Thursday April 25, 2024 
Looking for Volunteers
Community Caregivers, a nonprofit agency, has continued to expand in Rensselaer County! We have over 50 clients but not enough volunteers to serve all of these nice people.
Are you looking to help someone in your community remain living independently with a little assistance from you? We need your help! Our volunteers can take someone to the doctors, grocery or other errands as well as visiting and calling. We have a simple orientation process.
Call Heidi Buono, Rensselaer County Service Coordinator, at (518)925-8794 or Izzy Abrams at (518) 456-2898 to receive information on volunteering. We have paired with AmeriCorps to provide older volunteers with stipends based on their income and hours. To learn more or donate to our agency, see Community Caregivers.org.
News From Averill Park CSD
Algonquin Middle School recognized 121 students who earned the Presidential Award for Educational Excellence, the nation’s highest honor for middle school students. To qualify, students must have a 90% or higher average from the previous school year and achieve at the highest level on a NYS Assessment. Great job, everyone!
Both Algonquin Middle School and Poestenkill Elementary School held their Kids Heart Challenges recently. AMS raised $6,000 for the American Heart Association and PES raised $9,000. Way to go, everyone!
The District is offering a full-day Pre-Kindergarten program once again this year, funded by a New York State grant. This year, there are 47 spots available, up from 18 last year. For more information, and to register, visit the District website.
As always, for the latest news from the District, please visit our website – averillpark.k12.ny.us. You can also follow AP on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Submitted by Dr. James Franchini, Averill Park CSD Superintendent
Rensselaer Co. Home Bureau Community Workshop
Rensselaer Co. Home Bureau Community Workshop will be Thursday, April 13, 2023, 10am at First Ref. Church, Wynantskill.
Walker totes, bear sweaters & apron shirts. Bring covered dish to share with own place settings. Also bring a friend.
Public Meeting: Route 4 Corridor Study: New Date
U.S. Route 4 Corridor Study (Mannix Road to Route 43). Public Meeting #1. Rescheduled date: Monday, March 27, 2023 at 6:30 PM. DeFreestville Fire Department, 350 North Greenbush Road.
Go to www.nyroute4study.com for more information. DeFreestville Area Neighborhoods Association, Inc.
The Arthur G. Ferguson Scholarship
The Averill Park Sand Lake Fire Department has established The Chief Arthur G. Ferguson Scholarship to honor his years of service to our community.
The purpose of the scholarship is to provide support to a graduating senior of the Averill Park High School who has displayed a commitment to their community through service as a firefighter or EMT; or is pursuing a career as a firefighter, or in the field of emergency medicine (Paramedic or EMT).
The scholarship may be awarded annually to a graduating Averill Park High School senior who meets one of the following criteria: a graduating senior who is pursuing a career as a firefighter or in the field of emergency medicine (Paramedic or EMT); or a graduating senior who has no less than one year as an active member in good standing of a volunteer fire department or ambulance service. The scholarship will be a one-time award of $250 presented to the recipient at the fire company’s annual installation dinner.
Interested graduating seniors must submit a 100-word essay explaining how they qualify and why they should be the recipient of the award. The applicant’s submission must include their name, address, and contact information, and if applicable the name of the fire company of ambulance service which they are a member of. All submissions must be emailed to arthurfergusonscholarship@nullgmail.com by April 10, 2023.
East Greenbush VFW Post 7338 Auxiliary Pie Sale
The East Greenbush VFW Auxiliary is taking orders for their Homemade Pie Sale, to coincide with their Flea Market on Saturday, April 22.
Orders for pies- Apple, Cherry, Blueberry, Chocolate and Lemon Meringue should be reserved by April 8. Pies need to be picked up at the VFW on Hays Road in East Greenbush on Saturday, April 22 between 10:00am- 2:00pm.
Please contact Melinda at 518-653-9852 to order your pies by April 8. Pies are being sold for $15.00.
Wynantskill Fire Department – Building Upgrade
The North Greenbush Fire District No.1 will conduct a Workshop Meeting on Thursday, March 23, 2023, starting at 6:00pm, for the purpose of discussing the building upgrade to the Wynantskill Fire Department.
The meeting will be held at the Wynantskill Fire Department located at 511 Church Street, Wynantskill, NY 12198. For more information please visit: www.ngfd.org.
