Michael Fante drained six trifectas and poured in 30 points to lead the Glens Falls Unified Basketball team to a 56-41 victory over Queensbury.
Chris Boulton registered a team-high 13 points, and both Breanna Chandler and Cole Zarczynski tallied 10 for the Spartans, who concluded the 2023 campaign with a 4-4 record.
Score by quarters: Queensbury 4-9-14-14=41, Glens Falls 10-19-8-19=56.
Queensbury (Key: field goals made-free throws made-points): Chris Boulton 6-0-13, Breanna Chandler 5-0-10, Cole Zarczynski 5-0-10, Olivia Affinito 1-0-2, Chloe Harris 1-0-2, Andrew Palmer 1-0-2, Ethan Winchell 1-0-2, Trevor Condon 0-0-0, Jazmine Prosser 0-0-0, Meredith Clark 0-0-0, Brodie LaNoir 0-0-0, Troy Jorgensen 0-0-0. TOTALS: 20-0-41. Three-point field goals made: Boulton.
Glens Falls: Michael Fante 12-0-30, Noah Howarth 3-0-6, Sophia Lamb 3-0-6, Logan Hill 3-0-6, Mia Mosley 2-0-4, Galen Dermott 1-0-2, Gavin Howarth 1-0-2, Donald Kist 0-0-0, William Speers 0-0-0, Zachary Olden 0-0-0, Jacob Olden 0-0-0, Matthew Healy 0-0-0. TOTALS: 25-0-56. Three-point field goals made: Fante 6.
The Glens Falls and Queensbury Memorial Day Parade this year was certainly an event to remember! Driving along Glen Street in the early morning hours, parade-goers had set out chairs to hold their spots along the parade route… An immense American Flag held by a large crane filled the sky above the Victory and Peace Monument in Crandall Park, and attendees streamed out of the tree line of Crandall park and walked across the field as the sun filled the sky on the perfect May morning! The Parade, which began on Maple Street, proceeded along Glen Street and finished at Crandall Park, where a remembrance ceremony took place in front of the Victory And Peace Monument.
The Grand marshals for the parade were Tim Benner, Harriet Rogers, and Mike Varmette, and the ceremony was hosted by John Strough – the Queensbury town Supervisor – and Glens Falls Mayor Bill Collins. Amy Collins – the Director of Tourism of the City of Glens Falls – was on hand for the parade, and was pleased with the turnout!
The 2023 theme for the remembrance ceremony was “Let’s Remember and Honor the Fallen”: “We deeply appreciate with all of our hearts and souls the fallen. For it was them who gave their lives, the ultimate sacrifice so that the rest of us could enjoy happiness and freedom,” John Strough said, before the moment of silence for men and women who had lost their lives.
The Queensbury High School band, with band director James Cirillo, were on hand for the ceremony and opened with “The Star Spangled Banner”. Jack Sweet – the New York State’s Boys State Citizen – read The Gettysburg Address.
Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner highlighted the sacrifice of 14 Glens Falls natives who lost their lives in the Vietnam War: “2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the end of U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War… I would like to use my time today to reflect upon the sacrifices made by our local heroes during one of the most significant chapters in our nation’s history. 14 sons of the greater Glens Falls area put on the cloth of our nation, hugged their mothers and fathers, kissed their sweethearts, boarded the bus, and left their hometown to travel halfway around the world to defend their nation in Vietnam and never returned home… And they represented the very best of our community and our nation,” Assemblywoman Woerner said.
State Senator Dan Stec spoke at the ceremony as well: “It’s so important to remember that these young men and women were just that, young. Their whole lives in front of them, they had dreams, aspirations…They will never see their families again, never enjoy a picnic or parade again. Why? For the idea of what the United States of America is, what we all say we want. To leave the country better than we found it,” State Senator Stec said.
As the ceremony came to a close, the focus shifted to the next generation – the importance of Memorial Day to the next generation, and the value of their participation. This was highlighted with a poster contest and essay contest in both Queensbury and Glens Falls High Schools, and each of the winners of the essay contest were on hand to read their essays. The theme of the essay was the theme of the ceremony: “Let’s Remember and Honor the Fallen”.
