Friday April 26, 2024 
My flower, my wife
A rose may bloom red
while a violet may bloom blue
Yet no flower has ever bloomed
more beautiful than you
Walter De BELL, Troy
Money – The Change Maker
Even though it’s only legal tender
It effects every age and every gender
It can be used for good and bad
Or leave you feeling like you’ve just been had
It tries to control every facet of your life
Pretending to be a necessary vice
Money can cause war but it doesn’t buy peace
Yet possessing it brings you no release
Don’t let the lack of cash bring you pain
Because the desire for it will drive you insane
If you let money be your master
Your life might be a disaster
The things that satisfy, money just can’t buy
If you were a spendthrift
You would let your money go adrift
Then there’s the miser who won’t spend a dollar
When he has to, he will hoot and holler
Most of us use money to pay the bills
And what’s left over buys us some cheap thrills
Volumes have been written about
What the evil of loving money can do
Heed the warning and don’t let this happen to you
Rich people try to use money to get their way
Only to find out later there’s a bigger price to pay
A wise man builds up eternal treasures
Far greater than earthly pleasures
If money is what you crave, you tend to misbehave
Use your money for change, but don’t let it change you
Do what is right and stick to what is true
Money has a purpose and a place
But it should never be used to control the human race
I pray that the world seeks
Riches far greater than wealth
And God bless everyone with happiness and good health
Donna Masters, Troy
It Isn’t Broken
As a Poestenkill Town Resident you currently receive advanced life support services through Mohawk Ambulance at no cost to the town.
Without a report from the officially appointed Ambulance Committee whose task was to provide information as to the need for a paid ambulance service and a cost analysis; the Town Board voted 3 to 2 to move forward with a resolution which states that by creating an ambulance district and paying for an ambulance service, that our service will in turn improve over what is currently provided to us for free. Please let me know how that is possible? I can assure you there will be no guarantees, but there will be an additional cost on your property tax bill. Given the current economic crisis is this really the time to increase our taxes without any benefit? Mohawk Ambulance has received many accolades for their service to our town “if it’s not broke don’t fix it”.
A public hearing has been scheduled for September 17, 2020, when town residents may voice their opinions. If you are unable to attend I urge you to email Town Board members or call the Supervisor at 518-283-5100 to guarantee your opinion is known.
Respectfully submitted,
June Butler, Town Board Member
Great Experience at Troy DMV!
The DMV is often the punchline of jokes that include tales of long lines, rude people, wrong answers, etc. Well, that may be true in other DMVs but not our DMV in Troy. I recently sold a car to a guy from Brooklyn. He came to look at the car while visiting family in western Mass, we arrived at a price, and made plans for him to take the train up from Brooklyn the following week to exchange the check and the title and the other paperwork. Easy, right? Nope. Not during the days of Covid. Troy DMV will only allow residents from Rensselaer county in the building. But. But. But how does the guy register the car, get the plates and drive it away? After exploring the NYS website and DMV website and coming up empty, I called Rensco County Clerk Frank Merola and left a message on his voice mail. In less than 24 hours Mr. Merola called me back and gave me his cell phone number and told me to arrive at DMV with the buyer, call him, he would alert the staff, they would come out and check his paperwork and I would be allowed in to surrender my plates and take care of the buyer’s purchase. The staff was kind and smart and efficient and so, so, so willing to help. Even the guard who took our temperatures was charming! Thanks and congratulations to Deputy Clerk Paul Santandera and County Clerk Frank Merola for their willingness to help a constituent and for assembling an excellent staff of talented workers. And don’t you dare tell a DMV joke around me! I’ll tell you all about the Rensco DMV – the best in the country!
Bridget Ball Shaw, Averill Park, NY
Back to the Old Days
I would like to go back to the old days
When you had a shot at life
Where the government didn’t require you to stay 6 feet from your wife
I would like to go back to the old days
Where you saw a person smile
And no one was required to stand on a spot pasted to the tile.
Wouldn’t it be nice to go back to the old days?
When kids went off to school
Where everything made some kind of sense
And you weren’t treated like a fool
There’s only one man in Washington
Who makes you feel not like a dope
Nor encourages you to go to the barn.
And hanging yourself with a rope.
They’re testing out a flu vaccine.
They started with a rat,
They had success so they moved up to a cat.
Phase 3 uses people, it’s showing great success.
So it must be said, and I say it with propriety,
That a lot of people could be dead.
But thanks to rats and cats and fat Democrats
They’ve proved their worth to society.
Dean Evans, The Outhouse Poet, Stephentown
Rensselaer County Legislature Fails to Adopt Racial Justice Resolution
I was disappointed that the Rensselaer County Legislature has again failed to adopt a resolution in support of racial justice. The Republican Majority blocked a Resolution for Racial Justice.
I was further disappointed that my Legislator, Robert Bayly, who represents Poestenkill, was quoted as stating “I will never vote for something that has Blacks Lives Matters; all lives matter as far as I am concerned”. To some that view may seem reasonable, however by trying to understand the despair and anger being expressed by the Black Lives Matter Movement, Bayly’s statement only serves to protect the status quo. By refusing to recognize the injustices and inequities that continue to exist in our society, white racism continues its hold on all of us.
This doesn’t mean that members of our all white Legislature intend to be racist. However, by failing to recognize the racial reckoning our country is now undergoing only perpetuates racism.
In 1968 the Kerner Commission Report (National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders) declared that “our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white—separate and unequal”. Fifty-two years later, what have we done with that warning?
I want our elected representatives to lead us toward a more just and equitable community, not hide from uncomfortable discussions. We can do better.
