Amy, who is in school to become a vet tech, said there are volunteer opportunities ranging from cleaning to dog walking. The next volunteer orientation at the shelter (6010 County Farm Road in Milton) will be held Jan. 14 at 2 p.m.
In other business, our new member Murray Eitzmann's Rotary badge and shirt have arrived.
Calling hours are from 4 to 7 today at the Armer Funeral Home in Ballston Spa. The funeral is at 10 a.m. tomorrow (Friday, Nov. 17) at Malta Ridge Methodist Church.
Memorial contributions may be sent to Saratoga Chapel on East Line Road, where the funeral will be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow, Saturday. The club voted at Thursday's meeting to make a $200 contribution.
"People are getting more near-sighted," she said, and blamed cell phones. She recommended restricting phone usage for children and having them spend more time outdoors, which will provide lifetime benefits for eye health.
"The technology has gotten amazing," she said, citing Ocular Coherence Tomography as a particularly useful tool. But it is optional for patients, because it is typically "not yet" covered by insurance.
In the past couple of weeks, members have participated in our club's semiannual trash pickup trash on Dunning Street, met with Ballston Spa Rotarians at a local restaurant, raised funds for AOET Uganda at the Glenville Rotary's Oktoberfest, sent school supplies to Lesotho, and continued our Bountiful Backpacks deliveries to Chango Elementary School in Malta.
Upcoming events include a fund-raising pancake breakfast which will probably be held on Oct. 29 at the Malta Ridge Fire House.
Brian Farrell, after ordering his usual protein-heavy breakfast,
He has worked as a musician and in construction, achieving success as drummer for the Irish band The Mighty Stef, touring with them all over Europe and the United States. After bandleader Stefan Murphy broke up the group, Brian moved to the United States in 2017.
He worked in building restoration and construction, with jobs including the Inn at Saratoga and the cancer unit at Glens Falls Hospital. He has his own small business for projects, The Irish Man, but has not cut all connection with music performance.
In other business, our sponsored Red Cross blood drive on Monday at the Malta Community Center brought in 42 units -- 32 whole blood and 10 power red. Rotarians in attendance there also were able to drive one donor who was feeling shaky to an appointment, and delivered surplus milk from the Malta food pantry to Shelters of Saratoga.
Paul, who is Malta town historian and a member of the Ballston Spa Rotary Club, spoke about the massive efforts, starting about 45 years ago by Rotary at the International level and including our District, to wipe out polio.
It is hoped that every Rotarian every year will contribute to this cause, and every club has a Rotary Foundation chair to help make it happen.
Paul also spoke in more personal terms, about seeing children in iron lungs when he was young, how his own brother had a purportedly "mild" case of the disease but was seriously affected in later life by post-polio syndrome, and about his friendship with his work colleague Louise Rourke, a polio survivor who swam Lake George in 2018 to raise funds to help Rotary eradicate the disease.
In other business, members discussed upcoming events they will be volunteering at and the public can support, including: a barbecue this afternoon (Friday) at Brookside Museum in Ballston Spa; a craft fair with an AOET Uganda booth at Congress Park in Saratoga Springs on Saturday; and a Malta Sunrise Rotary-sponsored Red Cross blood drive Monday afternoon at Malta Community Center (would-be donors please put ZIP code 12020 in link).
It's coming up this Saturday, September 9, from 10 to 3 at Shenantaha Creek Park off East Line Road. We'll be there with a cornhole game, and information about the Rotary, how you can be part of doing good in our community and around the world. Come on down, rain or shine.
There is also the Gift of Life Golf Tournament set for September 14 at Fairways of Halfmoon.
The Saratoga County Fair runs through this weekend, and Pete Bardunias, our speaker on Thursday, has been there promoting the Capital Region Chamber and local agriculture.
Pete noted that until the arrival of GlobalFoundries agriculture was the county's biggest earner. It faces various problems, especially development pressure, but some towns such as Milton and Galway have been responding positively by accommodating and encouraging smaller farms.
So head for the county fairgrounds in Ballston Spa for all the fun of the fair, including the many farm animals and other features.
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Wellspring provides services related to domestic violence and sexual assault. Its programs include an emergency shelter, a 24/7 hot line, counseling, assistance with housing and legal needs, a food pantry and more. While it works with government agencies such as the Department of Social Services, Keegan said "Public services are often unhelpful." It does not charge for these services, relying on grants, donations and volunteer support.
