Alplaus Home Town News November 2001
The season is approaching
It's filled with warmth and cheer,
Our families plan on coming
From places far and near.
There's turkey and there's dressing,
And pumpkin pie with spice.
We wish a happy holiday
With everything that's nice.
HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING!
Your HTN Staff
The world has changed for us here in the United States of America since the attacks in September. We are at war with the terrorists and many have great anxiety over travel away from home, the US mails, and what may happen next. However, the important things in life have not changed: family relationships, doing our jobs well, and the bonds of fellowship and faith that give life meaning and satisfaction.
Proof that life does go on and that "Alplaus is a place where good things happen to good people" (as my predecessor in the HTN editors chair, Tom K., was heard to say) was demonstrated in October by the total paving and repaving of Alplaus roadways. Have you ever seen so much asphalt go down so quickly and expertly as we saw in the last two weeks?
After years of planning and promises, Maritime Road was paved with a thick double coat of asphalt, which should make that route the clear choice of the marina, rowing and maritime school traffic. Congratulations and thanks go to the ARA and Maritime Center boards for keeping the pressure on officials to carry through on plans and promises and to the Town of Glenville officials who made the project happen. The funding of the project was through the canal corridor initiative of the New York Thruway Authority.
This fall season has been a good one for Alplaus with generally mild weather, a great day for the Alplaus Run-Around, and the paving work. And we will have our post office for the foreseeable future. Happy Thanksgiving and remember Veterans Day!
AWH
By Rick Fleming, President Alplaus Residents Association
Yippee, the Maritime Center road has been paved. Finally the residents that were so affected by the dust and dirt in the summer can have some relief. Also, there will be much reduced traffic on Mohawk Avenue as a result. The plans that were stated by town officials at the March meeting were that ultimately Mohawk is slated to become a dead end. If this happens then clearly the traffic will be reduced. I would like to thank the town officials for their efforts to get the road paved. Although the town did not pay for the paving they were instrumental in helping get the job done.
At our March meeting we were informed that all of Alplaus would be paved this summer. Some people actually believed that it would not happen, have no fear. This week the paving is slated to begin. The town had contracted to have the work done by the end of the paving season and it will be started this week. [Paving done week of October 29 November 2, editor]
I have been keeping up pressure on the town officials to schedule a town meeting on the upcoming sewer referendum. While the scope of the project has not changed, the schedule for our town meeting has slipped a little. Remember good things come through patience, like the paving - so to will the meeting. I have cautioned the Town Supervisor that to hold a meeting in December would not be a good idea due to all of the holiday parties during this period. I am trying to have the meeting in November, look for future news on this subject.
Drew Coppola tells me that the Fire Department has six
new members. Fantastic! However that still leaves us four members short
of the challenge that I made last month. Congratulations to the new additions.
It's nice to know that there are people in the community willing to give
their time for the rest of us.
By Tom Kiernan
The 21st annual Alplaus Run-Around was held on Saturday, October 27th. Although there were fewer contestants in both the 1 Mile Fun Run and the 5k, this year, the volunteers, both from the ARA and the AFD, helped to make this year's races a success.
The winners in the 1 Mile women's division, were Emily Wexler (7:42), 12 and under and Marianne Shrader (9:00), 13 and over. The men's division winners were Evan Markessinis (8:11), 12 and under and Bill Shrader (6:16) 13 and over.
The overall winners of the 5K were Don Rodbell (17:39), men's division and Suzanne Keegan (21:39), women's division. The winners, by age group, in the men's division were: Jeff Roeser (22:56) 0-13, James Hynd (20:11) 14-19, Don Schaffer (19:32) 20-29, Jeffrey Williams (18:35) 30-39, Don Rodbell (17:39) 40-49, Alan Taylor (20:02) 50-59 and Joel Landis (20:18) 60 plus.
The women's division winners were Renee Ray (24:09) 30-39, Suzanne Keegan (21:39) 40-49, and Donna Nappi (35:04) 50-59.
Alan Taylor (20:02) and Barb Casey (25:55), received gift certificates for best finish by an Alplaus Fire District resident, male and female divisions.
We wish to thank Goldstocks Sporting Goods for their continuing support of the Alplaus Run Around.