Priscilla Fairbank, East Poestenkill
Forget The Post Office
It’s now clear that President Trump, to win re-election, is willing to trash the Post Office. On Fox last week, he said he opposed funding the U.S. Postal Service because it will be used for mail-in voting. Never mind that during COVID 19 it is a matter of public health to limit the close gatherings that accompany going to the polls, never mind that mail-in voting has been used by the military for generations, never mind that many states have already expanded mail-in voting to allow greater participation in our democracy with great success, and never mind that there is no evidence of the voter fraud that the President loves to claim. The truth is that he is down in the polls and he wants to keep people from voting. It’s something Republicans have been doing and trying to do all over the country. I know we are a deeply divided nation over policy and philosophy of government, but how do those of you who support the President feel about preventing people from voting? How does that square with the American principle of self rule and your sense of patriotism? We often criticize dictatorships around the world for sham elections; how is our voter suppression any different? And finally, how does sacrificing the Post Office for political gain sit with you? The Post Office has bound this country together since our founding, and it has been a crucial link to the world and a community center for much of rural America. But such traditions don’t seem to matter to this President.
Michael Roland, Nassau
The A B C of Despair
A is for airplanes I’m afraid to fly
B is for bees.. if they sting me I will die.
C is for creeping things..spiders and big bugs
D is for dying young at the hands of thugs.
E is for exercise which I hate to do
F is for forgetting the things I thought I knew.
G is for gruesome that describes the daily news
H is for headaches that accompany the blues.
I is for idiots ..folks who lack common sense
J is for jail birds behind the barbed wire fence.
K is for killings that are commonplace
L is for lies told with a straight face.
M is for monsters confined to comic strips
N is nonsense that pours from lying lips.
O is for outrage that often i feel
P is for problems with which I have to deal.
Q is for queens..women who no longer rule
R is for regret when I’ve acted like a fool
S is for sleep of which I never get enough
T is for trouble when things get too rough.
U is for understanding that’s in short supply
V is for vice and the victims who will die.
W is for weakness to which we all succumb
X is for symbolic kisses when shyness makes us dumb.
Y is for Yeti that mysterious fictional creature
Z is for zombie whose face is an ugly feature.
From A to Z….I’ve confronted despair
Chased the blues and cleared the air.
Sylvia Honig
Virtual Family 2020
“Mommy, is Grandma Skype
Your Mommy or Daddy’s?”
“She’s Daddy’s mother;
She’s a Smith.”
“How about Uncle Facetime…
Is he Grandma Skype’s brother?”
“He’s a Smith, dear;
We are all Smiths.”
“But, Mommy, our teacher told us
We are all part of the Zoom family.”
“Trust me, dear, we are Smiths….
Virtual, maybe, but still Smiths.”
Lloyd Barnhart, West Sand Lake
Money-The Change Maker
Even though it’s only legal tender
It effects every age and every gender
It can be used for good and bad
Or leave you feeling like you’ve just been had
It tries to control every facet of your life
Pretending to be a necessary vice
Money can cause war but it doesn’t buy peace
Yet possessing it brings you no release
Don’t let the lack of cash bring you pain
Because the desire for it will drive you insane
If you let money be your master
Your life might be a disaster
The things that satisfy, money just can’t buy
If you were a spendthrift
You would let your money go adrift
Then there’s the miser who won’t spend a dollar
When he has to, he will hoot and holler
Most of us use money to pay the bills
And what’s left over buys us some cheap thrills
Volumes have been written about
What the evil of loving money can do
Heed the warning and don’t let this happen to you
Rich people try to use money to get their way
Only to find out later there’s a bigger price to pay
A wise man builds up eternal treasures
Far greater than earthly pleasures
If money is what you crave, you tend to misbehave
Use your money for change, but don’t let it change you
Do what is right and stick to what is true
Money has a purpose and a place
But it should never be used to control the human race
I pray that the world seeks
Riches far greater than wealth
And God bless everyone with happiness and good health
Donna Masters, Troy
SOS – Save Our System – The Poestenkill Emergency Medical System is under attack
POESTENKILL – Three members of the Poestenkill Town Board appear to be determined to replace Mohawk Ambulance Service as the Town’s official ambulance provider. This is a risky move that could put Poestenkill resident’s lives in danger.
Mohawk Ambulance, in conjunction with the Poestenkill Fire Company’s First Responders, provides excellent emergency response for Town residents (at no cost to taxpayers – pay only if you use the service). At the special meeting on Aug. 6, numerous members of the Poestenkill Fire Company stated that they are very happy with Mohawk Ambulance service, and that the Mohawk Ambulance sometimes arrives on the scene before they do (the First Responders respond very quickly, often in under 5 minutes). Numerous residents also spoke out supporting Mohawk Ambulance.
At the meeting, a gentleman credited Mohawk Ambulance and the First Responders with saving his life. He was in a remote area of Poestenkill when he had a heart attack. The response was fast enough to save his life and safely transport him to Albany Medical Center where he made a full recovery. He stated that he received first-rate care on that fateful day.
From the 911 operators to the First Responders to Mohawk Ambulance, the State and County police, and lastly the State Police helicopter, Poestenkill residents are provided with an excellent emergency medical response system that should not be destroyed, our lives depend on it.
Please contact Town Board members at 518-283-5100
Harold Van Slyke hvanslyke@nullpoestenkillny.com
Eric Wohlleber ewohlleber@nullpoestenkillny.com
Keith Hammond Khammond@nullpoestenkillny.com
and tell them that you do not want the Town to take the risk of searching for an ambulance service that might promise, but can not guarantee, to do a better job than Mohawk Ambulance.
There will be a public hearing in September with a date and place to be determined.
Sincerely, Dave Hass
Councilman, Town of Poestenkill