The essay winner from Queensbury was Brianna Gay. She wrote her essay about the service of her grandfather Robert Gay, and the importance of working towards a courageous future… He served in the Vietnam War, and struggled with PTSD. Brianna highlighted that the sacrifice of the fallen allowed her grandfather and his family to live their lives today.
From Glens Falls High School, the essay winner was Daelen Nelson. Her essay highlighted how the phrase “Let’s remember and Honor the Fallen” evolves into something meaningful throughout a child’s life… Her essay expressed an empathy and understanding for the evolution of conscious thought in children. She conveyed the progression as a child grows and understands that the words have context and meaning that evoke feelings: “So now when we hear this phrase and recognize its true meaning, it’s no longer just a combination of words. It’s a feeling of grief, sorrow and loss for those brave soldiers that are no longer with us,” Daelen read from her essay.
The ceremony concluded with the three-rifle volley; the firing of three volleys over the grave of a fallen warrior, which has its origins in the old custom of halting the fighting to to remove the dead from the battle field. This was followed by the languid and melancholy sound of the bugle as a call to remember those who gave their lives in service to the United States… The 24 mournful notes commemorate the memory of the fallen.
The No. 2-seeded Queensbury varsity girls lacrosse team captured its fifth consecutive Section II crown (and sixth overall) with a 9-7 victory over top-seeded Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake.
With 10 seconds remaining in the opening half, MK Lescault’s fourth goal gave Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake a commanding 6-3 advantage. However, Queensbury quickly answered when Kendra Ballard scooped a ground ball off the ensuing draw and fed Lilly Trowbridge for a score with 1.8 ticks left before halftime, which was the first of six straight QHS goals.
The Queensbury defense stiffened and held Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake scoreless for 23 minutes and 22 seconds of action, until senior MK Lescault tallied her fifth and final goal of the day with 1:48 on the clock. Lescault concluded her illustrious career with 336 goals, 161 assists, and 497 points. Classmate Ella Blesi turned in another fine performance with two goals and two assists.
For the champions, Ballard finished with two goals and three assists, Trowbridge pumped in three goals, and Kendal Kelsey tallied two goals and two assists. Kaitlyn Barton fired home a pair of goals and won 11 of the game’s 18 draw controls, and Kady Duffy handed out two critical second-half assists. Goalkeeper Bayley Duffy saved three shots on goal and on several occasions, boldly advanced the ball upfield to give the Spartans a significant advantage in second-half possession time.
Score by halves: Queensbury 4-5=9, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake 6-1=7.
Records: Queensbury 15-2, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake 11-6.
– On Wed., May 31, at 5:30 p.m., Queensbury returns to Schuylerville High School for a NYSPHSAA Class C subregional assignment against the winner of the Section I Class C championship game between John Jay-Cross River and Rye, which occurs at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow at Nyack High School.
– In the program’s 20 seasons, Queensbury competed in the sectional final 12 times (2010-13, 2015-19, 2021-23), including each of the last eight, and seized six championships (2012, 2018-19, 2021-23), all at the Class B level prior to this year.
– Dating back to 2018, the QHS Spartans are undefeated in their last 10 Section II playoff games.
– QHS has now defeated BH-BL six straight times and leads the all-time series, 9-6.
– In sectional action versus BH-BL, Queensbury won the last four and improved to 6-4, including 3-2 in the championship.
Throughout the course of the 2022-2023 school year, Glens Falls School District (GFSD) has been diligently working to improve the security and safety of the students, staff, and teachers in the district.
The GFSD started off the school year with a lockout and a lockdown within the first weeks of school… On the first day of school, a student refused to leave the building during the back-to-school picnic. He had been escorted out of the building, and then returned and was let into the building by a fellow student who was unaware of the situation. When the student encountered the school’s hall monitor and principal, a BB-gun fell out of his backpack, triggering a lockout. The following week, a middle school student was seen with a toy replica gun, and both schools were put into a full lockdown. In each incident, the Glens Falls Police responded, and removed the student.
