Author: Kate Haggerty

Glens Falls Weekend of Champions

Written by Kate Haggerty on March 20, 2023. Posted in Community, Downtown, Featured, Sports.

This past weekend, the Cool Insuring Arena hosted the 2023 New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Boys Basketball Tournament; a weekend the City of Glens Falls looks forward to all year! On Thursday afternoon, Mayor Bill Collins started off the festivities with a press conference. The mayor, along with Dr. Robert Zayas (Executive Director, NYSPHSAA), Gina Mintzer (Executive Director, Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce), Tricia Rogers (President and CEO Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce) and Chip Corlew (Director of Greater Glens Falls Amateur Athletic Association) spoke of what this event means to the athletes, coaches, families, and the community of Glens Falls.

This event – billed as, “The Road to Glens Falls: Where Legends are Made” – is the epitome of all things Glens Falls. The city of Glens Falls loves showcasing student athletes, tourism and community, and this weekend celebrates all of those things.

Teams, families, coaches, scouts and enthusiasts checked into their hotels and had the opportunity to walk the streets of Glens Falls. They got to experience a vibrant downtown filled with restaurants, retail shops, and art. Family members commemorated the weekend with souvenirs of the wonderful accomplishments that they had witnessed, and athletes anxiously awaited the experience of the last game of their season… Because win or lose, everything that they had worked for culminated during these three days.

During Thursday’s press conference, Dr. Zayas said, “We are excited to be back here in Glens Falls. This is truly the home of New York State Basketball State Championships. We have over 700 teams that participate in the sport of boys basketball within our association. We are so excited to welcome the top 20 teams from New York State to participate right here in Glens Falls to contend for the title of New York State Champion. These teams started three months ago with the quest of earning the right to be here in Glens Falls, to compete for a State Championship. So Glens Falls is truly the place where dreams come true.”

This event also makes dreams come true for local businesses and tourism in the area: it’s estimated that this event will bring more than $5-million in profits along with it! This figure is an estimation of accommodations, food and beverage, retail, recreation, and transportation, as well as other factors. Gina Mintzer said. “We are very excited, as everybody is, to welcome all of the student athletes, the fans, the spectators, the recruiter and the scouts who are going to be here to see the best of the best around New York State during these next three days… But this particular tournament, more than 5-million dollars is the estimated economic and employment impact for 2023… It’s more than just room nights… people are going to spend money on eating and shopping and just getting to know the area in addition to their accommodations… There are some people who will stay until the very end because they want to see the very best of the best.”

This weekend, the Queensbury Hotel was filled with the teams and their families. When sitting in the lobby, teams would noisily pile in, celebrating their victory or lamenting a loss. The Fenimore Pub was the gathering place on Saturday night for a victory celebration for a team that had clinched the tournament that day. One staff member described the experience: “We were busy here all weekend with the basketball tournament, but it was fun on Saturday night… After a team that was staying here won their championship game, the families came down here to the pub to celebrate. It made us feel like we were part of the event.”

Throughout the course of the weekend, from the vantage point of the Fenimore pub, teams could be seen walking the streets together. On Sunday, the team from Westhill – who won the Class B final over Catholic Central – walked along Ridge Street with a championship placard. The heroes of the court walked into the Queensbury Hotel, and shape-shifted back into teenagers who were ready to head back home.

For a brief moment in time, “Hometown USA” was their hometown, too… Our city anxiously awaited the games to begin, we cheered, we lamented the losses, and just how far each team had come. Each of the players experienced the apex of what they worked for over the course of their basketball careers… The future, past, and present all came together as Glens Falls crowned the High School Boys Basketball Champions.

The Car Shoppe Will be Hosting the First Annual Spring Fling Festival!

Written by Kate Haggerty on March 16, 2023. Posted in Business, Community, Entertainment, Featured.

Who’s ready for Spring? The Car Shoppe – located at 1110 US-9 in Queensbury – will be hosting their First Annual Spring Fling Festival on Saturday, May 20th (with a rain date of May 21st), from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The proceeds from this event will go to the Adirondack Vets House Incorporated, which is a longer term facility for homeless Veterans located at 26 Pine Street, Glens Falls. Statistics show that Veterans make up as much as 40% of the homeless population in the United States… The Adirondack Vets House can accommodate up to nine residents, whose stay can range from one month to years. This is a working program ,which means that most of the Veterans find gainful employment to aid in their goal of finding permanent housing.

