by Bea Peterson
The Town of Hoosick Board meeting began Monday, April 14, with a HAYC3 presentation.
HAYC3 Vice President Ric Tinkham, HAYC3 Board Member Brian Bushner and Treasurer Kate Bradley addressed the Town Board and thanked them and the community for their support in its first year of operating both the HAYC3 Youth Center and the HAYC3 Armory. [private]Without that support, their success could not have happened, said Tinkham. “We’re through it [the first year], and we made it! We have a good working dialogue with the Town and the Village. We have had many active times, some joyous, some not so joyous. Thank you.” Tinkham added that it would not have been possible without the Federal DFC grant and the community’s support. He said the HAYC3 Board meeting will be on Monday, April 21, at 6:30 pm.
HAYC3 Executive Director Aelish Nealon then addressed the Board. She said it had been quite a year. “We took over the Armory. We wanted a safe building, and it needed a lot of TLC. We had a punch list, and thanks to Hoosick Falls Building Inspector Ed Holland and Bill Cottrell, our engineer, we completed that large list, and we have our Certificate of Occupancy in hand.”
Nealon said that when they took over the Armory they invited the public to suggest uses for the building. “We had a list of 300 ideas, and we’ve accomplished every item except two. Actually, the community did it.”
Nealon said every space in the building is a multi-use space. HAYC3 has two full time and two part time members. She added that in nine months they have either partnered with or conducted 100 events. Nine people have been able to visit the downstairs of the building because of the newly installed handicap accessible chair.
HFPD And HAYC3
Next, Assistant Police Chief Harold McClellan addressed the Board. He said that on Wednesday, April 23, HAYC3 will sponsor a Town Hall meeting in the Armory for a Community Dialogue about Heroin and Substance Abuse for Parents, Youth and all concerned community members. (A report on this meeting will appear next week.) Keynote speaker will be Jim Baker, retired Commander of the Vermont State Police and current Chief of the Rutland, VT, Police Department. McClellan said there is no doubt the heroin epidemic is in Hoosick Falls. “Parents need to talk to their kids, and this program will help them do that,” he said.
McClellan said the HFPD and HAYC3 have a partnership to address issues. “We’re striving for the same thing,” he said. He told the Board that HAYC3 funded the Village’s Bicycle Patrol and paid for the week-long training required for officers to be on the patrol.
HAYC3 also funded the purchase and training of Mickey, the Police Department’s canine, and the training of the officers that work with him.
McClellan said Hoosick Falls is the first community in New York State to be part of a Court Diversion Program for people between the ages of 16 and 20 arrested for the consumption or possession of alcohol. HAYC3 and the Police Department work with the Rensselaer County District Attorney’s Office to provide education and discipline for these youth.
He concluded his remarks by thanking HAYC3 for all it is doing for the Department and for the community.[/private]