The two incidents made GFSD take both immediate steps and implement long term solutions to increase the safety of the school: on September 15th, 2022, single-point-of-entry protocols and backpack checks were put into place at Glens Falls High School and Middle School for each student. This new implementation created long lines, and resulted in missed academic time… To offset that disturbance to the classroom, the schools shifted to randomized bag checks and randomized locker checks throughout the day. Each building used an internal randomization system to prevent any unintentional bias towards any student.
As the year progressed, GFSD invested in state-of-the-art security upgrades to help keep the schools safe. The Raptor Visitor Management System was installed in all five of the Glens Falls School buildings… This system scans visitors’ drivers licenses when they enter the building, performs an instant sex-offender check, and verifies the visitor’s identity; this is all done before the individual is allowed to proceed into the school. This security check is performed in a secure vestibule in each of the schools.
Skye Heritage – the Glens Falls School District Communication Director – is well versed in the updated security measures that GFSD has taken throughout the school year… During a tour of the security systems, Skye explained how the systems worked: “This security technology is provided by Raptor Technologies… Each visitor has their license scanned and is given a badge. This badge has the visitor name and where in the building you are supposed to be. The Raptor system also has a constant record of who is in the building, so if we have a fire drill or an emergency, we have our student attendance records, and we also have the list of adults that are in the building from Raptor. That way, we can account for every single person in an emergency. People come and go, and we need to know who is in the building,” Skye said.
Another security upgrade is an advanced weapons detection system that each student walks through every morning to enter both the high school and middle school. This system has sensors that are designed to look for firearm components and shapes of weapons, and the alarms are not triggered by items like cell phones and keys: “We want to make the school as secure as possible and not have the process be overly invasive,” Skye said.
The “Evolve” Advanced Walk Through Concealed Weapon Detection System is designed to allow 3,600 visitors to walk through an hour, without having to conduct pat downs or empty pockets… This technology can distinguish between personal items and weapons.
Officer John Norton and Officer Pete Casertino both help the kids navigate the system each morning: “In a nutshell, it’s not just a metal detector, it is looking for metal but it is also looking for shapes; edged weapon shapes, barrels of guns, and bomb components,” Officer Norton said. “In the role of ‘the greeter’ I decide who is going to be searched, because there are things in the bag that will set off the detector… The spines of a binder will set it off. We have the kids walk through with their binders out. So we have the kids walk through while holding their binder in front of them so we can see that the alert is centered on that item, not on something inside their backpack. The kids have been amazing and resilient. Getting through the first couple of days was hard for both us and the kids, but we have learned what sets it off and the kids have been amazing,” Officer Norton said.
The upgrades in security coincide with an upgrade to parent and staff communications as well: “When students need to be evacuated to an alternate location, reunification for parent pick-up is based on registration data to make sure the correct kids go with the correct adults… The reunification site is not public knowledge for safety reasons. We don’t advertise that information in advance, because there is a concern that the location could be a secondary target… If we ever need to use it, our communication plan is designed to inform parents and guardians by text message, email, and phone call with the specific details of where to go and what to do. The communications are translated into the recipient’s home language,” Skye Heritage said.
Officer Norton has worked as School Resource Officer since 2018, and Officer Casertino was added in January of 2023. Since then, they have also added Rebecca Lowery, who is a security staff member, not uniformed law enforcement.
Kevin Warren – Principal of Glens Falls High School – explained the importance of the different responsibilities of the resource officers and school staff: “Helping with bag checks, de-escalation, relationship building and connection… We can do a lot of these physical security items, but it’s really about knowing the kids and building relationships. These are preventive things that are multi-faceted,” he said.
The security upgrades will continue, and are evolving to improve emergency communications outside the building – both Officer Norton and Officer Casertino are working with law enforcement and emergency services to increase reliable radio transmissions across emergency responder units: “There are some areas in the building where the emergency radios don’t work as well as we would like. We communicate with the Warren County Sheriff, Glens Falls Police and NewYork State Police and the Fire Department… We have had troopers walk around the building to check the signals, and see where the signal needs to be boosted for radios system and cell phones. The worst feeling is when you call dispatch and hear ‘Repeat, I couldn’t hear you,’ (So) we need a clear and loud transmission… In that situation, time is of the essence and transmitting the communications is key. The GFPD has an amazing response time; it’s within seconds, which is amazing,” Officer Casertino said.
