The Kiwanis Club in Glens Falls is one of the oldest civil service clubs in the Glens Falls area, and is looking for new members. This club has been in operation for over 95 years, and its focus is children and young people; however, they do work with other groups, including Veterans’ organizations and Senior Centers in the area.

Doug Shaver is the current Kiwanis Club President; Shaver joined Kiwanis Club after retiring from a 30-year career with Johnson & Johnson as a field engineer. Shaver traveled for work, and because of that, had very few ties to the community… He wanted to meet people. He has found great satisfaction and a sense of purpose as a member and current President of the Kiwanis Club. 

Since the COVID pandemic, the Kiwanis Club has had both setbacks and successes. “COVID has made it difficult for us to help as many groups financially, but we do all types of volunteer hours, are affiliated with the Care Center and we did some renovations and painting for them there. We are here… Anything that people need help with, the Kiwanis Club is available to help” Shaver said.  

Shaver would like to see membership increase – the club currently has 68 members. When Shaver joined the club, there were 90 members, and prior to that over 100: “So we are always looking for new members. We recognize that younger folks with young families have demands on their time and in the workplace, which makes it hard for them to do a lot, but we would like to recruit some younger members” Shaver said. 

The Kiwanis Club keeps the member commitment flexible. A member’s participation can be as much or as little as they would like: “We have one lunch meeting a month, it’s not a commitment, but we like to see the people come… What we would like is for members to pick one of our projects and get involved with that. Serve on a committee, help us plan an event, help organize the volunteers who work on the projects… Things like that… We just ask that they do one thing throughout the year” Shaver said.

The Kiwanis Club holds events though out the year; they recently added a successful “Spirits in the Trees” event. For “The Spirits in the Trees” event, the Kiwanis Club set up 100 trees in Crandall Park, and for $75 an individual or group could sponsor a tree and decorate it. Out of the 100 trees, 94 of the trees were sponsored and fully decorated… And after the event, the trees were donated to a goat farm, as the pine needles provide a source of nutrients and vitamins for the goats. 

“We were hoping that it would be a special event during the holidays, and it really was that and more. The comments that we received from people were just so great. People who had lost loved ones in the last year told us that when they got down a little bit, they would come and look at their tree, and that would pick them up. We had a lot of other community organizations that sponsored trees and decorated them in celebration which we were not expecting… A lot of different groups participated which was great. We were pleasantly surprised” Shaver commented.

Kiwanis is preparing for their next event, which is this coming weekend – The Duck Race will be held on Saturday, January 21, at 7:00 PM at the Cooling Arena. Traditionally, this event had taken place at the Feeder Canal at Haviland Cove Park; however, they have had to shift the event due to COVID and other factors. This turn of events led to a partnership with the Thunder. The original concept was that people would purchase a $5 ticket, and the number from the ticket would be put on a rubber duck. The ducks were then dumped into the feeder canal, and each duck’s place would be recorded 1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on.

This fun-filled community event now takes place at the Cooling Area. Now, the ticket goes into a tumbler like a traditional raffle. The Kiwanis Club would eventually like the event to return to the Feeder Canal, but is happy with the support that the Adirondack Thunder has shown the club. This fundraiser is for the Kiwanis Foundation, which provides college scholarships to graduating Key Club members. 

The next event after the Duck Race is a drive-thru BBQ event at East Field – Brooks BBQ from Oneonta provides the food, and the Key Club members, cub scouts, and boy scouts bring the food to the cars. In the summer, the Kiwanis Club has its annual golf tournament at Cronin’s Golf Course in Warrensburg. The Fall will hopefully bring the Taste of the North Country event, which is their signature event; it was sidelined initially because of COVID, and sidelined again last year due to supply chain issues. Doug Shaver and the Kiwanis Club would like to have more people join the organization, and invites anyone who is interested to be a guest at the monthly luncheon. For more information, visit glensfallskiwanisclub.org

On January 18, on the second floor of City Hall, Mayor Bill Collins held a press conference on the State of the City of Glens Falls. The Mayor spoke for just over 41 minutes before opening up the event to questions.  