100% of the money raised will go to the Adirondack Vets House! To create this day of fun that benefits such a worthy cause, general admission will be free to the public! Attractions will include pony rides, farm animals, a bounce-house, vendors, live music, raffles, and carnival games! The goal of this event is to maximize attendance, support local businesses, and raise critical funds for the Adirondack Vets Home Inc.

For more information about the event, contact Kiera Zmitrovitch by phone at (518) 742-0301, or by email at Kiera@518EXfinance.com. There is also a Facebook event page at https://fb.me/e/40iW9Is5K. For more information regarding the Adirondack Vets House, visit adirondackvetshouse.com.

Scenic Adirondack Amtrak Line to Resume

Written by Kate Haggerty on March 14, 2023. Posted in Business, Community, Featured.

Amtrak’s Adirondack line, which was halted north of Albany during the pandemic, will return to service on April 3, 2023. This line runs between New York City and Montreal. This service travels along one of the most scenic train lines. “From Plattsburgh to Poughkeepsie and into Penn Station, the Adirondack Line runs through some of the most beautiful parts of Upstate New York,” said Senator Chuck Schumer in a press release.

In 2019, the Amtrak Adirondack line served 117,490 customers, which was a 5.1% increase from the previous year; and in 2022, 526 new hires were added. Amtrak is now actively hiring and training both onboard and mechanical employees in New York City and Albany. To help attract talent, Amtrak is offering a $25,000 sign-on bonus for all mechanical roles. All of the current and new employees have to be qualified under Federal Railroad Administration requirements. To make sure that return to service is both safe and efficient, Amtrak has been working with Canadian Pacific and Canadian National.

U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, along with Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, have been working with Amtrak to re-establish this service. State Senator Dan Stec of Queensbury said in a statement: “The Adirondack Line is a crucial resource for the North Country. It’s a transportation service for our residents and with its ability to connect visitors from Canada… a major economic driver. Its closure had a major impact on our ability to move forward from the pandemic and get our economy back on track.”

This line will help to increase tourism and fulfill the transportation needs of many in the area, including students who attend SUNY Plattsburgh and Clinton Community College. It is also another important step in normalizing cross-border travel since the pandemic.

Stations served by the Amtrak Adirondack Line:

New York, NY- Moynihan Train Hall (NYP)

Yonker, NY (YNY)

Croton-Harmon, NY (CRT)

Poughkeepsie, NY (POU)

Rhinecliff, NY ( RHI)

Hudson, NY (HUD)

Albany-Rensselaer, NY (ALB)

Schenectady, NY (SDY)

Saratoga Springs, NY (SAR)

Fort Edward, NY (FED)

Whitehall, NY (WHL)

Ticonderoga, NY (FTC)

Port Henry, NY (POH)

West Port, NY (WSP)

Port Kent, NY (PRK)

Plattsburgh, NY (PLB)

Rouses Point, NY (RSP)

St-Lambert, QC (SLQ)

Montreal, QC -Gare Centrale/ Central Station (MTR)

Queensbury High School Students Implored to “Hang Up And Drive”

Written by Kate Haggerty on March 14, 2023. Posted in Community, Education, Featured.

Jacy Good speaking at Queensbury High School

Jacy Good and her husband Steve Johnson have spoken at 1,413 events, in 43 states and three countries. The couple recently spoke at Queensbury High School, where Jacy shared her personal story to implore the audience to “Hang Up And Drive”… Jacy lost the use of the left side of her body in a car crash in 2008 that killed both of her parents. Juniors and seniors at Queensbury High School heard the first-hand account of how distracted driving has forever altered her life.

Jacy showed Queensbury High School students how she puts her hair up in a ponytail with only one hand. “Think about the things that you love to do and then you imagine, can you do it with half of what you’ve got? I can’t run. I can’t ride a bike or throw a baseball around. These are my favorite things that I don’t get anymore, because a phone was more important,” she said. Jacy and her husband share their personal story as well as a message about distracted driving with their “Hang Up And Drive” campaign. The couple travels the country and the world, giving their presentation imploring people to stop using their phones while driving.