Both Officer Norton and Officer Casertino conveyed how responsive and helpful the students have been during the increase to security: “The students have been phenomenal; they understand that it’s for their overall safety,” Officer Norton said.
The district also takes the safety and security of the elementary schools into consideration – both the School Resource Officers and additional Glens Falls Police and New York State Troopers randomly visit the elementary schools and perform walkthroughs.
This helps the officers become more familiar with the schools as well as increases security. The school resource officers have worked to bring different branches of law enforcement through the schools to help make them familiar with the schools as well… Having each level of law enforcement working together can help in an emergency situation.
The security upgrades have been made in the classrooms as well – there is now a blind system in place on the classroom doors’ windows, and with a quick pull, it can prevent someone from looking into the classroom. As part of the new protocol, when a lockdown is called the shades are pulled. Principal Warren was integral in getting those for each of the classrooms: “The teachers used to have to find something to block the window and now we have these installed. The consistency alone acts as a deterrent. These upgrades have involved every department in the school from technology to maintenance – our support staff has been amazing,” Officer Casertino said.
GFSD has made considerable changes and upgrades to improve safety and security for every member of the school community… Through increased personnel, backpack checks, and expanded technology systems. Another new security measure allows any adult in the building to initiate an immediate lockdown by dialing a code from a classroom landline phone… Although there have been two false alarms, the upgrade in security remains essential for the safety of the school… And the secret code has been changed.
Student ID cards have been given to all middle school and high school students, with the expectation that all students wear them in the building. These photo IDs also have a barcode that students scan if they arrive late in the morning, or want to obtain a hall pass to move around the building between classes.
GFSD has worked to make substantial improvements to security for the student, teacher, staff and community. These improvements have been far-reaching, elaborate, and have been implemented swiftly, with the security of the school as the top priority.
Gary C. & Charleen M. Bivona sold a property at 43 Cobblestone Court to The Murphy Legacy Wells Trust dated June 2, 2013 for $1.525-Million
Lake George
Bloody Pond Road LLC Sold a property at 328 Bloody Pond Road to David & Linda Line for $10,000
Debra J.Tatro & Barbara A. Ward sold property at 28 Cooper St. to Jason Sebastain Colson & Emma Ruby Colson for $300,000
WWPSC, LLC sold property at 2208 Route 9 to Hoa Yang for $430,000
Queensbury
TWAS Quaker Road LLC sold a property at 708 Quaker Rd. to Suds Landlord (Multi-) LLC for $ 4.5-million
James R. & Nancy L. Fregoe sold a property at State Route 149 to Alex J. & Keri L. Helms for $14,000
Alex & Keri Helms sold a property at State Route 9L to b2619 Route 9L LLC for $75,000
Andrea Chenier sold property at 13 Lupine Ln. to Nicole Arsenault for $340,000
James E. & Lisa K. Mcleod sold property at 52 Revere Rd. to David Allen Bigler & Cilicia M.Bigler for $600,000
Nibtz, LLC sold property at 1012 Ridge Road to U.S. Bank Trust, NA trustee for $61,000
Cole H. Hickland sold property at 31 Stonehurst Dr. to Joanne D. Conley & Cole H. Hickland for $150,000
Glens Falls
Alan & Rita Deppe sold a property at 40 Terra Cotta Ave to Robert r. Schmidt for $246,500
50 Prospect LLC sold 50 Prospect St. to 50 Prospect LLC for $252,000
Estate of Frank Kraus sold property at 19 Franklin Street to Richard A. & Sandra L. Christensen for $207,000
Lake Luzerne