Exhibition Open Call Stratigraphy: Celebrating Layering in the Arts
Thinking of Amos Eaton – the first stratigrapher in the country, who mapped the route of the Erie Canal and the rock of our watershed – and of all the ways that art can be layered: the paint, the collage, the poetic images, the musical notes, the stitches, the gestures, the impasto …
We call for proposals towards an exhibition of art (all media, representational or performative) to be mounted at the Arts Letters & Numbers studios, Faith Mills, in Averill Park, N.Y
Deadline for proposals April 1. Deadline for delivery of material May 24. The exhibit opens May 27.
Sponsored by aGatherin’ with Arts Letters & Numbers. gather@nullagatherin.com
Rensselaer High School Hall of Fame
This year’s Rensselaer High School Hall of Fame Recipients are: Virginia Habinak Poole Cleary, 1969; Jay Foust, 1981; Tracy Foust, 1983; Nancy Hardt, 1977; Superintendent Joseph Kardash; Tessa Kent, 2002; Deborah Halacy, 1971; Gordon Noel, 1964; Joseph Polsinello, 1966; Joel Preston, 1986; John Preston, 1981; Deborah Reinmann, 1974; Gary Roberts, 1986; Richard Wark, Jr., 1979.
The nominees will be honored at this year’s banquet on April 29, 2023, at the Franklin Terrace on Campbell Avenue in Troy from 5 pm-9 pm. If you are interested in attending the banquet, dinner reservation forms can be found at the school, on the Alumni website at https://rensselaernyalumni.org/ or on Facebook at Rensselaer Grade Schools and HS Alumni | Facebook.
Dinner reservations are due no later than April 10th. If you have any questions, please feel free to email alumniassociation@nullrcsd.k12.ny.us.
Easter Bunny will be visiting the Rensselaer Craft Fair
The Class of 2024 and the Alumni Association of the Rensselaer City School district will be holding a craft fair at the high school, 25 Van Rensselaer Drive, Rensselaer, NY 12144 on March 25 from 9 am- 2 pm.
There will be over 60 vendors/crafters, food, raffles, and a 50/50. The Easter Bunny will be stopping by from 11 am- 1 pm to visit with the kids and will bring along his friend and school mascot Rammy the Ram.
Come down and spend the day, shop, and have some fun! If you have any questions please feel free to email alumniassociation@nullrcsd.k12.ny.us or call 518-436-8561.
Kiwanis of NG provides CPR/AED class for youth
Kiwanis of North Greenbush recently held a CPR/AED class for teens in the community. Fourteen youth earned an American Heart Association 2-year certification; the class was provided by Pulse Career Solutions, and sponsored by Benetech Inc, Wynantskill.
Kiwanis welcomes community-minded individuals to join our club.
Meetings are held 2nd and 4th Weds of each month at NG Town Hall, Main St, Wynantskill. More info @ https://k20729.site.kiwanis.org/
Arts Letters & Numbers | Group Muse – Flute, Harp, Viola Trio
Welcome to our second Group Muse at Arts Letters and Numbers, the really awesome artist residence in Averill Park, NY.
Join us to hear beautiful music for flute + string quartet, and immerse yourself in some impactful art!
Volunteers Needed at Grafton Lakes State Park
Grafton Lakes State Park will host a Volunteer Open House on Sun., March 26th at the Welcome Center. Do you love the park? Have you been coming to the park for years and would love to help keep the park beautiful? Are you new in town and are looking for a great community? Whatever your reason, the park could use your help! The informative session will take place from 2pm-4pm on March 26th.
Grafton Lakes has a growing volunteer base. Volunteers can get involved in a range of activities with varying level of commitments. At this session, visitors will talk to the Trail Crew Leader, the Volunteer Gardener, the Friends Group, volunteer education assistants, and others about their experiences and why they love volunteering at the park.
From gardening to a welcome center greeter, to being a volunteer Fire Tower Steward, to a program assistant, to helping with trail work- if you have a passion for something in the park, we can work together to utilize your skills to make the park a better place. No commitment required to attend. Volunteers earn benefits such as program and boat passes the more hours they serve. Volunteer gatherings such as hikes, movie nights, picnics, and more are scheduled throughout the year.
Registration encouraged, but not required. Light refreshments will be served and small door prizes given away during the event. Call 518-279-1155 to register.
Grafton Lakes State Park is located off of Route 2, twelve miles east of Troy, New York. Please use the park’s main entrance on Grafton Lakes State Park Way for this event. There is no entrance fee for this event. For more information, please call the park at 518-279-1155.
