HELPING OUT
WELLS — State Sen. Jim Tedisco, R-Glenville, said he is calling on the U.S. Postmaster General to immediately reopen its post office in the town of Wells, Hamilton County, which has been closed since May 24.
The closure forces residents to make a 30-mile roundtrip visit to Northville in Fulton County each time they need to send or get their mail. Many affected residents are senior citizens and on fixed incomes. “With the cost of gas continuing to rise to extreme costs, coupled with the lack of public transportation in Hamilton County, it is more than an inconvenience for them to travel a 30-mile roundtrip distance in order to get their mail,” Tedisco said. Tedisco previously wrote the Postmaster General on May 14 and July 12, asking for a solution. The Postmaster General has told Tedisco’s office it will be at least another 60 days at the earliest before any action is taken.
Brookside Museum introduces exhibits
BALLSTON SPA — Four new exhibits are being curated at Brookside Museum by the trustees and staff of the Saratoga County History Center.
They are “The Country Store in Saratoga;” “Century of Ice Cream! The Dake Family and Stewarts,” featuring never-beforeseen pictures, business paraphernalia and family mementos from the Stewart’s brand; “The Social Life of Hats,” based on the spring 2021 course at Skidmore College, and “Mystery Photographs from Eastern Saratoga,” which offers unexpected and puzzling snapshots of social associations, business clubs, and dance troupes, the center says.
During a visit to the museum, Jim Denison, born in 1949, recognized his father, as well as a few
In an email message to the Bard community in June, Bard President Leon Botstein wrote of the Russia ban: “We are deeply disturbed by this decision, which has been met with shock and disappointment at Bard.” He went on to express his “sincere hope that the Russian Federation will reverse this unwarranted course of action and reinstate Bard’s longstanding and productive partnership with Smolny College.”
Bard first partnered with St. Petersburg State University 25 years ago, co-founding the program that, until recently, offered students a dual bachelor’s degree from both Bard and Smolny.
In the same email message, Botsein wrote that Russian was the primary language of instruction at Smolny, where more than 2,000 Russian and international students, primarily from former Soviet countries, have earned Bard College degrees.
The collaboration has allowed thousands of students from the United States and Russia to study together on exchange. Through the partnership, Smolny hosted students from more than 50 colleges in the U.S., including Princeton, Harvard, Columbia and others.
No Bard College faculty or American students were in Russia at the time of the “undesirable” designation and subsequent ban. Each year, around 550 students participate in the program, which includes not only classes at Bard but an opportunity to explore the greater Hudson Valley for an immersive cultural experience. Regional institutions have welcomed students as part the program, including the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park.
“The partnership between Bard and Smolny is educational and cultural, other friends and family, in an enlarged cartoon entitled “Friday at the Four Corners.” Meanwhile, sisters Janet and Jean Kussius, twins born in 1942, identified a store their parents bought in 1953 (it closed in 1962).
“I am delighted at the connections people are making between their own experiences and our shared past ... when people recognize family and friends in our exhibits, it only reinforces the need to preserve and teach the past,” notes exhibit curator and History Center Vice President Field Horne.
See brooksidemuseum.org for more details. not political or ideological,” wrote Botsein in his June email. “That such a successful and important educational partnership could fall victim to the politics of the day is a tragedy, first and foremost for Russian and American students who have enjoyed so many rich educational and cultural programs through the partnership over the past quarter century.”
Over a month since Russia’s decision, Bard College has yet to receive a full explanation for the ban. Becker noted that Smolny College had considered creating a freestanding public liberal arts
Also of interest
The East Greenbush school board meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Columbia High School library, 962 Luther Road, East Greenbush.
The Arts Center of the Capital Region hosts its members’ Fence Show beginning Sept. 23, an annual celebration that pays homage to a time when members’ artwork was exhibited on the iron fence surrounding Washington Park in Troy, the original location of the Arts Center.
The theme of this year’s Fence Show is “Art is Essential.” and science university, which Bard expressed support for. That discussion, Becker said, could have seeded discord in Russia. “We can’t exclude that from playing a role [in the ban],” he said.
“On a political level, it’s a sign of the deterioration of U.S.-Russian relations,” added Becker. “We are the most significant higher educational collaboration [between the U.S. and Russia]. It was just a study abroad program – that was a small percent of it. It was an educational reform program, a cultural exchange.”
On Facebook, Becker expanded upon the challenges
At 11:30 a.m. Aug. 21 veteran motorcyclists who ride for charity will gather at the Chatham High School parking lot to raise money for athletes with disabilities at STRIDE Adaptive Sports. The riders will travel to S&S Farm Brewery in Nassau. The public can join the festivities at S&S, known as the STRIDE Brewfest, at 1 p.m. Attendance is free and requires no registration. To participate in the ride, preregistration is needed with tickets at $20 per rider and $10 per passenger. Information is for academia at a time of increased political tensions.
“At what may have been my final talk at St. Petersburg State a few weeks ago, I warned of populist politicians and government officials who attempt to take advantage of tensions between the United States and Russia to fan the flames of hatred between citizens for political advantage,” he wrote in his June 22 Facebook post. “I stated that it is our job as academics to resist these efforts and stressed that we need to remain engaged most in times of tension like the one we are currently experiencing.” available at https:// www.stride.org/r4s.
Berne-Knox-Westerlo school district’s Future Farmers of America chapter has again been awarded $5,000 through the National FFA Grants for Growing program. Sponsored by Tractor Supply Company, the program provides grant funds to local FFA chapters to support the development or improvement of agricultural education projects that enhance the classroom experiences for students through chapter engagement activities.
Bard College has been unable to speak to Russian leadership about the ban, said Becker, who added that the school has reached out to the U.S. State Department, which has been helpful in creating public statements on the college’s behalf and has asked Russia to reconsider.
“It’s saddening and disappointing in many ways politics have taken over,” Becker said by phone. “It’s superseding human interaction. We hope that at some point someone realizes Bard is certainly not the enemy here. We are a bridge to the U.S. and Russia.”