Ronald & Jacqueline A. Shiel sold a property at 19 Squire Cir. to Adam & Somruethai Hilliard for $401,000
Richard S. Bodie sold a property at 8 Lady Slipper Lane to William N. & Melissa C. Middleton for $350,000
Carrie Wenger & Sandra Foster sold property at 1776 Call St. & adjacent parcel to Meghan & Eileen H. Kerr for $177,500
Donald R. Allison sold property at 83 Harris Ave. to Michael S. & Connie L. Marcotte for $20,000
Johnsburg
Bryan Lowe sold a property at Bartman Road to The Divine Acres, LLC for $95,000
Lynette Nickelberry Stewart sold property at 1547 S. Johnsburg Rd. to Kevin J. Torres &
Justina Marcello Rothenberg for $470,000
Chester
Sarah M. Erickson sold a property at 120 Olmsteadville Rd to Cimmaron & Gil Garcia for $340,000
McPhillips Properties LLC sold property at State Route 28 to Aspen Builders LLC for $115,00
Julie M. Cugell aka Shella M. Cugell Trust dated May 4th 2015,et al. sold property at 700 Atateka Dr. to Margaret M. Cugell & Mary C. Dickinson for $344,000
Stony Creek
Leonid Y. & Llya J. Lambersky Trust U/D/T 9/5/2018 sold a property at 60 Leon Lane to Lauren and Gregory Hanson for $820,000
Warrensburg Florence E. Olden sold a property at 274 Alden Ave. to Paula Sheridan for $60,000
Horicon
Ronald & Joyce Leszyk sold property at Valentine Pond Road to Niels Ernest Stone V. for $45,000
Hague
Janet I. Fenimore sold property at Graphite Mountain Rd. to Must Be NIce at Tannery Brook LLC. for $210,000
Washington County
Fort Ann
MTGLQ investors LP sold property at 134 Sly Pond Road to Matthew J. Baker for $39,000
Whitehall
Janice S. Bessette sold property at 3 Fifth Ave to Michael & Teann McCrea for $90,000
Raymond D. & Carol A. Downes sold property at 1 North Street & Vacant Lot to Marcia L. Camden & Marjorie L. Badois as Trustee of Majorie L. Badois revocable Trust of 2016 for $156,000
Marie Willette as Admin. of Estate of Donato Sanford Carrara sold property at 11 Fourth Ave to White Hall Studios, LLC for $50,000
John W. Cameron sold property at 26 Carvers falls Road to Michelle Goodrich for $212,500
White Creek
Clinton F. Snow & Darci L. Snow sold property at 668 Hill Road to Darci L. Snow for $110,000
Robert Phillips sold property near Chestnut Hill Road to Jacob M. Shortt & Kayla E. Drew for $10,000
Kevin & Sandra Billert sold property at 1049 County Route 68 to Ryan N. & Christin P. Cottrell for $196,100
Veronica Durant sold property at 20 Division Street to Sherman & Barbara Townsend for $80,000
Argyle
James Sloan Jr. sold property at Tall Pines Way to Robert & Margaret Little for $1,000
Granville
Kellie J. Saboski sold property at 9-11 Lincoln Street to Green Mountain Investors LLC for $70,000
Howard T. & Loraine E. Vanuaken sold property on East Main Street to Jared Ellis for $25,000
The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development sold property at 58 E. Main Street to Jeffery Fairclough for $85, 318
Brandy N. Ross sold property at 227 Fox Road to Virginia Olpe for $300,000
Hebron
Matthew J. Campbell sold property at 708 County Route 31 to Lance G. & Kristen S. Evans for $392,500
Kristina S. & Walter D. Foster sold property at 7664 New York State Route 22 to Katy Jurnak & Walter T. Foster
Kingsbury
Michele Hippick sold property off Route 196 to Linmur, LLC for $64,500
Mathew W. & Jennifer I. French sold property at 76 ½ Elm Street to John & Mary Kate Endieveri for
$285, 000
Greenwich
Elizabeth A. Gauthier sold property at 3 North Greenwich Road to Kristopher Hubbly for $190,000
Easton
Andrew C. Kelly, Esq.Ref: Thomas Day sold property at 15 Rock Street to Leslie Laree Seeley for $102,000
Cambridge
Roger Propes as Trustee of the Propes Living Trust sold property at 24 Academy Street to Garrett & Brittney Clairmont & Kathleen B. Ward as Trustee of the Ward Family Trust for $185,000
Jackson
Michael G. & Rosemary P. Hall sold property at 8 Driscoll Way to Jason & Cindy Greene for $185,394
NBT Bank announced Mark P. Sidoti has been promoted to Branch Manager of their Glens Falls office. This branch is located at 86 Glen Street in Glens Falls.
