Applause and cheers rang out as the Glens Falls student cabinet announced the new Glens Falls mascot – The Black Bears! This announcement came yesterday at a special meeting of the Board of Education. The Board of Education members approved the student cabinet recommendation, and the mascot and icons will change over on July 1, 2023; this change will include the school’s apparel, fixtures, and turf field, along with other items.

The process of rebranding the Glens Falls mascot began when the New York State Education Department ordered all districts to remove “Indian” mascots and associated Native American imagery from the public school system.

Along with the mascot rebranding, Glens Falls School City District also established their core values of Unity, Support, Passion and Grit. Establishing these values was the first step in developing their mascot, and to establish these core values, 829 participants shared 404 ideas, which were rated by 29,447 participating students, employees, families, alumni, and neighbors. As the process continued, the four mascot finalists were announced: Knights, Wolves, Black Bears, and Hawks. 

Beside the total vote count, there were other factors that were considered in making the final decision – the Corinth Central School District recently chose their new mascot; The River Hawks. There was concern about having a similar mascot as a nearby school… Also, the Knights mascot garnered concern about unity.

With these two no longer in consideration, The Black Bears was chosen over The Wolves. The next step in the process of rebranding is developing the icons and logos; however, red and black will remain the school colors, and GF Nation will still be used as a moniker.

Area schools are on a two-hour delay, and some have closed due to threats received by the school districts. Hudson Falls and Queensbury are among the schools under a two-hour delay for Tuesday, April 4th, 2023, due to these threats.

According to The Hudson Falls Central School District website, Hudson Falls CSD – along with a number of other local schools – received bomb threats. The Hudson Falls Police Department and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office were both notified. The validity of this claim is currently being investigated. 

Queensbury Union Free School District notified families via phone message; the message indicated that a threat was received, and that a two-hour delay was in effect.  According to Spectrum 1 News, the listing of schools that are either on delay or are closed include: Argyle, Cambridge, Granville, Fort Ann, Fort Edward, Greenwich, Hartford, Hudson Falls, Salem, White Hall, and Queensbury . 

Glens Falls City School District communicated with families via email: “Schools in our area have received emailed bomb threats this morning, Which is causing delayed starts. Glens Falls HAS NOT received any type of threat, as of this time. Our School Resource Officers are conducting walkthroughs of the HS/MS, and additional police presence will be at each elementary building, purely for the precaution and reassurance for the students and staff. As always, please be aware of your surroundings, and if you see something, say something,” the email stated.

We will continue to follow up as this story develops and more information becomes available.