners, was charged on May 18 with two counts criminal possession stolen property.

Benjamin H. Emmich, age 20, Saratoga Springs, was charged on May 18 with criminal mischief. 

Joseph M. Plue, age 23, Saratoga Springs, was charged on May 17 with assault.   

Anna M. Hollander, age 54, Saratoga Springs, was charged on May 17 with misdemeanor DWI, failure to keep right. 

Brett L. Lauren Kennedy, age 38, Schenectady, was charged on May 16 with aggravated unlicensed operation, unlawful possession of marijuana, criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Michael P. Zorn, age 26, Saratoga Springs, was charged on May 15 with operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs, aggravated unlicensed operation third degree, following motor vehicle too closely, leaving the scene of an auto accident, criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Michael T. Mulvey, age 18, Gansevoort, was charged on May 15 with felony burglary and two felony counts grand larceny/ credit card. 

Published in Police Blotter

City Council members fiddled with their respective pens, rested chins on palms of hands and listened intently to the 12 speakers who came forward Tuesday night at City Hall, where a public hearing was held regarding the much-debated SPA Housing Zoning Ordinance.

The goal of the plan – initially proposed in 2006 - is to produce “affordable” homebuyer and rental housing units for working households across the city. That last part – across the city – appears to be a major sticking point for some.

Tuesday night, Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus addressed the council and recommended they seek “site-specific” affordable housing projects to be placed in designated locations, rather than the across-the-city policy the Inclusionary Zoning, or IZ proposal offers.

Sustainable Saratoga Chairman Harry Moran, who resurrected the plan when bringing it to the council last year, pointed to the council’s study of the plan as “a watershed moment” in the city’s history, and local Rev. Joseph Cleveland – who also spoke in favor of the IZ – told the council that a citywide diversity would help make Saratoga Springs a more sustainable city and that “we should not put gates up between communities.”    

A vote scheduled for Tuesday to amend the existing Zoning Ordinance to add Inclusionary Zoning – as well as a vote regarding the SEQRA Determination for the SPA Housing (IZ) ordinance - was tabled until Monday, June 19, the date of the next City Council meeting. The vote requires majority approval of the five council members to be adopted and it is not clear, at this point, which way that vote will go. 

Upcoming Meetings

7 p.m. Monday, June 12: Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting at City Hall.

3 - 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 13: Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) Technical Review Advisory Committee (TRAC) Meeting at Saratoga Music Hall. 

Published in News

Who: Dave Patterson.

Where: Congress Park.  

What are you doing today?

Taking a group of fourth-graders from Geyser Road Elementary School on an outside tour of Congress Park. When my group is finished, we’re going to switch with Jamie Parillo – he’s the director of the Saratoga Springs History Museum – and he will take the students on an inside tour of the history museum. This is part of the fourth-grade program on local history.    

Where are you from originally?

Originally from South Boston. I’ve been living in Saratoga for about 40 years now. I used to be president of the history museum, and I used to teach a course on local history at Saratoga high school.

How has Saratoga changed in the 40 years since you’ve been here?

It’s changed quite a bit. The buildings have been sprouting like flowers, but way back in the day, in the 1880s, there were buildings over there (on Broadway) that were taller than they are now. As a matter of fact, the largest hotel in the world used to be right across the street from this park: The Grand Union hotel. So as big as Saratoga is getting now with the buildings, it pales in comparison to what it was in the 1880s.     

Student question:  How long have the springs been in Congress Park?

One of the first springs discovered in Saratoga Springs is called Congress Spring – right over there. A man named Nicholas Gilman found water bubbling out of the ground and brought his friends to it. Because he used to be a member of the Continental Congress, they named it Congress Spring, and it was so important that this whole park used to be called Congress Spring Park.   

Student question: How many springs are there?

We have 17 today. At one time, we had just over 200.

Student question: How is Saratoga with the pollution?

Saratoga’s been pretty lucky because we haven’t had a lot of industry that would create pollution. Probably the biggest polluter in Saratoga Springs would be the automobile. Of course, 100 years ago we had horses and carriages - and horses have their own kind of pollution, if you know what I mean, so you had to keep the streets clean.

 Student question: Are any of these places here haunted?

The building right behind you. Did you ever see a show called “Ghost Hunters”? Well a few years ago they came in and said there were spirits right in the museum here.

Student Response: Awesome!!! 