As Branch Manager, Sidoti will be responsible for business development, managing customer relationships, and serving as a financial partner for the Glens Falls region. Sidoti has more than 30 years of business development and sales experience in the banking, telecommunications, payroll, outsourcing, and employee benefits industries, and as an active member of the community, he serves as both the treasurer of the Glens Falls Civic Center Foundation board, and as an ambassador for the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce.
NBT Bank is an independent community bank based in Norwich, New York, whose history stretches back to 1856. NBT has more than 135 banking locations in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Maine.
Glens Falls High School recently honored students that will be continuing their athletic careers in college with a Senior Athlete Signing Day Ceremony.
Shane Jones is in his first year as Athletic Director of Glens Falls High School: “Each Athlete up here today has shown dedication and work ethic and leadership in their athletic and academic endeavors which has left a lasting mark here at GF Nation. To the families, we thank you for your support throughout the years. Without your support and dedication this wouldn’t be possible. On the behalf of the school community we wish you nothing but success in your future endeavors,” he said.
Glens Falls High School has five student athletes who are playing their respective sport in college: Carson Rath will be attending Norwich University (D3) and participating in their baseball program. Lily Haggerty will be attending SUNY Oswego and participating in their softball program. Aidan Harrington will be attending SUNY New Paltz (D3) and participating in their lacrosse program. Ava Pirrozolo will be attending Bentley University (D2) and participating in their lacrosse program, and Avi Berg will be attending Castleton University and participating in their wrestling program.
Congratulations and good luck to our honored seniors!
Warren County Board of Supervisors Chairman Kevin Geraghty declared a state of emergency in Warren County on Tuesday, amid concerns about New York City unilaterally relocating by bus large numbers of migrants seeking asylum to counties around New York State. The order was signed by Chairman Geraghty on Tuesday, and filed with the Warren County Clerk’s Office. A copy of it can be found online here.
Declaring a state of emergency preserves the county’s ability to receive federal and/or New York State financial assistance should the migrant crisis have a financial impact on Warren County. In addition, it requires that owners of hotels, campgrounds, short-term rentals, or multiple-room dwellings who would consider housing migrants receive permission from the Warren County Board of Supervisors to do so.
Chairman Geraghty noted: “Warren County residents and leaders have a long history of welcoming individuals from around the world to our beautiful county. However, a rapid increase of individuals in need of social services, public health assistance and other services provided by our county, city and town agencies has the potential to create significant problems for Warren County and municipalities across the county without proper planning and funding.”
In addition, Warren County Administrator John Taflan has organized a task force of county agencies to review the county’s procedures and options should Warren County receive a significant number of migrants. Representatives of Warren County Department of Social Services, Health Services Department, Office of Emergency Services, Sheriff’s Office, Planning & Community Development Department, Glens Falls Hospital and Hudson Headwaters Health Network are represented on the task force.
The group met Monday with a representative of a local non-profit that works with immigrants to discuss potential concerns and options in dealing with large numbers of those seeking asylum, and has additional meetings planned later this week.
The University at Albany Men’s Basketball Program will hold a youth basketball camp at Hudson Falls Primary School on June 19th, 2023 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Hudson Falls native basketball star Jonathan Beagle will be the featured instructor! The camp is $50.00, and the doors will open at 8:30 AM. Jonathan Beagle is the 6-foot, 10-inch Forward for the University at Albany. Beagle was the American East Rookie of the Year his freshman year.
Dwayne Killings has been the coach of the University of Albany Great Danes since 2021, with an overall record of 21- 41 (.339). Killings was a walk-on player at UMass Amherst from 1999 to 2001… He then transferred to Hampton University for his final two years of college. Killings began coaching right after college and joined the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats as a special assistant and video coordinator. In 2006, he became the assistant director of basketball operations at Temple University. He went on to have his first job as an assistant coach in 2010 at Boston University, where he helped the team to a conference championship and an NCAA tournament appearance.
Killings is the 16th Head Coach in Albany Basketball history; he replaced Will Brown, who coached the team from 2002 to 2021.
The Dwayne Killings Basketball camp is open to kids of all skill levels, and will give kids an opportunity to work with Division 1 coaches and players.