Jason Laing was our speaker last week, telling us about the life of his daughter, now in her late 30s, who has written a book (under the pen name Ruby Lucas) about her struggles with bipolar disorder. She's doing well now, he said. More information about the book can be found at Home - Ruby-Lucas.
Saratoga County District Attorney Brett Eby, who was elected last November, was our speaker on Thursday.
He's been making changes, but said he offered to retain everyone who was working in the office. He plans to be aggressive in seeking grants to fund new hires.
Eby is starting a unit to handle appeals in-house, which should cut down the need to pay for outside counsel. He's also expanding the use of treatment court, trying to reduce prison time for nonviolent felons with substance-abuse and mental health issues. He's gearing up for summer, a busy season in the DA's office, when crimes such as sex trafficking peak.
Eby grew up in Clifton Park and attended Shenendehowa schools. Now married with a daughter, he had wanted to be an FBI agent, but there was a hiring freeze when he was seeking employment there so he sought other opportunities.
Dr. Gianleo Duca, superintendent of the Ballston Spa School District, made a pitch at our meeting Thursday for a $61.8 million capital project that will go to voters next week, on Tuesday Dec. 9. Malta residents who live in the school district can vote at Town Hall from 7 am to 9 pm.
While $26 million of the cost would be borne by local taxpayers, Duca said, the district has saved almost $8 million to partly offset that burden. The last capital project, he said, was focused on "academic spaces," but this one is more about infrastructure, including roofs, drainage, HVAC, parking and traffic, along with athletics, arts and music. It includes renovation of the high school auditorium and middle school cafeteria, library improvements, laying down artificial turf, and expansion of air conditioning. The projects should take about five years to complete, if approved by voters.
Also present were students and staff associated with the Rotary Interact club at the high school, which is connected with the Ballston Spa Rotary Club. The school club has about 40 members involved in activities such as helping with blood drives and holiday season projects.
One complication is that the town of Malta did not yet exist at the time, being part of Stillwater. Nor did Saratoga County, being part of Albany County. Hence most of the men who served were in the Albany County Militia. And the Saratoga battles were fought primarily by the regular Continental Army, with militia troops held in reserve.
Tom estimated the population of the area now defined as Malta was about 700 in 1775, about 200 of them "fighting-age men." Some fled south to avoid the British army advancing under Gen. John Burgoyne. Others, loyalists, fled north to Canada before or after the British invasion.
Prominent among the local militia members were Captain Michael Dunning and his sons, whose property was on what is now Dunning Street east of Northway Exit 12. Captain Dunning is among those buried at the cemetery on the north side of the road, where he used to live. The militia trained nearby at what is now Parade Ground Village.
We'll be raffling this at the Harvest Craft Fair tomorrow (Saturday) from 9 to 3 at the David Meager Community Center in Malta. Thanks to Susan Kipp for making and contributing it. We'll also be providing food there, so stop by, say hello and get a bite to eat.
At Thursday's business meeting, we decided to restructure our scholarship program to focus on students attending Hudson Valley Community College, which has a campus in Malta at the Luther Forest Tech Park.
The speaker at our meeting next Thursday will be Town Historian Tom Williams, who will tell us about Malta's role in the Revolutionary War. All are welcome.
The Meals on Wheels go out from eight sites across the county from Monday to Friday, with most of Malta's deliveries coming from Milton. There is always a need for volunteer drivers, she said, especially as there is an annual loss of about 15 at this time of year, as snowbirds move south.
Her talk led to discussion about the growing needs of poor people in our area, especially because of the political deadlock in Washington which led to temporary suspension of SNAP benefits from Nov. 1. Town Supervisor Cynthia Young said demand is rising at the food pantry in the Community Center, and members pledged to support it with immediate donations of gift cards and in a food drive starting Nov. 6.