Collins elicited laughter from the crowd when he introduced the topic of taxes: “Before we discuss the highlights and goals I’d like to look back at the last decade or so, let’s begin with everybody’s favorite subject: taxes… I’ve lived in a house in Glens Falls worth approximately $150,000 for the last 25 years, and here is the tax burden that I have faced… The total city tax increase on this average home… was $237; that’s less than a $24 increase each year… (that) supports a paid police department, paid fire department, paid professionals, and our small city of less than four square miles” Collins said.  

Mayor Collins touched on a variety of issues during his speech – he mentioned that in 2022, a study by news outlets and crime statistics and comparative crime rates showed that Glens Falls was the safest city in the United States. The Mayor’s speech touched everything from infrastructure to the wastewater treatment plant, and highlighted the merger of the Glens Falls Transit system with Capital District Transportation… Mayor Collins also focused on the City’s ability to use state and federal grants to complete programs and not use the property tax dollars. 

One of the key topics was the Downtown Revitalization Project (DRI): “As most of you know, we’ve signed an agreement with a contractor for the first phase of our DRI to purchase the former Hot Shots building and the so-called incubator building, and renovate those two buildings along with the former Sandies… All three will include both commercial and residential space, and that’s nearly 14-million dollars in investment… The second phase is the new building on South Street and Elm Street, which will include 70 new apartments and commercial spaces” the Mayor said. The City is also working through the final designs of the event and marketing center, and expect to break ground on that in Spring of 2023. 

The Mayor went on to highlight the ability of Glens Falls to do more with less; he mentioned the vacancies in city government – which has led to a cut back in services – and encouraged the community to participate by filling vacant positions within the city government, the police department, and fire department; or volunteering for committees.

Mayor Collins also touched on the possibility of paid parking in the future, referring to the topic as the ‘third rail’ of city politics: “The newest report on our parking use and utilization is expected soon… Our continued business growth, new apartments that are planned, more that are being encouraged… We need to lay aside any self-interest regarding parking and work towards a holistic plan that makes sense for the entire community” Mayor Collins said.

Looking forward, Mayor Collins would like Glens Falls to attract the young people who leave Glens Falls and go off to college to return to Glens Falls instead of moving to larger cities. He wants young professionals to stay in the area and build their lives here. 

The Mayor balanced successes and challenges – reportedly, 50% of the population of Glens Falls have an annual income that places them in the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s “Need of Service” category. To help the people who are in need, the City will be hiring a new social worker in 2023 – this position will help the community by being a conduit between the community and the police force, firefighters, and other service providers.  

Mayor Collins with his affable manner is an effective community leader. He has a vision for Glens Falls that includes the needs, challenges, and future successes of the community for the coming year.

On January 19 at 2:00 PM, the New York State Division of Veterans’ Services Director Viviana DeCohen and other leaders will hold a special event at the Adirondack Welcome Center, located on Interstate 87 North between exit 17 and 18 in Queensbury, New York. This event will dedicate a new “Veterans Welcome Center” digital kiosk to the rest area; this kiosk will provide specialized, interactive information on benefits that are available to veterans, service members, and military families passing through the area.  

“Every day in New York, we strive to ensure that those who have served our country have easy access to all of the benefits and programs available to them. Through cross-agency collaboration and initiatives like this expansion of digital kiosks, we are improving access to services and demonstrating New York’s continued commitment to making our state the best place for veterans and their families to call home.  We thank and honor them for their service” Governor Hochul said. 

New York State Division of Veterans’ Services Director Viviana Decohen remarked: “We are grateful to Governor Hochul for her continued support and championing of new and innovative ways to reach the veterans of New York through technological solutions such as the digital Welcome Center Kiosks. Her administration’s support of these initiatives ensures we fulfill our mission of assisting all of New York’s veterans, service members and their families in accessing the benefits they have earned through their military service.”

DeCohen – a Marine Corps Veteran – joined the Division of Veterans’s Services in December of 2021. The first-ever digital Veterans Welcome Center Kiosk was dedicated on Veterans Day, 2021; this Kiosk was placed in the New Baltimore Welcome Center on The New York Thruway, which welcomes approximately 500,000 visitors annually.  The addition of the welcome center kiosk will help veterans throughout the Capital Region.