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 individual state parks, historic sites, golf courses, boat launches and recreational trails, which are visited by 79.5 million people annually. For more information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456.
We Want You!
Love exploring park-like, historic cemeteries? The Friends of Oakwood Cemetery volunteer group is hosting a Volunteer Recruitment Open House on March 26th from 1-3pm and March 30th from 5-7pm at the Gardner Earl Chapel at Oakwood Cemetery, 186 Oakwood Ave, Troy, NY 12180. Light refreshments will be served!
Learn about opportunities to get involved based on your interests and available time. Are you interested in data entry and office work; grounds work or gardening; assisting with researching, writing, and conducting tours; helping with community outreach; or have another talent you can offer?
We want to hear from you. Let’s talk! 518-272-7520. www.oakwoodcemetery.org
Wednesday Night Food Truck Event is back in North Greenbush!
We hope that everyone had a great off-season time the past couple of months. We are contacting you to let you know that we will be having Food Truck Night again here in North Greenbush!!! The Town of North Greenbush is looking for food trucks to participate in the WEDNESDAY Night Food Truck Event for the 2023 season.
We will again be having Food Trucks @ town hall between 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. We are planning on the start date of Wednesday, May 24th. This year’s event will go all the way to August 9, 2023. We are asking anyone interested in participating again to contact the Town Clerk, Janice Hannigan Kerwin, @ 518-283-4306 or feel free to email anytime at townclerk@nullnorthgreenbush.org if you have any additional questions.
East Greenbush VFW Auxiliary Seeking Flea Market Vendors
The Auxiliary to East Greenbush VFW 7338 is seeking Vendors for their scheduled Flea Market on April 22, 2023.
For further information, please contact Lynda Essenter at (518) 248-0324 or via email at schoolrn52@nullaol.com.
Bingo at South Schodack Volunteer Fire Co.
The South Schodack Volunteer Fire Co. is having Bingo the first and third Sundays each month through May. Doors open at noon with card sales starting at 1:00 PM and games start at 2:00 PM.
South Schodack Volunteer Fire Co. 1563 Bame Rd., Castleton, N.Y. 12033 (518-732-2082).
Sand Lake Historical Society Announces 2023 Schedule
SLHS will be presenting the following public programs, from January to June 2023:
April 11th, Covid-19 History Project. Committee report and presentations and a sharing of experiences from the SLHS Covid History Project. Let’s make Covid history!
May 9th, Annual Meeting. Elections, annual report to the membership – and more!
June 3rd, (tentative) Annual Gala. Final date and location to be announced. Don’t miss this highlight of our year!
June 13th, The Pretty Fantastic Mr. Fox. Albert Rodmond Fox, industrialist, glassworks owner, State Senator, mover-and-shaker, and the Fox who gave us Fox Mansion. Learn about one of Sand Lake’s early leaders and speculate on why we live in Averill Park and not “Foxboro.”
All SLHS programs (unless otherwise noted) are held at the Sand Lake Town Hall Courtroom, 8428 NY Rte. 66, Averill Park, beginning at 7:00 pm. More information at http://sandlakehistory.org/. Like us on Facebook.
The Anchor Food Pantry
The Anchor Food Pantry will be the beneficiary of a Food Drive sponsored by The Schodack Central School District and Rensselaer County District Attorney Mary Donnelly that will take place on Saturday, March 25,2023 from the hours of 9am-1pm at Maple Hill High School -1216 Maple Hill Road-Castleton,NY.
Items requested are canned goods,cereal, toiletries, condiments,soups, baking mixes, and cleaning products.
The Food Pantryt has experienced a 30% increase in demand from calendar year 2022-thru the recent winter months with this trend expected to continue , so we ask for the community support to enable to facilitate the needs of other in these uncertain economic times.
St. Jude the Apostle Knights of Columbus Bottle & Can Donations
WYNANTSKILL – Help Support Local Charities – St. Jude the Apostle Knights of Columbus has teamed up with 6 Center Redemption located at 461 Main Avenue in Wynantskill to accept bottle and can donations that have a NYS deposit.
This is to support local charities and those in need.
• Bring your clean, NYS deposit empties to 6 Center Redemption in Wynantskill.
• Say they are to support the St. Jude the Apostle Knights of Columbus.
• They do the rest, that’s it!
Thank you for your support!