Malta Ridge Fire Department History

Chris Morrell has been a member of the Malta Ridge Volunteer Fire Company since 1958, which is most of its history, about which he spoke at this morning's meeting.

The first fire truck was purchased in 1947, used. It lacked a windshield, so the driver wore goggles. But a decade later they had the biggest tanker truck in Saratoga County. That truck and its successors were often called to help out other fire departments, including Saratoga Springs. Morrell worked as a professional firefighter in that city from 1966 to 1973, and then went into law enforcement. 

He spent 20 years with the Saratoga County Sheriff's Department, then worked in Vermont police departments, for the New York State Park Police, and the US Marshals Service. He also spent 11 years on the Malta Town Board, and continues to serve the town on committees dealing with ethics, updating the master plan, and water/sewer issues.

Brookside Museum Update

Jim Richmond, right, who was our speaker this morning, talks to Malta Town Historian Paul Perreault after the meeting.

Jim has co-written a history of the Town of Milton, and wrote a 2016 book, "War on the Middleline",  about a 1780 Revolutionary War raid in Saratoga County. A GE retiree, he is coordinator of the Saratoga History Round Table, and is involved with ongoing efforts to revitalize the Brookside Museum in Ballston Spa, recruit volunteers and stabilize its finances.

Club Donates $1,000 to African Projects

At this week's business meeting, we made donations of $500 each to two projects in Africa.
One of the donations was to Qholaqhoe Mountain Connections in Lesotho, which we have been helping support since 2014, and to which we last donated in November 2018. The contribution will help fund scholarships and a feeding program in a drought-stricken rural area.

The other contribution is to help fund projects in Uganda undertaken by a group associated with the Presbyterian-New England Congregational Church of Saratoga Springs (PNECC), which will embark on a mission trip in February. The group, which includes our members Paul Phillips and Barbara Conner, will work on medical clinics and educational projects, including building a new classroom and installing a solar water pump with underground tanks. PNECC partners with the nonprofit AOET, which facilitates sponsorships and provides services in Uganda mostly to children, not excluding anyone on the basis of religion. Participants in the PNECC trip pay for their own travel and other expenses. AOET-Uganda's child social welfare officer, Teo Nakubulwa, spoke to our club last June.

In other business, we discussed possibly holding a pancake breakfast on March 29 at the Malta Ridge Fire House, and a roadside cleanup on Dunning Street on April 4.

Season's Greetings

The photo (taken Thursday by Stuart Williams of the Ballston Spa School District) shows recipients of grants from the Town of Malta/Global Foundries Foundation at the David Meager Community Center. (And at bottom left that's David Meager himself, who chairs the foundation.)

We applied for and received a modest $500 for a new emergency gas card program, which we'll be setting up in the New Year. (Barbara Conner, third from left at top, picked it up.)

No meeting next week, December 26. Next meeting is January 2. On January 8 there will be a board meeting, followed as usual by a business meeting the next day.

Assemblywoman Woerner's Update

Carrie Woerner, at center in white jacket, is shown with some other club members at our meeting on Thursday. Carrie, who is a member of the New York State Assembly, gave us one of her regular updates on legislation and related issues, taking questions and engaging in discussion.
No meeting next week -- Happy Thanksgiving.

Tots, Polio

Tom Disinger, left, was our speaker today, about the Capital Region Toys for Tots Campaign, which last year was selected as the 2018 US Marine Corps Toys for Tots National Campaign of the Year.
Some of our club members helped out with last year's campaign and Tom was encouraging us to do the same this year, especially by helping sort and distribute toys at the warehouse off Route 146 in Clifton Park, near Starpoint Church. This Saturday between 10 and 3 would be a good time, he said, and there will be plenty of other opportunities in this busy season running up to Christmas.
At right of photo is Doug Ford, Ballston Spa Rotarian and co-chair of the Rotary District 7190 polio campaign. He told us about an upcoming polio fund-raiser on the evening of Friday Dec. 13, at the Adirondack Thunder hockey game in Glens Falls. Then there's the Polio Plunge on New Year's Day in Lake George. Money is needed, Doug said, in part because cases have been on the uptick in Pakistan and Afghanistan, meaning we need to keep pushing to eliminate polio.
Another guest was Rich Griesche, district governor-elect, seen below.

Catching up on Doing Good; Plus Craft Fair

Our speaker on Thursday was Sue Catroppa (left), executive director of CAPTAIN Community Human Services.
She talked about the growth of the organization from its founding in 1977, to serve not just teens but people of all ages, and in Schenectady and Fulton counties as well as Saratoga. Much of the focus, however, remains on young people, and among the grim issues CAPTAIN is currently trying to deal with and fight in our area are sex trafficking and homelessness. CAPTAIN continues to rely on volunteers for a lot of its good work. Volunteer opportunities include helping kids with homework, staffing the food pantry, office and thrift store, mentoring, writing, companionship, driving, shopping and light housekeeping. Contributions of money and goods also are accepted. Click on the link in the first paragraph above to find out more, and how you can help.

The previous week, our speaker was Janet Friauf (below), who leads the Homelessness Action Team at The Presbyterian New England Congregational Church (PNECC) in Saratoga Springs. The church has been working with Shelters of Saratoga and government officials on addressing homelessness in Saratoga County, where a new Code Blue shelter will open soon on the south side of Saratoga Springs. Like CAPTAIN, Shelters of Saratoga is seeking volunteers and donations.

And in Rotary news, our club will be raising funds by providing food service tomorrow, Saturday Nov. 2, at the Arts, Crafts and Gift Fair, from 9 to 3 at the David Meager Community Center in Malta. Come on by and have a bite.