Jacy Good’s parents were driving her home from her college graduation in May of 2008 when a high school senior talking hands-free on his cell phone ran a red light. This caused an 18-wheeler to swerve and plow head-on into the Goods’ car. Jacy’s parents both died in the crash. Jacy suffered two broken feet, a broken leg, a shattered pelvis, a broken wrist, a broken collarbone, a lacerated liver, partially collapsed lungs, damaged carotid arteries and a traumatic brain injury. She had a 10% chance of living through the first night. She survived a coma, blood clots, infections, rehabilitation, and physical therapy, and she re-learned to talk and walk. After four months, she was able to go home, but to a home without her parents. Much of the left side of her body still doesn’t work.

She eventually googled the car crash and learned what happened from news articles. Everything she read mentioned the phone. “Anything that’s not driving a car is distracted driving,” Jacy said. “It is a hand off the steering wheel, it is our eyes off the road, it is earbuds in our ears, it is what happened to me, it is our brains off the road. Multitasking is not an option when driving a vehicle. We need our brains to drive thousands of pounds of metal. We need our brains to talk to someone whom we can’t see,” she said. “We try to do them both at once, our brains hop back and forth. We are really good at tricking ourselves. You might not feel it.”

“These days it’s not just texting,” Johnson added, “but according to the surveys, it’s all the other things we’re doing on our smartphones all day long. We’re just doing them while we drive. There’s a lot of social media behind the wheel, people are surfing the web, people are writing emails, we’re changing songs on playlists and choosing podcasts, we’re playing with the GPS, we are taking photos and videos of ourselves and things around us.”

Jacy speaks openly about the loss that she has suffered and the challenges that she faces. Jacy appeared on TLC’s “Say Yes to the Dress” television show when she picked out her wedding dress. “There is no mom to help me pick out that wedding dress because of a cell phone,” she said. “There is no last dance with my dad like I always thought I would get because of a cell phone. It hurts every bit as much today.”

For more information, go to www.hangupanddrive.com.

Queensbury High School Breaks Ground on New Athletic Facility

Written by Kate Haggerty on March 9, 2023. Posted in Education, Featured, Sports.

New Home of Queensbury Athletics Coming Fall 2023

The Queensbury School Community recently broke ground on their new outdoor athletic complex. These new state-of-the-art turf fields will support athletics and physical education programs, as well as allow for community use. It will feature a multi-purpose turf field that will be lined for football, soccer, lacrosse, and field hockey. There will also be turf fields for both baseball and softball.

This athletic facility has been in the planning stages for three years – it was approved by Queensbury UFSD residents as part of a $19.75 million capital improvement package which was proposed in December of 2021. The new turf fields will provide consistent playing surfaces, and extend the use of the fields in early fall and early spring. The use of the facility will also be extended with the addition of lights for nighttime use. These fields will increase the number of practices that a team can have, and also reduce the need for travel in the post-season.

Queensbury has invested in this improvement as a way to help better prepare student athletes for a higher level of play in sectional, regional, and state competition. The turf fields and facilities are expected to be completed by Fall of 2023.

Queensbury Man Charged With DWI

Written by Kate Haggerty on March 8, 2023. Posted in Blotter, Featured.

On Monday, March 6, 2023, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report that a vehicle had overturned off the side of Luzerne Road. Assisted by the West Glens Falls EMS and West Glens Falls Fire Department, it was reported that the driver fled the scene, and deputies managed to locate Logan C. Marshall – age 22, of Queensbury – near the crash site, where they determined that he was intoxicated and placed him under arrest. Marshall submitted to a breathalyzer, which showed that his Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) was almost three times the legal limit.

Marshall was charged with Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) and aggravated DWI for operating a vehicle with a BAC of more than 0.18%. He was released to a third party.

What’s New With Community Solar?

Written by Kate Haggerty on March 8, 2023. Posted in Community, Featured, Home & Garden.

Ever wonder how you can help the environment from the comfort of your own home? Think community solar farms! Community solar can be a great option for people who are unable to install solar panels or have insufficient solar resources.

