St Patrick's Day Dinner
Thursday, March
17, 2005
Alplaus Firehouse
Hall
4:30 To 6:30 PM
Menu
Corned Beef, Ham,
Potatoes, Cabbage, Carrots,
Rye Bread,
Beverage + Dessert
$7.50 per person
Reservations by
Monday, March 14th
Call Andy at 372-1124 Please leave
message
Spring is (almost) here!
What’s inside
On the Hill…………..…….…………….……..2
Alplaus Fire Department Calls - February....2
Fire Department News…………….…………3
Alplaus Post Office News…………………….3
Alplaus Historical Society…………………….3
Alplaus Holy Week Services………………...3
Battered Women's Shelter…………………..3
The Auxiliary………………..………………….4
ARA News…………………………………..…5
ARA Annual Meeting……………....…….....5
Proposed Development…..…………..….…5
Sewers......... ..…….……………….……..…5
Alplaus Explorer Post 885…………………...6
Easter Egg Hunt………………………………6
Community Luncheon………………………..6
Yates House……..……….…………………..6
Culver Travel Update………………………...6
Remembering Ken Bieber and Family……..7
On the Hill
The safe arrival of our first Grandchild, Joseph
James, to our son James and his wife Jeanette on February 8th has made 2005 a
banner year for us already. Judy and I spent two weeks with them in Chicago just
after Joseph came home from the hospital. I have two observations to share:
#1
With a new mother, a new father and a new grandmother in the house, the new
grandfather didn't get much chance to hold the new baby. It sure felt great
when I did though.
#2 The new parents may now more fully realize what their
parents went through in caring for them.
Fortunately, they are more than willing to
pick up the challenge that Joseph James presents to them. In fact, I think they
consider it a privilege and not a challenge at all. Live does indeed go on.
On page 7 of this HTN, I have presented
excerpts from Lynn Stote's letter "back home" when he heard of Ken
Bieber's death in 2002. His remarks recall for us all why Alplaus is such a
special place. I can only hope that my sons might write such a letter some time
in the future….AWH
_______________________________________________________________________________

Alplaus Fire
Department
Calls for February 2005
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Date |
Alarm
Time |
Incident
Number |
Call
Type |
Location |
# Fire Fighters |
Fire
Fighters Hours |
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||||
|
02
FEB 2005 |
15:36 |
000014 |
False Alarm Fire |
Glenridge Road |
5 |
1.1 |
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04
FEB 2005 |
16:32 |
000015 |
Medical Emergency |
Hetcheltown road |
2 |
0.7 |
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07
FEB 2005 |
21:08 |
000016 |
Mutual Aid Scene |
Ronald Regan Way |
10 |
18.7 |
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08
FEB 2005 |
18:16 |
000017 |
Car Fire |
Alplaus Avenue |
7 |
5.4 |
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10
FEB 2005 |
13:19 |
000018 |
Medical Emergency |
Glenridge Road |
5 |
2.0 |
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15
FEB 2005 |
08:37 |
000019 |
Medical Emergency |
Glenridge Road |
3 |
1.3 |
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18
FEB 2005 |
10:28 |
000020 |
Medical Emergency |
Governor Drive |
2 |
0.9 |
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19
FEB 2005 |
05:14 |
000021 |
Medical Emergency |
Alplaus Avenue |
6 |
2.7 |
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22
FEB 2005 |
13:08 |
000022 |
Other Rescue |
Helen Court |
4 |
1.1 |
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22
FEB 2005 |
13:41 |
000023 |
Vehicle Accident |
Ronald Reagan Way &
Maple Avenue |
3 |
0.9 |
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22
FEB 2005 |
16:18 |
000024 |
Medical Emergency |
Wood haven Drive |
7 |
3.7 |
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23
FEB 2005 |
16:32 |
000025 |
False Alarm Fire |
Glenridge Road |
6 |
1.0 |
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26
FEB 2005 |
10:56 |
000026 |
Medical Emergency |
Glenridge Road |
5 |
2.2 |
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38 SARATOGA ROAD SCOTIA, N.Y. 12302 Residential – Commercial HOLLENBECK PAVING CORP. DRIVEWAY ROAD PARKING AREA
THOMAS H. CULVER 399-5557
BLACKTOP



Fire
Department News
by Bob Culver
The Annual Banquet and Ladies’ Night was held
February 5th at the Woodlin Club. Firemanic Firefighter of the year 2004 was
Chris Sparano, Social Firefighter for 2004 was Don Cartwright.