Published in Entertainment

SCHUYLERVILLE – One local student will soon be off to D.C. for the opportunity of her high school career.

Freya Birkas-Dent, a junior at Schuylerville High School, will begin a three-week position in the competitive and prestigious United States Senate Page program on June 11, which will run until June 30. Birkas-Dent will be sponsored by N.Y. Senator Chuck Schumer, and was one of only 30 students from across the country selected for the program.

Her responsibilities during these three weeks will include administrative tasks, such as filing paperwork and delivering documents and mail between offices. The program will also involve time in the Senate Chamber, during which pages will be responsible for arranging papers at each seat and holding doors, according to Birkas-Dent. She will also be attending page school, to “l earn about parliamentary procedure and the legislative process,” according to the Schuylerville schools website.

Birkas-Dent first became aware of the Senate page position while reading a book written by former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, in which he references pages as the people who perform various administrative tasks for the Senate. This interested her, and she began researching the position by visiting the websites of some of her Senators.

She first got in touch with the offices of N.Y. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, inquiring about page positions for the spring or fall, as she initially wanted to apply for one that would happen during the school year. Finding that neither Senator had available positions for those sessions, she applied to a number of Senators from different states, including Susan Collins of Maine and Claire McCaskill of Mo. This too failed to yield fruitful results, as she said that Senators prefer to sponsor pages from their own constituencies. Finally, Senator Schumer came through with a page position for the summer, which she accepted.

“I’m really interested in going into international relations or into government,” Birkas-Dent said about what inspired her to pursue a position like this. “We learn about this kind of stuff in the classroom, but you really don’t have a tangible experience with it. It’s kind of shrouded in secrecy what actually goes on there, so I don’t feel like I have a good understanding of exactly how it runs on a day-to-day basis.”

Birkas-Dent believes this position will give her the sort of understanding of the legislative process necessary for her to decide if it is a career path that she would like to follow. Some of the careers she has considered for herself include elected official, diplomat, or possibly working with a non-profit doing international relations work. Whatever career she ends up pursuing, she knows that she would like to go into the Peace Corps after college.

“I think the U.N. [United Nations] would be really interesting to be in,” Birkas-Dent said. “But I think it’s hard to get into as an American. So I’ve kind of branched out.”

Back at home, Birkas-Dent is involved with a number of groups and programs focused on environmental preservation. She is the president of the high school’s Environmental Club, and works with the Hudson River Community Advisory Group, which works on various things including dredging and floodplain sampling. She is also the captain of her school’s Climate Leadership Team, and with that group recently attended the Adirondack Youth Climate Summit. While environmental issues are important to her, she said that were she to get involved with politics in the future, they would likely be a side issue for her and not a core part of her hypothetical platform, given the divisive conversation surrounding such issues.

“I’m very excited,” Birkas-Dent said about beginning her new position. “I’m excited to meet people from all over the country. It’s a little bit nerve-wracking cause we don’t know yet what we’ll be doing exactly, but I think it’ll be a good experience and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Published in Education
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Blotter

  • New York State Police The New York State Police announced that it issued 5,576 tickets during this year’s St. Patrick’s Day enforcement initiative. The campaign began on Friday, March 15, and continued until Sunday, March 17. During the campaign, funded by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, State Police utilized sobriety checkpoints, additional DWI patrols, and underage drinking and sales to minors detail. State Police also ticketed distracted drivers who use handheld electronic devices. State Troopers arrested 132 people for DWI and investigated 199 crashes, which resulted in 25 people being injured and no fatalities. As part of the enforcement, Troopers also…

Property Transactions

  • BALLSTON Heather DiCaprio sold property at 473 Garrett Rd to Justine Levine for $288,000 Sharon Willman sold property at 99 Jenkins Rd to Charles Lemley for $165,000 CORINTH George Montena sold property at 422 Oak St to Stephen James for $142,250 Mark Makler sold property at 313 Oak St to Sabrina Sinagra for $195,000 GREENFIELD Landlord Services of Upstate New York sold property at 1935 NYS Rt 9N to Cochise Properties LLC for $210,000 MALTA  Linda LaBarge sold property at 35 Snowberry Rd to Qu Haozheng for $270,000 Dennis Mitchell sold property at 60 Village Circle North to BGRS Relocation…
  • NYPA
  • Saratoga County Chamber
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  • Discover Saratoga
  • Saratoga Springs Downtown Business Association