Balet Farm and Business

 

Suzanne Balet Haight was our speaker on Thursday, and told us about her family's small farm and business in the northeastern corner of Malta. Balet Flowers & Design is on Nelson Avenue Extension, not far south of the town's Kayaderosseras Creek border with Saratoga Springs. It is a family business founded by Balet's parents.

"We grow as organically as we can," she said, aiming to avoid using  herbicides or pesticides.

Our guests Mark and Rachel Oberreuter live in the same neck of the woods, on Malta Avenue Extension.

 

Educating

 

Rotarian Dave Kruczlnicki, left, and Stuart Williams, right, coordinator of community relations for the Ballston Spa School District, listen to district Superintendent Ken Slentz at our meeting this morning at The Ugly Rooster.

Slentz led a wide-ranging discussion about issues in this area and beyond, including what he said has been a successful "structured literacy" reading initiative in the district over the past three years. He said the much discussed "learning loss" due to Covid has been "overstated", because "we built in a ton of support" for students using federal aid. 

Slentz said some people still stigmatize BOCES programs, which he characterized as a prejudice "not based on reality" because many students get qualifications for good jobs there. But the superintendent also expressed concern about graduation rates as low as 23 percent in local community colleges.

Roostin' Back

 

Starting tomorrow, club meetings will resume at the former site of the Malta Diner, now The Ugly Rooster, at 7:15 on Thursday mornings. 

The speaker at tomorrow's meeting will be Ken Slentz, superintendent of the Ballston Spa School District.

Dunkin' and other business

 

Saturday September 11 was Malta Community Day at Shenantaha Creek Park, where our dunk tank was a hit. Thanks to all who participated.

At last Thursday's meeting, we heard from Larry Bailey, assistant district governor, and discussed membership issues.

Our member Paul Phillips told the meeting that a young Ugandan boy has been scheduled for hole-in-the-heart surgery as a result of a contact made at a Zoom meeting of the club last March with Gift of Life CEO Rob Raylman.

This week's speaker at the park (our temporary meeting place) will be Ballston Spa School District Superintendent Ken Slentz.

Thanks to Blood Donors

Club President Miles Cornthwaite, from left, Rotarians Barbara Conner and Mike Williams, and Anne Santino from the Red Cross were at Monday's blood drive in the Malta Community Center.

Mike organized our end of the drive, where other Rotarians working included Helen Endres, Bob Conner and Estelle Genest. The Red Cross workers took in a steady stream of pre-registered donors, including Mike and Barbara, for a successful event.

We have a couple of fund-raisers coming up. On Saturday September 11 we will participate in Malta Community Day at the Shenantaha Park, operating our dunking booth. Potential dunkee volunteers can contact Paul Sausville, Miles Cornthwaite or other Rotarians.

On October 31 we will have a pancake breakfast at the Round Lake fire house. Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door. Stay tuned for more details.