New Ways for Old Farm

Our speaker Thursday was Chip Ellm, of the Ellms Family Farm on Charlton Road in Ballston. He told us how his family bought an abandoned dairy farm and has turned it into an agri-toursim enterprise, full of activities for kids, which is open for several weeks every fall (Sept. 17-Oct. 30 this year). The land would probably have become a housing development had the Ellms not gone in this direction, he said.

Rotarian Paul Sausville praised the Ellms Farm as a way to preserve agricultural land and open space. Paul also noted that we're looking for volunteers this coming Wednesday at Shenantaha Creek Park, where Family Night will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. We'll have the dunking booth up, and politicians are expected to be among the dunkees. So if club members can help during that time or before or after, please contact Paul. And everyone else can come down, too, and dunk a Town Board member for a good cause.

Welcome Aboard

Morgan Zegers, second from left, was inducted at Thursday's meeting into the Malta Sunrise Rotary Club. She's a student at American University and has been active this summer in town government. Before that, she was interning in Washington at the office of U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, whose district includes much of Saratoga County.

Changing of the Guard

Arlene Schmidt, left, chaired her first club meeting as this year's president on Thursday, taking over from Mike Williams, right, who becomes membership chairman.