Sunday March 26, 2023 
The Arts Are Still Happening in Sand Lake!
While COVID-19 precautions still limit many community activities, the Sand Lake Center for the Arts continues bringing arts programs to Sand Lake and beyond. These programs are all free and open to the public!
Throughout 2020, we did online theater productions, gallery exhibitions, and adult and children’s craft workshops in socially distanced formats.
This outstanding programming will continue in 2021. Here’s some of what we are planning:
• Four Plays in Four Months – free online readings of new plays featuring some of our favorite actors and directors over Zoom the last Saturday of the month. (Free registration required.) From the WWII era and Civil Rights movement to modern love and today’s schools, these plays will entertain and intrigue.
• Art Gallery Exhibitions – our Dan Sekellick Visual Arts Gallery is open Saturdays from 12- 3 pm. Stop by for these great shows this spring:
o Through February: Alan E. Opresko, Found Object Assemblage & Leslie Berlinsky, oil paintings
o March-April: SLCA Community Birdhouses/Eric Washburn. Birdhouse/Photography.
o May-June: Joe Johnson. Photography
• Craft Workshops: Watch for our springtime project!
• Youth programs this summer: We hope conditions will allow the summer arts programs for kids. Stay tuned. (While these aren’t free we hope to keep the fee as low as possible and offer scholarships. )
• And a few more surprises! We’ve got a magical event in mind for summer.
(Save the date for the SLCA Golf Outing, our major fundraiser to support the After School Arts Program (ASAP), August 28, 2021 at BLCC.)
When times are challenging, the arts can help revitalize us. See for yourself by trying one of our programs. More information and free registration on our website.
See you at the SLCA!
Barbara Neu Berti, SLCA Board President, Averill Park, NY
Brian Sheldon, SLCA Executive Director, Nassau, NY
Poestenkill Ambulance District Vote
On March 30 the Town of Poestenkill land owners will have the opportunity to vote on whether to establish an ambulance district for the Town. This will be a tax district that all landowners will have to pay for. The resolution to establish this district, (supported by three of the Town Board Members, Keith Hammond, Eric Wohlleber, Harold VanSlyke) allows up to $225,000 to be spent. This should be voted down.
The resolution has no valid direction. The Town Board will decide who will get the contract. There are no goals stated and no definition of results to be achieved. It is like giving the Town Board a blank check.
The resolution is to put out to bid a contract to local ambulance services to provide bls and als to the Town. Keep in mind that Mohawk Ambulance currently provides this service at no cost to the Town.
Proponents of the resolution claim that the current service does not provide timely service. Times that Mr. VanSlyke has been reporting, range from six to two years old. These times are very flawed. These times do not take into account the type of call, non-life threatening or life threatening. Distance of the call. Some calls can be 10 to 15 minutes from the center of town. Weather conditions.
If this resolution is voted in, and the District is created, consider future years. For example. If the
first contract is for two years and after that two year period the contract becomes $450,000 or higher. You know it will keep going up. Landowners will be responsible for that amount.
Keep in mind. Just because there is an ambulance district, the service is not free. You still will be billed if you use the service.
Vote this down. VOTE NO.
Lou Basle, Poestenkill
A Sincere Thank You
To the Editor:
We wish to express our appreciation for the efforts of Miller Young and his team at Young’s Pharmacy & General Store to vaccinate the residents of this area against COVID-19, a clearly deadly and contagious disease. Mr. Young’s openness and his business, organizational, and motivational skills along with his willing and competent team members, have created a vaccination program that provides residents with an extra layer of protection in addition to that provided by obedience to the CDC’s recommendations. The availability of vaccines, not his or his team’s creativity in developing an effective distribution program, is the only limit on his efforts.
Mr. Young and his team are truly valued members of this community: residents helping residents.
Sincerely,
Charles and Catherine Sullivan, Averill Park
Generational Dystopia
“Each new generation born is in effect an invasion of civilization by little barbarians, who must be civilized before it is too late.” -Thomas Sowell
In this quote, Dr. Sowell is referring to the well known fact that:
“Every generation
Blames the one before
And all of their frustrations
Come beating on your door…”
[Mike and the Mechanics – The Living Years – 1988]
Each new generation is compelled to make its mark and all too often proceeds to throw out the good as they, in their youthful ignorance, attempt to rectify what they feel is bad.