We have
learned that Gil West is in a nursing home in Bradenton, Florida. He had been
hospitalized earlier with a broken hip, and his overall condition necessitated
the move to the nursing home.
Jean has a
new mailing address; Jean West, 2755 River Trace Circle, Bradenton, FL, 34208.
Assistant
Chief Kurt Haushalter is recovering from a broken pelvis sustained in a fall on
the ice. He was hospitalized for a few days and is now recovering at home for a
while.
He has
commented that he is most appreciative of so many folks expressing concern and
helping out, it could be worse…like during hunting season!
Alplaus
Post Office News
A new flat rate priority box has been added to the
products the USPS is selling (two sizes). They cost $7.70 whatever it weighs,
whatever fits in, wherever it is going in the U. S. They work great for heavy
items.
Tax season
is here. There are many forms available at the Post Office if you need them.
I have
been asked by the main office to remind post office box holders to please use your
PO Box number as your correct mailing address. If you would like to use your street
address along with your PO Box number have the PO Box number just above the
city and zip line.
Stay warm
and think spring,
38 SARATOGA ROAD SCOTIA, N.Y. 12302 Residential – Commercial HOLLENBECK PAVING CORP. DRIVEWAY ROAD PARKING AREA
Kathy Boyle
THOMAS H. CULVER 399-5557
BLACKTOP
Alplaus
Historical Society
by Bob
Culver and Kathy Boyle
The next meeting of the historical society will be
March 17th at 7:00 pm at the Alplaus Post Office. (Please note that this is a
change in location from an earlier notice of the March meeting.)
All are welcome to attend.
Alplaus Holy Week Services
All
Services are at the Alplaus United Methodist Church on Brookside Avenue.
·
Palm
Sunday Service at 10:15 am March 20, 2005
·
Good
Friday Service at 7:30 pm March 25, 2005.
·
Easter
Sunday Sunrise Service at 6:30 am March 27, 2005. Breakfast will be provided in
Fellowship Hall after the service - all are invited.
·
Easter
Worship Service at 10:15 am March 27, 2005
Battered
Women's Shelter
Thanks to everyone who has contributed items to the
Battered Women’s Shelter of Schenectady.
This is an ongoing project. Check the post
office for lists of items needed.
ATTORNEY
AT LAW GENERAL PRACTICE REAL ESTATE WILLS,
TRUSTS & ESTATES 371-6125 CORPORATE
LAW 1745 RT. 9 PERSONAL
INJURY Clifton Park,
N.Y.
E. GRAY
WATKINS
Ladies Auxiliary
We had our first business meeting of the year last
Monday night and began making plans for an exciting 2005.
Our Red Cross Blood Drive has been so
successful in the past that we decided to do it again this year. It is scheduled for Friday, May13th,
so please mark your calendars. A sign
up sheet will be available at the Post Office in April.
While you have your calendars out, please
mark Saturday, June 4th, for our annual Flea Market and Garage Sale.
Details will be in the next HTN.
Our Quilts for Soldiers Program has been so
well received that we will be holding another ‘quilting – bee’ on Sunday, April
3rd from 1:00 to 4:00 at the Firehouse. Please come join us. No sewing
experience is necessary. Call Elizabeth Burke at 399-2072 with any
questions.
We will start this year’s fund raising by
selling summer flower bulbs and perennials (yes, spring is coming!). You can order your flowers from any
Auxiliary member or at the Alplaus Post Office through April 4th.
Our next meeting will be Monday, March 28th, at 7:00 PM in
the Firehouse. After the business
portion of the meeting we will be making greeting cards with the help of Denise
Stewart who specializes in decorative rubber stamps.
The Auxiliary is open to all women who live within
the fire district. We are
always interested in welcoming new members. Please
feel free to attend any of our meetings. Call Vicki Watkins at 399-0184 if you have
any questions.