Wellspring began, Keegan said, almost 40 years ago in a building in Saratoga Springs linked to St. Clement's Church, which continues to support the organization. While most victims are female, Keegan began her talk with the story of how in the 1980s she was shocked to discover that a male friend was being abused by his female spouse.
One key tip-off to an abusive relationship, she said, is if one partner is afraid of the other.
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While she has gone on several mission trips to Honduras and the Dominican Republic, she said her most recent focus has been on Romania, Bolivia and Kosovo.
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She has been working with Helen Endres, former Saratoga County public health director (on right in photo at Thursday's meeting) to secure more state funding. One result this session, Woerner said, is money to expand youth mental health services at Glens Falls Hospital and Four Winds in Saratoga Springs.
She also helped secure funds to help preserve Snake Hill on Saratoga Lake, and for the new Champlain Canal Regional Visitors Center in Schuylerville.
Woerner lauded legislative actions to raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation, to clarify that historical re-enactors are exempt from recent gun control legislation, and to give judges more discretion over when to set or not set bail.
One item passed in the state budget which she does not support is the planned phaseout of gas stoves. "It's crazy," she said.
Hayden has spent his career at nonprofits, first working for the Boy Scouts in Glens Falls, where he was a member of the Rotary Club. (He and his family are currently residents of Malta.) Then he ran the Adirondack Folk School in Lake Luzerne, in which capacity he spoke to our club in 2017.
According to their website, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Schenectady serve youths aged 6 to 18 in four clubhouses in the city and one in Rotterdam. They also run Job Junction and after-school programs at six city schools.
The clubs run summer programs in Altamont (Camp Lovejoy), Rotterdam, and at five city parks (three of which have swimming pools they have helped keep open). Also on offer is a career exploration workshop at Schenectady County Community College.
Hayden stressed how the clubs provide safe spaces and mentors, greatly improving graduation rates, and are "a conduit to meaningful jobs." Asked about social problems, he said: "Maybe we can't solve all of it. We can solve some of it, instead of just lamenting."
Next week's speaker will be state Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner (a member of our club).
Perreault is a member of the Ballston Spa Rotary Club and a frequent guest of ours in Malta, where he serves as town historian.
In 1927, on the 150th anniversary of the battle (and well before our club in Malta was founded), 100,000 people attended a ceremony at the site. There was a 150-cannon salute, Perreault said, and speeches by three state governors including New York's Al Smith. His successor Franklin Roosevelt, who went on to become president, also helped memorialize the battle.
The Battle of Saratoga in 1777 (or battles -- there were two clashes three weeks apart) was a complete American victory over the British, whose army surrendered shortly afterward. It was the turning point of the Revolutionary War. That makes it one of the most significant events in American -- and arguably world -- history.
Next week's speaker, on May 11, will be Mike Saccocio, executive director of the Schenectady City Mission.
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Ballston Spa School District Superintendent Dr. Gianleo Duca, at right between Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner and Board of Education President Jason Fernau, speaks at Thursday's meeting.
The school board adopted a budget on April 19, and district voters will decide its fate on May 16. A budget presentation will be held at 6:30 p.m. on May 9 at Malta Community Center.
In other business, we briefly discussed our pancake breakfast coming up this Sunday, April 30, at the Malta Ridge Fire House, 8-11:30 am, $7 for adults, $3 for kids. Be there or be square.
Margaret, who is 63, discussed the very difficult times when she was growing up in Uganda, especially under the "very, very bad regime" of Idi Amin in the 1970s. She recalled hiding in ditches and in the bush from murderous soldiers. She had equally harsh words for the regime of Milton Obote in the early to mid 1980s. Since then, she said, there has been more freedom and security.
In other news, we are scheduled to do our regular semi-annual cleanup of Dunning Street tomorrow (Saturday) morning, meeting near Forest Cleaners at 8 a.m.
And we have a pancake breakfast scheduled at the Malta Ridge Fire House on April 30.
In other business, we have purchased a $100 brick at the town veterans monument to memorialize our longtime member Paul Sausville, who died last month.
We will be doing our regular litter pickup on Dunning Street on Saturday April 22 (Earth Day), meeting at 8 a.m. near Forest Cleaners.
Planning continues for our April 30 pancake breakfast at the Malta Ridge Fire House.
This Thursday's speaker (on April 13) will be pediatric cardiologist Dr. Harm Velvis, a director of Gift of Life International, which has had a long and close association with Rotary.
Paul, who has led local efforts to support AOET in Uganda for more than 20 years, said this was the first major mission trip since 2020 because of the pandemic (although he and four others did go over there last year). Another one is planned for May.
