A LOOK BACK AT THE YEAR’S TOP STORIES
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. » Looking back each December on the stories that were covered in the pages of the Community News is usually an emotional experience in the best of times.
What makes it onto the page, whether print or digital, is not all that went on; there isn’t room for that. And yet the recollections of the small details are still present in one’s brain as they leaf through the stories.
Reviewing this year’s stories was more emotional than ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Reading the stories covered in January and February is like taking a trip to another land; it’s a world that seems far away and long ago.
Though this newspaper did not cover any deaths due to the virus, its presence was pervasive from the middle of March.
Once it became clear the virus had made its way to New York City and was wreaking havoc on residents as well as hospitals there the schools closed almost instantly. The schools, including Shen, quickly switched to virtual classrooms thinking the inconvenience would be a month or two at most.
The conclusion of winter sports and spring sports were tossed aside as the extent of the virus became clearer. High school graduations became exercises in ingenious forms of thinking to try and give seniors something to look back on. Lost in all this was the final semester of memories that students carry with them for the rest of their lives.
Over the summer schools like Shen worked on the intricacies of returning to in- person instruction in the fall. When summer turned to fall COVID forced Shen and other schools to offer in-person instruction or complete virtual learning as an option. Fall sports were cancelled causing more memories to go by the wayside for a second group of students.
The appearance of the virus caused libraries like the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library to close their doors for months on end. Those closures let everyone know just how important today’s libraries have become to daily life.
COVID closed Halfmoon and Clifton Park town halls to the public though staff still showed up to run the town governments. As the year ends Clifton Park Town Hall reinstituted a temporary closure to the public and Halfmoon governmental boards continue to use a mix of in-person and virtual meetings to conduct business.
As with most years, politics was ever present as well. The year saw numerous incumbents maintain their seats locally and across the state. In this year’s races Rep.
Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam bested a feisty opponent in Liz Joy. Their League of Women Voters’ debate was fun to watch; many good points were made and no quarter was given by either side.
In other races Rep. Elise Stefanik, R- Saratoga, defeated Tedra Cobb, Sen. Jim Tedisco, RGlenville, bested Schenectady’s Thearse McCalmon, Sen. Daphne Jordan, R-Halfmoon, was victorious over Patrick Nelson, Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh, RBallston Spa, defeated a tenacious Joe Seeman, and after a long vote count, Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake, was finally declared the winner in a close contest with Dave Catalfamo.
One of the longest continuing stories was brought on this spring by Saratoga County’s temporary pay plan for its essential staff due to the growing presence of COVID in the county. Eight months later the issue has yet to come to a conclusion.
The confusion surrounding the pay plan and the headlines it caused gave readers a peek inside a growing split on the county’s Board of Supervisors between the leaders of smaller communities and those leading the larger ones.
The area was not immune to what was happening nationally this year in non- COVID news. Days after the arrest and subsequent death of George Floyd while in police custody, the Black Lives Matter protest made its presence known in Clifton Park when more than 300 peaceful protesters gathered on the Clifton Commons.
After listening to a mix of personal and more generalized experiences with bigotry and their effects on a diverse country, the marchers peacefully walked the three miles from the Commons to the local New York State substation making their position known to all along the route.
In the more general news category, the year saw residents living on or near Ballston Lake successfully vote to get sewer lines installed. After more than 30 years of watching the lake’s water quality get worse voters finally agreed, by a two to one margin, to accept a state grant to help with its costs and go forward and finance the rest.
The Aug. 17 vote was the second successful one in the past five years. The favorable vote from 2015 stalled when construction bids on the project came in far above the total cost estimates of $10.2 million.
Land usage was at the center of several stories this year in Clifton Park. Development on parcels zoned Conservation Residential (CR) caused concern among a number of people.
Environmentalists living in town have been watching as numerous acres of unused farmland became fertile ground for large solar projects. The projects, per the town code and the interpretation of that code, are acceptable. As neighbors of the solar projects fumed and environmentalists wrote letters in opposition, more solar array applications came into town hall.
In recent weeks the Town Board agreed there is a need for further discussion of the issue and has scheduled a public hear
ing early next year on instituting a moratorium.
The year also brought the loss of several wellknown members of the community.
January saw the loss of Sanford “Sandy” Roth, a longtime Clifton Park Town councilman, emergency services member, and a very active community volunteer. Roth served as a town councilman for 17 years. As he prepared to leave office in 2009 he noted the achievements he was most proud of while on the board were the Hazardous Waste Collection Day, the affordable housing for seniors, and the growth in the town Arts and Culture Commission.
April brought news of the passing of former Halfmoon Supervisor Melinda “Mindy” Wormuth. Wormuth served three terms as town supervisor but ran afoul of state and federal laws over the use of campaign funds and lying to federal investigators. After pleading guilty she spent time at a federal facility in Connecticut before returning to the Capital Region.
In late November the Shenendehowa School District Board of Education suffered a loss with the death of 19-year board member Gary DiLallo. DiLallo was a retired teacher, union representative, and former athletic coach. As a member of the Shen Board of Education his efforts in the field of pedagogy had impacts at the state and national levels.
The end of the year brought its share of retirements also. The Town of Halfmoon saw the retirement of its Superintendent of Highways John Pingelski. CAPTAIN CHS will say goodbye to its Executive Director Sue Catroppa at the end of the month. And in Clifton Park the Town Board saw the retirements of councilmen Jim Romano in October and James Whalen in December. Both men spent years on the board trying to do what they viewed as best for the community.
In addition to recognizing Whalen’s contributions to the town at Monday’s board meeting, the Town Board took time to recognize George Peterson also. Peterson was a dedicated volunteer for the town for more than 30 years specializing in anything to do with potable water.
He is a former Rexford Water District Commissioner, Clifton Park Water Authority Board member, and Key to the Town recipient. Peterson has been an advocate for a proper water supply for all town residents since helping to form the Rexford Water Advisory Committee in 1989.