Young Americans of recent generations have been indoctrinated and swayed by socialist and Marxist academics to act on what is in their hearts before their brains have developed into thoughtful adult minds capable of reasoning and good judgment.
America is blessed to have such an intellectual giant as Thomas Sowell to counter the emotive opinings of the spawn of what people refer to as Academia or the intelligentsia.
I once tried to get a very ignorant white BLM supporter to read one of Thomas Sowell’s books to try to get him to understand politics but his arrogant reply was that he didn’t have to read the garbage written by dead white guys to know what was going on. You would think that after telling him that Thomas Sowell was neither dead nor white, that he would have begun questioning his political knowledge …but he just became more obstinate.
There is a root cause to this dystopian view of America and it’s in our public education system which is strictly controlled by politicians, unions and an overreaching federal government of boundless left-wing extremism.
If ever there was a perfect time to advance school choice and home schooling, that time is now.
David Crawmer, Wynantskill
Vote Yes on the Poestenkill Ambulance District
When I read Councilman Hass’ letter in the Advertiser last week (February 11) I was somewhat surprised by his “Blank Check” analogy. At first I thought Mr. Hass did not understand the process involved; a vote as to whether or not to establish an Ambulance District, then at a later date a vote to approve a budget and a plan. Later in his comments he does actually prove he well knows the entire process.
There is no “Blank Check” Mr. Hass. There will be, by design, a complete and accurate budget IF the District is approved on March 30. And the Taxpayers get to vote a second time to approve that budget. Your dramatic and misleading words are far less than I would expect from an elected official. Nobody is being asked to spend a penny. And if the voters reject the establishment of a District, that’s it. The End. But if you convince voters to vote no, it should be based on real logic, not twisted scare tactics. This is the way such questions should be answered; by actual voter input.
I have not forgotten your remarks in 2017, where you said that you were elected to make decisions. For the most part, you are right. But with something this important, I think the taxpayers should have the chance to voice their opinion. You have been opposed to the concept of improving Ambulance Service in our town from the start. When the Town Board set up the Poestenkill Ambulance Advisory Committee, you completely denied their well researched findings by voting to reject any and all bids received in response to the Town issued RFP. Even after the Town Board passed a resolution to exceed the State Tax Cap. From the very start of the discussion, you were stuck on no. A responsible and effective Elected Official should be undecided until after all of the facts are reviewed.
I would rather not leave what could well be a life or death decision to someone that has a clear and declared prejudice against this needed improvement.
Evan S. Eisenhandler, Poestenkill
Poestenkill Tax Increase April 1st?
At the February 18th Board meeting the Town Attorney stated that taxes could increase immediately on April 1st if the Ambulance Tax District is approved.
How will the new funds be spent? Trust the Town Board.
How much will taxes be increased on April 1st? Trust the Town Board. Estimates are for an increase of 15% to 65%.
Before authorizing unlimited spending and taxing voters should know what service improvements to expect, where in Poestenkill those improvements will be, and how much it will cost every taxpayer.
Owen Goldfarb, East Poestenkill
Poestenkill – Vote NO on the Blank Check Taxing District, Part 5
How good is our emergency response?
Excellent.
How do I know?
I saw it first hand.
In October of 2019 I was riding my bike down Plank Road. As I was approaching Blue Factory Road I saw a car on the wrong lane up against another car facing uphill. The downhill car was destroyed. Head on collision. Turned too late and smashed into essentially a parked car. Only moments before I arrived. Airbag saved one driver’s life.
I stopped to ask if they needed help. 911 had been called. Help was on the way.
Within seconds the Poestenkill First Responders started appearing one after the other like ghosts coming out of the mist. Except it was a bright sunny afternoon.
They started examining the drivers, directing traffic, cleaning up some of the debris. A few moments later the rescue truck appeared followed by Mohawk Ambulance. Then came a police car.
In less than ten minutes the scene went from 2 unfortunate drivers and one useless bike rider to a full blown emergency response situation.