Community solar is any solar project or purchasing program within a geographic area in which the benefits of the solar project flow to multiple customers. The Cornell Cooperative Extension is just starting up a program which would help lower carbon emissions by helping lower income households utilize solar energy. Solar, wind and other renewable resources will be increasingly utilized to deliver affordable and green electricity over the next decade. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERTA) clean energy agenda has a target of 70% renewable energy by 2030, and 100% by 2050.

People who live in apartments do not generally have the option of installing solar panels, but the Cornell Cooperative Extension is also working to connect people who live in apartments, as well as lower income families. By connecting people to community solar farms, there is a potential savings of 10% on their electric bill, and the service is still generated by the current utility company.

Bradley Towel – the Energy Program Manager with the Cornell Cooperative Energy Program – sees the importance of small steps in gaining momentum: “One of the small things that has been put into place is consolidated billing. Instead of two separate bills, they have consolidated the bill, which also shows the savings” he said.

There are pros and cons to community solar – it lowers electricity bills, reduces carbon footprint, and combats rising electrical fees, but at the same time, Solar farms take up a lot of space, and there is a lack of control over the output.

Community solar programs are fast becoming the preferred option when choosing a clean energy source. Community solar farms are often built on unused barren land or brownfields, which are tracts of land that have been developed for industrial use, polluted, and then abandoned. Community solar farms cover between 20 to 40 acres, and are connected directly to the electrical grid. The incentive to participate – up to a 10% discount on electricity costs – pairs nicely with the positive environmental impact, and even better, people don’t need a roof or to own their own property to participate. By opting into community solar, people can participate in helping the environment, and save money on their utility bill at the same time.

Family-Owned & Woman-Led – Performance Industrial: Commercial & Industrial Cleaning, Painting & Flooring Systems

Written by Kate Haggerty on March 7, 2023. Posted in Business, Featured.

Karen Miller is President and CEO of Performance Industrial, which has been in business in South Glens Falls since 1986. The original brand – Americlean – was founded by Mark Miller, who saw a need for cleaning and painting services in his own community. As the business grew, he sought training and certifications for his team to ensure their ability to provide excellent service… By the early ’90s, his business was fully established with an array of services; from sandblasting and painting to kitchen exhaust cleaning.

In 2014, the Americlean team sat down to assess their successes, current specialties and future goals… They found that seamless, professional performance was something that customers valued in the services that were provided. Taking this information to heart, Americlean decided it was time for a rebranding… And so, they became Performance Industrial.

In an effort to maintain the high standards of Performance Industrial, Mark brought his hardworking son Bill and daughter-in-law Karen into the fold. Bill and Karen purchased the business from Mark on December 31st of 2019, and through their leadership, Performance Industrial continues to grow today. They currently employ 55 people, and though they are currently fully staffed, Bill and Karen are always investing in and growing the company.

Sean Willcoxson joined the company seven months ago as Operations Manager, after spending 26 years of his career with Mazzone Hospitality: “I was the Vice President of catering for Mazzone… I was ‘born and raised’ in the catering division. Now with young kids, I needed to find new opportunities… I knew Bill Miller through the organization Folds of Honor” Sean said.

Folds of Honor is an organization that ensures families who have sacrificed so much for our country receive the education and opportunities they deserve… Created to raise money for the families of fallen or permanently wounded servicemen, “Just this year we added a category for first responders, and what we do is raise money for scholarships for their kids or spouses… Anything that goes towards education” Sean said. He has been involved with Folds of Honor for over four years.

Bill Miller has also been a supporter of Folds of Honor, and through their common interest in public service, Bill and Sean became friends. Through their friendship, Sean joined Bill and Karen at Performance Industrial in September of 2022: “I had to learn a lot and learn the business. Obviously, our company does a lot of cleaning… Kitchen exhausts, industrial cleaning, sand-blasting, epoxy floors, painting; we do it all safely. How it works is that we start on an epoxy job or a kitchen exhaust job or HVAC ductwork cleaning, and then the relationship builds and the scope of the work increases… Our biggest focus is that we have a permanent placement of 35 employees at a manufacturing facility. That’s a third of our business.”

