National Safety Council

Defensive Driving Course

October 6^th and 13^th

6:30 to 9:30

Alplaus Firehouse

$30 - $35

(depends on class size)

Call 399-0184 to register

(Sponsored by the AFD Ladies Auxiliary)

Community Luncheon

The monthly Community Luncheon will be held at the Alplaus Methodist Church at 12 Noon on Tuesday, October 11, 2005. Please come for good food, good fellowship and good fun. Bring a dish to share if you can, but come anyways.

What's inside

On the Hill………………………………………..2

Alplaus Fire Department Calls - September…2

Alplaus Historical Society………………………2

Alplaus Photo Contest……………….…………3

Alplaus Fire Department……………………….3

Alplaus Residents Association News…………4

From the Archives..……………………………..4

Glenville Seniors…….…………………………..5

Ladies Auxiliary…….……………………………5

Memories………………………………………...5

Fulfilling a Dream……………………………….6

Alplaus Run-Around Entry Form………………7

On the Hill

There is still time to register for the Defensive Driving Course to be offered this week at the Alplaus Fire House. Check out the notice on Page 1 for a class with life-saving tips on driving techniques (and big savings on auto insurance too).

Reach out for your dreams. Shawna Thompson on Hill Street did just that this summer with her kayak trip from Hill Street on the Alplaus Creek down the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers to Manhattan. Please read her reflections on this epic journey in "Fulfilling a Dream" on Page 7. Congratulations to you Shawna and to your kayaking partner Karen Kast for your persistence and your success.

Can you believe that this will be the 25th year for our Alplaus Run-Around? A whole generation of Alplaus youngsters has grown up and moved on into their adult years with the run-around as a given in their lives. Amazing! It takes many volunteers to keep it going year after year. Our thanks to all of them, and especially to Charlie Casey who has kept the runners going these last few years. We trust that more volunteers will step up in the years ahead to keep this and other Alplaus traditions alive for future generations.

Enjoy one of nature's grandest spectacles - the fall colors of the northeast………….AWH

__________________________________________________________________________________

Alplaus Fire Department

Calls for September 2005

Incident Number	Date	Alarm Time	Call Type	Location	# Fire Fighters	Fire-Fighter hrs
000140	29 SEP 2005	17:17	Grass/Brush Fire	Maple Avenue	10	12.7
000139	28 SEP 2005	19:24	Medical Emergency	Riverside Place	7	3.2
000138	26 SEP 2005	11:44	Medical Emergency	Woodhaven Drive	5	3.3
000137	23 SEP 2005	20:09	Medical Emergency	St. Anthony Lane	7	3.0
000136	11 SEP 2005	07:17	Medical Emergency	Glenridge Road	8	6.1
000135	11 SEP 2005	07:16	Medical Emergency	Glenridge Road	8	6.3
000134	07 SEP 2005	08:37	Medical Emergency	Glenridge Road	4	0.9
000133	06 SEP 2005	17:23	Vehicle Accident	Glenridge & Bruce Drive	8	5.7
000132	06 SEP 2005	17:17	Other Fire	Maple Avenue	8	2.4
000131	05 SEP 2005	20:45	Other Emergency	Hill Street	6	1.2

Activity for the month was generally routine; we continue to go for several days with no calls and then get a flurry all at once. Sometimes we wonder if folks have lost our phone number, then it becomes obvious they haven't!

October is always a busy time for the Fire Company. The Annual Fund Drive will be held on Saturday, October 8. Members will be delivering Fund Drive materials to each residence in the Fire District.

The following week is National Fire Prevention Week (the anniversary of the great Chicago Fire in 1870) with various activities during the week and an Open House at the Firehouse on October 15, from 10 am to 2 pm. Folks are invited to come and meet your firefighters. Membership applications will be available!

The Alplaus Fire Company celebrates its 75^th Anniversary this month. We will be celebrating with a dinner at the Glen Sanders Mansion on the 15^th.

October 29^th we will have the Children's Halloween Party and Parade at 1 pm.

Our Sick List seems to be busy this year! It's good to see Don Diel up and about after a stay in the hospital. Kirk Herrick is recovering from surgery. He says he has to hold his pants up by hand because a belt is too uncomfortable. At least he makes it to the Post Office to get his mail! Tom Donlon is well on the road to recovery from a bicycle accident that left him with a leg injury. Tom Morris's wife Barbara is in Albany Medical Center.

Sewers. The Town of Glenville held another public hearing on the proposed extension of the Alplaus sewer district as part of its board meeting on September 21^st. I was not able to attend the meeting but I heard from Town Supervisor Clarence Mosher that no one made any comments. Bob and Alice Culver and several other residents also attended. Keith Abatto, Gray Watkins, and I all wrote letters that were entered into the public record for the hearing. If you’re interested in seeing mine or Keith’s letters, e-mail at the address at the end of this article.

I read in the newspaper this morning that Glenville plans 10 new sewer extensions for the coming year. We’ll all need to work together to keep the town focused on our project. I think it’s time to write or call our elected officials if you are anxious to have our project proceed and to have construction start next spring. Please write a letter in support to:

Clarence Mosher, Supervisor

Town of Glenville

18 Glenridge Road

Glenville, NY 12302

Phone: 688-1201

(With copies to Town Board members Russo, Bailey, Quinn, and Denney at the same address.)