The Home Town News congratulates every participant. You are all winners!!
We had a busy meeting in October planning the Halloween party and election day bake sale. We also discussed purchasing flags for the light poles on Alplaus Avenue, which we are looking into. We are also hoping to sponsor a blood drive in the village. Our new beautification committee
has already been busy planting bulbs around the historical marker and sign next to the Post Office and also in front of the firehouse bay window. We happily accepted Katrina Cutting's application for membership.
Our next meeting will be November 26th at 7:30 PM. In addition to our business meeting, we will be voting in new officers for next
year and preparing fruit baskets for shut-ins in the village. We look forward to seeing you all at our bake sale on Election Day at the firehouse and will let you know when the blood drive will take place.
If you are interested in attending our meeting or obtaining
more information, please call Robin Driskel at 399-4911.
The November luncheon will be held on Tuesday, the 13th at 11:30 AM. This takes place in the Fellowship Hall of the Alplaus Methodist Church. Folks are asked to bring a dish to share for the noontime meal.
All are welcome to join in for good food, fun and fellowship.
This popular annual event will again feature lots of craft booths with beautiful items for sale. It will be held at the Senior Center on Worden Road from 9 AM to 4 PM on Saturday December 1st.
A luncheon will be served by the folks
in the Meal Center so you can leisurely visit for a while. There will be something for everyone to enjoy.
If you are a crafter with items for sale and would like
a table to set up there please call Jeanne Story at 399-0461 before November
21st.
Senior Center Flagpole Dedication
The Scotia Glenville Senior Center has been the recipient of a flagpole and flag from the Scotia American Legion Post, Mayfair
Glenville Post and Electric City Marine Corp League. The flagpole will be dedicated with a Flag Raising Ceremony at 4 PM on Veterans Day, November 11th.
A reception will be hosted with refreshments in the Center
following the ceremony. Everyone young, middle age and older are invited
to attend.
By Ruth Peterson
You get used to having people ask you how to spell the name of your hometown, being confused about where it really is, and how to get there. Most people don't expect anything notable to have happened here. On casual observation, Alplaus, just six minutes away from downtown Schenectady, seems like a sea of tranquillity but we have often faced challenges to our way of
life. And we have fought fiercely to retain our unique characteristics. We recently won the right to preserve our community contract post office. Back in the 1960's, we took on the state to save our old maple trees. They were slated to come down in order to straighten the road that winds through the village and to make way for a new, bigger bridge. I participated in that fight between the mighty New York State and a tiny hamlet missing from most maps. I wrote a letter to the Editor that my young son had likened it to a battle between David and Goliath. The trees remain, the road continues to curve, and a new, smaller but adequate bridge was built. At the time of our battle, I remember looking at before and after photos taken in Galway when that lovely little town lost its battle to preserve the trees on their main street.
It took the state two full years to complete the Alplaus bridge during which time the residents on the west side where we live were cut off from "downtown" Alplaus and people on the east side had to take a detour to travel west. At the Grand Opening of the bridge on October 18, 1969, the then-postmaster, Mrs Ida Dillman, in fur cape and hat and carrying an American flag walked from the east side to meet Mr. Benjamin Foot, 89, our eldest resident on the west side to cut a ribbon. I attended and have pictures of that historic event. We held Mr. Foot's 90th birthday party at our house and he gave me his annotated set of very detailed photos of the bridge being built. A footnote - Town residents thought the state took entirely too long to complete the bridge and Ted Schwarz, unofficial mayor of Alplaus, at the opening ceremony presented the chief engineer with what look like a decoratively wrapped magnum of champagne. What he unwrapped was a set of tinker toys.
At another point in Alplaus history, a developer proposed to build a senior housing complex at the corner of Alplaus Avenue and Bruce Drive. Later another apartment building was proposed for the corner of Alplaus Avenue and Bath Street. According to Kirk Herrick, who led the Bath Street rebellion, the lot was too small and the necessary variances were not issued after residents turned out in force. We wrote letters, marched and carried placards to the town board to protest. Kathy and Ed Joynson, long time residents, purchased the Bruce Drive/Alplaus Avenue plot to prevent further unpleasant "developments", naming it ''Forever Green". Then Kathy invited residents to a "perennial party" at which time we brought favorite flowers from our own gardens to be planted at the corner of the property.