I was so proud of my town, Poestenkill. All of these men and women were volunteers, serving their neighbors in need.
We have a good system – let’s not take chances and possibly destroy it.
Please vote no on the blank check ambulance district vote on March 30, 2021, from Noon – 8PM at the Sullivan-Jones VFW in Poestenkill.
Dave Hass, Councilman, Town of Poestenkill
Food Delivery Platforms Listing Without Permission
Third -party food delivery and ordering sites have increased in prevalence as a result of the pandemic. These organizations act as an aggregator and allow consumers to order food possibly from a single site. What many not know, is that many of these sites are doing this without formal agreements with the restaurants. These websites are “scraping” the website of the restaurants and showing the information on the food delivery site. The issue is that the restaurant may no longer offer the dish or even be open at the moment. As a result, the consumer thinks it is an issue with the restaurant. When in fact, the third-party may not have current information and may have no formal relationship with the restaurant. This can harm the reputation of the restaurant. I know that this is a growing problem. Recently, our local Assemblymember John McDonald III, cosponsored legislation to address this issue. The New York legislation is similar to a California law already enacted. The NYC Hospitality Alliance is very supportive of the legislation. I support local businesses. I support this legislation that protects our businesses. I look forward to NY legislature adopting this legislation.
Michael Myer, Wynantskill
One Small Ask
Good grief!
I just realized how much we all need to try harder to not be exposed to any of the new mutant strains of the TDS MSM-21 virus (Trump Derangement Syndrome Main Stream Media virus of 2021) and become another victim of the propaganda pandemic.
I was in the kitchen minding my own business when my wife was fully exposed to the latest TDS MSM-21 virus strain coming from the TV in the family room.
The viral super-spreader from the TV said that hate crime attacks on Chinese people in America have gone up because President Trump calls COVID-19 the “China virus”.
This is a very dangerous strain of the virus because the truth is that Chinese Americans are some of Trump’s biggest supporters. They were the most organized group of attendees at his January 6th rally in DC. They know what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is doing to our country and are very upset about it because it’s the reason they fled their homeland.
Thank goodness both of us are well beyond the most susceptible age range of 15-30 years old (I think I’m in trouble for pointing that out).
I have received regular doses of the Rush vaccine although my wife doesn’t have that same degree of immunity that I have. She might be an asymptomatic carrier and spread some of the virus without being aware.
I’ve tried to tell my wife that it’s “One Small Ask” to keep her distance from the super-spreaders but she’s a TDS MSM-21 denier and doesn’t believe she’s taking a chance when she watches TV.
For my part, when I have to be within six feet of a TV around dinnertime, I’ll cover my ears and wear a mask over my eyes. …but I have no doubt that it will be a lot more than two weeks to flatten the curve or stop the spread.
David Crawmer, Wynantskill
Poestenkill – Vote NO on the Blank Check Taxing District, Part 6
$2000+ per call instead of $0.
That’s what the blank check taxing district will cost you.
Will we get improved ambulance service? Don’t know.
Will we get faster response times? Don’t know.
Will we get better patient outcomes? Probably not.
Will we get an ambulance stationed in Poestenkill? No. Not even being considered.
We will be on the hook for $225,000 in the first year even though NO alternative service has been identified, NO negotiations have taken place, and NO decisions have been made about what we even want. We don’t even know how the $225,000 will be spent.
Is this madness?
Please vote no on the blank check ambulance district vote on March 30, 2021, from Noon – 8PM at the Sullivan-Jones VFW in Poestenkill.
NOTES
1. $225,000 divided by about 100 ambulance calls per year is $2,250 per call. I rounded down to be conservative.
2. All services ALSO bill the patient. The service that gets the contract is going to make a killing.
3. Mohawk provides ALS and BLS ambulance service. Same as Sand Lake and North Greenbush.
4. Four years ago no ambulance service offered a guarantee that they would be faster than Mohawk.
5. You have about 6 minutes for cardiac arrest. It doesn’t matter if the ambulance arrives in 12 minutes or 14 minutes. Too late. The Golden Hour rule for trauma patients is: no statistical difference in patient outcomes as long as they get to the hospital within an hour.
Dave Hass, Councilman, Town of Poestenkill