Letters to the state comptroller’s office to urge them to complete their approval of a process that showed support from 62% of those affected by the extension can be sent to:

Ellen McDonald, Legal Services

Office of the NYS Comptroller

110 State Street

Albany, NY 12236

Phone: 474-4044

Alplaus Run-Around. As the temperature cools and the leaves become brilliant, we know it’s time for the Alplaus Run-Around. Our own hometown race is scheduled for Saturday, October 29^th this year and we hope to see everyone in Alplaus out running or cheering on the runners. An entry form with details is included in this month’s edition of the Hometown News. Feel free to make copies, give them to family and friends, or bring them into the office. Help us get the word out about what a fun time the race is. Many of you know that the Alplaus Run-Around is the reason Charlie and I live here, having run it many years ago. We thought, “What a great place Alplaus is!” We know all of you agree.

Several residents responded to our call for help in coordinating the Alplaus Run-Around. Andy Gilpin from First Street and Kelly and Dave Archambeault of Mohawk Avenue will be learning the ropes from Charlie Casey this year. If you’d like to help them, please call Andy Gilpin at 388-2704 or Kelly and Dave at 399-8987.

Barb Casey, ARA President

bcasey@skidmore.edu

399-5714

From the Archives

by Cliff Hayes

It would be interesting if we knew the number of vehicles that have passed through the little village of Alplaus during the past 100 years. Slow down folks & enjoy the view of the hamlet the early settlers called “the place of eels.”

Transcribed from the Schenectady Gazette-June 11, 1919, pg. 11:

ALPLAUS ROAD WILL BE INSPECTED JUNE 17

The board of supervisors’ highway committee, County Superintendent Harry W. Cregier, members of the board of trade, of the merchant association and of the Alplaus Improvement Association will go to Alplaus Tuesday afternoon at 2 o’clock to examine the main road. Money for the improvement of which may be obtained by Supervisor W. R. Williams from the motor vehicle fund. This is one of the main roads of the county and proposed improvement has caused considerable discussion in the board of supervisors. The city is interested because it is one of the chief arteries of travel from and to Schenectady and connects with lower Saratoga County.

Glenville Seniors

by Betty Vedder

There will be a presentation on Health Care and Social Security Legislation by Michael Burgess on Thursday, October 13 at 12:30 pm at the Senior Center on 32 Worden Road. Burgess is the legislator of New York State Wide Senior Action. This is open to the public. We do encourage anyone who is interested to attend.

Ladies Auxiliary

by Vicki Watkins

The Ladies Auxiliary kicked off our fall season with a covered dish supper last Monday night. The evening was full of great food, good cheer and many new ideas for future activities. We also welcomed our newest member, Teresa Zywot.

The Auxiliary is sponsoring the National Safety Council Defensive Driving Course at the Firehouse on October 6 and 13, from 6:30 to 9:30. The cost, depending on how many people sign up, will be between $30 - $35. This class is open to the community. Please call me at 399-0184 to register as class size is limited.

We are continuing to collect donations for the Schenectady Battered Women’s Shelter. They are especially in need of school supplies this time of year. A collection box is located in the Post Office.

Halloween is just around the corner. We’ll be assisting with the annual Halloween Parade and Party for the kids on the 29th. Please join us at the fire station for lots of goodies and fun.

Please take note of the Alplaus Photo Contest detailed in a separate entry. This will be a fantastic opportunity for us to share our special images of our wonderful community with one another.

Our next meeting will be on Monday, October 24th at 7:00 PM at the Firehouse. If you are interested in attending or learning more about us, please call Vicki at 399-0184.

Memories

by Betty Vedder

As the time grows nearer to Halloween, it brings back thoughts of former Alplaus Halloweens in my younger years. We were a generation of kids who were clear of drugs and alcohol. The fellows were good guys most of the time except for the thirty first of October.

This was their annual night of misbehavior and they really went to town. As in many communities there are a few adults who do not always take kindly to teenagers and make their views well known. Unfortunately some of their possessions were the holiday targets. As many of you know, Bruce Drive was a trolley track that went through to Saratoga. On the west corner of Alplaus Avenue and the trolley track was a small no longer used building which had served as a trolley waiting station. They had sold candy, soda and snacks but it looked like an old shanty and was an eye sore. Some how it caught on fire and burned down one Halloween night. Everyone knew who started the fire but it turned out to be one of the better deeds of the fellows.

The trolleys were run on a pulley or block moving on an overhead wire. Every Halloween the boys would some how pull the wire down which stopped the trolley and they would run out of sight. The poor conductor would have to get out and reconnect it. They would repeatedly do this making the conductor furious. Within a few years the police started to patrol Alplaus on Halloween. They somehow got the boys together in the police car and took them up to face Judge Bruce on Bath Street. He in turn presented them with a serious but understanding lecture and sent them on their way. After that the police patrolled Alplaus each year, which put a stop to the boys' shenanigans. Believe it or not, they all turned out to be real good citizens and friends to be proud of.

EDITOR/PUBLISHER Art Harris

HTN web address: http://www.alplaus.org

HOME TOWN NEWS

ALPLAUS, NEW YORK 12008

October 2005 Vol. 129 No. 8

Community Luncheon

THOMAS H. CULVER 399-5557

BLACKTOP

From the Archives