.
___________________________________________________________________________
Alplaus
Residents Association News
Alplaus Residents Association Annual Meeting. Each March, Alplaus
residents get together to catch up on the news of our hamlet at the ARA annual
meeting. This year, that gathering of friends and neighbors will be Thursday,
March 31st at 7:30 pm at the firehouse. We do updates by various groups, elect
officers, and will have some town officials present to answer questions you
might have.
There might be a presentation on a proposed
open space plan for the town of Glenville—more on that will be available in the
flyer distributed to homes prior to the meeting.
I have a few things I’d like you to do:
1)
Mark
the date on your calendar and plan to attend. Get a sitter and come together if
you have kids.
2)
Bring
your $3 individual or $5 family dues.
3)
If
you have anyone you’d like to nominate for the Alplaus Residents Association
Board or to be an officer, please contact Nomination Chair Keith Abatto at
399-6624 or kabatto@eone.com. Self-nominations are welcome, and your nominee
doesn’t already have to be on the board to be considered as an officer. They do
need to be a resident of the Alplaus Fire District. Please submit nominations
by Wednesday, March 30th for consideration.
Proposed Development. The Glenville Town Board has voted to change
the zoning from single family to multi-family for two of the five parcels
developer Chris Myers plans to use for the proposed 52-townhouse development
off Maple Avenue. The bulk of the discussion about the final site plan,
including any discussion about a traffic light or roundabout at the
intersection of Maple and Alplaus Avenue, will be through the planning and
zoning commission. The town website doesn’t have up-to-date information on
meeting dates for any of the committees, so if you’re interested in finding out
what’s happening, call Gail Gibbons in Supervisor Mosher’s office at 688-1201.
Sewers. The project is still being reviewed by the
comptroller’s office, who several weeks ago asked for some additional
information about the project (nothing major that would indicate any problem
with continuing to move toward the town’s approval, however). I’ve asked the
town to be ready to go with submitting a request for bids. Town engineer Dana
Gilgore told me that they are working to be ready and that many recent bids
have been going very well for the town.
As promised before, when we have approval
and are ready to move, we will have a separate residents meeting just on this
issue.
We’re Making MORE Lap Quilts For Wounded Soldiers
Barb Casey, ARA President
399-5714
Come Join the Auxiliary on Sunday, April 3rd 1:00 – 4:00 pm At the Firehouse No sewing experience is necessary Call Elizabeth Burke at
399-2072 with any questions


Aplaus Explorer Post 885
by Sean Young

In the month of February, the Alplaus Explorer Post
885 took their first trip to NYC. On our first day, we checked into the Navy
Lodge on Staten Island, where we later stayed the night. We took the
Staten Island Ferry into NYC, where we visited Ground Zero and spent the day at
some tourist attractions like the Empire State Building. We went on the
"SKYRIDE" attraction and went to the observation deck/gift shop.
Next, we took the subway to Times Square, where we stopped at numerous stores.
Our next stop was for food at the theme restaurant Jekyll and Hyde, which had
some very good food in my opinion. Finally, our last stop before we retired was
a stop at "The Gates" in Central Park, where we took a group
photo.
Our
second day we were there we were picked up by an FDNY career firefighter,
and taken to Randall's Island, where we toured the NYC Fire Academy's many
training facilities, and apparatus. One of the stops on the tour was the on-campus
memorial to the 9/11 firefighters that died in the line of duty. Afterward we
ate lunch near Times Square, took the subway back to the Ferry stop, and took
the Ferry back to the Lodge, where we packed and departed back to Alplaus.
Does this trip sound exciting to you?
Well, the Explorers do drills, travel to other fire departments to drill
with fellow Explorers (most recently East Greenbush), and other exciting
events. If you are interested in doing something on the first and third
Tuesdays of every month then contact Kathleen Sheppeck at 399-7115 or Andy
Coppola at 399-7441 for more information.
Respectfully
submitted,
Sean
Young, Secretary
Explorer
Post #885
Easter
Egg Hunt
Join us for an old fashioned Easter Egg Hunt 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Saturday, March 19th plus games, prizes, and refreshments!
For more information please
call Kelly at 399-6000.
