Southern Saratoga saw a year of progress, changes
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. » Compared to the world in general 2017 in southern Saratoga County was one of slow, steady, change that allowed residents to grasp what was going on or about to go on locally, even if they didn’t always agree with it.
The two biggest local issues on the lips of area residents were the sale of the Shenendehowa School District’s 37 acres of surplus land and the opening of the new bridge in Rexford across the Mohawk River.
After securing the needed signatures to demand a referendum on a Board of Education decision to sell the land to a developer, residents overwhelmingly rejected the board’s decision on April 4. A vote on Dec. 5, this time to sell the land to the town of Clifton Park, saw fewer voters but a greater plurality in the final tally as voters overwhelmingly approved the sale of the land to the town.
After years of waiting in excruciating long lines of cars and trucks to cross the Mohawk River at Rexford, north to south in the morning and vice versa in the evening, residents were finally rewarded with the opening of a four lane span in July.
For most, the new bridge has reduced the long waits to practically zero allowing a few minutes more with the kids in the morning and a chance to actually see part of a newscast in the evening.
Other items of local interest that made their way into the pages of the newspaper or on the website were the arrest of two young, local men for the murder of an equally young Clifton Park man and the arrest in March of the executive director of the Shenendehowa Adult Community Center.
Nikolai M. Mavashev, 19 of Halfmoon and Joseph Broscko, 16 of Clifton Park, were arrested days after the Aug. 7 death of 19-yearold David J. Feliciano in Mechanicville and charged with his murder. Both men have since pleaded not guilty in Saratoga County Court and remain in Saratoga County Jail without bail.
Sean Flaherty, 41, the now former director of what has been renamed the Clifton Park Senior Community Center, was arraigned in Clifton Park Town Court in March where he was accused of stealing more than $50,000 from the center. The case has been handed up to county court where the investigation is coming to a close. Flaherty is free on bail. During the past 12 months opioid and heroin abuse in the county has continued to take an increasing toll on lives and as a result workshops, panel discussions, and personal stories by former addicts have increased as well. There were three in southern Saratoga County last year and more are planned.
One of the most riveting was Andrew McKenna’s story given at St. Luke’s on the Hill church in Halfmoon last January. McKenna is a Schenectady native and the author of the memoir, “Sheer Madness: From Federal Prosecutor to Federal Prisoner.”
He and Kristin Hoin, a Capital Region mother who lost her daughter to opiate addiction spoke to a nearly packed worship hall on a cold Saturday evening early in the year.
Two other news items from late in the year showed the collective strength of the community.
After a devastating late November fire in Cohoes took down three buildings and damaged many others, the community, with its wide ranging connections to families throughout the Capital Region, has continued to find ways to help the fire’s victims with the motto “Cohoes Strong”.
In October CAPTAIN Youth and Family Services (now CAPTAIN Community Human Services) celebrated 40 years with a banquet that drew many of those who created the organization, some early volunteers and two successful clients of its Get Ahead program. Those who created the organization were amazed at its longevity. Those who received its help gave thanks also Northway opened worship Northstar Three in the that center a popular Church news 40,000 it Church was on during was churches there. Ushers square-foot built finally the Road, were year. able and to the worship move Shen from center campus its in rental to 21st a new space Century leased on Park, Catholic and St. Church Edward opened the Confessor its long-awaited addition on Dec. 3. As those churches made news for their progressive positions, the congregation of the Clifton Park Center Baptist Church, one of the town’s oldest, continues to grapple with what to do with its 1837 meeting house. A vote by a committee within the congregation to demolish the historic building has caused emotional pain for the family of the man who established it in the 18th century. The area’s long history also had its own ups and downs in the past year. The 200th anniversary of the start of the Erie Canal caused several presentations to be given locally on the canal’s impact to the area. And the one major snow snowstorm of last winter, a heavy snowfall in March, damaged the early 19th century brick home in Halfmoon owned by Marianne Geleta. Though it was thought at first that the house could be saved, it was eventually demolished. Local residents who made the news for their interesting lives included Francis Prouty, the can man, Manoj Amera who created the Best Tasting Water in New York Contest, and pre-school teacher Barbara Adams who retired from the Clifton Park Nursery School (Little Red School House) after 19 years. There were stories written about Clifton Park resident Annie Friedman who cowrote an essay on how 9/11 drew her and the wife of a World Trade Center victim together, Rick Kelsey, hairdresser to the stars, and Paul and Gail Casey and their ongoing work to investigate the tragic death of their son Patrick in Washington D.C.
And the year saw the passing of several well-liked men. Shen teacher Brian Skinner died as the result of an altercation with police in what can only be described as a successful suicide attempt. Wellliked longtime Clifton Park Buildings and Grounds Department Supervisor Mike Handerhan passed away unexpectedly in November. And, on Saturday, Dec. 23, former Halfmoon Deputy Supervisor, councilman, Planning Board member and chairman, Historic Preservation Society president, and longtime town volunteer and supporter Alfred James (Jim) Bold passed away after a long illness.