These and other village doings ran through my mind recently when Representative Mike McMulty came to town. He came to listen to resident's complaints about the U.S. Mail Service's cost-cutting proposal to reduce the hours that our Post Office could be open from 28 hours a week to 12 hours. And they proposed reducing the pay from $16,700 to $10,000 a year, thus forcing a contractor to work at less than minimum wage.
The present plan evolved with the help of Sam Stratton as a compromise to closing the office in 1973. One of the beauties of our present system is that residents can walk to pick up their mail. Boxes at the Rexford Post Office hold no attraction because of both distance and the heavy traffic on that road. McNulty told of a similar fight to retain an old post office in his own hometown of Green Island and promised to work hard on the issue. Postal Contractor, Lorie Esposito had tendered her resignation, but during the open meeting with McNulty agreed to remain another three months in order to give him time to pull strings in Washington. Less than a month later we had our post office back.
Today we increasingly communicate electronically with the outside world. For the simplest actions, we are relegated to electronic menus, answering machines, voice mail, and FAX machines. You need not see or talk with another human being in the course of your day. Now, imagine taking a walk in the fresh air, passing the homes of your neighbors to admire flowers in bloom and home renovation projects in progress, stopping to pet a dog, or chat with someone you know, going into a warm post office, (utilities paid by a contractor), being greeted by name by the postal official, finding a help-yourself coffee pot, a basket of cherry tomatoes free to the taker (from the Herrick's garden), the latest edition of The Home Town News in the window, and a lending library of books to be borrowed. That's what the Alplaus Post Office offers us. Once again, the tradition will be preserved.
When I think of how present day Alplaus residents band
together for the good of the community, I see the spirit of people like
Benjamin Foot, Ida Dillman and Ted Schwarz who are all gone now. I also
think of the irrepressible Jeanne Story, our first postal contractor, who
in 1973 took the leap to preserve not just a post office, but a way of life
for town residents. During her 13 year tenure in that post, she baked a
lot of cookies, heard a lot of stories, amused us with her sense of humor,
rode her motor scooter at the head of our 4th of July Parade, and by her
recent admission to me, did some match-making for two lonely octogenarians.
Without these extraordinary people who put themselves out to retain our
way of life, Alplaus would be a different place.
| Day | Time | Situation Found | Street | Respondents | Engines | Other Vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 14:30 | Emergency Medical | Riverside Place | 7 | 1 | |
| 4 | 12:01 | Emergency Medical | Pinewood Drive | 4 | 1 | |
| 8 | 19.24 | Structure Fire | Maple Avenue | 16 | 2 | 2 |
| 10 | 3:16 | Emergency Medical | Brookside Drive | 5 | 3 | |
| 13 | 13:16 | Unintentional | Hetcheltown Road | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| 16 | 11:37 | Emergency Medical | Glenridge Road | 4 | 1 | |
| 17 | 19:10 | Hazardous Condition | Southard Road | 11 | 2 | |
| 19 | 1:47 14:47 |
Emergency Medical Emergency Medical |
Maple Avenue Riverside Place |
11 7 |
1 | 3 1 |
| 23 | 11:29 | Service Call | Southard Road | 4 | 1 | |
| 26 | 17:09 | Emergency Medical | Maritime Center | 10 | 3 | |
| 27 | 5:38 | Emergency Medical | Maritime Drive | 8 | 2 | |
| 28 | 9:54 | Refuse Fire | Hetcheltown Road | 11 | 1 | 1 |
| 29 | 13:12 | Emergency Medical | Hetcheltown Road | 6 | 1 | |
| 30 | 13:43 | Emergency Medical | Woodcrest Drive | 6 | 1 |
Harry's clinic is scheduled for Thursday, November the 8th from 3 - 5 PM. It would be wise to have a check up before the busy holiday season.
Mark your calendar to stop in the firehouse and have Harry check your pressure. It doesn't cost a thing and it's for your own good.
Alplaus Fire Station
From Harry Casey's Home Page: Alplaus Weather
October 2001 Summary
November Moon Phases
The Old Farmers Almanac for Nov. 2001
Forecasts for Region 6: Upstate New York