This time, they included a doctor, a nurse/practitioner and a dentist who worked intensively in clinics. The group also put in clean water systems at three schools.
Our club has supported Paul's AOET Uganda projects in recent years.
We have also supported QMC in Lesotho. That's where the photo and letter below come from -- a new student whom we are sponsoring there.
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Duca became superintendent of the Ballston Spa School District earlier this year. It is hiring. "Three new drivers started today" (i.e. Thursday), he said, and "we need substitute teachers".
Schools are "almost back to normal" following the pandemic. In response to a question from Bardunias about restoring optimism and forming productive citizens, the superintendent said: "We've got to make sure we are building resilience".
Most seniors are volunteering for community service projects. The district works with BOCES and "in-house" on work training programs, said Duca, noting that his father was a welder. Many students also engage in extracurricular activities including sports, music and theater, which may help them discover and pursue their passion, "that special thing for them".
There are ongoing discussions about enhancing school safety. That, Duca said, is the issue where, "If I let my thoughts wander, it will keep me up at night."
Next Thursday, March 9, our speaker will be Dr. Gianleo Duca (see photo), the new superintendent of the Ballston Spa School District, which includes most of Malta. As always, members of the public are welcome to attend our 7:15 am meetings at The Ugly Rooster.
We donated $200 to Seeds for Peace at last week's business meeting; and we set September 18 as our next date to support the American Red Cross at their blood drive in the Malta Community Center.
Artem Matviichuk, right, was our speaker on Thursday, and was introduced by the Rev. Jim Hale, one of our Rotary members who is pastor of The Saratoga Chapel on East Line Road.
A year ago, Artem was living in Irpin, near Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, Ukraine, with his wife and two sons, now aged 10 and 6. The younger son has special needs, having encountered grave health problems from infancy. Toward the end of February last year, tensions increased with Russia, and there were rumors an invasion was imminent, but "Nobody believed it could happen." In particular, no one expected a Russian attempt to capture Kyiv, so when that did happen Artem and his family were shocked by bombs falling not far from their home.
They fled in their car from Russian helicopter gunships and tanks, but weren't sure where to go, were delayed by checkpoints and witnessed a shooting incident "like what you see in movies." The couple's parents lived -- and still live -- in the Odessa area, but Artem and his family headed farther west in Ukraine, and then crossed the border into Poland.
"At first we expected to go back," he said, but then came the reports of many civilians killed and most property destroyed in his hometown vicinity, which was eventually recaptured by the Ukrainian military after the Russians failed to take Kyiv and withdrew from that area. They travelled via Tijuana, Mexico to San Diego, California, and now live in Scotia, NY. Artem, a graphic designer, received US work papers this year, and is seeking employment.
Jeff Kimble, a neighbor of Artem's and member of The Saratoga Chapel, also was at the meeting. "Jim's church helped us a lot," Artem said. (Jeff spoke to our club last year on a different topic.)
Artem said many people have helped his family along their way. He is left with the realization of "how life can change, fast, in a second."
Carrie said she agrees with much of the agenda laid out in Gov. Kathy Hochul's State of the State address, including adjustments to the bail reform legislation and a large boost in funding to address the state's "mental health crisis," while not raising taxes. She also agreed with fellow Malta Rotarian Helen Endres, former Saratoga County public health director, about the urgent need to increase funding for other parts of the health care system, including nursing homes, and invited Helen to speak at a Jan. 24 press conference.
Carrie was skeptical, however, about measures to restrict usage of gas and wood stoves.
Asked about the Senate Judiciary Committee's 10-9 vote yesterday to reject Hochul's nomination of Hector LaSalle to be chief judge of the Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, she said that from the outside "it looked like he was railroaded." Carrie Woerner, Hochul, LaSalle, and the anti-LaSalle senators are all Democrats.
Linda LeTendre from Seeds for Peace was our speaker on Thursday. She had Covid so did not appear in person; but the Zoom presentation was clear and vivid with easy communication back and forth, thanks to our tech gurus Bob Bonney and Kristen Stanley.
Linda, who is a Burnt Hills Rotarian, last spoke to us about Seeds for Peace in 2020. She said the organization has been changing its focus since then to support a model of organic, sustainable family farming, mostly in Uganda at this time. It is looking for volunteers, including committee members to oversee the expenditure of grant funding. Those interested should email her at seedsforpeacerequests@gmail.com
Next week's speaker will be club member and New York State Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner.