“The kitchen exhaust, industrial cleaning, HVAC duct category is a third of the business, and epoxy flooring is another third. Epoxy flooring is a coating that is a seamless and waterproof floor. It’s easier to clean, you can add a texture so that it is slip resistant, and it’s chemical resistant. The added benefit is the ease of use. There are no grout lines. It’s used a lot in fire houses, college dorm bathrooms, manufacturing plants, and farms” Sean said

“Our newest focus is that we purchased a ceiling tile cleaning system. It basically simplifies how you clean ceiling tiles. The first thing that we start with is education. There are two types of ceiling tiles – acoustical tiles, and vinyl tiles. The acoustical ceiling tiles feel like a hard foam; they are not wipeable. Over time, the ceiling tile gets stained… We have a process that brings the tile back to life without replacing it. If it’s just dirty we can bring it back to almost new at a fraction of the cost of replacing it… Now, vinyl ceiling tiles are what you find in restaurants and industrial kitchens. They have a fire rating. With that tile, we spray and wipe the grease off. You can spray multiple times, (and) the grease is captured.”

Sean understands the need for this product in the marketplace: “If the ceiling tiles are dirty, it’s a (bad) first impression… They need to look fresh. Our team will go in with ladders and clean the tiles while they are still in the ceiling” he said.

Due to his experience in the hospitality industry, Sean sees the importance of the service that Performance Industrial is able to provide: “The culture in a work environment is important. Employees should feel good about the area that they are working in and the product that they are creating… Our specialty is cleaning, and the focus of the employees in a kitchen is making great food.”

Performance Industrial has stayed in business for 37 years by providing services that are valued by their customers. Their focus is on kitchen exhaust, epoxy flooring and permanent placement of employees. They currently have two office locations – one in South Glens Falls, and another in Albany. For more information, visit Performanceindustrial.com

Court Rules in Favor of LGA/Waterkeeper

Written by Kate Haggerty on March 6, 2023. Posted in Community, Featured.

On March 3, 2023, New York Supreme Court Justice Robert Muller declared that it was arbitrary and capricious for the Adirondack Park Agency to issue permits for the use of the chemical herbicide ProcellaCOR in Lake George without an adjudicatory hearing. The Herbicide ProcellaCOR would have been used to treat populations of the Euroasian watermilfoil in Lake George, which create dense mats and overtake habitats of native aquatic plants.

This ruling means that any subsequent Adirondack Park Association (APA) review of applications to apply ProcellaCPR in Lake George must be preceded by such a hearing – the Adirondack Park Agency was created in 1971 by the New York State Legislature to develop long-range land use plans for both public and private lands within the boundary of the Park.

The Lake George Association and The Lake George Waterkeeper were both opposed to use of this chemical herbicide. The Lake George Association acts as the guardians of Lake George’s water quality, monitoring such and creating projects to help protect the water. The Waterkeeper’s mission is to defend the natural resource of Lake George and its watershed.

Along with the Lake George Association and the Waterkeeper, there was intense public opposition to use of this herbicide as well; more than 4,600 citizens signed a petition opposing use of the chemical herbicide. Three towns – Hague, Dresden, and Ticonderoga – adopted formal resolutions in opposition to the use of the herbicide.

In the ruling, there was an emphasis on scientific questions regarding the impact of the herbicide on Lake George as an ecosystem and drinking water source – the State group argued that the chemical has been used in other lakes and found to be undetectable three days after the application, while the petitioners argued that there was more research needed and that the dead milfoil could feed blooms of algae.

Moving forward, the Lake George Association and the Waterkeeper would like to continue the previous process of mechanically harvesting the Euroasian watermilfoil.

Section 2 Boys Basketball Time Changes Due to Expected Inclement Weather

Written by Kate Haggerty on March 3, 2023. Posted in Uncategorized.

Due to the incoming winter weather, Section 2 has moved up the times of both scheduled games at the Cool Insuring Arena:

4:00 PM: Class C Final – Duanesburg vs. Hoosic Valley

5:30 PM: Class CC Final – Stillwater vs. Chatham

Duanesburg beat Berne-Knox (58-33), and Hoosic Valley downed Warrenburg (67-36) to advance. Stillwater showed Greenwich the exit (61-50), and Chatham showed no mercy against Voorheesville (77-55) to advance.

The City of Glens Falls is monitoring the weather for Saturday, in case it impacts the Section 2 Tournament and other scheduled Saturday activities within the City of Glens Falls.