Pancakes and (nonpartisan) politics

The pancakes and fixings (sausages, eggs, juice, coffee) will be served for breakfast this Sunday Oct. 27 at the Malta Ridge Fire House, Hearn Road and Route 9. It's our first fund-raiser in a while. Prices are still $7 for adults and teens, $3 for kids aged 6-12, and free for those under 6. Be there or be square.

On Thursday, our speaker was club member and state Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner (in yellow jacket at end of table). She took questions about energy mandates (she's skeptical) and GlobalFoundries (the structure of a new tax deal would be up to the Saratoga County IDA). She said improving health care is her top priority, noting that the quality of dental care is an indicator of longevity; and said Medicaid reimbursement rates are too low. 

"We need much better public transit up here," she said, which would, for example, provide a way for employees of Malta hotels to get to work. 
 

Immigration Talk, then Road Cleanup

 

Some of our cleanup crew (minus Brian Farrell, who took the photo) on Dunning Street after last Thursday's meeting. They are, left to right, Chris Havens, Donna Kripfgans-Rawlin, Miles Cornthwaite, Murray Eitzmann and Steve Haydon.

At the meeting, Phil Kellerman spoke about immigration. He has been an advocate for migrant farmworkers and other immigrants for over 35 years. He established the Harvest of Hope Foundation which raised and distributed more than $1.1 million in emergency and educational financial aid to migrant farmworkers. Prior to retirement his last employment was with the Oley Foundation under Albany Medical Center, helping children and adults in need of tube feeding supplies due to serious intestinal problems, oral cancer, stroke or ALS.  He continues to collect tube feeding supplies to send to California to be shipped to the Philippines. In addition, Kellerman helped to establish the Foundation for Language Education and Development (LEAD) which provides financial aid to immigrant students to attend college.

Kellerman. a member of the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club, 

said he became involved in the case of Delphine Sosu, an immigrant from Ghana who aspires to become a professional soccer player. Her education was disrupted when the College of Saint Rose in Albany closed, but she now attends Newman University in Kansas.

He said immigrants pay many fees to the government and other expenses, which can make it hard to live here. Among the most urgent fixes to current law he recommended is regularizing the legal status of "dreamers", longstanding US residents who were brought here illegally as children. 

Business from Glenville to Uganda, Glens Falls and Saratoga County

 

Ugandan crafts on display at this year's Glenville Oktoberfest. We participated in "Rotary Row" under the sponsorship of the Malta Sunrise Rotary club and sold $800 worth of crafts, which will be sent to AOET Uganda to assist them in educating children who are living in poverty.

At Thursday's business meeting we voted to give $200 (in addition to any individual contributions) to Wait House in Glens Falls.

Upcoming fund-raisers are an Oct. 27 pancake breakfast at the Malta Ridge Fire House; and a pre-Christmas sale of pies from Smith's Orchard & Bake Shop, which are baked at a farm on Jockey Street in western Saratoga County.