Bigotry lives on in words of Troy pastor
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Pastor John Koletas is taking much-deserved heat from protesters for the ugly things he says about Blacks, Jews and Muslims. The pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Lansingburgh says hateful things about Catholics, too.
In a recent sermon, Koletas called the pope “the most evil person on Earth.” Koletas said Catholicism, like the
Muslim faith, is incompatible with democracy and the Bill of Rights, rued that there are Catholics in Congress and on the Supreme Court, and said the problem with Fox News is that “there’s Catholics in there that hate this kind of preaching.”
Koletas even claimed Catholics instigated the Civil War and are trying to “force vaccinations on everyone.” He noted that the Mafia is a Catholic organization and said alcohol is promoted by Satan
Contact columnist Chris Churchill at 518454-5442 or email cchurchill@ timesunion. com
East Greenbush officials are concerned that the trail is not yet finished; advisory signs have not yet been posted near the crossing at Route 4 and along the trail; and that traffic near the trail is a concern, Tierney said.
The Albany-hudson Electric Trail follows the path of the electric trolley line that connected Albany to Hudson from 1899 to 1929. It’s part of the $200 million trail Empire State Trail project to construct a 750-mile hiking/biking path running north-south between New York City and Canada and east-west linking Albany and Buffalo. The trail was a topic of discussion for Rensselaer County’s municipalities for the past decade.
“Trail construction started in May 2019, and significant progress was made during calendar year 2019. However, at present, no trail segments have been completed. Given the project’s 36-mile length, two construction seasons will be needed to complete the trail, with all work completed by mid-november 2020,” the Hudson Valley Greenway said in its last posted update in January regarding the trail.
“New York State is on schedule to complete the $45 million Empire State Trail section connecting the cities of Rensselaer and Hudson later this year,” said Dan Keefe, a spokesman for the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
The Albany-hudson Electric Trail follows the path of the trolley line from Rensselaer through
East Greenbush, Nassau, the village of Nassau and Schodack in Rensselaer County into Columbia County where it traverses Chatham, Kinderhook, the villages of Valatie and Kinderhook, Stuyvesant, Stockport, Greenport and arrives in Hudson. Details are available on the trail website at www.ahettrail. org.
“People are so excited about it,” Tierney said, “When it’s finished, it will be fantastic.”
kcrowe@timesunion. com 518-454-5084 @Kennethcrowe