Community Luncheon
The Alplaus Community Luncheon at Alplaus United Methodist
Church will be held on Tuesday, March 8th, 11:30 am to 2 pm in Fellowship Hall.
It is open to the public and an event to look forward to with Good Food and Good
Fellowship.
Bring a dish to share if you can and come
join us in any event.
by Cliff Hayes
Most
of us know about the impending development plans on the old school grounds
& the Joseph Yates property on Maple Avenue. The Yates house back in the
1930’s & early 1940’s was operated as an elegant restaurant.
Culver Travel Update
from
Bob and Alice Culver
Cool here at Crystal River, 55 degrees with some
much needed rain yesterday.
Our
son Tom stopped by for a bit on his way to Bike Week and the Keys.
Remembering
Ken Bieber
and Family
by Lynn Stote
[The
following are excerpts from a letter former Hill Street resident Lynn Stote
sent on the occasion of Kenneth Bieber's death in 2002. The editor]
I
lived next door to him [Ken Bieber] from 1942 till I went in the service in
1960. I have looked back to that period of my life many times. It was indeed a
wonderful time of my life. Maybe it was the small town atmosphere, Alplaus
Creek, Boy Scout Troop 36, The Earnest Eagles 4-H Club, delivering papers, or
maybe because of all the neighbors on Hill Street.
I
thought about it and realized that Kenny was the last living neighbor of all
who lived on Hill Street in 1942. The family next door consisted of Aunt Jane, Uncle
Herb, Nina, and Kenneth. They all took a real liking to my brother and I. My
first real concrete recollection was a birthday party that Nina and Kenneth
threw for my brother. It was in the early summer and I recall the presents, the
refreshments, and Kenny's two dogs, Pat and Mike.
One
spring the Alplaus Creek suddenly flooded in the middle of the night. Kenny
lost a couple of pigs and one floated down the creek and landed across the
creek from our house. Well, when the pig started to rot what a god-awful stench.
That stench and incident are etched in my mind forever.
Aunt
Jane was an ICON in Schenectady County. She was on the radio every Saturday PM
at 12:30 and she would broadcast 5 minutes of the grange news. We came to realize
that she seemed to know everybody. My brother and I would take the bus to
Schenectady. We would wander into the Carl company lunchroom [on State Street,
next to Proctor's Theater]. Aunt Jane would be sitting there. Then you would
hear Aunt Jane yell "Here are my little neighbors" and proceed to
introduce us to all these people gathered at the lunch counter. She would treat
us to a piece of pie and then make us promise not to tell Nina or Kenneth that
we had seen her eating apple or banana pie. Yes, and I marveled at the fact
that you could address a letter "Aunt Jane" Alplaus, NY and, sure
enough, it would be in her mailbox.
Kenneth
was a person who always seemed so sincerely happy to see you. I loved talking
to him about farming, Racquette Lake, his fishing prowess, and just plain talk.
Kenneth would talk about our gardening project with the 4-H club, the latest
camping trip with the Boy Scouts, what we were studying in school and the
latest world news. As I think back - whenever we came down to visit and went to
the front door we would knock or ring the bell. If we went to the backdoor we
would just walk in as the backdoor was never locked. He made it known by his
actions that we could depend on him for most anything, especially some enlightening
conversation.
We
had a good number of great neighbors on Hill Street. The families were Moss,
Spoonogle, Spiedel, Estabrook, Reed, Coyle, Snyder, Larsen, Ericcson, Montrem,
Tripp, Schultz, Bernhardt, Gardner, McJilton, Jaquay, DuBois, Park, Bieber,
Gray, Campbell, and, finally, the Maynards at the end of the street. I have
very distinct and fond memories of all. And with the passing of Kenneth on May
18, 2002, he was the last of all those great people, who were my neighbors
& part of my growing up.
I
visited Leon Rubin in Tucson this past April. We talked about Kenneth. Leon
recalled Kenneth doing his shopping every Friday night at Sam's. When Kenny's
corn matured, he would bring up to Sam's a few choice ears - cook them up and
all would sit there and eat corn and have that Italian bread from the bakery on
Jay Street. Leon said "Kenny grew the best corn!"